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It was a stroke of luck that the 100 ^th anniversary of the first meeting of UWA Convocation fell on a public holiday.

Gathering 100 graduates to be photographed on the steps of St George's Hall in Hay Street on a working day could have been an insurmountable challenge.

At 4pm on 4 March 1913, the inaugural meeting was held in the pretty little hall, around the corner from the Irwin Street campus, with the Chancellor Sir John Winthrop Hackett in the chair. All that remains of the hall is the façade, steps and pillars, which were restored when the Perth District Court was built behind it in 2008.

The historic photo shoot was a successful joint project of Convocation and the UWA Historical Society. UWA graduate Manny Tamayo mounted a stepladder in the middle of the road while another graduate Brian Pope directed what little traffic there was around him.

Convocation's Pauline Tremlett and UWAHS's Joan Pope brought the event together in a very short time and were delighted with the enthusiastic response from members of Convocation.

"I received some lovely letters from overseas from people wishing they could be part of it," Pauline said.

Before the graduates let go their golden balloons and Manny fired off the historic shots, Joan Pope read out the letter that was sent on 25 February 1913, inviting people to attend the first meeting of Convocation to elect a warden.

The crowd gave three cheers for their forbears, the re-enactment providing some holiday entertainment for onlookers gathered on the other side of the street.

Graduates who gathered for the photo included recently-retired judge Christine Wheeler, Centenary Chair Sue Boyd, former head of Trinity Alec O'Connell, State Government Ministers John Day and Michael Mischin, former Premier Bill Hassell, Cathy Tang, Di Dixon, Fran Pesich, Reg Appleyard and Allan McKinley.

Fittingly, there were also three wardens in the photo, including the current one, Warren Kerr (elected after the photo was taken).

Dr Pesich, President of the UWAHS, said the gathering was happy and friendly "without the pomp and ceremony often linked with the University.

"We recalled a time when there was no such thing as a UWA graduate and Convocation was comprised of graduates from overseas and interstate, a determined community prepared to pay 100 pounds (more than $10,000 in today's money) to become a member and support the new university," she said.

"It was a special moment to reflect on what the Peth community can achieve."

Published in UWA News , April 2013