ORAL HISTORY (AUDIO): EDWARDS, GEORGE OSWELL 'OSSIE'

Born in England in 1916, Ossie Edwards would come to Australia as a child and be brought up in the south west of Western Australia. He talks of his education and early career including his experiences of his time of employment in the Kalgoorlie council prior to coming to work for the City of Subiaco in 1961. Ossie, would be employed as the Town Clerk of the City, a position that he held until 1966. The interview focuses on his experiences of working for the City of Subiaco as town clerk and he looks at some of the many changes that he has seen over the years, some that he has been responsible for implementing. His first duty as town clerk was to clean up Shenton Park Lake - Jualbup Lake - which at the time was a fenced off area of swampland. He talks of the process of how he changed the lake from a rubbish tip into its current state. Ossie speaks at length of his extensive involvement in the changes taking place in the City of Subiaco between 1961-1966 and includes his recollections of the changes made to Kitchener Park, the Subiaco Football Oval and Rosalie Park. He recalls the council and looks at the working of the ‘team’ and the sense of community that he experienced in the council and the city during his time. He recalls the conditions that he faced on his arrival to the City of Subiaco and talks of the maintenance of roads and the alterations to sporting facilities in the community that he undertook. He looks at the city as he sees it today and what it was like at the time of his leaving to work for the City of Perth in 1966. The interview was undertaken by WJE Bannister in 2008 and there are 2 CDs

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