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How many blocks of limestone were used to build Winthrop Hall? What is wrong with the Roman numeral for 4 on the Winthrop clock face? Where are the conifers donated by Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie?

These and other ‘weird and wonderful' facts, mysteries and stories about UWA will appear on a new website, courtesy of the Centenary Grants.

"Most of our work comes from enquiries," said Mim Congdon from University Archives. "And we get to learn all sorts of amazing things when we look for answers to those inquiries."

University Archivist Maria Carvalho said the team had not yet finalised the list of inclusions for the online exhibition, UWA - 100 years , but they wanted to take a different approach from that expected of archivists.

"We are like detectives," said Christina Garnett, the third member of the team working on the exhibition.  "It's not at all the boring job that some people think it is."

The Centenary Grant of $3,000 will pay for a web designer to create the exhibition once Maria, Mim and Christina have gathered and collated the information and images.

"We have a lot of inquiries from people writing their family histories and from professional associations researching theirs," Maria said.

Up until the 1950s, an application to study at UWA included the full names and occupations of the parents of the prospective student, his or her school and references from the principal.

"This sort of information is so valuable for people wanting to know about their families," Mim said.

"We love seeing these histories coming together, whether it's a family project or a PhD thesis," Christina said.  "It's very rewarding."

The archives team hopes their exhibition will be on the University Archives website later this year.