Bayswater Historical Society

04/08/2026

𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 🏨
Last Saturday the City of Swan with the Midland and Districts Historical Society Inc. conducted a public tour of the fascinating and ornate Midland Town Hall, its administration spaces and clock tower. Built in 𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟔, it's one of several town halls in WA that have been maintained and renovated with their original trims, features and colours. Something to celebrate is that it narrowly missed demolition in the 1970s, and that it's still in use by the City of Swan.

Interesting to note is that in the same year, 𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟔, the 𝐁𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 also awarded a contract for a new civic building! It was a humble and practical building, reflecting the size and wealth of the Bayswater Road Board. Once known as the Bayswater Town Hall and now known as the 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗹, it is located at the cnr of Crowther and Murray Sts. We appreciate that the Drill Hall is still standing, owned by the City of Bayswater and used as a community space.

📸 The beautiful Midland Town Hall 😊 Well worth a visit!

28/07/2026

🏡Heritage is on the agenda in force at tonight's council meeting!

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 - 𝟏𝟒 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐒𝐭, 𝐁𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 📮

Bendigo Bank relocated from the old Post Office to Whatley Cres in 2025. We've hoped that the next use of the old Post Office would retain and ideally enhance its rich history.

From the City of Bayswater 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆:

'𝘐𝘯 𝘈𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘭 1898, 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘺𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘉𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘉𝘢𝘺𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦.'

'𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘯 1911, 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 1936 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘢ç𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘳𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨.'

'𝘐𝘯 2000, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘰 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵. 𝘈 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘢𝘺𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘳, 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘋’𝘖𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘰, 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘯 10 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 2000.'

There are 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 business proposals for the old Post Office under review tonight, with officers endorsing a preferred proponent, a submission that states it will be a 'family friendly hospitality venue that includes heritage styling and post office themed branding'.

❓ Why not check out the submissions, see what you think? Link to the Agenda is in the comments.

📷 From submission by Calder Hospitality PTY LTD, CoB Agenda Ordinary Council Meeting, July 2026, p225

17/07/2026

𝗕𝗮𝘆𝘀𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲 - 𝟭𝟱 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗦𝘁.
The Emberson family and their Butcher shop

Around 1900 Walter and Catherine Emberson arrived in Bayswater. Walter worked as a plasterer and in time was elected to the Bayswater Road Board. They moved out to Hardey Road (now Wright Cres) to the large house built near the old brickworks. Walter and Catherine had four children: Walter, David, Catherine and Percy.
🥩Their son 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 built and ran a butchers, '𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘀', at 15 King William St, from 1908. His brother Percy was in partnership until 1928 when he left to join the Police Force.

The building is included in the Baywater Local Heritage Survey, which states : 'This shop was built c1908 as a retail premises for butcher Walter John Emberson. Emberson worked as a butcher with McLeish's on the other side of King William Street before establishing his own business. Walter John Emberson and his wife Ethel, nee Manuel married in 1908 and it's likely these premises were their first family home. They lived here for several years in the 1910s and later staff used to sleep upstairs so as to be awake early for the morning deliveries. The shop remained a butcher's shop until the late 1990s.'

In 1911 Walter placed an ad in the West Australian: LOST, Black pony mare, 14 hands, four white stockings, blaze on face, branded AO near rib, saddle and bridle on, making for Wanneroo. REWARD. Emberson, butcher, Bayswater.

Walter Emberson the butcher lived at 438 Guildford Rd in a house built by his parents in 1915, until his death in 1960. While the building at 15 King William St was sold out of the family, a butcher's shop operated There until the late 1990s.

❓ Does anyone remember 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿?
🙏We would really appreciate your memories of this shop and the butchers who contributed to so many meat and three veg dinners!

📸pre 1922, Butcher shop (the Billiard room and shops at no's 13 were built in 1922)
📸1930 Walter Emberson at Midland Saleyards
📸1939 Advert for butcher shop in town centre. Competition!
𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀
Emberson Family history, with thanks to Alan and Noel Lewis
City of Bayswater Local Heritage Survey
Changes They've Seen by Catherine May
Wises Directories, via State Library
Various news articles via Trove

15/07/2026

𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 !
𝗕𝗮𝘆𝘀𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝗺-𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘀 🏊‍♂️🏊‍♀️🏊

❓ Does anyone know the year and location for this photo?

