Albert Edward Hay (1875 - 1950)

Albert Hay, born in 1875, was the second son and sixth child of David and Katherine Hay. He spent most of his life in Bunbury and was well known in horse racing circles. A biographical sketch stated:

"Albert's chief love in life is horses. He is reputed to be one of the best judges of horseflesh in the state, and his tales of horse dealings before the advent of the automobile bring chuckles from both recounter and listeners, his prowess in dealing with unmanageable equines was legend; many an outlaw was brought to Albert Hay for taming." - Southern Times 1948 (reference).

Early Life

Albert was born in his father’s house in Victoria Street, Bunbury (reference). He grew up before the advent of the motor car, and, as a young man, he would exercise his father’s horses when they were not being used for transport. Albert was also a person who would not hesitate to help others. In one incident in 1893, this trait nearly cost him his life while he was out exercising the family horse. The story was reported in the Bunbury Herald: “A sensational accident occurred on Friday morning last. Mr. Albert Hay, when riding for exercise the well-known grey horse (Donald) belonging to Mr. D. Hay, was asked to assist in driving a young bull into town. He immediately consented, and headed the bull once or twice. The bull eventually got into a paddock adjoining Stirling Street, and when young Hay tried to dislodge him he charged the horse viciously, and struck him just behind the shoulder. The horse did not seem to be much distressed at first, but directly after arriving in the stable, fell, and shortly afterwards died. Mr. Albert Hay narrowly escaped being injured, as the horn of the bull just grazed his leg. The horse stood the shock, and did not fall, otherwise a more serious accident would have resulted. We regret the death of the horse, which was well-known in the district as one of the best single harness buggy horses known here.” (reference)

However, he wasn’t always a responsible rider, or perhaps he wasn’t used to the town growing around him. In 1899, Albert was fined for “having committed a breach of the municipal by-laws by driving horses round a corner at the intersection of Victoria and Stephen streets at a faster pace than a walk.” (reference).

In the early years, Albert did survey work on the Bunbury-Collie Railway and the Bunbury Breakwater (reference).

Lily married Albert Hay in 1901, and they were happily married for almost 50 years (reference; reference). Albert and Lily had seven children together: Ailsa (b. 1901), David (b. 1903), Eldred “Dick” (b. 1904), Lilian “Bridie” (b. 1906), Forrest “Barney” (b. 1908), Patricia (b. 1911) and Beryl “Maeve” (b. 1913) (reference).

Taxi Service

By 1900, Albert had an extensive livery stable and his own taxi service business in Bunbury, which he ran for many years - transitioning from horse and cart to motor cars (reference; reference). Even though the cabs were horse-drawn, Albert had similar problems to bus drivers today. There was an incident where young men threw stones at him, and Albert "fell on to the bottom of the bus and lay on the seat to dodge the stones. The stones struck the horses, and they galloped on. (reference)". Again, there were collisions and damage caused by errant horses (reference; reference). There was also the occasional fine for speeding (reference).

During these early years, people brought their difficult horses to Albert to train as he was known for his horse skills (reference). He was also known to occasionally save the day by reining in an errant horse that happened to be passing by (reference).

In 1903, Bunbury experienced extensive flooding. It was reported - tongue in cheek - that "Albert Hay is about to abolish the third bus and charter the S.S. Dunskey, so that in future he will be able to carry passengers right beyond the Federal Hotel to Armitage town and Parkesville" (reference).

By 1905, there were several other taxi services in Bunbury. Albert was running regular bus services. He provided one to the Parade Hotel and the other to Federal Hotel for the 1905/1906 summer season (reference; reference). 

Albert's horse-drawn omnibuses were used for many different things. For example, he hired out horses for funerals and transported people to company picnics, police to crime scenes and occasionally a dead body (reference; reference; reference).

The taxi services were not running at a great profit, though, as Albert pointed out in a letter to the paper responding to a request for a regular timetabled bus service "to expect cabs to run to a regular timetable and at frequent intervals from the centre of the town to the municipal boundaries for the service of a population of our limits is to expect cab proprietors to work their plants at a heavy loss. The system has been tried, and has proved a financial failure, the traffic being altogether insufficient. (reference)."

