In 1899, Lady Anne Lawley, the wife of the Governor of Western Australia, Sir Arthur Lawley, developed a facility that provided care and support to children with special needs both physically and intellectually.
It wasn’t until 1903, when Lady Lawley had returned to the UK, that the facility and service officially commenced at the cottage overlooking the ocean in Cottesloe, now known as Lady Lawley Cottage.
During the war in 1942 the children at Lady Lawley Cottage were evacuated and the facility was used to support the Women’s Land Army / Merchant Navy and provided care for men recovering from war injuries. This is when Australian Red Cross first became involved.
In 1944 the property was deeded to Australian Red Cross on the condition it was returned to its original purpose and in 1946 it was officially commissioned as a nursing home.
In 1956 the school room and play rooms were built along with a matron’s flat and nursing quarters. These and the other add ons were demolished in 2001 to commence a major redevelopment of the facility. The original building was retained and restored and is now heritage listed.
The new facility was completed in July 2002 and the service celebrated the official opening and its Centenary in 2003.
About Us Links
At Lady Lawley Cottage our Mission is to provide a service within the Principles and Philosophy of the Australian Red Cross that can respond to the need for out of home respite care for children with disabilities and/ or chronic medical disorders which impact on the physical and emotional health and well being of the family as a whole.
