Kojonup Memorial Hall mural honours wartime stories and local sacrifice as town celebrate hall’s centenary

A century of Kojonup’s history is now proudly displayed on the walls of its Memorial Hall, with a striking new mural honouring the town’s wartime connections.

The big mural was unveiled as part of Kojonup Memorial Hall’s 100th anniversary celebrations on Saturday, depicting the impact of World War I on local families, soldiers and nurses.

Mural artist Patrycja Hannagan said the project came about after she stopped in Kojonup for a coffee while travelling around Australia.

After chatting with locals, Hannagan was contacted a year later and asked to create the mural as part of the hall’s centenary celebrations.

“The town put money together for the mural themselves and they raised it very fast,” she said.

Hannagan, who has been a mural artist for about five years, said the design process was one of the most challenging parts of the project.

“The design took longer than the installation because there were so many pieces that needed to be fitted in without making it too violent or making it too much about the helicopters,” she said.

“I really had to think how to depict scenes that would generate the right emotions in people.”

Hannagan said the mural aimed to recognise the different roles people from Kojonup played in the military.

“The train is in the middle because it used to take soldiers in and out of Kojonup during both wars and then there is a great depiction of the core roles that people in Kojonup had in the military through both the wars,” she said.

While researching and designing the mural, Hannagan said she was struck by how relevant many of the emotions depicted remained today.

“While I was painting and sourcing all the imagery and doing the design composition it really hit me that there are so many wars happening right now,” she said.

“Those feelings I’m trying to encapsulate are still very valid these days and that was a bit of a heavy feeling when you paint a mural.”

The mural was not without its challenges with poor weather and the location of the wall making the painting process difficult.

“We had some horrible weather to start with and the wall is fully in the shade and due to the windows dripping I couldn’t start painting until like 9 or 10am and I would paint into the night,” Hannagan said.

However, the support she received from the Kojonup community helped make the experience a positive one.

“What made it better is meeting all the people in town that would come and share their stories and connections and their memories of their grandparents or photos or stories which made me feel very supported while painting despite all the emotions behind it,” she said.

Despite the long hours and emotional weight of the project, Hannagan said she was grateful to have been chosen to create a lasting tribute for the community.

“I feel very privileged that they wanted to work with me.”