Alverstoke

Reproduced with addendums from the book ALVERSTOKE, with the kind permission of M.F. Few

*NOTE - Conversion of this book to electronic text is still a work in progess - Please be patient while I scan the remaining chapters.

I accept full responsibility for any errors in the text caused during this process.

Many thanks are due to a number of people who have encouraged me to tell the story of "Alverstoke" and I would like to acknowledge the help given by those who have made it possible.

Mr. Charles Townsend of Chichester, England, whose ancestor, Charles Clifton, was a younger brother of the Rev. Francis Clifton, provided much information for the background from his own research into records on the Island of St. Kitts and in England. His kindness in sharing the benefit of his well documented research with us is much appreciated. My thanks to my niece, Mrs. Nixie Angeloni, for her contribution and for introducing Mr. Townsend to us.

The help given by my nephew and niece, Mr. and Mrs. O.L.C. Davies, has been invaluable. Peg searched the old journals for confirmation of dates and events and then painstakingly checked the manuscript. Their son Jamie has very kindly drawn the maps for the book. To all those not named who have lent photographs and assisted in various other ways, my sincere thanks.

Last, but not least, I must thank all the Few family for their patience and help while Madeline has been occupied in compiling my story.

Early in 1978 my aunt, Miss Emily Ker Clifton, sent me some tape recordings she had made, asking if I would transcribe them for her. The tapes contained a wealth of information gathered from her father's diaries and papers, her mother's "Remembrances", her great-grandfather's journals and, of course, her own recollections.

She was most anxious to record the story of courage and perseverance shown by our ancestors in the face of great hardship and deprivation, because, as she said in a recent letter to me, "I am the oldest living descendant of Robert and Christina and I feel if I do not write the history there is no one else interested enough or with the knowledge to do it, if they wanted to. I want the younger generations to know what wonderful ancestors they had". But, having reached her late eighties and with failing eye-sight, she was afraid she may have left it too late and so she asked if I would help put together what she called her "scribblings" and the information on the tapes, checking dates for her and adding anything more I felt the younger generation might like to know.

Miss Clifton is now in her ninetieth year and the story she tells, while primarily for the family, will be of interest to a great many others, for it is not only a history of her family, but of the district as well.

I have the warmest memories of "Alverstoke", my grandfather, my aunts and of course my own mother, Dorinda, who were all born there and it has given me a great deal of pleasure to help record their story and in some small way express my gratitude for the love and kindness they have shown me and for the wonderful example they set for us all to follow.

The "Golden Harvest" we reap is not a material one, I feel, but that example of faith, love and loyalty to each other, service and friendship to the community as a whole and the courage to face whatever the future might hold and with God's help, make the best of it.

Marshall Waller Clifton was born at Alverstoke, near Gosport, Hampshire, England, on 1st November, 1787, the son of the Reverend Francis Clifton and Rebekah Katharine, nee Bingham. Francis was then Curate of St. Mary's at Alverstoke. Fifty five years later Marshall Waller Clifton was to give the name of his birthplace to a farming property on the other side of the world.

Alverstoke in Saxon times belonged to the lady of the Manor, Aiwara, who upon the death of her husband, handed all her p05sessions to the Church to secure masses for the repose of his soul. Her memory is perpetuated in the name Alverstoke, which the Doomsday Book calls Alwarestoke.

A Norman Church was erected about 1144 on the site of the Saxon Church by Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester. One story has it that as he was returning from France, his ship was almost wrecked in a fierce storm, but was miraculously saved and brought safely into the quiet waters of Stokes Bay. In recognition of his safe deliverance he built a church at Alverstoke. A variation of this story is that it was King Stephen on his return to England from Normandy who was shipwrecked, and Henry of Blois built the Church, dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin, in gratitude for his half-brother's escape. This event also gave the Borough of Gosport it's name God's Port, the port into which God brought Henry (or Stephen) safely.

The old Norman Church was replaced in 1625, and 100 years later extensive alterations were made. The walls were raised and a gallery and tower were added. This was the church to which the Reverend Francis was appointed Curate in 1783, and in which his eldest son, Marshall Waller, was baptised.

Francis was born in 1755 in the West Indies. His father James was a member of the ancient Nottingham family which takes it's name from Cliffe4on or Clifton, a small village near Nottingham, and can trace its descent from Alvared de Clifton, who was warden of Nottingham Castle in the time of William the Conqueror.

