Bridgetown town hall to have historical initials reinstated after renovation of stonework removes pointing

The historical initials of builder and Bridgetown resident Ken Moyes will be reinstated to the Bridgetown Town Hall, after maintenance to the brick work caused the initials to be removed when the rock work had to be taken back for remortaring. The initials were initially set into the stonework of the building in 1931 by Ken Moyes and his labourer Ken Smith during the rendering and pointing of the building, while the hall was opened in 1936. Mr Moyes worked as a mason for the firm William Moyes and Son, a business that included his father William and his brothers Carl, Irving and Dick, and then fought in World War II as a part of the Royal Australian Engineers, where he was later captured during the fall of Singapore in 1942. He was then forced to work on the Thai Burma Railway, dying in 1943 while a prisoner of war. Bridgetown-Greenbushes shire president Jenny Mountford brought a motion to allow the reinstatement forward to the latest council meeting, where the significance of the initials was noted. William Moyes, a relative of Ken Moyes, was able to give a presentation on Ken Moyes’ life and the history of his work, and why it was significant to the building, to his relatives and the Bridgetown community. The council motion noted William had expressed concern to the CEO that the initials had been removed. He then expressed concerns to the Heritage Council when he felt uncertain about the status of the initials remaining during the renovation of the building. “The stonemason said the white lines were not going to go back on the building, so then I called Steven Carrick from the Heritage Council and asked him if they were going to stay, and he said that it wasn’t right for it to not be on there,” he said. “It would’ve been nice to leave the original bit and go over it so then it didn’t have to be removed.” The council voted to reinstate the initials, with all but councillor Tony Pratico, voting in favour. Cr Mountford noted the cultural and historical significance of the initials, in terms of the history of the building and both Ken Moyes’ work on the building and as a member of the Bridgetown community. “The motion was about how they were going to appear, as council took the view that it could be done and they wanted it to be done,” she said. “In addition to that, the building and the stonework with the initials are to be put on the historical register and to be made aware of their significance to the Historical Society.” Copies of the photos of the initials engraved in the stonework are to be sent to the Bridgetown Historical Society for their archives, as well having a copy kept by the shire to be preserved for any heritage surveys, according to Cr Mountford. “We’re also considering including Ken Moyes as a character for the ghost walks and have one of the tour stops be at the building where his initials will be,” she said. “I think history is more than buildings, its the people behind them, and these initials are definitely a gift from the past and should be honoured.” Mr Moyes said the historical significance of those initials come from the context of the time those initials were done in and Ken Moyes’ significance as a figure from the Bridgetown area. “It was different back then, it was super intensive and there was no running water and electricity, a very different method of building,” he said. “Ken rendered the building with one other labourer and one tradesman, with cement, which was a huge effort with a two-part process.” He also said the initials were a “hidden gem” for those visiting and wanting to know about Bridgetown’s history. “It’s important that people know about it, because it was a hidden and discreet secret, and these are the little things that make the cultural fabric of the town. “It wasn’t anything the family needed to have public but more as a cultural thing for locals to know, which is why it’s important that we preserve the heritage and culture of all the town.”