The State Library of WA

Petronila's keepsake is a hand-carved mother of pearl fishing lure (Pa Hi Atu) made by Papa Fofo Poasa, her father-in-law. Papa Fofo Poasa hand-carved this traditional fishing lure with his son, Himona Poasa, the week before Himona suddenly passed away in February 2023. They carved the Pa Hi Atu in their home in Mandurah, Western Australia, using mother-of-pearl shells from Broome. Pa Hi Atu trans...

Amber's keepsake is a much loved and very used 1970s Scrabble board game in the original box. Her family took an annual holiday to Rottnest Island, marking the years on the board (70s to 90s) and added the odd landline phone number in "graffiti". Back then, the Rottnest Island showers were salt water from the ocean and all food was BYO. Amber fondly remembers zero-screen holidays full of fami...

Suzanne Franklin's keepsake is a picture of her great-great-grandmother, Alice Franklin, the Lady Mayoress of Perth and an unused leather-bound railway ticket to the official opening of Parliament House in 1927. Alice's husband, James Thomas Franklin, was the last Mayor of Perth and the first Lord Mayor of Perth. In 1927, James and Alice were invited to the grand opening of Parliament House and gi...

Cheryl Burton was adopted in 1962 and immigrated from the UK in 1967. Her mother didn't know she would be giving Cheryl up for adoption until the birth and had mere moments to say goodbye. In 1990 when Cheryl was 28, she flew back to meet her mother for the first time. Cheryl's keepsake is a gold kangaroo brooch she gifted to her mother when they first met. Her mother never wore the brooch but kep...

Anne Chapple's grandfather's WW1 medals are an extraordinary keepsake as they signify the beginning of the Anzac Cottage story. Her grandfather was considered an older recruit (30s) and served in the 11th Battalion, C Company, who were amongst the first who landed on the shores of Gallipoli during World War 1 (WW!). He was wounded on the first day and then deemed unfit to serve. He was one of the...

magine the first time you ever see an airplane and it crashes into the ocean.  Gerry's keepsake is his great-granddad's utility knife, which was gifted to him for saving the life of a world-renowned and revered Australian test pilot, Harry Hawker, in 1913. Harry Hawker was the chief test pilot for Sopwith Industries; this was only 11 years after the Wright brothers flew the first-ever success...

Sophie's keepsake is her husband's grandma's handwritten cookbook. Joan Patricia Vowles lovingly added to this cookbook over forty years (1950 -1990), and Sophie inherited it when she passed away in 2006. The cookbook is made out of a notepad and filled with delicately handwritten recipes and poems, resplendent with butter, egg and oil stains. The recipes come from friends, family, church group me...

Goalkeeper for international Women’s Super League clubs and Australia’s national team the Matildas, Lydia is a proud Nyungar woman who grew up playing in the red dirt of Kalgoorlie, a small town north-east of Perth, before moving to Canberra to pursue her career in soccer. She has been inducted into the Aboriginal and Islander Sports Hall of Fame. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more in...

Marilyn has the great honour of being the first West Australian female referee to crash into the male-dominated game in the late 1970’s. She progressed quickly from officiating schools’ football to State League, and in 1992 became the first woman to run the line in a National men’s Soccer League game. Marilyn also had the line for the 1992 Australia-Brazil youth international friendly. Hosted on A...

Marilyn has the great honour of being the first West Australian female referee to crash into the male-dominated game in the late 1970’s. She progressed quickly from officiating schools’ football to State League, and in 1992 became the first woman to run the line in a National men’s Soccer League game. Marilyn also had the line for the 1992 Australia-Brazil youth international friendly. Hosted on A...

Growing up in Margaret River and not truly taking soccer seriously as a career, Tash took an unusual route to becoming the current Captain of the Perth Glory Women’s League, replacing former captain Sam Kerr in 2019. Tash believes in making space for others to lead through their strength, and is honoured to join a movement of strong women paving the way for future generations of soccer-lovers. Hos...

Soccer runs through the Brooking family’s veins. Thembi and her daughter Ischia both play soccer, while Thembi’s husband coaches. After migrating from Zimbabwe to Perth, Thembi started out playing soccer in an area of Perth where there was less opportunity for young girls to play and is now proud to see that changing for her daughter, Ischia, who is playing at an elite level with the Junior Matild...

Katelyn is an award-winning goalkeeper for the ParaMatildas. Founded in 2019, the ParaMatildas is Australia’s first national team for women and girls with cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury and symptoms of stroke. Katelyn recently won the inaugural ParaMatildas Player of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Tournament after a silver medal winning run in their first international Women’s World Cup cam...

Tracey Wheeler is an early champion of women in soccer, representing Australia in our national team the Matildas, first as a midfielder, and later as a goalkeeper. She made her international goalkeeping debut against New Zealand in 1989, and has played 55 international matches for Australia, including three games at the 2000 Olympics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the lead-up to Perth hosting some of the games for one of the world's largest sporting tournaments, the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023, we hear stories from local women who rose up against inequality and stereotypes to champion the game of soccer as far back as the 1970s. We hear from elite athletes past and present considered to be the best in the game both locally and glo...

In the lead-up to Perth hosting some of the games for one of the world's largest sporting tournaments, the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023, we hear stories from local women who rose up against inequality and stereotypes to champion the game of soccer as far back as the 1970s. We hear from elite athletes past and present considered to be the best in the game both locally and glo...

In the lead-up to Perth hosting some of the games for one of the world's largest sporting tournaments, the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023, we hear stories from local women who rose up against inequality and stereotypes to champion the game of soccer as far back as the 1970s. We hear from elite athletes past and present considered to be the best in the game both locally and glo...

She’ll be Apples reveals the hidden backstory of the Lady Williams apple and the role of cultivator and innovator Maud Williams, who is truly at the core of Western Australia’s multi-million dollar apple industry. In this podcast, we hear from Maud’s family about frugal post-war regional life and know her passion for a particular apple tree that would create an indelible foundation for WA’s intern...

Left Right Out exposes the challenging legacy of how LGBTQ stories have been represented by our State’s cultural institutions, the State Library of Western Australia, the Western Australian Museum, and the Art Gallery of Western Australia. Left out of the archives altogether, overlooked, undescribed, or actively silenced – LGBTQ history has not been well recorded, preserved, nor exhibited by the S...

On the Frontline reveals the stories of two women who are significant voices in the story of the Swan River and its people. Mary Ann Friend and Fanny Balbuk each had very different experiences of colonisation. Until recently, their stories were little known. Through her journal of a voyage to Hobart with an account of the settlement on the Swan River (1829-30), Mary Ann Friend provides a glimpse i...

Welcome to Rare Stories from the West - a State Library of Western Australia podcast. Through these podcasts we hope to unearth tales of Western Australia’s past and present. Walking on Water: Spirit of the Swan Coastal Plain is the first of three podcasts produced by Gina Pickering. The Walking on Water podcast explores the significance of the Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River) in the creation of the...