City of Melville launches bid to claim AC/DC lead singer Bon Scott as its own in planned tribute
Fremantle is considered by many to be the spiritual home of Scott, but its neighbour the City of Melville is planning its own tribute to him.
The Melville council voted 7-2 in favour of a proposal from deputy mayor Karen Wheatland at its July 15 meeting that the city look for suitable locations for a permanent tribute to Scott, such as naming a landmark after him — such as 'Bon Scott Boulevard' — as part of its tourism plan.
Local schools, artists, musicians and heritage groups will be invited to help.
AC/DC and its management will also be invited to visit the City of Melville during its tour later this year.
Melville's claim to Scott is that he spent part of his youth there and was laid to rest in 1980 at the Fremantle Cemetery in Palmyra, which is technically part of Melville — not Fremantle.
Canning Highway was also the inspiration to the rock classic Highway to Hell, with the song alluding to the string of pubs littered along this stretch of road including the Raffles and Leopold hotels — also within the City of Melville boundaries.
The song was brought to life in March 2020 with the Highway to Hell event, which turned 10km of Canning Highway from Canning Bridge to the Fremantle Traffic Bridge into the world's longest stage to mark the 40th anniversary of Scott's death.
The City of Melville partnered with Perth Festival, the City of Fremantle and Town of East Fremantle to present the event.
A bronze statue of Scott, created by artist Greg James, stands at the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour.
The singer attended North Fremantle Primary School and John Curtin Senior High School, learning to play the drums with the Fremantle Scots Pipe Band.
Cr Wheatland said she wanted to honour Scott's connection to the City of Melville and put it on the map as the place where Scott's story 'truly began.'
Her original motion said Scott lived in Palmyra but this was removed after doubts were raised about it.
'It doesn't matter whether he lived in Palmyra or Melville, but the thing is certain that the City of Melville has certainly been a part of his legacy,' she said.
'The last time AC/DC came to Perth, I went to his grave before the concert just to see if the band might go there to say hi, to pay their respects to Bon and have a Jack Daniels. And mate, it was packed.
'(Fans) leave flowers, lyrics, guitar picks, hats, underwear. Some even make the pilgrimage as a form of a personal tribute.
'And yet, for all this interest, we've done very little as a city and a local government, apart from Highway to Hell, which was incredible, to embrace it or reflect that legacy back to our community.
'We're not claiming Bon Scott. We're acknowledging that his story ends in our care.'
Cr Jennifer Spanbroek opposed the motion as there was already a tribute to Scott near the Canning Bridge and it would be stepping on the toes of the City of Fremantle.
'The reason we haven't done much is we all know that Fremantle do celebrate Bon Scott,' she said.
'There's nothing stopping the City of Melville contacting the City of Fremantle and to actually see if they can do anything to work with them in a collaborative manner when they (AC/DC) do come in December.
'I just think that it puts more more and more time and effort into the city officers and it's taking them away from a lot of other lot of other duties that they've already got.'
Cr Scott Green said Scott's grave could rival that of Doors lead singer Jim Morrison's in Paris.
'Bon Scott is probably as big if not bigger than Jim Morrison,' he said.
He also hoped to get AC/DC to perform on the back of a truck down Canning Highway.
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