City of Armadale - History House > Records

COFFIN FRAGMENTS

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c. 1897

Overview

A shard of wood with a white paint pattern helix pattern with a floral design inside the large gaps stencilled along its length.

Historical information

On 12 May 1897 Percy John Saw, age 12, died from tetanus and injuries sustained a few days before when he was thrown from pony and dragged for some distance over rough ground.
A month later on 20 June his 4 month old brother George Saw also passed away.
Both boys were buried together on a plot of land, owned by the Saw family, on the corner of Church Avenue and Third Road in Armadale that in 1903 became the site of the Congregational Church.
In 1987 the Armadale Shopping City purchased the land for a planned expansion. The expansion did not include disturbing the area where the children were buried so they were left in peace. This changed in 2005 when a new expansion was planned. The remains of the two children plus remains of another three children were exhumed and re interned at Kelmscott St Mary's In the Valley cemetery.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-33-COA2018.52

Item type

Furniture

Themes

People
Social History

Material

Wood

Width

62 mm

Height or length

360 mm

Keywords

CHURCH Avenue Armadale

Congregational Church, Armadale

Armadale congregational Church Armadale

SAW Percy John Mr

SAW George

Year

c. 1897

Statement of significance

HIGH
The fragment of coffin was recovered in 2005 when the known remains of Percy John Saw, age 12, and George Saw, age 4 months, were exhumed due to the expansion of the Armadale Shopping City. The two boys would have been two of the earliest burials in what would become known as the town of Armadale. The nearest cemetery was at St Mary's on the Valley in Kelmscott which was a Anglican/Church of England church. The Saws at the time were involved with the Congregational Church.

Comparative significance criteria

Interpretive capacity

Rare or representative

Well provenanced

City of Armadale - History House

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