Mick Michael Reserve

Statement of Significance

Mick Michael Reserve commemorates the achievements of one of the district’s best known immigrants, who became Lord Mayor of Perth in the mid 1980s. The Royal Park Bowling Club was a notable social institution in the district for several generations. Its fine Post War Functionalist building has been sympathetically adapted for community purposes, complemented by the conversion of the bowling greens into a community park.

Physical Description

The former bowling club is a part single and part double storey building with a low pitched gable roof above highlight windows. Sets of French doors open onto the verandahs along both long sides of the building. The former bowling club has recently been sympathetically and handsomely adapted for use as a community facility. The former grounds of the bowling club have been converted into an attractive park with extensive lawns and semi mature trees, together with paths and cycleways which link the resurgent residential area to the east and south of the Reserve to the facilities of Beatty Park and Charles Veryard Reserve. Flat manicured lawns and semi mature tree plantings Various internal

History

The building is the former home of the Royal Park Bowling Club, which was an important social institution in the West Perth area. The land which was developed as a club house and bowling greens in 1965, was known as Royal Park until the club closed on 30 June 1997. It was proposed in 2000 that Royal Park became part of the Vincent Greenway. This was a 2 - 5 kilometre green partkway linking seven parks in the Town of Vincent, which follow a valley formally occupied by lakes in the Claisebrook Catchment area. The lakes were gradually altered, commencing with the drainage of Lake Henderson (Roberston Park) in 1873 through to the 1970's draining of Smith's Lake. The closure of the bowling club made it possible to link the adjacent Mick Michael Park with Beatty Park. Mick Michael is a well known businessman and a prominent member of the local Greek community, whose family resided in the area. Like many of the area's residents, Mr Michael was of Greek origin from the island of Kastelorizo (Megisti), Greece. He was Lord Mayor of the City of Perth from 1982 to 1988 and this brother, Dr Ken Michael AC, is the current Governor of Western Australia (2007).

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