Wildflower bag

Apparel

Wildflower tourism emerges

While locals had long admired the profusion of dazzling wildflowers which erupted around Dongara each spring, it wasn’t until the 1960s that wildflower tourism emerged. The Midland Railway Company started bus tours from Perth to ferry visitors to Dongara during wildflower season. The visitors would stroll amid the blooms, tuck flowers behind their ears and gather great armfuls of flowers as bouquets. Keen to cash in on the tourism, Midland Railway also sold souvenirs, such as this vinyl shoulder bag featuring an illustration of kangaroo paws and other wildflowers.

Available at:

Irwin Districts Historical Society and Russ Cottage

Old prison protects pioneering history

Wander through the old police house and court rooms which today house the vast Irwin Districts Historical Society collection and you can almost hear the click of chains which once bound prisoners here...

Address:

5 Waldeck St
Dongara WA 6525
Australia

Tel:

(08) 9927 1323

Email:

idhs@midwest.com.au

Open Hours

Mon to Sat 10am to 12pm

Return to collection to read more

Irwin and Districts Historical Society Overview

Ticket of leave

Ticket to life

This scrap of paper is one of just two remaining Western Australian tickets of leave which permitted convicts to travel for work. It belonged to a fellow by the name of Ben ‘Taffy’ Jones, who was...

Dress

Stepping out in style

In May 1927 a Muriel Henning, wife of WA politician Charles Harriott Henning joined the country’s upper echelons for the opening of Parliament House in Canberra, wrapped in the velvety embrace of this...