Honouring migrants

The South West Migrant Memorial is complete after 10 years of work, with people coming from far and wide over the weekend to find their family name on the installation.

Project manager Charlie Martella said there were about 550 names on the plaques from families across the South West, Perth, Peel and Great Southern regions.

“We’ve 15 nationalities represented in here and we specifically targeted people from non-English speaking countries who came here,” Mr Martella said.

He said the memorial offered recognition to the people who missed out on a mention in the history books, such as Mr Martella’s family.

“My father came out here in 1927 and they lived a tough life,” he said.

“In history books and everything else they’re not recognised and by doing something like this we’re recognising the sacrifice they went through.”

A Bunbury resident of 44 years, Mr Martella said he had been touched by the response, particularly from seniors who came out to find their names on the memorial.

Mr Martella said he was proud of the committee who pulled off the project without outside funding, relying on initial capital and the plaque sales.