Published on Tuesday, 7 July 2020 at 9:57:36 AM

Do you remember John Allan’s supermarket? A time when milk cost 19 cents or when big red public telephones sat atop hall stands at the local shops?

Hawaiian and the City of Vincent have funded community group the Mount Hawthorn Hub and local artist Caroline Di Costa as she steps back in time and takes a view of Mt Hawthorn through a looking glass. In her Something Old – Something New project, Di Costa has created a visual Heritage Trail where people can wander the suburb and learn about its social and cultural history from the art boards.

The latest of Di Costa’s art pieces has been installed at Hawaiian’s Mezz and looks at the rise of the supermarket in the suburb. Located in the Laneway area at Hawaiian’s Mezz, the artboard includes historical information and photos, many sourced with the help of the City of Vincent’s Local History Centre.

“It’s like looking through a looking glass back in time,” Di Costa explains. “It’s the pieces of a puzzle and they fit together to show us our history and explain how we got to where we are now.”

City of Vincent Mayor Emma Cole said people in the Mt Hawthorn community were deeply interested in and proud of their suburb and the artboards were a great way to celebrate the area, while exploring it.

“We love it because it tells the story of the area and this is so important to the people who live and work in Mt Hawthorn and surrounding areas,” Mayor Cole said.

For Caroline Di Costa, she hopes the art boards become a talking point among residents; old and new.

“It is very visual and it is also story telling, so I would love it if Grandparents would bring their grandkids here and talk about what it was like back then,” she says.

Already four Heritage Art Trail panels have been installed and the Mount Hawthorn Community Hub hopes to install more in the future.

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