🏆 What we do know is that it's of 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐭 𝐁𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 who at 12 yrs of age won a 'swim-through' at either Bayswater or Crawley. The photo was taken by a West Australian newspaper photographer at the end of the race.

Patricia was a keen member of the 𝗕𝗮𝘆𝘀𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯 in the 1960s. The club was based at the river near the Garratt Rd bridge. It had its first swim-through event in 1914! See excerpt of an article (Sunday Times, 29 March) describing the event (note that a railway bridge once crossed the river from Bayswater to Belmont, starting near the end of Slade St).
'𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘺𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘸𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘭𝘶𝘣 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘮-𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘵 𝘉𝘢𝘺𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘙𝘰𝘢𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 ...'

From '𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗻' by Catherine May:
'The Bayswater Swimming Club was reconstituted in 1959, and in 1960 two jetties positioned 50 metres apart to form an Olympic-sized pool were built. In the summer of 1960, 100 children were taught to swim at the Garratt Road facility. Throughout the 1960s, Bayswater people continued to use the river for competitive swimming, for lessons and for general recreation.'

With the advent of public swimming pools, the club merged with the Maylands Swimming Club in the early 1990s, with a new name Riverside Swimming Club. This club still runs today at Stirling Leisure – Inglewood.

If you have any memories of Patricia, the swim-throughs or the swimming club, please share!

𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀:
Riverside Swimming Club website
Changes They've Seen
WAN via Trove Website
Patricia Weston

04/07/2026

If you'd like to learn more about 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀, it's the topic of the next talk at the Maylands Historical and Peninsula Association.

Our next History Talk is on Monday 20th July and we’re delighted that we’ve enticed Dr Fiona Bush OAM to come and share with us her extensive knowledge of stained glass. See the flyer for more information.

02/07/2026

Save the Date!

𝙎𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝟮𝟲 𝙅𝙪𝙡𝙮
Will be a busy day at Halliday House Museum! The house will be open from 12 to 4pm - all welcome. The day includes some fascinating glimpses into local history....

12 - 1pm 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩- 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘆 of Lay2 Real Estate recently gifted to the Society a rare lithographic plan of Bayswater & Maylands dated 𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟓. Join us for the unveiling of this beautiful map and to thank Steve for his generous contribution. 🙏🖼️

1 - 2pm 𝙂𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙧: 𝗗𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗲𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗻, Senior Archivist State Records Office of Western Australia will present his third talk in a series about unusual local stories, titled: 'Tales from the State Archives, special Bayswater edition.' 🗝️📖

23/06/2026

𝗕𝗮𝘆𝘀𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲 – 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀

7 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙢 𝙎𝙩, 𝙅𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝘽𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙧 🚗

From the Local Heritage Survey (LHS) we know that 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘀 was a long term tenant, and probable owner at 7 KWS from about 1913 to the 1960s. He was a blacksmith, his full name was Albert John Barnes and was known as Jack.

This info is from the LHS: ‘He was born in Victoria in 1886 and moved to the goldfields of WA in the early 1900s. He married 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗮 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 in 1911 in Boulder and the couple had two children. Following Laura's death in 1945, Jack Barnes remarried in 1947 and he and his second wife 𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗹 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘀 lived on in the house until their deaths in the early 1960s. 🏠
In 1928 Jack applied to the Bayswater Road Board to construct a garage costing £30 on the property and this application was approved. A small garage is visible at the front of the lot, in mid-20th century aerial photographs.’

Jack had followed the times and bought a car. At that time the West Australian Newspaper listed new vehicle registrations, and in 1929 the list includes '𝘈𝘭𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵, 𝘉𝘢𝘺𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘷𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘵.'

This garage experienced a sudden hit in 1949, as per this article from the West Australian.
𝐑𝐔𝐍𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫
𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘢 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘉𝘢𝘺𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴. 𝘈 𝘤𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘈𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 8.45 𝘱𝘮 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘙𝘰𝘢𝘥, 𝘉𝘢𝘺𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵, 𝘉𝘢𝘺𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥. 𝘈 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘔𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮-𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘈𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵. 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳’𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘺𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘔𝘳. 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 ‘𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘦’. 𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 ‘𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯’ 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘳, 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴.’

