Arabic version: ناجون من كاتانينغ يطالبون بنصب تذكاري واعتذار من البلدية
According to ABC News, victim-survivors and advocates are still seeking recognition more than a decade after Dennis John McKenna was convicted over abuse at St Andrew’s Hostel in Katanning. McKenna abused dozens of boys during the 1970s and 1980s while he was in charge of the student boarding facility, about 290 kilometres south-east of Perth.
In August 2024, the education department agreed to demolish the former hostel site and provide $750,000 for a memorial in Katanning. A memorial working group wanted the monument at the town’s all-ages playground, but the local shire blocked the request. Advocate Kaye Anderson said the locations offered were in back streets with no foot traffic, and the group was considering a site outside Katanning to secure a prominent location.
Katanning Shire President Kristy D’Aprile said the council was proceeding carefully on a sensitive issue. She said consultation with victims living in Katanning still needed to be completed, along with state government approvals. D’Aprile said the shire had no interest in prolonging the process or victims’ trauma and wanted to acknowledge the town’s history and move forward constructively.
A 2012 inquiry led by former Supreme Court Justice Peter Blaxell found 11 people in Katanning were complicit in McKenna’s crimes and said he was “very good at grooming the community”. Both sides of Western Australian state politics issued formal apologies after the inquiry, but the Shire of Katanning did not. Victim-survivor Todd Jefferis called the absence of a public apology “disgusting” and “inexcusable”, while Anderson said an apology was better late than never.
McKenna could be released as soon as November 17 after completing his 15-and-a-half-year sentence. A court found he would be declared a High Risk Serious Offender, but could be released under strict conditions after efforts to keep him imprisoned for life fell short. Jefferis urged any additional victims to come forward, saying further accounts could affect McKenna’s imprisonment.
