Thousands of motorists drive past this cute weatherboard structure and its timber boardwalk each day but few would know the history of this Swan River icon.
Thought to have been originally constructed in the 1930s - though nobody seems to know exactly when it was built – it been rebuilt and repaired on a number of occasions, and has had lots of uses.
It would, being built in the 1930s, have been designed for a pleasure craft of some sort – a sailing boat or rowing boats – that would have cruised the Swan River, past the Crawley baths and other boatsheds dotting the shoreline.
In the 1940’s it was bought by Nattrass family, who had purchase the property behind the boatshed. At the time, the boatshed was purchased for an additional 5 pounds when the family bought the property. The family then built a larger, more modern boatshed around the original.
In 1972 Roland Nattrass gave the boatshed it to the Perth Sea Scouts patron, Ron Armstrong and in the 1990’s ownership passed to Barry Krollman a keen sailor from the Royal Perth Yacht Club.
In early 2001 the boatshed was put up for sale and was purchased by Perth Lord Mayor Peter Nattrass – the son of Roland Nattrass. It was extensively renovated by his sons Tom and Nick Nattrass and, on 6 February 2004, the newly refurbished Crawley Edge boatshed was re-launched by triple solo-circumnavigator of the world Jon Sanders and single solo-circumnavaigator David Dicks.
Today, the boatshed sits prominently on the Swan River, a nostalgic reminder of the river’s past and is the most photographed boatshed in Western Australia.