Unquestionably the accidental discovery of the unmarked grave of co-designer of the Australian National Flag, Annie Whistler Dorrington, in Karrakatta Cemetery has been a highlight of 1998/9 for ANFA (WA). Half a year later, she now lies beneath a handsome monument befitting a woman who contributed much to our Australian heritage.
Annie was born in 1866, the daughter of Richard and Sarah Whistler of Foliejon Farm, Winkfield, Berkshire, England. Richard was a tenant farmer on the Foliejon Estate whose history dated back to the 1300s, and which adjoins Windsor Great Park.
Annie spent a happy childhood at the farm with her six sisters and two brothers, riding their donkey, skating on the lake which froze in winter and teasing the old farmhand Ned, a veteran of the Battle of Waterloo. The children often glimpsed Queen Victoria riding through the park in her carriage. Later Annie and some of her sisters enjoyed painting scenes on the banks of the River Thames nearby.
The family claimed relationship with the famous American painter, James Mc Neil Whistler, but this has yet to be conclusively proved.
In 1887 Annies father died at the age of 52 and three years later, in 1890, Sarah Whistler emigrated to Melbourne, Victoria. She brought out all her nine children on the steamship SS Britannia. Shipboard life was their first introduction to electric light! It was an act of great courage for a widow with such a large family to take a leap to the other side of the world.
On arrival in Melbourne the Whistlers made their home in Dandenong Road and all set about earning a living. Frank, one of Annies brothers, set off to WA soon after to the goldfields and later, with Harry Dorrington, pioneered land in the Merredin district. The farming gene survives – a number of Whistlers still farm at Merredin and in other parts of WA.
Stepping back in time for a moment – at the time of Annies fathers death at Foliejon, it was necessary to appoint a bailiff to run the farm. The day the bailiff arrived, the sisters were all agog and pestering their mother as to what his name was. She replied rather tersely, It could be Ahasuerus for all I know! (Ahasuerus was a King in Ancient Persia). From then on the bailiff, Charles Dorrington, was known as Asu for short – and Annie used the nom de plume, Ahasuerus for her winning entry in the National Flag competition.
Charles and Harry Dorrington had also emigrated to Melbourne, and in 1892 Charles married Annie at St Albans Church in Armadale, Victoria. Charles and Annie moved across to the West in 1895, where Charles was initially manager of the Swan River Shipping Company and later shire clerk at Mundijong. Annie, about as far away on earth as one could get from the lush green meadows of Berkshire, found great beauty in her new environment – especially its wildflowers. Apart from her winning entry in the Flag Competition of 1901, her legacy to us is the one hundred and twenty-four exquisite wildflower paintings held by the Art Gallery of WA, four of which are currently displayed in the WA section of the Gallery.
Annie and Charles had no children and apart from painting busily we know that Annie also taught others to paint. Despite seeing great beauty about her Annie, sadly, suffered periods of depression, and died of cancer in 1926 at the age of 60. Despite the periods of unhappiness in her life we can cling to the belief in the great pleasure she undoubtedly gained from painting.
Halfway through 1998 Eric Carpenter, tireless Flag volunteer, noticed a car flying an Australian Flag in the Perth suburb of Balga. Seeing the same car in a supermarket carpark a few days later, he waylaid the owner, who turned out to be Lesley Little, daughter of Annies cousin, Mrs Thelma Prestwood. So it was that the Association came to know of Annie lying close at hand in an unmarked grave at Karrakatta, and also learned that the Cemetery Board had been apprised of the significance of Annies grave by her niece, Kath Dowsing. The challenge was impossible to resist!
After gaining approval from Annies surviving relatives (nieces and nephews) and of the Cemetery Board, the lease was renewed by the Association and a handsome monument now stands on the previously bare sand. None of this could have occurred without trust and goodwill from the relatives, great co-operation from the Cemetery Board, some very generous donors and the efforts of the Flag Association volunteers!
When you visit Annies grave (soon to be featured in the Karrakatta Historical Walk Trail) you will be impressed by the fine work of Claremont Monumental Works, the excellence of the Admiralty bronze plaque and the superb ceramic tile Flag, which was wrought by Ms Jodi Stone of Ceramica with lots of love and for a pittance!
The memorial grave was consecrated by the Dean of Perth, Dr John Shepherd, on a sunny day on 20th April, 1999, in a moving Service where the music was supplied by a brass ensemble from St Hildas. Relatives from far and wide, (Gippsland, NSW etc.), Flag Councillors, ANFA officials from other States, volunteer workers, donors, Cemetery Board representatives and friends of the Flag, in all numbering about a hundred people, were present. We believe we have guarded well this important part of our heritage.