The Emergence of the Car

Albert's love of horses did not stop him from quickly embracing the motor car. He was one of the first to own a car in Bunbury. In 1912, he added a 20HP Ford Touring Car for hire to his business. He advertised his trade as a Motor Garage along with his stables (reference; reference; reference). Soon after the car arrived, Arthur Baldock hired it to take a party of five on a trip to Busselton: "Leaving Bunbury at 7 o'clock, the party arrived at Capel just two minutes after 8, having negotiated a considerable section of very bad road in an hour and two minutes, which, it is claimed, constitutes a record, and is truly a creditable performance in view of the sandy nature of the track which connects the two centres. The worst part of the road, however, is a stretch of some few miles between Capel and Ludlow. Although the track in some places appeared altogether impassable, especially for motor traffic, Mr. Baldock guided his Ford through with the five passengers aboard, without any apparent difficulty, maintaining a steady speed all the way. From Wonnerup to Busselton and thence onward to the caves the road is now in splendid order, and nothing could be more delightful than a spin at a speed of about 25 miles per hour over this lengthy stretch. Uncertain as it was in the daylight, the return journey, in pitch darkness, savored somewhat of a hazardous undertaking, but with two powerful headlights to guide him,

Mr. Baldock sent his car over the bad stretches at a pace which was more than alarming to novice motorists, and arrived at Bunbury, without having experienced a mishap of any nature, just two hours after leaving Busselton. This will be regarded by all who are acquainted with the road, and who know anything about motors, as a noteworthy performance" (reference).

Apparently, the new car didn't stand out that much to some. A couple of months after it arrived, the car was parked outside a wine saloon when a young boy named Robert Izard, who wasn't paying attention, cycled straight into the back of it. Albert didn't seem too worried about his car, as he immediately lifted the boy and drove him to the doctors for a check over (reference).  

Albert kept pace with the newer models of cars arriving on the market. In 1913, he bought a 25 hp Studebaker advertised as "noiseless" then a 1915 model Studebaker, followed by a 1918 model (reference; reference; reference).

Albert often went above and beyond a regular taxi service. In 1914, while motoring along the Boyanup Road, he came upon Arthur Dillon, severely injured after being trampled by his horses. Another rider had gone for help, so Albert picked Arthur up and headed towards Bunbury. He was met on the way by Dr Joel, who examined Dillon and tried to lessen his pain. They proceeded at full speed to Bunbury Hospital. Unfortunately, Dillon did not survive (reference) 

In 1915, he drove Mr and Mrs Kaeshagen from Bunbury to Williams after Mrs Kaeshagen's mother had died in an accident. This was the first car trip undertaken between Williams and Bunbury and took 14 hours, including a rest on the way. After Collie, "they left the beaten track, and practically followed a bush road, where the trees in some cases almost brushed the splashboards, the car having to dodge boulders and stumps." (reference).

In 1918, when Albert collected returning soldier Harry Payne and his family from the railway station, he decorated his car with flags for the occasion (reference).

Like cab drivers everywhere, Albert had some unusual incidents happen. One of these occurred when Albert had Frederick Godeshall Johnston, a retired timber inspector, as a passenger. After getting out of the car to open a gate, Albert returned to the vehicle and found Frederick had died. Apparently, Frederick had been having ongoing heart trouble for quite some time and had finally succumbed in Albert's cab (reference).

The new cars set new records for travelling between places, and their drivers were eager to prove how fast they were. Albert was no exception according to the 1940 recollections of a reporter with the pseudonym "Kritic": "Don't think I'm a sissy about cars—25 years ago with a dust coat, goggles and gauntlets, a bottle of whisky and some sandwiches, I thought nothing of facing a trip to Bunbury which might take five or 15 hours according to D.V., and I held the time record until Albert Hay beat it with a dare-devil drive of 4½ hours." (reference).

The arrival of cars brought changes, and there were new problems. Horses were much slower and people were casual in regards to roads. Unfortunately, this was the cause of a fatal accident when 5-year-old Thomas Trott ran onto the road in front of Albert's car. He was run over and died 15 minutes later. Albert was not blamed and the coroner's report issued the instruction that "the police and school teachers should be requested to prevent children playing marbles or other games in the streets." (reference).

