The Ugly Men's Voluntary Worker's Association of Western Australia Inc., generally shortened to the Ugly Men's Association or Ugly Men was a uniquely

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

n fund-raising and charitable organisation established in 1917. Previously, a Mrs Alicia Pell had organised an "Uglie Man" competition to raise funds for the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie-Boulder (or just Kalgoorlie) is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surroundi ...

. The

East Perth Football Club The East Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Royals, is an Australian rules football club based in Leederville, Western Australia, current playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). Formed in 1902 as the Unio ...

then built on the concept to raise funds for the

Perth Children's Hospital Perth Children's Hospital (PCH) is a specialist children's hospital in Nedlands, Western Australia, located at the corner of Winthrop Avenue and Monash Avenue on the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre (QEII) site. It is Western Australia's s ...

and the War Patriotic Fund. The football club's work developed into a successful

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

organisation with the first branch opening in the Perth suburb of

Mount Lawley Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, Co ...

and focusing on supporting cases of hardship caused by war. The Ugly Men were a major force in the cultural life for both men and women in 1920s Perth, with membership mainly from the lower and middle working-classes. Membership during the 1920s was about 2,000, with 21 branches across the

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

metropolitan area. Members organised dances, social events and

busy bee Busy Bee was an airline which operated in Norway between 1966 and 1992. Entirely based around wet lease, it conducted a mix of regional services for larger airlines and the military, as well as corporate, ''ad hoc'' and inclusive tour charters. ...

s to raise funds and build houses for war-widows and others in need. "Ugly Man" competitions were popular events, with nominations and voting requiring a coin donation. The popularity of the Ugly Men peaked with the establishment of the annual Uglieland carnivals in Perth city and Fremantle, which raised about The

White City, Perth White City, also known as Cooee City or Ugly Land, was an amusement park that existed on the Perth foreshore in Perth, Western Australia between World War I and 1929. Location It was originally located where the current Supreme Court Gardens a ...

amusement park was at times known as Uglieland due to the Ugly Men's Association administering the park at various stages in its history. An Uglieland fairground on the corner of

Market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...

and Phillimore Streets in Fremantle (now Pioneer reserve opposite

Fremantle Railway Station Fremantle railway station is the terminus of Transperth's Fremantle line in Western Australia. History The original Fremantle station opened in Cliff Street on 1 March 1881 as the terminus of the Eastern Railway to Guildford via Perth. As ...

) ran from 1922 to 1936 by the Fremantle Ugly Men's Association to raise funds for underprivileged children. Uglieland carnivals were highly anticipated annual events. Crowds in the thousands were drawn to the bright lights, live music and open air festivities. A selection of rides (including roller coasters, toboggans and chair-a-planes) and live shows by circus performers and illusionists kept guests entertained well into the evening. But it was Ugly Men's late night gambling and the infamous dance floor that eventually brought the organisation into disrepute. By the late 1920s, ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'' had joined a choir of voices from the public and clergy calling for closure of the Uglieland carnivals at White City:

"... there still flourishes in the city a place which, at best is an architectural eyesore and a moral disgrace. Situated at the foot of William-street, and forming one of the few blots on the picturesque riverfront of Perth...

White City, also, contains a large open-air -dance floor on which youths, with their hats on their heads, perform intricate and sometimes immodest, steps with, young women whom, prob- ably they have never seen before...

Since its inception, White City has proved to be a magnet, for larrikins and loafers, who, in various stages of intoxication, make for its gates when the hotels are closed."

Caving to mounting public pressure, the Western Australian government ordered the closure of White City in 1929, effectively bringing an end to the Ugly Men's reign over Perth's social scene. After losing their major fundraising activity, the Ugly Men fell into inactivity during the 1930s. In 1948, the organisation was declared defunct. Although based in Western Australia, the organisation did spread to other states, particularly in rural centres, and was closely associated with the New Settlers' League and the United British Immigrants' Association, both established to assist new immigrants from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The Lotteries Commission of Western Australia was established in 1933 to raise funds for hospitals and community organisations, taking over many of the activities of the Association. Long-serving president and vice-president of the Ugly Men's Association,

Alec Clydesdale Alexander McAllister Clydesdale MBE (16 July 1875 – 24 January 1947) was an Australian politician who served in both houses of the Parliament of Western Australia, as a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1921 to 1930 and as a member of ...

and Harry Mann, were both appointed to the first Commission board.

References

{{reflist , 30em

External links

Ugly Men Photo Gallery
from the State Reference Library of WA History of Western Australia Health charities in Australia East Perth Football Club 1917 establishments in Australia Organizations established in 1917 1948 disestablishments in Australia Non-profit organisations based in Western Australia Ugliness