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An original water colour by cartoonist Lionel Coventry has been unearthed and is on public display as part of History Month.
The original artwork is owned by the Whyalla City Council and will be on display at the Mt Laura Homestead Museum during its Civic History pop-up display, May 7-20.
Council’s compliance officer Paul Mazourek prepared the cartoon which shows a unique part of Whyalla’s history.
“The cartoon is actually of the first members of the Town Commission – or the first governing body,” said Mr Mazourek.
Background
Between 1938 and 1944, BHP Ltd planned and built a model industrial town in then expanding settlement of Whyalla. Nearly 7,000 new citizens arrived in the town and had been settled, housed, and supplied with the primary amenities – water, electricity, and perishable foods, medical and educational facilities. Apart from its manufacturing units, BHP Ltd constructed all the houses as well.
In 1944, the South Australian Government issued Act No. 32 – An Act to provide for the establishment of a representative local governing body for the Town of Whyalla. The Company rule ended by January 1945 and was replaced by the Town Commission. The first members of the Whyalla Town Commission were: R.R.Loveday, L.R. Townsend, T. Walsh, C.L.Ryan (Chairman), A.D.Williams, C.S.Lewthwaite, J.M.Jackson.
The Town Commission governed Whyalla successfully until 1970, when it was replaced by the Local Government body – The Corporation of the City of Whyalla.