James, a great-grandson of the 1st Baronet Clifton, had settled on St. Kitts, one of the Leeward Islands in the West Indies, sometime before 1744, where he became a planter. James married twice on St. Kitts first, in 1744, to Mary Mahon (or Machan) a widow and had three children. Then after Mary's death in 1753, to Renee Guichard. Renee was a descendant of a Huguenot family who fled from France many years earlier to escape religious persecution, and had been on St. Kitts since before the middle of the 17th century. Her father, Francis Guichard, was also a planter.

James and Renee had a family of ten children, five sons and five daughters. Their eldest son, Francis, was born in 1755 and when nine or ten years old was sent home to England to be educated and was placed in the care of Robert Clifton of "Little Green", Walthamstowe. Later Francis was to name his eldest son Marshall Waller after Robert's wife, the former Miss Marshall.

Francis appears to have received a sound education and graduated as an M.A. from King's College, Aberdeen on 30th March, 1775. This same year his father died at St. Kitts, leaving his property (including numerous slaves) to his wife and eight surviving children. Renee died five years later.

Francis was ordained Deacon on 21st December, 1777 by the Bishop of Litchfield and Coventry at the Church of St. George, Bloomsbury, London, acting on the following Letters Dimissory from the Commissioner, Gloucester, dated 16^th December, 1777:

I beg leave to inform you that Mr. Francis Clifton, M.A. of the University of Aberdeen, appeared before me this Day as a Candidate for the Order of Deacon. I inspected his Instruments (as did afterwards Mr. Stock) & find them to be regular & duly executed. I have only to observe upon the Certificate of his age, Dated from the Island of St. Christopher, that he was Baptised November 8, 1755. He brought likewise a Letter Testimonial signed by the Ministers of St. Paul's Chapel in Aberdeen. Upon examination I found him not quite so well inform'd in Sacred knowledge as I wish'd him to be. However, he construed the Greek Test tolerably well and wrote decently, in English, upon a Thesis that I appointed him. He appears to be a well dispose'd young man, not without capacity, & promises to attend closely to Sacred studies. On these considerations I recommend him to your Lordship as a Person worthy to be admitted to the Order of Deacon.

After his ordination as Deacon, Francis returned to St. Kitts, where he spent two years in the service of the Church. In 1779 he became a Royal Naval Chaplain, and received two commissions to H.M.S. Dublin, from 3rd December, 1779 to 18th January, 1783. However, it appears that Francis spent only eleven months of this period at sea. During the remainder of the time, he was a resident of Gosport, where he "liv'd piously, soberly and honestly". It was here that he met the Bingham family. Rev. Isaac Moody Bingham was the Curate of Holy Trinity, Gosport, and Francis became his "occasional Assistant".

The population of the Borough of Gosport had expanded rapidly in the second half of the 17th century with the establishment of a ship-building industry. As prosperity increased, so did the incidence of crime, and the ladies of Gosport, making their way to St. Mary's at Alverstoke to attend Sunday services were afraid of being molested. So Bishop Peter Mews of Winchester, who was Lord of the Manor of Gosport, granted an area of waste land in Gosport for a church. In 1696 the Bishop consecrated the church dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

Rev. Isaac Moody Bingham was appointed Curate of Holy Trinity in 1779. He began his ministry at nearby Havant where his father had been Rector and possessed property. Isaac's grandfather, Joseph (1668-1723) was also a clergyman and a renowned ecclesiastical scholar, author of the "Antiquities of the Christian Church" He too had been the Rector of Havant.

By November 1782, Francis decided to quit the service of the Navy, which he found ill suited to his disposition. Also by then he was probably in love with the young daughter of his friend Bingham, and was looking to a more settled future. On the 27th November, 1782, Rev. Bingham wrote to the Secretary to the Bishop of Winton (Winchester) on his young friend's behalf, asking if the Bishop would accept Francis as a Candidate for Priests Orders at the ensuing Ordination, and stating that he (Bingham) had engaged him as his Assistant Curate at Holy Trinity, allowing him the yearly sum of fifty pounds for his maintenance. Francis was duly ordained by the Bishop of Winchester at Farnham on 22nd December, 1782.

The following year Francis was appointed Curate of the Parish of Alverstoke. He received two more Commissions as Naval Chaplain. From 7th September 1786 to 16th October 1789 he was appointed to the Goliath which did not leave Portsmouth Harbour, so he was able to continue with his parish duties while acting in the capacity of Chaplain, and to the Queen Charlotte in May, 1790, which he did not accept. At a later date Francis was appointed to the living of Eastwell in addition to Alverstoke, and Prebendary of Lincoln Cathedral.

