VASE, SILVER - KANGAROO DECORATION
Conical shaped tube with a short waisted section attached to the base. It flares out at the top where the lip has been folded upward in six places.
The base has three arms radiating from the centre with the feet rolled under. A small model of a kangaroo is fixed to one of the arms.
This vase was owned by William Lambden Owen and his wife Edith when they lived at their property Minnawarra, formerly Brookside, in Armadale. William purchased an orchard neighbouring the Brookside property in the mid-1890s. He and Edith then purchased Brookside from the Jull family, who they were friends with in 1913 and stayed at the house when on holiday until Owen's retirement. During his time owning the orchard and later retiring to Armadale, Owen along with Martin Jull donated land for the Armadale Mechanics Institute on Jull Street in 1897.
William was born in Lincolnshire, England, on February 1861 and arrived in Albany in 1886 and the following year joined the Western Australian public service. In 1891 he married Edith Stewart Gordon.
William had a long and varied career that took him all over Western Australia. He worked as an engineer, gold warden, magistrate and chair of the State Licensing Court. In 1926 he retired from the public service and he and Edith moved permanently to Armadale and Minnawarra. During this time he wrote Cossack Gold about his life in Western Australia. Owen was also a Warden at St. Matthew's Church in Armadale and was elected to the Armadale Kelmscott Road Board between 1928-1931. As an engineer he worked with C.Y. O'Connor as well as surveying the route for the Perth to Midland railway line and the location of the Midland station.
In 1935 Owen sold the majority of the orchard to Tom Billings, only keeping the house and surrounding grounds.
Owen died in 1946, age 85 at Minnawarra. He was cremated and his ashes interned at the Karrakatta Crematorium. The Reverend A. Berry from St. Matthew's Church in Armadale assisted at the funeral service.
Edith continued to live at Minnawarra and passed away in 1947 age 96.
Details
Details
Text one [E P N S *] two [MADE IN ENGLAND] three [ALCONPLATE Co]
This object is part of a collection of items associated with a person or family who have played a significant role in the economic, community or social development of the City of Armadale. This can include holding key political or social positions within the community, being a key contributor or member of a community organisation, a strong contributor to improving the well-being of the local community, a prominent figure in a local business or industry, developer of new industries or activities or someone who grew up in the area and moved away and had a noteworthy career or life.
