Waldeck Street
Private property. Please view from the street.
The original rear section of the building was probably built by a member of the Criddle family in the 1850s. Around 1880 Francis Pearse purchased the property and the front rooms were added, and it then became the home of Alexander Forrest, the first miller at the nearby flour mill. Subsequent owners of this lovely house have extended it since. At one stage it belonged to William Bedford Mitchell, the manager of the Royal Steam Roller Flour Mill, who was married to the mill owner’s daughter, Frances Priscilla Pearse. Sir James Mitchell, a premier of WA, was WB Mitchell’s brother. In about 1899 the Nairn sisters used the two front rooms as a private girls’ school. In 1901 the Dominican Sisters occupied the house for six months before moving to ‘Six Chimneys’. The Bungalow became the home of Isabella Waldeck and her daughters in 1902 after she retired from Bonniefield.
Next to The Bungalow were the old Showgrounds which were used each year for the district’s annual agricultural show. The tennis courts were located here and the grounds were also used for cricket and hockey. Dongara had both ladies’ and men’s teams in the early 1900s.
Show Day at the showgrounds, 1912. The Bungalow roof is visible over the crowd on the left. I
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