Harpist visit a link to the past

A world-renowned harpist has described seeing her link to Bunbury's history for the first time as a "truly special" experience.

Alice Giles' great-great-great-grandfather is John Wollaston, who was Bunbury's first Anglican archdeacon and built St Mark's Church in Picton in 1842.

Making her first trip to Bunbury, where she performed a harp recital at St Boniface Cathedral, Ms Giles also found time to visit the old church before her performance.

"It's very exciting and something I was really looking forward to," she said.

"I have heard about him for all of my life and read his journals when I was quite young."

Ms Giles had previously only seen photos of the church and was not expecting it to be on a hill.

She also hopes to visit Albany on a future trip to WA, where her ancestor became archdeacon after leaving Bunbury.

Harp Society of WA secretary Helen Punch said the recital, which attracted a crowd of about 80 on April 28, had received positive feedback.

"I thought it was great for Bunbury and there was even a standing ovation at the end," she said.

"Alice was totally professional and it was a really beautiful night."

Ms Giles is based in the Eastern States and has performed with many of the world's leading orchestras, and was also the first harpist to perform at Mawson Station in Antarctica.