The Ugly Men's Voluntary Worker's Association Inc., generally shortened to the Ugly Men's Association or Ugly Men was a fund-raising and charitable organisation established in Western Australia in 1917.[1] Previously, a Mrs Alicia Pell had organised an "Uglie Man" competition to raise funds for the Red Cross in Kalgoorlie. The East Perth Football Club then built on the concept to raise funds for the Perth Children's Hospital and the War Patriotic Fund. The football club's work developed into a successful grassroots organisation with the first branch opening in the Perth suburb of Mount Lawley and focussing on supporting cases of hardship caused by war.[2]
The Ugly Men were a major force in the cultural life of Perth in the 1920s with membership mainly from the lower and middle working-classes. Membership during the 1920s was about 2000, with 21 branches across the Perth metropolitan area. Members organised busy bees and raised funds and built houses for war-widows. Later, fundraising was directed to supporting cases of hardship in the general community.
Annual Uglieland carnivals organised by the association were held in Perth and Fremantle and raised about ₤12,000 each year. "Uglie Man" competitions were popular events, with nominations and voting requiring a coin donation. A special campaign in 1924 raised £2,000 for infant health clinics.
An Uglieland fairground on the corner of Market and Phillimore Streets in Fremantle (now Pioneer Park, opposite Fremantle Railway Station) was run from 1922 to 1936 by the Fremantle Uglymen's Association[3] to raise funds for underprivileged children. It was a popular nightlife venue in the area and hosted regular dances.
During the 1920s the organisation spread to other states, particularly in rural centres, and was closely associated with the New Settler's League and the United British Immigrants' Association, both established to assist new immigrants from the United Kingdom.
The Lotteries Commission of Western Australia was established in 1933 to raise funds for hospitals and community organisations, taking over many of the activities of the Association. Long-serving president and vice-president of the Ugly Men's Association, Alec Clydesdale and Harry Mann, were both appointed to the first Commission board.
The Western Australian Association became mainly inactive after the mid-1930s and was declared defunct in 1948.