Description
30 cm x 30 cm
Acrylic on canvas
In 1913 Dawe decided to build a new fish canning factory on the shores of the more remote Harvey Estuary where he constructed a homestead named Allandale, which incorporated a fish canning facility located in a weatherboard and corrugated iron structure on the waterline of the estuary. It was a family business in which Louis’s wife Emma and their five sons all contributed.
However fish stocks were a dwindling resource and competition from cheaper overseas suppliers meant that, by 1930, fish canning was no longer a viable local industry.
Fortunately, during World War Two, the Allandale cannery had a brief burst of activity when Reg Dawe, one of Louis and his wife Emma’s five sons, was manpowered to can fish for the Australian Army. In the post war years Reg canned fish to sell locally until the early 1970s before the factory gradually became unsafe and collapsed in 1976.
The contribution of the Dawe family to the Mandurah area was recognised by the local council in 1980 by naming the locality in which Allandale Homestead is situated Dawesville.
Trevor Blyth Artwork – Cannery Jetty
Created for Black Stump Gallery Mandurah’s Exhibition – Wander – a multi-artist mini works showcase of 30cm x 30cm paintings by WA artists from Fri 24 November to Fri 22 December 2023. Cannery Jetty, an original acrylic painting on stretched canvas is priced at $285.
