The Sherlock Holmes Society of Western Australia

The Sherlock Holmes Society of Western Australia is a social group whose purpose is to discuss, study and promote the life and achievements of Sherlock Holmes. We have a wide variety of members from 12 to 70+ years of age and from all walks of life.

Our monthly meetings traditionally begin with a gunshot ,and each meeting has a different theme or activity. Recent meetings have included a talk by a forensic scientist, a quiz night on Holmes and Victorian times, a video quiz, and an in-house production of a radio play based on a Holmes story.

Many of the events are annual occurrences. These include:

The Birthday Bash. To begin each new year, we start with a commemoration of Mr. Holmes' birthday. Generally accepted as January 6th 1854, this date is not actually recorded in Sir Arthur's documents. We celebrate the day with a barbecue, a target shoot, a brief competition based on the Holmes stories, an unofficial boules competition, swimming for the bold, and ice-cream making the Victorian way.

The Moondyne Joe Festival. We attend the Toodyay historical festival in Victorian dress with our brother/sister organisation, The Volunteer Rifle and Artillery Regiment of 1860. Once in Toodyay we become part of the moving scenery.

The Maiwand Dinner. In July we meet for dinner in an Indian restaurant, to commemorate the battle of Maiwand in Afghanistan where the good Doctor Watson was wounded in the shoulder by a jezail bullet. This shattered the bone and grazed the sub-clavian artery and also caused a limp in later life (clearly a most powerful bullet indeed).

The Murder Mystery afternoon. September is crime-solving mystery month, where Sherlockians follow clues and attempt to solve a crime posed by one of their fellows. The day is rounded off with a barbecue.

Croquet Day. In October we don our Victorian garb once more and play croquet . The activities include a picnic lunch, archery, quoits, boules, and horseshoes.

The Blue Carbuncle. The year's activities are brought to a close with a restaurant luncheon combined with the annual general meeting. New members are inducted, officers elected for the next year, and waistlines expanded.

A magazine, The Western Flyer, is published several times a year. Its arrival is greeted with pleasure and surprise by Society members. This year the Flyer will focus on three stories: 'A Scandal in Bohemia', 'The Sussex Vampire', and 'The Yellow Face'.

We are delighted to welcome you to our web pages. Please enjoy our site, and feel free to write to us with comments or expressions of interest.

The Sherlock Holmes Society
of Western Australia (Inc)