Walter Powell was the son of a convict, Edwin Powell, who had been transported to Western Australia in 1866 and made his life in the colony. Walter and his siblings came out to meet their father in the 1880s and established a dynasty of their own.
More about the Coogee Hotel on the Cockburn History site.
In 1898, Walter was an accountant and a storekeeper in Fremantle. He was granted a liquor license for a small hotel opposite Coogee Beach known as Four-mile Well, a property owned by his wife Letitia. He called it Powell’s Coogee Hotel in his promotions, though it was most often simply known as Coogee Hotel.
He immediately set about extending and improving the property and turned the area into a sporting haven and picnic spot, calling it ‘The garden of the West’. It became known as the Honeymoon Hotel, attracting visitors from all over Perth and WA. Local clubs of cricket, hunting, cycling, shooting and horseracing all met at the hotel or stopped for a drink. Powell built a racecourse beside his hotel and set up prizes to encourage local owners to participate.
A picnic at the hotel about 1905 – probably for a sporting event or a local business’s employee picnic
It has been recorded that in the mid-1920s, Powell’s brother-in-law Jock McKinnon opened a small shop and post office in the hotel grounds, but newer research points towards this being incorrect. There were advertisements for the store beginning in 1901, and Walter’s siblings Frederick and Blanche Powell were involved in running the grocery and post office from it between 1901 and the 1920s. Walter’s son George took it over from them, and eventually the McKinnons (Walter’s daughter Lottie and her husband Jock) took it over in the 1930s.
Powell died in 1923, after handing the license over to his son. The license changed hands several times in the next few years, until in 1927 the De-Licensing Board decided there were too many hotels in the area and withdrew the Coogee Hotel liquor license. The hotel was offered for rent as a seaside holiday home the next year.
In 1930 the empty hotel was purchased by the Anglican Church to be a holiday home for their orphans, used only during the summer months. In 1946, fearing it would be overtaken by squatters desperate for housing in a post-war shortage, they renovated it and opened a permanent home there.
Orphan boys unloading truck, Coogee 1940s
Orphans and staff having a bbq out the back of Seaside House, 1948
The house remained an orphanage until 1968, when Main Roads announced it was resuming the land to build a high-capacity road to Rockingham and the building would be demolished. The orphans moved out, but the Hotel was not knocked down, instead becoming headquarters for the Coogee Progress Association and various other offices.
A north wing was added in the 1990s and the site was heritage listed in 2001. It was owned by Main Roads until 2017, when it was sold to the restaurateur and property investors who founded Little Creatures Brewery. They renovated the hotel extensively, removing some of the 1990s additions and ensuring its heritage character was kept. Their plans to turn it into a self-sufficient restaurant surrounded by vegetable gardens will be complete in late 2019.
Thank you for the blog. Our work team stopped at the cottage next door to do some work. Having driven past the hotel numerous times and been interested in the property, it was good to satisfy my curiosity.
It is a beautiful property and deserves to be re-utilized
. Ian
Thanks Ian! There really is quite a bit of history to this place, and I enjoyed digging into it for this post. I would love to see the old hotel reused for a new generation of people to enjoy, particularly as it’s so close to Coogee Beach.
Leah,
I have been researching the Powell family for over a year now as my cousin’s husband was Frank Powell and her identical twin sister is married to Graeme Gibbs whose mother was Myrtle J Powell. Both link to Frank W Powell who was the son of Walter Powell.
Walter was the son of Edwin Henry Powell who arrived in Fremantle on the Norwood 13 July 1867 as a convict (15 years for forgery, had already served a 4 year sentence in 1858 for the same offence).
Edwin received conditional release in December 1877 and died in Fremantle May 1898.
Edwin’s children Walter (with wife Charlotte and son Walter R) and Blanche arrived on the Fitzroy in Fremantle in 1882. Frederick arrived either in 1875 or 1882 and Kate (Katie) with her husband Daniel Arnold in 1883.
There are links to other families in the Cockburn area such a San Miguel and Postans.
On a final note, Edwin’s father Thomas was a publican!
Thank you for this information Gary. My grandfather was Henry Walter Powell who was a son of Walter.
I went to Richmond Primary School in the 60’s and the father friend of mine, Doug Booth, was General Manager of the Robbs Jetty Abattoir. His company was a benefactor of the orphanage and I remember going to a picnic at the old hotel without ever knowing the link to my own family.
There has been a body of work done on the de san Miguel side of the family but I have not had the chance as yet to follow up on the Powells. It would be appreciated if you could direct me to any sources of information because, as you no doubt know, families do disperse over time.
Gary
If you have any photo’s or additional information, I would really appreciate your response.
Regards
Julie Hoult
Hi to everyone who has posted a comment and thank you Leah for this wonderful piece of history.
Walter Powell is my Great Great, Grandfather, Lotti Powell being my Great Grandmother.
My father has memories of playing with the orphans when he visited Nanna McKinnon and Jock (Jock was her second husband) Her first husband was a market gardener, who passed away at an early age.
He too remembers Nanna McKinnon working as postmistress in the Coogee store.
I would love photo’s of Lotti McKinnon or her mother, Walter’s wife if anyone has any.
I can’t wait to visit the refurbished hotel and will try to make contact with the new owners and thank them for restoring such a beautiful old building.
Thank you for your posts and particularly to Leah for your article,
My Great Great Grandfather was Walter Powell, my Great Grandmother, his daughter Lotti. (Nanna Mckinnon).
My father remembers playing with the orphans when staying with Nanna McKinnon. He also has fond memories of her working in the store and post office.
How thrilled I am to find the hotel being restored. I would love any further information on the Powell family, particularly pictures of Walter and Charlotte, or his daughter Lotti.
Regards
Julie
Hi Julie,
It’s great to hear from more descendants of the Powells, this article seems to be attracting them! I recommend going to the Cockburn History page on the Coogee Hotel for the most complete version of this story, including photos. You can search that site for all the photos held by the library and museum as well.
As far as I know there aren’t any photos of Lottie where she is named, but there are quite a few Powell family wedding photos, and I have to assume she’s in some of them. Maybe you can help point her out!
-Leah