A former State Government building in Meekatharra has been approved for entry in the State Register of Heritage Places.
The Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage said the Bundi Club had been established in the building in 1963, providing a centre for social, welfare, educational opportunities and support for local Aboriginal people.
It had also housed an office of Legal Aid.
In a statement, the Department said the Bundi Club was founded through the work of Avy Curley, a prominent local Aboriginal activist and community leader responsible for considerable advances in the welfare of Aboriginal people.
“However, the club played a more symbolic role in Aboriginal history in 1944 as the location where local Aboriginal people relinquished their traditional cultural ties in order to gain Australian citizenship rights,” the Department said.
The Department said the building was originally constructed in 1911 under the direction of the Chief Architect of the Public Works Department for use as a Courthouse and Mining Registrar’s Office.
“It demonstrated the early development of Government infrastructure in a small Mid-West settlement and is one of only a few Courthouses and Mining Registrar’s Offices dating from the early 20th century,” it said.
“It received interim registration in 1992 and is one of many unique heritage places that have been finalised in accordance with the Heritage Act 2018.”
Minister for Heritage, David Templeman said the building was the only one in the region, excluding places of worship, where both Aboriginal and mixed social and community gatherings took place over 30 years, from the early 1960s until the mid-1990s.
“Although in poor condition, the Bundi Club has the potential to be conserved so that it can continue to serve the community,” Mr Templeman said.
