A Willetton seniors club is preparing to celebrate 40 years of community connection, while calling on locals to help piece together its history.
The Herald Avenue Senior Citizens’ Club will mark its 40th anniversary on July 4, 2026, and is inviting descendants of its founding members, along with anyone who has photos or stories from its early years, to come forward.
“Our Club was officially opened in July 1986,” president Stella Short said.
Ms Short said the club was established after six years of lobbying governments and local councils to show the need for a dedicated space for older residents south of the Canning River.
Originally known as the Senior Citizen South of the Canning River Centre, she said the push for the facility was led by Axel Kruse.
She said a frail aged day care service operated at the site when it first opened and remained there for nine years before moving to new premises on High Road.
Some services introduced in those early years, including a hairdresser and podiatrist, are still available today.
Ms Short said the club now has close to 800 members and runs about 15 activities each week.
These include keep fit classes, yoga and chair yoga, line dancing, art, knitting and crocheting, sequence dancing, mahjong, and table tennis, along with smaller group activities such as darts, guitar, skiffle music, and board and card games.
She said the club is open five days a week from 8.30am to 3.30pm for people aged over 55, with a small yearly membership fee.
Eight members have remained actively involved for more than 30 years.
“Our intention in holding the 40th Anniversary is to honour the early members and also to show the diversity within our present membership,” Ms Short said.
She said members will be encouraged to wear national costumes, with dancing and cuisine from various regions, and historical photos will be displayed in a decade-by-decade format.
The club is now asking community members who may have connections to its founding members, or who hold photographs or records from its early years, to get in touch.
