Many campaigns of passion and protest have taken root in Cockburn since Nyungar leader Midgegooroo and the Beeliar people resisted the European colonisation that threatened Beeliar Boodjar in the early 1830s.
An exhibition detailing the Cockburn community’s long history of action, resilience and spirit will soon be open to the public.
Passion and Protest: Cockburn Community Speaks Up will be held 1-5 October at historic Memorial Hall in Hamilton Hill, itself the result of assertive community action to create a community gathering space.
The Farrington Road protest (1984), the Save Beeliar Wetlands/Roe 8 protest (2000-2017), the Jandakot Railway League campaign for the new railway line to pass through Jandakot (1902), market gardener Tony Galati’s campaign against the Potato Marketing Board (1998-2017) and even the community’s fight against local government amalgamation in 2015 with its Hands Off Cockburn protests are among movements highlighted in the exhibition.
The exhibition was staged for pre-launch at the 2025 State History Conference hosted in Cockburn in September.
City of Cockburn Local History Officer Denise Cook said she wanted to provide conference delegates with an insight into an unexplored aspect of Cockburn’s history.
“People in Cockburn are passionate. Many have spoken out about what was happening in their community, with varying levels of success,” Dr Cook said.
“What matters is that people were compelled to stand up and now we have an exhibition that touches on some of those efforts across many, many years.”
Dr Cook said the display was created by social history curator and artist Jo Darbyshire who identified, gathered and researched a range of artefacts and stories from 11 examples of Cockburn people standing up for their local community.
Some of these include a shirt lent by Spearwood-raised Spudshed king Tony Galati in his fight against the now defunct Potato Marketing Board and the bright orange shirts emblazoned with ‘Hands Off Cockburn’, as residents battled to prevent the City being disbanded and split between neighbouring local governments during former WA Premier Colin Barnett’s unsuccessful amalgamation campaign.
City of Cockburn Mayor Logan Howlett said the exhibition had been a compelling attraction at the 2025 State History Conference and he was thrilled the general public would now have a chance to see it for free.
“It’s fitting that we’re hosting this exhibition at Memorial Hall to recognise the 100th year since the community celebrated the results of their affirmative action to raise enough funds to build a hall for where everyone could gather, and to honour the district’s fallen and returned sailors and soldiers who served in World War I.
“It is the action of our passionate community that has helped shaped our history. This exhibition is a reflection of the courage and bravery of those people, starting with Nyungar leader Midgegooroo, who defended his people but was executed in 1833 without trial.”
More information about the exhibition is available on the City’s
website.