Uniform Buttons

W.A. Fire Brigade 1899

In  November 1898 the WA Fire Brigade was formed by government decree, so 1899 was the first year of operation, not the year the button was made.

https://www.ufuofwa.net.au/vault/union-history/

On the Government Uniforms page, there is an example marked 1909. This was the year the  WA Fire Brigade Act was passed into law, and all pre-existing fire brigades came under central control.

W.A. Hospital For Insane

Patients were treated the Fremantle Lunatic Asylum from 1865, and also the Whitby Mental Hospital from 1897. These were described as not fit for purpose, so a new hospital was built in Claremont from 1903/4. The old buildings, from 1975 called Swanboure Hospital, were closed in 1986.

Western Mail (Perth), 3rd February 1906 page 14. The photos below come from an article in the same paper on 24th August 1912 page 6, entitled “How the State Cares for the Afflicted in Mind – The Hospital for the Insane at Claremont”.

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