Cottesloe

Distinguished and Famous people from Cottesloe

🏡 John and Elsie Curtin

John and Elsie Curtin established their Cottesloe family home in 1923. It remained a place John returned to during a political career that culminated in serving as Australia’s prime minister through much of the Second World War. Elsie continued living there after his death in 1945, remaining until her own death in 1975. Preserved as a historic home, the house gives a personal setting to a nationally significant life: family routines and a suburban garden behind the demands of wartime leadership.

🪵 Charles and Tom Bunning

Charles and Tom Bunning were born at Cottesloe in 1905 and 1910 and attended Scotch College before joining the family timber business. Charles brought engineering and milling experience, while Tom qualified in accountancy. They became joint managing directors in 1956, diversifying from timber into prefabricated house materials and hardware. Wartime service interrupted their working lives; after captivity at Changi, Tom helped administer a scholarship for Asian nurses in recognition of people who had assisted prisoners. The familiar retail name has this longer background in timber production, business partnership and family leadership, well before the modern warehouse became its most recognisable form.

🎾 Keith Barker

Keith Barker was born at Cottesloe in 1898 and grew up nearby at Peppermint Grove. His working life included sporting-goods agencies and a ship insurance and broking business, while his sporting interests extended well beyond one court or playing field. He won State tennis doubles titles with his brother Tom in 1923 and Harry Hopman in 1931, twice finished runner-up in the State golf championships and later won a trap-shooting title. Sport also drew him into administration. The Cottesloe birthplace begins a life in which supplying sporting equipment and finding time to use it were complementary pursuits.