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Echoes of past part of Mullewa’s 125 years of township celebration

Headshot of Lisa Favazzo
Lisa FavazzoThe West Australian
Our Lady of Mount Carmel students at the Mullewa Pioneer Cemetery memorial wall opening. Left to right : Tarkyn Fulker, Ruby Knock, Aidan Weir, Lincoln Pitman, Maggie Critch and Hunter Rumble.
Camera IconOur Lady of Mount Carmel students at the Mullewa Pioneer Cemetery memorial wall opening. Left to right : Tarkyn Fulker, Ruby Knock, Aidan Weir, Lincoln Pitman, Maggie Critch and Hunter Rumble. Credit: Lisa Favazzo/The Geraldton Guardian

Little old Mullewa — which holds a sizeable place in many hearts — celebrated 125 years of township and kinship as well as 40,000 years of culture on Friday, recognising recent progress and past heroes.

The event was supposed to be held a year ago but was interrupted by COVID-19.

Friday was the town’s 126th birthday, but past and present Mullewa locals refused to let a technicality get in the way of a good time.

In all, a healthy crowd of 260 people gathered to mark the occasion.

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The day began at Mullewa Pioneer Cemetery, where a memorial wall was unveiled and students from Our Lady of Mount Carmel told stories of people laid to rest.

Aidan Weir, 10, spoke of a family connection he had to the site.

“My Nana Pat, who was a Shaw before she married, had twin sisters who were stillborn. They were unnamed and buried here in this cemetery,” he said.

City of Greater Geraldton heritage services co-ordinator Trudi Cornish thanked DIAB Engineering, Bendigo Bank and Regional Arts WA for their contribution to the wall, noting something special about its acoustics.

“When you speak, the wall actually echoes back as if it is the past reaching out across time,” she said. After taking some time to walk the cemetery, guests and residents headed to the pool to remember the town’s late doctor.

Legend has it that Doctor Patrick Docherty delivered more than 1000 babies in the town, with several people sharing stories of how he kept those babies in one piece further down the track.

His son Tony Docherty said it was a great pleasure to have the pool named after his father, who he estimated swam about 4000km while he lived in the town.

The town also dedicated a plaque to his wife, Josephine Docherty, who was instrumental in creating the Mullewa wildflower festival.

Several people described her as the type of woman who would “check in on people”.

Guests then enjoyed a morning tea in the town hall, decorated with images from the past.

Finally, a small group gathered to officially open the new St John Ambulance sub-centre.

It has been operating since last year, but those involved with getting it up and running lost the chance to celebrate when COVID-19 pressed pause on the world. Volunteer David Goodwin described how challenging it was to get the money together to upgrade the centre, saying they had to strike several items off their wish list to make it work.

Director of ambulance operations Deon Brink said it was humbling to visit the accomplished volunteers in Mullewa.

“Without you, this wouldn’t be here. It was not a single effort, or a regional effort, it was a community effort,” he said.

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