A HUNDRED historic photos and a small library worth of stories have been entered into the Vincent Local History Centre archives, a bounty collected from a bumper year at the local history awards.
Among the more ancient entries is a 101-year-old photo of the Norwood Hotel which once stood at the corner of Windsor and Lord Streets.
The image reveals a very different standard of men’s dress compared to modern pub attire: The Windsor attracted large crowds of suited men, all in hats, as going out uncovered was almost unthinkable in that era.
Images of modern history in the making were also entered into the archives: The most recent entry to merit a nod at the awards was taken by photographer Emanual Rudnicki on September 22, 2023 at the Pickle District’s Art Crawl 4.0.
Donor Andrew Kailis won a special mention in the contemporary category for the offering, which depicts the old industrial slice of West Perth brought to life at night with arty offerings.
Change
The photo was taken on the eve of huge change on the horizon for the small creative hub, which is fated to be transformed by massive developments including a Bunnings store to replace the warehouses and a seven-structure village to be built over the tired old car yards.
Among the written pieces, the first prize in the “Life in Vincent” category was awarded to WAFL amateur historian Rick Vredenbregt for his work “The Fred Book Grandstand – Contrasting Events of Celebration and Tragedy” about the building of the Perth Oval grandstand.
Another Perth Oval tale saw Peter Gall awarded first prize in the “History of Place” category for his piece about the April 1, 1928 event when Bert Hunkler made a perfect landing on the oval in his biplane, marking the first solo England to Australia flight.
The 100 photos and 18 written entries are available for viewing at the Vincent Local History Centre inside the Loftus Street library, and the photos are also in the online archive at cityofvincent.imagegallery.me
by DAVID BELL
Perth Voice Interactive 
Leave a comment