Published on Saturday, 8 February 2020 at 4:09:20 PM
The City of Vincent is disappointed volunteer group Friends of ANZAC Cottage will no longer be involved with the 104-year old Mount Hawthorn memorial.
The group announced it would be stepping away from its community engagement role at ANZAC Cottage after a breakdown in its relationship with leaseholder Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia (WA).
The City had gone to lengths to try to resolve the issues between the groups and had offered to continue mediation.
It appears the groups can not continue to co-exist, despite the best efforts of the City.
“We have been trying for a long time to help the two groups to work together for the sake of the cottage and our community,” said Mayor Emma Cole.
“ANZAC Cottage is an incredibly important monument and place of remembrance in our community.
“Friends of ANZAC Cottage have done a wonderful job in keeping the story of the cottage alive. We also deeply respect the role of VVAA WA in saving the cottage in the early 1990s.
“It is a priority that this important monument remains open and accessible.”
The community engagement work by Friends of ANZAC Cottage included monthly open days, wartime commemorations and school visits.
The City has been a strong supporter of the group’s work, with Mayor Cole and councillors regularly taking part in services and offering support.
ANZAC Cottage was designed to be used as a memorial for those who lost their lives in the tragic Gallipoli landing and a home for returned wounded soldier Private Cuthbert John Porter.
Members of the Mount Hawthorn community enthusiastically threw their support behind the ambitious project, which was completed in one day on February 12, 1916.
ANZAC Cottage was the first memorial to the Great War in WA and the second memorial in Australia.
VVAA WA took ownership of the rundown cottage in 1991 and spent 10 years restoring it.
Ownership was transferred to the City on the 90th anniversary of the cottage and VVAA WA became long-term leaseholders.
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