ALVERSTOKE

EMILY
K. CLIFTON
Compiled
by Madeline F. Few
Electronic text by Peter G. Few
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.
DEDICATED
TO
THE
MEMORY OF MY PARENTS
Algernon
Francis Clifton
and
Augusta
Dorinda Clifton
who
were affectionately known as
Algie
and Gussie
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.
Chapter 1 – Background
Chapter
2 – "The
Field Before Us Is A Splendid One" M.W.C
Chapter
3 – Early
Days at Australind
Chapter
4 – Collapse
of the Company
Chapter
5 – The
Early Churches
Chapter
6 – The
Convicts
Chapter
7 – Early
Doctors
Chapter
8 – Early
Days at "Alverstoke"
Chapter
9 – Return
to Australind
Chapter
l0 – Algie
Chapter
11 –
Gussie
Chapter
12 – An
Agreement is Made
Chapter
13 – A
House is Built
Chapter
14 – A New
Generation
Chapter
15 – The
War Years
Chapter
16 – They
Reaped that Golden Harvest
Chapter
17 – "Alverstoke"
Today
Appendix
I
Send-off
to the Island Queen
Appendix
II
Marshall
Waller and Elinor Clifton & Their Children
Appendix
III
Robert
Williams and Christina Grant Clifton & Their Children.
Appendix
IV
Algernon
Francis and Augusta Dorinda Clifton & Their Children.
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.
Madeline
F. Few,
North
Innaloo.
CHAPTER
1
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 16th
December, 1777:
My Lord,
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.
I am, with great respect, my Lord
Your most oblig'd & Obedient servant
E. Sparkes. Commissioner.
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.
CHAPTER
2
IS
A SPLENDID ONE" M.W.C.
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.
CHAPTER
3
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,
bringing
them into the harbour.
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:
The Rev. J.R. Wollaston
Dr. Green
Mr. Birch
Mr.
Eliot
Mr Eliot
Mr. Stirling
Mr.
Thompson
The
Coffin
Mr. Thompson
The Coffin
Mr. Greensill
Mr.
Onslow Mr.
Mr. Onslow
Mr. Pearce Clifton
Chief Commissioner
His Secretary
Officers of the Survey two and two
Other inhabitants of Australind two and two
People of the neighbourhood two and
two
Strangers two and two
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.
CHAPTER
4
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
"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.
On
the 19th April, 1861, The Perth Gazette published the following:
"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.
CHAPTER 5
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.
Notes
on Anglican Clergy at Bunbury 1841-1893
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.
Married
28.11.1853 to Lucy Clifton
b. 1829 d. 1906.
Mears,
William, B.A. Oxford. 1861-1864. Went blind while in Bunbury.
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.
CHAPTER
6
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.