Published on Friday, 16 April 2021 at 12:00:00 AM
The Bassendean Memorial Rose Garden (1947) is located on the corner of West Road and Old Perth Road, Bassendean in front of the Bassendean Oval Memorial Gates (1929). It was established to honour local service men and women from the district.
The Bassendean memorial rose garden was established c1947 after suggestions by the National Rose Society to plant roses as a memorial to fallen soldiers from World War ll.
This suggestion was adopted by the Bassendean Road Board in April 1946 as the rose garden proposal and by July 1946 the Bassendean rose garden was reported to be planted next year (1947.) In 1947 (September) Polyanthus roses were agreed to be planted on the motion of Messrs. Hatton and Mann.
By 1947 (October) sprinklers were to be established at Bassendean’s memorial rose garden.
Significance
The Bassendean Memorial Rose Garden is a rare example of a metropolitan memorial rose garden, located on a main arterial transport route from Perth to Guildford and prominently on the Bassendean Oval, which is a highly valued community recreation ground. The Bassendean Memorial Rose Garden contributes to the community’s sense of place as a well known landmark at a shopping and recreational precinct.
The district had 810 service personnel (men and women) associated with the WWll. The online Australian nominal roll provides information of those service personnel born and enlisted in Bassendean which numbered 231 as well as those whose residential locality on enlistment was Bassendean who numbered 726.
The Bassendean Memorial Rose Garden predates the Peace Memorial Rose Garden in the City of Nedlands on Stirling Highway (1950) and is a continuous and extant example of a community’s floral war memorial. The Bassendean Memorial Rose Garden demonstrated the historical progression in war commemorations from obelisks to memorial gardens, examples of both memorial types are sited within the Town of Bassendean. The Bassendean Memorial Rose Garden can be understood in context with the Bassendean War Memorial on the B.I.C. Reserve, Bassendean, which originally commemorated WWl and now acknowledges subsequent conflicts.
See the Places of Pride memorial entries for Bassendean, which members of the public are encouraged to contribute to:-
Bassendean Memorial Rose Garden
Bassendean War Memorial
For more information contact the Local Studies Librarian, Bassendean Memorial Library or email [email protected]
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