Francis and Rebekah had a family of ten children, two sons and eight daughters, but three of the daughters died in infancy. Their eldest son was Marshall Waller, the youngest, Joseph Bing-ham, the father of William Carmalt Clifton who was appointed agent for the P. & 0. Steam Navigation Company at Albany, Western Australia, in 1861.

Francis died at Alverstoke on 5th October, 1811, and was buried in the churchyard of St. Mary's on the 10th, "in a bricked grave under the East Wall close to the north side of the broad . . .". The Hampshire Telegraph on Monday 14th October, 1811, published the following obituary:

Portsmouth, Sat. Oct.12, 1811. In our last we mentioned the death of the Rev. Francis Clifton, who departed this life at Alverstoke on the 5th inst., in the 56th year of his age. This worthy and most respectable man had faithfully and zealously served as Curate of the populous parish of Alverstoke for the space of 28 years, during which time he gained the universal love and respect of his parishioners, by whom his memory will be as affectionately regarded, as his death is sincerely and deeply lamented.

The churchyard where Francis was buried was destroyed about 1966 to make way for a Parish Centre. While the Church of St. Mary's still stands today, it has been extended and very much altered and the village of Alverstoke where Marshall Waller spent his boyhood is now a ward of Gosport.

Not a great deal is known about Marshall Waller's early years, but it is certain that he would have been given a sound education and brought up with strong Christian convictions and principles.

On 9th September, 1805, while still seventeen years old, Waller, as he was always called, entered the Admiralty as an extra clerk. He was promoted to Junior clerk on 15th March, 1811, 2nd class clerk on 5th February, 1816, and 1st class clerk on 21st August, 1819.

On 2nd July, 1811, at Putney, Waller married Elinor Bell of Wandle House, Wandsworth, London, the daughter of Daniel and Elinor, nee Turner. Elinor was a quakeress and a first cousin to Elizabeth Fry, the famous prison reformer. Waller and Elinor had a family of fifteen, one of whom died in infancy. Eleven of these children were to leave for Western Australia with their parents, a twelfth following later.

On 22nd January, 1822, Waller was transferred from his position at the Admiralty, and appointed secretary to the Victualling Board for the Royal Navy at Somerset House, where he was given a house overlooking the central courtyard as a residence. He moved his household there from Sloane Street, South London. Rebekah, who had been living with her son since the death of Rev. Francis shortly after Waller's marriage, died here on 3rd April, 1830.

In 1828 Waller was elected to membership of the Royal Society as "a gentleman well acquainted with the various branches of Natural Science" and as "highly deserving of that honour and likely to prove a valuable and useful member". He was most interested in horticulture.

The position of Secretary to the Victualling Board was abolished in 1832 when the Admiralty Board absorbed the Navy Board, and Waller was retired on a pension.

With his wife and family, Waller then moved to France where the cost of living was much less tan in England and for the next eight years appears to have been content to live in retirement at Boulogne Sur Mer.

However, a venture being planned in London during the second half of the 1830’s was to bring this retirement to an end.

In 1840 The Western Australian Company was formed in London to promote a large land settlement scheme in the Colony of Western Australia, based on Edward Gibbon Wakefield's principles of colonization. This venture was the result of five years planning by a body of well known and influential men, which included William Hutt, M.P., brother of John Hutt who was governor of Western Australia from 1838 to 1846, and Edward Gibbon Wakefield himself. The father of the latter gentleman was a cousin of Mrs. Clifton's. Marshall Waller Clifton was chosen as Chief Commissioner and Robert Williams Clifton was appointed secretary to his father. The name of the settlement, Australind, was chosen by the Company, a contraction of Australia and India, between which two countries it was hoped to establish considerable trade.

The Western Australian Company had purchased 103,000 acres of land at Leschenault from Colonel Lautour, who had gone bankrupt, and 65,000 acres of land adjoining Colonel Lautour's allotment from Sir James Stirling. The boundary extended from the Leschenault Inlet, westward across what is the main road to Perth now, between Harvey and Wokalup, and the Collie River was the southern boundary. Then it went up through Roelands into the hills about 23 miles. Part of the Collie River and the Wellesley River, the Brunswick and the Lunenburgh, and quite a large number of gullies as well, were all in the area. So it was quite a large area and took in some very important part of the land. The soil round Australind was pure sand, but in all those river valleys the land was very rich.

The prospects of the proposed settlement were so attractive to people in England that in a very short time 1,600 lots in the proposed town of Australind and 100 rural allotments were sold. The remaining land was to be sold to settlers only. In fact there were so many applications for allotments that many were disappointed.

