Tales of the Unexpected
WAnderland shares collections from the length and breadth of the state, but there are some really unexpected discoveries. They are all the product of passionate collectors.
Recollections of War, east of the town of Denmark, in WA’s Great Southern, is a large (and seemingly ever-growing) private collection relating to various armed conflicts. The breadth of wartime stories associated with the items in this collection is actually very compelling. There are uniforms, wartime games, a special Red Cross collection and, most poignantly, insight into personal stories of wartime experiences.
Right next to a Western Australian geological icon, Wave Rock, near Hyden, there is a surprising array of diverse collections, including a local pioneer museum, a toy soldier collection and, most strikingly, an internationally significant eclectic collection of lace at the Lace Place. The earliest sample is from the 1500’s, but there is also a lace wedding gown, featured in a photo of the wedding party, at Wave Rock, in the 1970s, mullet hairdo’s and all.
The exhibitions at Sisters of St John of God Heritage Centre in Broome provide a moving insight into the lives lived by these women and the communities they served in the Kimberley. There are moving stories about the work of the Sisters, the conditions under which they lived, and the health challenges they responded to.
The National Anzac Centre in Albany provides an accessible entry point to understanding the origin of the Anzac tradition, or spirit, that appeared in World War I. With spectacular views over King George Sound, the place from which many Anzacs departed, you enter the Centre, walking alongside life size footage of the soldiers as they walked through the streets of Albany. As you journey through the NAC exhibitions, you carry with you one of the 30 character cards, which allows you to follow the story and the fate of that character’s particular story.
The Boyup Brook District Pioneer’s Museum is housed inside a masonic lodge and offers the rare opportunity to actually see inside a lodge, with many fascinating masonic accoutrements on display.
However, one of the most unexpected items we encountered on display, not featured in WAnderland photographically, were Dom Salvado’s teeth at the New Norcia Museum. Dom Salvado was an extraordinary character, living from 1814 – 1900, leading and driving the development of New Norcia, Australia’s only monastic town. The teeth are a very personal connection to this fascinating figure of Western Australian history.
