Manjimup residents reminisce on town history during WA Seniors Week event

Memories many thought were lost to time resurfaced during Manjimup’s Seniors Week celebrations earlier this month. Manjimup seniors came together for Historical Walk: Tales of Manjimup’s Yesteryears at the Manjimup Heritage Park on November 14 where many found themselves becoming storytellers. The event included a guided tour through Manjimup’s Historical Society’s History House with Manjimup’s Historical Society president Ian Wilson leading the charge. Mr Wilson said the key message he wished to impart was “everyone’s story is important”. “People have lived important lives, they just don’t realise it,” he said. “Something that is meaningful to you can, over time, become meaningful to other people.” During the event, rumours of a time capsule located in the cairn at the old Balbarrup post office site resurfaced which encouraged others to recall their own long-forgotten memories. Knowledge of the steam display located in the Heritage Park — donated by Bunnings in 1986 to celebrate the centenary of the purchase of Arthur and Robert Bunning’s first sawmill in WA — was shared and remembered. So too was Balbarrup having the first school bus in Western Australia which ferried children from the area into Manjimup. The event — sponsored by the Western Australian Council on the Ageing and the Manjimup Community Resource Centre — was one of many happening Statewide, intended to celebrate WA Seniors Week. Manjimup CRC centre manager Jennifer Ross said the event “was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate our community’s rich history and the contributions of our seniors”. “Guided by local historian Ian Wilson, the event brought people together to connect, share stories and reflect on the heritage that has shaped Manjimup, in the grounds of our beautiful Heritage Park,” she said.