On 2nd September, 1840, the schooner Island Queen sailed from England carrying the surveyors. A few days earlier the Directors of the Company and some five hundred guests had gathered at Lovegrove's West India Dock Tavern to celebrate the sailing of the first ship. There were many prominent people present, including Sir James Stirling and Mr. Edward Gibbon Wakefield. Hopes were high and there was much speech-making. Toasts were proposed to "The Prosperity of the New Settlement at Australind".[1]

The barque Parkfield was chartered to carry the Chief Commissioner, his family and the first settlers to Australia in October. But before they embarked, Captain George Grey, the young explorer, arrived in London with disturbing news. He stated that Governor Hutt intended to resume Colonel Lautour's land owing to the non-fulfilment of improvements within the ten years allowed. Colonel Lautour's grant had been made under the first set of land regulations and was not liable for resumption for twenty one years, so there should have been no fear on this point. But in addition to this, Captain Grey reported that the land at Leschenault was useless and that it would be much better to go up to Port Grey, which is Geraldton today.

The Commissioner doubted if Grey had ever been to Australind, and preferred to believe Stirling's account of it . He advised the directors against any change in plan, but they, fearing the settlers might reach Port Leschenault and find the land resumed, and believing Grey's report, decided to transfer the settlement to Port Grey. When this was announced, many of the land purchasers withdrew their money which left the venture severely under financed. And so they were dogged by misfortune before they had even left England.

The Parkfield sailed from the London Docks on 2nd December, 1840, bound for Port Leschenault, with instructions to pick up the surveyors there, and then to proceed to Port Grey.

[1] See Appendix I

On 18th March, 1841, the Parkfield arrived at Port Leschenault after a magnificent voyage. The captain[2]of an American whaling ship acted as their pilot,

The Commissioner, learning on his arrival that the ship carrying the advice of the change in the Company's plans had not arrived and the surveyors were still at work there, ordered them to pack up and he immediately set out for Perth on horseback, accompanied by his son Pearce, Mr. Ommanney, the Government surveyor who was stationed at Picton, and a native guide. There was no road, and the rivers weren't bridged, yet they covered the distance, there and back, in six days.

After discussion with Governor Hutt, who refused to give permission for a settlement at Port Grey and informed the Commissioner there was no intention of resuming Colonel Lautour's grant, he decided in spite of the Company's directive to establish Australind on "the beautiful banks of Leschenault Inlet".

So the passengers disembarked and came up to Australind where they erected their tents and huts at the Old Settlement above where the Pioneers' Memorial is today, overlooking the Inlet. The stores were landed at Point Casuarina and a rough wooden building erected to protect them.

The harbour was then open to all the north-west gales, and quite a number of vessels were blown ashore. At the approach of bad weather, the boats would often put to sea rather than risk dragging their anchors and meeting the fate of so many others. A large number of American whaling ships came into Bunbury in those days - Yankee Whalers as they were called - and a great deal of bartering took place between them and the early settlers. They brought with them barrels of flour, ships biscuits, pickled pork, treacle, tobacco and various other things called "Yankee Notions", which included wooden wash tubs, wooden buckets, axes and many other badly needed items. In return they took fresh fruit, meat and vegetables, and so the settlers depended on them very largely. I don't know how long they continued to call, but when the Government decided to impose a port charge they moved away and instead of coming into Bunbury, they went down to the Vasse. There was a great deal of whaling done down there.

Bunbury consisted of just a few houses, the most prominent being the home of the Government Resident, George Eliot, which was situated on Bury Hill, where St. John of God Hospital stands today. Governor Hutt in anticipation of their arrival, had appointed Eliot, and had sent down a detachment of soldiers under Lieutenant Northey. But they were camped out on the end of the peninsular that comes down between the ocean and the estuary, with no bridge across and no boat. It is hard to imagine that people in authority could be so stupid. However, there they were. There was one farmer, John Scott, and his family. They were at Eelup, near where the Parade Hotel stands today. He had arrived there in 1838, and was the first settler in the district. Mr. W.H. Ommanney, the Government Surveyor for the Welling-ton District was living at "Moorland", near Picton. When the Australind settlement was proposed, a tremendous amount of interest was shown in the new settlement, and many people began to make enquiries for allotments in that area, and in January, 1841, Mr. Ommanney received instructions to survey the township of Bunbury with as little delay as possible.

