Joe Bavich has been around the block a few times.
Having moved with his family to Armadale in 1931, Mr Bavich has a few things to say about how the area has changed in the past 86 years.
When his family of eight moved to the area, a home cost £200 to build and rates were £1 a year.
“It was rural, it was all rural,” he said.
“The shops in Armadale, in Jull Street, had veranda posts with big rings on them to tie up your horse and cart.”
Mr Bavich is no stranger around Armadale: he has been a member of the Armadale Football Club for 70 years, worked as a vegetable salesman for decades and has been with the Rotary Club for 43 years.
As a boy he delivered letters to houses by bicycle, working every day he could from 14 to 16-years-old and as a vegetable salesman he took only one week off in 50 years – to go on his honeymoon.
“People were tough in those days,” he said.
“My dad didn’t go to the doctor until he was 91-years-old.
“Now once you go to a doctor they put you onto a computer and you have to go back in two weeks or a month.”
A lot has changed since Mr Bavich’s family moved into the area, only six years after power lines were first connected to Armadale.
Araluen opened the year they moved and Canning Dam was built with his father’s hands; there are now libraries, schools, community pools and shopping centres.
Around 3000 people lived in the area when his family built their house – it now has more than 90,000 residents and is expected to reach 145,000 within 20 years.
In order to celebrate pioneers like Mr Bavich, the City of Armadale is hosting an event next month and is inviting Armadale pioneers to join.
All residents of 50 years or more are being invited to attend its annual Pioneers’ Reunion, which will provide the chance to recognise the achievements of long-term residents, people the city said were instrumental in making the area what it has become.
Mayor Henry Zelones said getting the area’s oldest residents together was not just a chance to reflect on their past, but to talk about what Armadale was and what it has become.
“The reunion provides an occasion for the attendees to reconnect with people from years ago – it might be your old neighbours or friends from your community, or fellow members of sporting groups, that you’ve lost touch with over the years,” he said.
“By reflecting on the past, we get the opportunity to remind ourselves that while the city is continuing to grow and develop, we should also remember the hard work and the sacrifices of our early pioneers.
“Our long-time residents have witnessed many significant changes to the Armadale City Centre and surrounding districts and extensive residential growth throughout the city over the years.”
Residents who have lived in the area for 50 years or more should have received a personal invitation, but if they have not they can contact the mayor’s office on 9394 5639.
The Pioneer’s Reunion will be held at Kelmscott Hall on River Road on October 7 from 2pm.