We know that this didn't deter Jack from driving, as there is a newspaper article from 1938 telling about a road accident he was involved in when his car blew a tyre and collided with another vehicle. We’re glad to say no sheds or people were hurt!

Does anyone know when the current building replaced the house that Jack lived in? We'd also love to hear more about Jack, his car, and any memories you have of number 7.

📷A local Chevrolet from the 1920s, from the Sunday Times, 23 May 1926
‘𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘊𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴.
𝘔𝘳 𝘍 𝘙𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘷𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳.’
📷 7 and 9 KWS in 2018, Google Maps

Sources: National Library of Australia (Trove), City of Bayswater Local Heritage Survey, Google Maps

18/06/2026

𝟳, 𝟵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝟭𝟭 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗦𝘁 – 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀

* The Development of 7-11 KWS has inspired us to keep looking into the history of the town centre. Today lets look at Ray Toby.....

𝗥𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗼𝗯𝘆
As per our post earlier this week, a business operator from 100 yrs ago was 𝗥𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗼𝗯𝘆 who with his wife operated a store at 1 King William St. (Where Pharmacy 777 is now.) He was living with his parents in Bayswater in 1916 when he enlisted in the First World War. His application shows he was a clerk, 18 yrs, and 5ft 3.
In 1917 his parents were notified by telegram that he'd been wounded, this was the first of three telegrams about his welfare, surely the sight of the postman would have brought dread. Ray’s war experience included several hospital stays, twice due to gunshot wounds, and the other for shell contusion.

Fortunately Ray survived the war and returned to WA in 1919, marrying 𝗭𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗮 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 in 1921. He and Zetta ran the store at 1 King William St for about ten years. In that time their daughter (also Zetta) was born. We can guess that Ray and Zetta would have been across ALL the local news, community activities and celebrations thanks to their location and business! The Roads Board Hall was two streets away, train station across the road, and horses still used more than cars; it was likely a place that felt more country than urban. 🛤️🚂🎾🐓🐴

The Swan Express, 27 July 1928
BAYSWATER ROAD BOARD FOREMAN’S REPORT
𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘳. 𝘛𝘰𝘣𝘺'𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴. 𝘈𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘔𝘳𝘴. 𝘞𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘱𝘪𝘱𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩.

The Toby family later moved to Bilbarin (near Corrigin) where they again ran a store. Zetta, their daughter, went to boarding school in Lesmurdie. After Mrs Toby passed away in 1949, it seems Ray and his daughter moved to North Beach where Ray had the license of The Castle Hotel.
If this story sparks any memories you have of the Bayswater Town Centre, please share!
Sources: Wises Directory, National Library of Australia (Trove) and National Archives of Australia for Ray Toby’s Service Record.

📷 King William St from north side of subway, 1926. BHS records

14/06/2026

𝟳, 𝟵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝟭𝟭 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗦𝘁 - 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀

Looking back 100 years, to the 1920s, when 7-11 King William St comprised buildings typical of a small town. Some residents lived here and many residents still relied on horse and cart for transport (hence the grain store at number 11).

The blurry pic is from a photo taken in 𝟭𝟵𝟮𝟴, looking south-east from Whatley Crescent (then named South Tce). Compare it to a similar angle in 2024! (Thanks Google Maps.)

In 1928 the local businesses were very different to those now. Starting on the left, there was 𝗥𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗼𝗯𝘆’𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 (now Pharmacy 777). Then a business or residence, where 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘃𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗼𝘀 worked or lived. Then three houses, these homes (𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝘀 in number 5, 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀 in number 7, and 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘀 in number 9) were all still residential, set back from the street. Then there was 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗠𝗰𝗟𝗲𝗶𝘀𝗵’𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 (number 11), then a bootmaker, a hairdresser and then a butcher (number 15, now King William Antiques and Collectibles).

On the right we can see what was once the general store owned and run by the McLeish family. Now a Liquorland, and without its verandah.

As to local business operator, Ray Toby, he was a World War 1 veteran, and we’ll share more about him in a future post.

With the changes likely ahead for the town centre, we think it’s important to look into who once lived and worked in the town centre so we can relate to the stories of the past through these buildings. Ideally we will uncover more stories from our records and from descendants. 🤞

📷BHS collection, KWS in 1928
📷Google Maps Street view Feb 2024