

FAWWA's beginnings
In June 1938 an American writer, Hartley Grattan, visited
Perth. Katharine Susannah Prichard and John K Ewers
organised a dinner for him with eleven local writers, none
of whom knew about the others.
Grattan suggested to Jesse Hammond, the oldest writer present, that he urge
John K Ewers to form an organisation where writers could
meet and support each other.
After discussions with Henrietta Drake-Brockman, Gavin Casey and others,
the new Fellowhship of Australian Writers (WA) first met
in October 1938, with the aim of supporting Western
Australian writers and promoting Australian literature and
its creators. John K Ewers was elected as Foundation
President.
Rather than create a separate group, the early
writers formed a Western Australian Section of the
Fellowship of Australian Writers, which had been founded in Sydney in 1928.
Tom Collins House
Joseph Furphy wrote Such is Life under his pen-name
Tom Collins. Furphy arrived in Fremantle in 1905 to help
his sons, Felix and Samuel, in the Furphy Foundry, Grey
Street, Fremantle.
Furphy lived in Fremantle before
moving to Swanbourne in 1906. In 1907 he built a cottage in Servetus Street, Swanbourne, now relocated to the Allen Park Heritage Precinct.
Known as Tom Collins House, it has been the headquarters of the Fellowship of
Australian Writers WA since 1949.
Some Activities of the Fellowship Over the Years
These included monthly meetings with guest speakers on a wide range of topics of interest to writers, round table workshops to discuss members' writings and public reading of works by Western Australian writers.
The Fellowship also entertained writers from overseas and interstate, met with community organisations such as the Good Neighbour Council and Adult Education, planned literary activities for the annual Festival of Perth and organised Children's Book Week.

Original desk of Joseph Furphy in situ at Tom Collins House