Lady Lawley Cottage by the Sea

Lady Lawley Cottage by the Sea was established in Cottesloe in 1903 to provide respite and convalescent care for sick and recovering children, and care for children with disabilities. These children were placed in the Cottage either by their families or by welfare authorities. The Cottage was run by an independent management committee until 1945 when the Australian Red Cross Society took over management. After a period of offering non-residential services, the Cottage was closed in 2020.

Kevin Casey writes in his history of the Cottage, that the Home was named after the wife of the Governor of Western Australia (1901-1902) and opened on 18 March 1903 (Casey, pp.3-6). It was run by an independent management committee and sought and received donations and support from the public. Parents or guardians ‘were expected to contribute seven shillings per week’ (Casey, p.6).

A letter of appreciation of the The Daily News Orphans’ Christmas Cheer Fund in 1915 gives an insight into life at the Lady Lawley Cottage, and shows that donations provided occasional treats:

It was with very great pleasure I received £3 15s. Towards the Christmas cheer for our little patients..we thought by having a Christmas tree it would give pleasure to all…the Christmas tree, being erected in the centre of the ward, looked very attractive laden with toys of every description. Later on there were picnics to Mosman’s Bay and Peppermint Grove, where boats were hired, and they went out crabbing, also went to Cottesloe, where they had a good time in the swinging boats, etc. Thanking all those…giving these little sufferers and the more healthy ones this happy Christmas. Letter, 31 January 1916 published in The Daily News 2 December 1916, p.10

Casey (pp.33-34, 36, 40) writes that Lady Lawley Cottage was evacuated in March 1942 and the children were either sent home or to the Perth Children’s Hospital (later the Princess Margaret). The property was leased to the defence forces, and from March 1944 the Red Cross used it as a convalescent home for servicewomen, when it was known as the John Nicholson Convalescent Home. Lady Lawley’s management committee formally handed over the Cottage to the control of the Red Cross in December 1944, on the understanding that ‘as soon as possible after the war, the Home be re-opened for convalescent and crippled children’ (de Ruyter, 1970, p.28). Children were re-admitted from January 1946.

Child welfare authorities continued to place children at the Cottage. Children who were in out of home care often went there to convalesce after treatment in the hospital.

In 2014, Lady Lawley Cottage no longer provided permanent residential placements.

In 2020, the Red Cross announced that Lady Lawley would close by the end of the year.