Winter was very early that first year and unusually severe, which must have added greatly to the hardships they had to face in their new country. The Commissioner and his family, used to the comforts of life in London and France, lived in tents through part of that boisterous winter. The hardships and privations they suffered were shared by all the settlers and immigrants. The stores which had been landed at Point Casuarina had to be brought up in small boats to the settlement, and the erection of more substantial wooden quarters took some months. By June a store-room was erected which was 40 feet long and 20 feet wide. This served as a store-room, dining room and sleeping quarters during the stormy weather. On the slope overlooking the Estuary were the buildings of the officers and members of the establishment. Many of the personal goods of the settlers had been short-shipped on the Parkfield and during the winter months the stores they had brought with them were sadly depleted. Men were detailed to shoot kangaroos and other wild life for meat. Fish were plentiful in the Estuary, but one of the worst problems to be faced by the early pioneers was the non-arrival of ships coming from England bringing stores, especially flour. There was one occasion when they were many weeks without flour, and the nearest approach to take the place of it was sago. Then even the babies were fed largely on flour, which was baked in the oven first and then made into babies dishes.

During the summer of 1842 the Company's doctor fell ill, and on 11th March he died at "Belvedere" where he had been nursed during his illness. Dr. Anthony French Carpenter was aged 30 when he died, and was the first of the settlers to be buried in the newly surveyed cemetery on Mt. Claremont. His coffin was placed on a boat and brought down the Estuary from "Belvedere" towed by two boats, with one more on each side. As they approached Australind, the Rev. Wollaston's boat could be seen coming up the Estuary. On reaching Australind the coffin covered with a handsome black cloth trimmed with white, which was made for the occasion, rested on trestles until all had arrived. Then the coffin was taken on the shoulders of six men and proceeded through the village, with the mourners in the following order:

After passing through the village, the coffin was placed on a horse-drawn dray, which served as a hearse. The procession walked through the bush to Mt. Claremont, where the coffin was again taken on the shoulders of the men to the grave where Mr. Wollaston feelingly read the funeral service. Dr. Carpenter's death was a tremendous loss to them all.

While the surveying continued during the first twelve months of settlement, very little progress could be made, as the Commissioner was unable to proceed with the allotment of land and no permanent dwellings could be erected until confirmation of his decision to remain at Australind was received from the Directors of the Company.

In April 1842 the Diadem arrived, bringing more people for the settlement. In December another 173 arrived on the Trusty, which returned in May, 1844.

It wasn't until the 6th April, 1842 that the Commissioner received a communication from the Directors giving their approval of his decision to settle at Port Leschenault instead of Port Grey, and also the site chosen for the town of Australind. As a result of this, a distribution of town allotments was made in May 1842, followed on 4th July by drawing lots for 150 rural allotments, when No. 15 Clifton Road was drawn by Marshall Waller Clifton.

[2] Captain Coffin was the master of the Samuel Wright, an American Whaler, which was blown ashore in Koombanah Bay in 1840. His wife and son were with him. He purchased 100 acres of land at Picton on which he built a house of timber salvaged from his ship. Wollaston later purchased the house and land and Captain Coffin retuned to America.

About the middle of 1843 a further distribution of rural lands took place, but in spite of the strenuous efforts of the Commissioner and his officers, no substantial progress had been made. Then came the news that the Company's Bankers had failed, and in August of that year the Commissioner received a despatch from the Directors ordering the cessation of sales of land and the immediate discharge of all officers and men and the reduction of his salary and his son Robert's to one half. The Commissioner, who was a man of integrity, felt he could not dismiss these men who had served the Company well, just like that, and he wrote the following in his diary on 23rd August, 1843:

"I found myself again placed in a situation of extraordinary difficulty, inasmuch as it was impossible for me to obey implicitly the Board's injunction. First the engagement of all survey officers, excepting Mr. Thompson and Mr. Greensill did not terminate till the 10th December, second, the engagement with the Island Queen men did not terminate till then, thirdly, the other men had always been promised by me that if they conducted themselves well, they would be given a month's notice before being discharged, fourthly, the bound-aries of the allotments both town and country had not all been set out and could not be finished for some months, besides which work was in hand which must be finished, such as fencing etc. Under all these conflicting difficulties I determined to announce to the people my determination to carry on the service with the greatest activity so as to finish everything by the 10th December"

The Commissioner had to act largely on his own responsibility as it took so long to get letters to and fro. It was very often twelve months before one could get an answer to one's queries. I find I do not know what the Directors said when they got the news, but that is what happened.

Later still in 1843, the Directors decided to wind up the Company's affairs and the Commissioner was relieved of his duties. His son Pearce was appointed as agent for the Company, with instructions to dispose of the remaining land at 2/- per acre.

