City of Gosnells, WA
Ghost Walks
The Initiative
The City of Gosnells Ghost Walks takes participants on an inclusive, immersive, performance-based experience that showcases local historical venues, the Wilkinson Homestead Museum and Kenwick Pioneer Cemetery, and tells the true stories of characters who were among the original settlers in the area.
Ghost Walks, a community-focused celebration of the region’s history through arts and culture, is a creative event that provides opportunities for local residents, staff and volunteers to join the cast and crew, research and develop historically accurate scripts and be part of a living history through artistic performance.
Performing to more than 100 people per night, Ghost Walks provides opportunity for the wider community to engage in the arts and an immersive performance experience, with many attendees coming from across Western Australia and even overseas. Ticket pricing makes the event affordable for all, with the tour recommended for people over 10 years of age.
The City of Gosnells organises nine Ghost Walks over three nights each year during the warmer months when the moon is full. They have proven so popular they are usually booked out months in advance. Ghost Walks employs up to 14 performers each night, in addition to four guides and eight staff. By engaging local artists and businesses to help deliver the event, the City of Gosnells Ghost Walks provides employment and economic development opportunities to the local community. The high-quality production encourages return visits to the Wilkinson Homestead Museum.
Ghost Walks were reimagined for 2023, with new characters and historic locations. The ‘spook-tacular’ City of Gosnells Ghost Walks engaged and entertained hundreds of participants across January, February and March in 2023, fostering opportunities for the enjoyment of the arts through broad community engagement, creating opportunities for performers, and promoting inclusion and skill development – key reasons why the artistic experience remains a favourite item on the City of Gosnells’ annual events calendar.
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About the Category
The ‘Creativity and Culture’ category recognises local government initiatives which:
- create opportunities to showcase the best of communities through arts
and culture; - embrace wellbeing and diversity, and encourage social inclusion through
community participation in artistic activities; and/or - leverage arts and culture to improve community sustainability and
increase local economic opportunity.
Successful initiatives in this award category benefit communities by:
- fostering opportunities for the enjoyment of the arts through broad community engagement;
- establishing local arts hubs for community arts, performances and
exhibitions; and/or - supporting arts initiatives that foster inclusion and skill development.