Oral history kit : Rosabel Scott 2002

Mrs Scott talks about growing up in a village in Scotland and after her marriage in 1951 migrating to Australia with her parents in law. She mentions her first impressions of Fremantle and Perth and the displays of products in shops which were still rationed in Britain. Mrs Scott’s parents in law bought a house in Armadale while she and her husband Bill bought a house in Gosnells. Mrs Scott gives her impressions of Armadale and Gosnells in 1952 as well as talking about local identities.

Tape two starts off with Mrs Scott discussing the community makeup of Gosnells and the close knit atmosphere. She discusses her involvement with Gosnells Primary School when her two sons attended. Mrs Scott was also involved the library at Gosnells Primary School and later established the library at Wirrabirra Primary School. She also mentions working at the Gosnells Library in 1971. The move of the library into the church and the building of the Civic Centre were discussed as well as community events held there. Mrs Scott mentions the changes in Gosnells from a rural area due to the increase in housing developments, and new buildings along Albany Highway.

Tape three continues the discussion about the Gosnells library moving into the Catholic Church in 1980. At that time Gosnells was growing and so there was a need to expand the library. She mentions moving the library stock into the building, how it was set up and some of the customers. Mrs Scott talks about some of the activities held in the library and the meetings and guest speakers of the Gosnells Historical Society. She was involved with the school groups at Wilkinson Homestead, which is now the museum, which was run by the Historical Society. As the activities became more popular, other people would show other crafts such as knitting or pottery. The tape ends by Mrs Scott talking about the change in Gosnells Council from a town to a city.

Tape four begins with Mrs Scott discussing how the changes in Gosnells have affected the area either positively or negatively. She then discusses the day of her retirement in 1985. After her retirement Mrs Scott spent time being involved with the Addie Mills Centre. She and her husband moved back to Scotland for three years, then returned to Perth but didn’t want to move back to Gosnells as it was too big.