In less than three years the Western Australian Company ceased operations in Western Australia and the settlers were left to shift for themselves. A great number of people who had come out then drifted away from W.A. altogether and went to the Eastern States, or returned to England. But there was a large number that remained and their descendants helped to populate the South West. And members of those early families filled many important positions in the State.

On the Trusty was the Ferguson family. John Ferguson, a doctor from Scotland, had decided "he would throw pills to the wind and emigrate". Dr. Ferguson had bought 400 acres of land on the Brunswick, which he called "Wedderburn". He farmed for a while, but of course he wasn't a farmer. He knew nothing about it. When he decided to go back to his medical profession, which he did and became Colonial Surgeon, he gave the man MacAndrew, who was working "Wedderburn" for him, quite a large portion of the property in lieu of wages. Dr. Ferguson went from Brunswick to the Swan, where he established the Houghton Vineyards. One of Dr. Ferguson's daughters married Marshall Waller Clifton's son Worsley and at a later generation, my eldest brother married a granddaughter of Dr. Ferguson.

The Forrest family was another well known family that came on the Trusty in the early days. William Forrest also worked at "Wedderburn" for Dr. Ferguson, and he received the Machinery for a mill in lieu of wages when the Doctor left for the Swan. William was a man of great ability, apparently, and he set up a flour-mill near the mouth of the Preston River. That was just a wind-driven mill and he found that low-lying land wasn't very satisfactory, and he finally bought land at Picton. He erected a new mill there and dammed the river about a mile above. He then built a wooden flume about eight feet wide and two feet deep to carry water from there to the mill, where it fell over a large water-wheel which worked the machinery. It was William Forrest who built the bridge over the lower Brunswick in 1845. Kim Forrest, a descendant of William, lives today in the old original house, and there are still the remains of the old mill where they used to grind the flour. All the wheat grown on the Company's land was taken down and ground at Forrest's mill. Lord Forrest, who contributed so much to the prosperity of Western Australia, was one of William's sons, and several of his brothers also played an important part in the State's development.

Sir James Mitchell and Sir Newton Moore, who were both Premiers of the State, were sons of Australind pioneers. Sir James later became Lieutenant Governor.

Marshall Waller Clifton brought eleven of his children with him on the Parkfield. His son George, who was a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, arrived later on the Madras in August, 1843, but the other two sons, Francis and Waller, remained in England. George married Eliza, the daughter of the first Surveyor General Roe, and there is a large number of their descendants here. George who was appointed Inspector of Water Police in 185 1, returned to England and became Governor of Dartmoor Prison, but Waller's other eleven children remained here. Pearce was appointed a member of the Town Trust in Bunbury when it was formed in 1843, and member of the Legislative Council in 1851. He became Resident Magistrate in Bunbury when George Eliot was transferred to Geraldton. Robert settled at "Alverstoke". Gervase farmed at "Alverstoke" for a while, and later managed "Moorland" for his sister Mary. Charles also farmed at "Alverstoke", then entered the Government Service, where he held a number of positions. Worsley was appointed third clerk in the Colonial Secretary's Office in July, 1851, and later became Collector of Customs at Fremantle. Waller's six daughters all married, with the exception of Ellen.

Marshall Waller Clifton's descendants filled many important positions in the State. At one time, the Under Secretary for Lands[3], the Under Treasurer[4]and the Surveyor General[5] were all grandsons of Waller's. In 1897 about twenty of M.W. Clifton's grandchildren held senior offices in the W.A. Public Service. So they really made a very important contribution, not only to this district, but to the whole life of the State.

The position of Chief Commissioner was a very responsible one while it lasted, and in addition he had been appointed a Magistrate and a Justice of the Peace in 1841. His duties were many and varied. The following story will illustrate some of the more unusual duties he was called upon to perform. One couple had eloped and so the old man, having been informed, mounted his horse and went off, overtook them and took the lady to ride pillion behind him back again to Australind!

He had firmly believed the Company would succeed in its venture, and had it not been for the untimely arrival in London of George Grey and the unfounded rumours which caused so much trouble, Marshall Waller Clifton's hopes of establishing a thriving town on the banks of the Leschenault may have been realised. The magnificent plan for the Town of Australind can be seen on the Pioneers' Memorial which was erected near the site of the Old Settlement. It covered 1 ,000 acres and included sites for hospitals, schools, a library, museum, seven churches and a Quakers' Meeting House, and even an observatory. And he envisaged an Inner Harbour. Now, more than 100 years after his death we can see the Inner Harbour has already come to life, even if it isn't complete, and Australind is fast becoming an important suburb of Bunbury. There are the big works established there by La Porte on what was once Company land, and that provides much employment. So it gives me great satisfaction to think that I have lived to see Australind achieve at least a little of the status he hoped it might.

