Residents of Perth’s most exclusive suburb are in line to get their very own special day on the calendar, called Peppermint Grove Day.
In a move clearly aimed at relieving Change The Date pressure on the local government, the Shire of Peppermint Grove is contemplating a biennial community celebration in place of its Australia Day activities.
The new event would to be held every second year on October 4 in a nod to the date that the Shire was originally gazetted in 1895 as the Peppermint Grove Roads Board.
It would feature an array of events including those typically held on or around Australia Day, such as a citizenship ceremony and awards for the shire’s top citizens.
The October timing also presents an opportunity to recognise any outgoing or newly elected councillors, according to a shire document.
Australia Day continues to be a divisive issue, with Indigenous Australians holding “Invasion Day” rallies on January 26 and non-Indigenous Australians — and corporations — increasingly ditching jingoistic celebrations involving Australian flags, the boxing kangaroo and cork hats for a more muted marking of the day Australia was colonised.
In January, Reconciliation WA co-chair and Bardi and Yawuru man Nolan Hunter said councils were “seeing this as an opportunity to show respect by shifting the citizenship ceremonies to a different day”.
At least a dozen Perth councils elected not to hold citizenship ceremonies on January 26 this year while more local governments chose to downgrade or cancel their Australia Day celebrations.
This year there were no organised celebrations on January 26 in Peppermint Grove, but a combined citizenship ceremony was held with the neighbouring Town of Cottesloe and Town of Mosman Park on January 27.
Presuming Peppermint Grove Day is ratified when the shire council meets next Tuesday, it will mark the most distinct change of approach to what has been done in the past.
The three small neighbouring councils have for many years held a combined Australia Day community celebration.
A shire document this week confirmed that collaboration was over and suggested a standalone event would be better for Peppermint Grove locals.
“As there were three local governments involved and the attendance of shire community members were lost in the larger populations for the other two local governments, it is considered that there is a better opportunity for the shire to host a celebration,” the document read.
“The logic of holding the event every two years is to link it into the shire election cycle and to recognise outgoing elected members.”
Peppermint Grove graduated from a roads board to a shire in 1960, and remains the smallest local government area across Australia with only about 1500 residents.
The celebration would also hone in on the history of the affluent suburb, giving new and old residents a chance to learn about its rich history that helped lay the foundation to become one of the country’s — and certainly Perth’s — most expensive areas.