WA Stories | Perth Symphony Orchestra
WA Stories

Celebrating the rich narratives, diverse voices, and compelling stories that define Western Australia

From the dusty goldfields to the sweeping coastline, from the ancient songlines of the Noongar people to the bustling streets of modern Perth, Western Australia has always been shaped by extraordinary individuals and the stories they carry.

The Series

Every landscape holds a story. Every voice carries a legacy.

WA Stories unfolds across chapters, each one bringing a new collection of Western Australian voices to life through the power of orchestral storytelling.

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Prologue

Before the chapters began, there was a single story that set the tone for everything that followed.

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Kathleen O'Connor
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Kathleen O'Connor

Daughter of the celebrated engineer C.Y. O'Connor, Kathleen left Perth for Paris in 1906 and spent nearly fifty years at the heart of the international art world. She exhibited at the Salon d'Automne, painted alongside Rupert Bunny in the Luxembourg Gardens, and built a career defined by fierce independence and unwavering commitment to her craft. When she finally returned to Western Australia in 1955, she brought with her 200 paintings and a lifetime lived entirely on her own terms.

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Chapter I

Where it all began. The inaugural chapter that set the stage for a new way of telling Western Australian stories through symphony.

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Bishop Rosendo Salvado
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Bishop Rosendo Salvado

A tribute to a man who was years ahead of his time in his approach to preserving and celebrating local culture and language. Charting his journey from Spain to Australia, his establishment of New Norcia, the challenges of life in nineteenth-century Western Australia, and his close relationship with the Yued people.

Lucette Aldous
02

Lucette Aldous

One of Australia's greatest prima ballerinas and a Companion of the Order of Australia. From Perth to the Royal Ballet and a legendary partnership with Rudolf Nureyev, Aldous dazzled the world before returning to WA to shape generations of dancers at WAAPA.

Albert Facey
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Albert Facey

The self-taught author of A Fortunate Life, one of Australia's most beloved memoirs. Born into hardship in rural WA, Facey survived Gallipoli, the Depression, and a lifetime of adversity, yet called his extraordinary journey a fortunate one.

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Chapter II

Building on the foundation, the second chapter deepened the conversation and broadened the voices brought to the stage.

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Edith Dircksey Cowan
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Edith Dircksey Cowan

A trailblazer in every sense. In 1921, Edith Cowan became the first woman elected to an Australian parliament. A fierce campaigner for women's rights, child welfare, and education, her legacy is etched into the fabric of Western Australia and the nation's $50 note.

Richard Walley
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Richard Walley

A proud Noongar elder, performer, and cultural leader. Richard Walley has spent a lifetime bridging cultures through storytelling, ceremony, and the arts, and is one of Australia's most respected voices on Aboriginal heritage and reconciliation.

Jon Sanders
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Jon Sanders

Perth's own record-breaking solo sailor. In 1988, Jon Sanders completed a triple non-stop circumnavigation of the globe aboard Parry Endeavour, covering 71,000 nautical miles over 658 days at sea. He has since completed eleven circumnavigations.

III

Chapter III

The next instalment of WA Stories is on its way. New voices. New narratives. Same fearless spirit.

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Perth Symphony Orchestra acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land in which we live, work and play. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and future.