When his services were dispensed with in 1843, Marshall Waller Clifton could have returned to England, but being a man with a strong sense of duty, he felt that he could not abandon the settlers he had been largely responsible for, and so he decided to remain and share their fate. He was 56 years of age when the Company ceased to exist and he was faced with the prospect of establishing a new life.

"Upton House" which became his home in 1847, was erected from bricks brought from England as ballast on the Trusty when she arrived on a second trip in May, 1844. The house was built in 1845 for Mrs. Elizabeth Fry, the famous Quakeress, on a town allotment originally belonging to her brother Samuel Gurney, and probably takes its name from Upton Lane where she lived in London. Mrs. Fry died in 1845 and her husband Joseph sold the house to Marshall Waller Clifton. His son Pearce lived there for a time before moving to "Leschenault", and on 14th May, 1847, Waller moved into "Upton House" where he was to spend the rest of his days.

In 1844 he was appointed a member of the Leschenault Road Board, and in 1851 became a member of the Legislative Council. Here he fought for the rights of the small landholders, which did not make him very popular with the large landholders and merchants of the Colony. He remained a member of the Council until he was seventy-one, riding to sessions in Perth on horseback. After a particularly stormy session in 1858, he resigned.

Marshall Waller Clifton died at "Upton House" on the 10th April, 1861, after an illness which had begun some months before.

"It is with much regret that we record in our obituary of this day the death of Marshall Waller Clifton, Esq., of Australind.

From his first arrival in the Colony, 20 years ago, to the period of his death, Mr. Clifton occupied a prominent position amongst us.

When in the Legislative Council he was one of its most active and intelligent members. As a Horticulturist he was preeminent, the practical results of his various experiments in that branch of science leaving him no compeer.

As the country gentleman, he was the personification of pleasures of his way-faring guests.

In his family relations Mr. Clifton was in all respects patriarchal, and although he lived and died 'amidst a grove of his own kindred', there were many absent ones to grieve over his loss.

In society at large he leaves a blank, as all must feel who have appreciated his presence during those periodical visits he was wont to pay to Perth and Fremantle; when, as 'The observed of all observers' his elasticity of spirits and 'Bonhommie' served to create, at least, a pleasing ripple upon the too often monotonous surface of our every day life."

[3] Robert Cecil Clifton, son of Robert Williams Clifton.

[4] Laurence Stirling Eliot, son of George and Louisa (nee Clifton) Eliot.

[5] Harry Frederick Johnston, son of Harley Robert and Mary (nee Clifton) Johnston. H.F. Johnston's son, Frederick Marshall Johnston became Surveyor General of Australia.

The early settlement was a very pro-Protestant settlement. Marshall Waller Clifton himself was the son of a Church of England clergyman and his wife was a quakeress, and a number of the early settlers were Congregationalists - independents, I think they called them in those days. On the long voyage out in the Parkfield, the Commissioner conducted services, and his wife an hour-long Bible reading each Sunday.

The original plan for Australind included sites "for seven churches or other places of public worship, with grounds for ministers' residences and school-houses, and a Quakers Meeting-house". The Commissioner conducted an Anglican Service every Sunday and for many years the Company's Survey Office was used as a Church. When Mr. Wollaston arrived in Bunbury, he and his sons built the Church at Picton. That was completed in 1842 and Mr. Wollaston conducted services there, at Australind and Bunbury and as far south as Busselton. In 1848, Mr. Wollaston was transferred to Albany and for a while there was no Anglican clergyman in the district. In 1853 a Mr. Henry Brown was stationed in Bunbury. He married Marshall Waller's daughter Lucy in that same year and in 1861 they went to Busselton where they were to spend the rest of their lives. At the time my parents were married in 1887, a man named Purnell was in Bunbury. Mother and Father were married in the old pro-cathedral of St. Paul in Bunbury, which was dedicated in 1866. It has been pulled down in recent years and the P.B.S. and the Bank of N.S.W. now occupy the site. Mr. Withers was there for many years, and he used to travel out to Brunswick and Harvey and down to Donnybrook, as Purnell did.

