Shire of Capel Local History - Ron Maidment Archives

12/06/2026

🏉 Friday Flashback – Footy Season is Well and Truly Here! 🏉

The Shire of Capel has a long and proud sporting history, with football serving as a cornerstone of community spirit for generations.

Do you recognise any of the players or have memories of local football in years gone by? We'd love to hear your stories in the comments.

📸 Photo 1 – Capel Football Team, 1912

Back Row (L–R): Bob Gross
Second Back Row (L–R): Joe Barrett, Dick McArlie, Kelly, Jack Marlin
Second Front Row (L–R): Len Summers, Bob Lowe
Front Row (L–R): Bill Walker, Tom Scott, Cyril Williams

📸 Photo 2 – Capel Women's Football Team (undated)

Back Row (L–R): Norma Capewell, Unknown, Nelly Armstrong, Josie Boardman, Ainslie Roberts, Faye Pike, Iris Scott, Mavis Turner, Alice Bell, Dorothy Rhys-Jones
Front Row (L–R): Laura Staley, Jean Armstrong, Betty Scott, Betty Harris, Joyce Anderson, Connie Thompson

📸 Photo 3 – Capel-Boyanup-Dardanup Football Club League Team, 1986

These photographs provide a wonderful glimpse into the rich footballing heritage of our district and the many local players who helped shape it over the decades.

Shire of Capel – Ron Maidment Archives Room
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Photographs generously donated by:

W.G. Barrett (Photo 1)
Joy James (Photo 2)
Eaton Boomers Football Club (Photo 3)

29/05/2026

Congratulations to two of our amazing volunteers who were nominated for the South West Volunteer of the Year Awards 2026. Eric McAndrew (the maps guy) who has been with us for 9 years and Josie Vigors our amazing transcriber of oral histories. Our volunteers are the backbone of the Ron Maidment Archives, donating their time and efforts with great passion. We appreciate you so much! 🥰

Nominees for Volunteer of the Year 2026, sponsored by Albemarle.

An overwhelming 21 people were nominated for the South West Volunteer of the Year award - kindly sponsored by Albemarle - which will be presented tomorrow during National Volunteer Week.
This longstanding award has been presented since 2002 and each year we are inundated with nominees, proving what wonderful volunteers we have in our region who so willingly give their time and skills for the betterment of the community.
Volunteering helps create meaningful relationships and through that builds inclusive, thriving communities, enriching the lives of those who give their time and those who benefit from it.

So thank you for all that you do! Your impact in our region is immeasurable.

We are very grateful for sponsorship from Albemarle that allows us to recognise these generous humans in our community who are an essential part of the volunteer sector.

29/05/2026

FRIDAY FLASHBACK – A Tale of Three Halls 🏛️ 💃🏛️ 💃🏛️

Did you know there has been three iterations of the Capel Hall?

The first Capel Hall, built c1899, did not last long. It was condemned and demolished in 1910 due to poor construction and after much local controversary. Its remains were later offered for sale.

A new hall was constructed from dressed jarrah, measuring 80 by 30 feet. It included a supper room, a portable stage, and plans for a library and reading room. This second hall opened on 6 May 1911.
In 1934, the hall received upgrades, as shown in the original architectural plans here.

For decades, it served as a vibrant community hub 💃🎭🎬hosting meetings, balls, dances, performances, movies, farewells, and parties.

Tragically, the timber hall burned down in 1972.

The third version of Capel Hall, located behind the Iluka Capel Library today, opened on 13 July 1974. It was officially opened by the then Minister for Local Government, The Hon. E.C. Rushton, MLA, on the same site as the 1911 timber hall. The original plaque can now be viewed in the Ron Maidment Archives Room at the Iluka Capel Library.

📷Shire of Capel – Ron Maidment Archives Room
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Photographs donated by Ken and Jan Price

📄Shire of Capel – Ron Maidment Archives Room
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📰 South-Western News, 25 May 1934, page 4 (Trove Online, National Library of Australia)

📖 Diana Chase and Valerie Krantz, Just a Horse Ride Away: A History of the Shire of Capel and its People (Shire of Capel: Western Australia, 1995)

22/05/2026

15/05/2026

FRIDAY FLASHBACK – The Road to Capel 🐎💨🍊🍎🍐🍃

The road to Capel was a little bumpier a century ago. Deliveries in and out of the district relied heavily on horse power and the railway.

The first and second photographs show fruit being delivered along Goodwood Road to the Capel Railway Station. The horse-drawn vehicle pictured is a flatbed wagon, commonly used as part of the farm-to-rail logistics chain. Farmers would haul produce by wagon to the station, where it could then be transported longer distances by train. The flatbed design made loading crates, sacks, and barrels quick and efficient.

As motor trucks gradually replaced horse-drawn transport, railways continued to play a central role in the distribution of goods during this period of transition.

The second photograph shows Tom Scott loading apples from his flatbed wagon at Capel Railway Station, c. 1930.

📸Shire of Capel – Ron Maidment Archive Rooms
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Photograph donated by Pat Sharpe

07/05/2026

𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐝𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬!
We’re delighted to welcome Jordan Lavers to the Ron Maidment Archives, working alongside Laura Hendrick to support our local history services.
With Jordan joining the team, the Ron Maidment Archives is now open to the public 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟭𝟬𝗮𝗺–𝟰𝗽𝗺. Whether you’re researching family history, local stories, or community records, our team is more than happy to help with your enquiries.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 9727 0290
You can also keep up with what’s happening on the Shire of Capel Libraries page: https://www.facebook.com/capellibraries
𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒆𝒘𝒔!
We’ll soon be launching a dedicated online site for our digitised collections via Recollect, making local history even more accessible — stay tuned!
We look forward to seeing you at the archives.

01/05/2026

FRIDAY FLASHBACK – Was there a ‘Green Patch’ in Boyanup too? 📸🌱🐑

It was, and still is, a common practice to name paddocks in regional Western Australia.

Do you know any local paddock names in the Shire of Capel?

Photograph shows Fred Harewood (1916 – 2001) and son Bevan Harewood in the process of spraying sheep. The photo was taken at the northeast corner of a paddock known as 'Green Patch', attributed to Boyanup, sometime between 1962 and 1964.

Jack Money of South Bunbury owned the land before World War II and sold it to Arthur Trigwell after the war. He had a small cabin at the end of Harewoods Road next to the end of Muddy Lake where he spent his weekdays clearing by hand.

Trigwell farm was on Boundary Road between Lowrie Road and Norman Road, Boyanup. Harewood's dairy farm was at the end of Norman Road, Boyanup. Fred Harewood married Patricia Trigwell, daughter of Arthur Trigwell, on the 23rd of September 1938.

Fred bought the property from his father-in-law, Arthur, in the mid 50's and acquired 900 acres of land alongside the western boundary to the beach. The block included Withers in the north, Dalyellup, and south to Billy Scott's farm.

In the 20th century, Dalyellup was also used as cattle run and for grazing between Bunbury and Stratham. If you have any information on, or photographs of, Dalyellup before development, please contact the Ron Maidment Archives Room.

📸 Shire of Capel – Ron Maidment Archive Rooms
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Photograph donated by Rodney Harewood

30/04/2026

06/02/2026

FRIDAY FLASHBACK
Henry Turner's Butchers Shop, Forest Road, Capel c1920. Note man in foreground. We now know the young man in the photo is Vic Vickery from Elgin. His sister Lily married Jamesie Turner in 1936.