The little Church at Australind was once a Congregational Chapel. Grandfather always referred to it as Allnutt's Chapel. Mr. Allnutt, who lived across the road from the little Church, conducted services there for the Congregationalists and Sunday School for all the Protestant children around, as far as I can make out. During the week it was used as a school room. The land on which it stands was once owned by James Narroway, who came on the Trusty with the Allnutts, and it is believed he gave the land and cottage which stood on it to the Congregationalists and John Allnutt converted the cottage into a chapel. It was used by the Congregationalists until 1914, by which time the Congregational community had moved away. Mr. Frewer, who was Bishop of the North West latterly (he was a nephew of the wife of the first Anglican Bishop of Bunbury), was in charge of the South Bunbury Parish, which included Australind and Picton and what is Carey Park today. He arranged to buy the little old Congregational Chapel for the Church of England. He gave it the name of St. Nicholas, by which it is called today, after his father's parish in Cheshire, England.

Shortly before the Parkfield left England, all the Clifton family, with the exception of George and Francis and his wife, together with over 70 friends and relations attended a Quakers' meeting in London. It was a very moving service, and earnest prayers were offered for all the family about to embark for Western Australia. After arriving at Australind, Mrs. Clifton continued the scripture readings she had conducted on board, every Sunday afternoon. Ml her Church friends in England were so distressed at her not having a Quakers' Meeting House that they joined together and sent her money to build one. Mrs. Clifton remained steadfast in her Quaker belief and wore her simple Quaker attire all her life. The little meeting house, which stood in the grounds of "Upton House", vanished long ago.

To begin with there were no Roman Catholics at Australind, except Mr. Little and his family who had settled at "Belvedere" at the head of the Estuary before the Cliftons arrived. He was breeding horses for export to India. Waller's son Charles married Mr. Little's ward, Maria Glynn, on 21st October, 1851. Maria was brought up a Roman Catholic and to satisfy both families, a marriage was performed at "Belvedere" by the Roman Catholic Chaplain[6]from Bunbury, followed by an Anglican ceremony in the Survey Office at Australind, conducted by Rev. Matthew Fletcher.[7]The second was a double wedding with Rachel Clifton and George Smith. Rachel and George and their infant son died within a few weeks of each other the following year.

Mr. Little also took up a big area of land at Dardanup and brought out a large number of Irish immigrants who were Roman Catholics. Dardanup today has a large number of people descended from those early Irish Roman Catholics.

During the 1850s a number of Roman Catholic families settled up the Coast Road. The Ferris's, Rodgers, Travers and Dunns and quite a lot of others I just can't think of, and they were large families. The old Rodgers, for instance, had ten sons. They all married so far as I know and all had families, so you can imagine they multiplied. They built a church half way up the Estuary, and it is only in the last two or three years that it has been demolished. This church was administered from Bunbury.

Only Protestants of various denominations were buried in the Cemetery at Australind, excepting an old Indian, Robert Ghainda, who lived not far from the Pioneers' Memorial. He had come from Goa, which was a Roman Catholic settlement and he himself was a Roman Catholic. When he died in '96, the priest in Bunbury refused to bury him because he hadn't been to mass, so Mr. Buchanan, the Congregational minister for many years in Bunbury, buried him in the Australind Cemetery. A wooden railing and headstone which were erected have been destroyed by white ants, or bush fires, and his grave is now outside the fence which was erected much later to keep straying stock from damaging the headstones. It was never intended that the cemetery would be just for Protestants, and I suppose Ghainda was buried away from the pioneers in that part originally reserved for other religions. The Roman Catholics who came later had their Parish priest and were buried in the Roman Catholic section of the Old Bunbury Cemetery, which was in time covered by sand drifts. Any head stones that were left were moved up on the slope and the area grassed. It is now known as Pioneer Park.

Wollaston, John Ramsden, M.A. Camb. May 1841-1848. Transferred to Albany. Made Archdeacon in 1849.

Brown, Henry William, B.A. of Christ Church, Oxford. January or February 1853-1861. Transferred to Busselton. H.W. Brown b. 1822 d. 1886.

Withers, Joseph. 1864 and was in Bunbury nearly 16 years. Transferred to Williams.

Purnell, R. About 1880 Rev. Purnell occupied the Rectory for some years, after which Withers again took charge.

[6] Timothy Donovan.

[7] Rev. Matthew Fletcher: arrived in W.A. in 1850 and was first chaplain to convicts in Fremantle.

It wasn't until nine years after Australind started that convict labour was brought to Western Australia. Australind was founded on the Wakefield principle and they were free settlers. The idea of having convicts here at all met with some opposition, but they found they could not get labour to construct roads, or for any other public works, and in 1850 the first ones arrived in the colony on the Scindian. During the next eighteen years more than 9,500 convicts, all of them men, were sent out from England.

There was a large encampment of them on the Company's land where La Porte stands today.