In those early years, Albert had his share of accidents that were his fault. In 1914: "An accident, fortunately unattended with more serious results than recorded, happened on Monday evening at the Federal corner. Albert Hay was driving his car from Picton with some passengers and swung out round the corner, when the car and a cart came directly into collison. The horse was thrown down and a shaft of the cart went into the front of the oar, fortunately not striking the occupants. The horse was considered killed, but on being lifted up was found uninjured, and nothing was broken about the cart save a belly band. The driver of the cart had a shaking but the worst of the mishap fell on Mr. J. Reynolds, the well-known commercial traveller, who was found to have had an arm broken. The car was not much injured. Mr. Reynolds had his arm set, and was yesterday progressing favourably." (reference).

In 1918: "Mr Albert Hay, when negotiating the State School corner on Monday last, in his motor, narrowly escaped a serious accident. As it was, he collided with one of Mr Wight's delivery vans, doing some damage to the cart and harness. All's well that ends well."

In 1920: "On Thursday evening when Mr. Albert Hay was negotiating a hill near Kirup in his Studebaker car, he had a narrow escape of death. The sun had set and the car was travelling down a rather steep hill with two passengers —Mr. Albert Hay and Mr J. Hardwick, and when turning a corner came in contact with a large tree on the side of the road. Both the occupants received minor injuries, and it is indeed remarkable that the injuries were not more severe. The car was badly damaged, the radiator being badly bulged, the headlights broken, the windscreen smashed, and the axles turned. The machine is now in Messrs. McClure and Fault's undergoing repairs." (reference).

In 1922, the cab business failed and Albert filed for bankruptcy (reference). Sometime after this, Albert bought a Morris car for £80 and he still had it 20 years later when it had "done about 105,000 miles with only one mechanical breakdown, and that caused through water in the carburettor." The report also stated that the "car has become as familiar a landmark in Bunbury as the Municipal Hall." (reference).

Town Bailiff and Council Employee

After the taxi business failed, Albert worked on the wharf for a short time. In 1927, a sleeper dropped on his foot and crushed it. He was immediately taken to hospital, where he had his big toe amputated (reference). Following this accident, Albert took on the role of Town Bailiff for Bunbury and was in this role for 20 years from 1927 until 1947 when, after having his leg amputated, he retained the position of Sheriff's Officer (reference). Albert had to maintain an air of authority as bailiff and, as the following story shows, he seemed to manage this even with when the subject was being difficult: "It is not often that a human impedes the progress of a court session, but a mere dog- a huge Airedale - earned the "distinction" at the last sitting of the Local Court. He wandered in through the door by which the magistrate and solicitors enter, and first surveying the scene with his big brown eyes, casually sauntered into the body of the court....In the gallery the dog discovered his friend. He pawed at the railing and the magistrate, noticing the animal, ordered the responsible person to remove it. A man in the gallery rose and when he did the dog was quickly at his feet. The man grasped the dog by the collar, but the canine squatted on its haunches and refused to move…. A little coaxing folIowed and the magistrate's order fulfilled. The animal made its exit through the gallery door. Proceedings had advanced a little when the dog made a reappearance through another door. Bailiff Albert Hay, however, ejected the animal once and for all with a stentorian order which rolled through the court, and without coaxing or handling, the Airedale, tail between legs, departed, never to reappear." (reference)

By 1929, Albert was also employed by the Bunbury Council as the Assistant Traffic Inspector (reference). In this position, Albert wrote infringements for parking and driving (reference; reference). In the same way, he did as a taxi driver, Albert went beyond his duties by voluntarily organising parking for significant events (reference, reference).

As an economic measure in 1931, the Council asked him if he would also be the poundkeeper in addition to his duties as an assistant traffic inspector, but Albert declined (reference; reference). In the same year, however, Albert helped the Council's economy by accepting the extra duties of Rates Collector and being very successful at collecting the outstanding council rates (reference; reference).

The Bunbury Race Club

Throughout his life, Albert retained a great love for horses and was said to be one of the best horse judges throughout the state. He was also somewhat of a horse whisperer, being able to train even the most difficult animals. When he ran the livery stable, he enjoyed showing horses and was very proud that in the local show, his horse outfit beat one belonging to Mr Teasdale Smith, which had won first prize in the Melbourne Show (reference). 

His association with the Bunbury Racing Club spanned more than 50 years, and in that time, he only missed two meetings when he was hospitalised. He served on the committee for many years and took on many roles, including starter and judge (reference). In 1932, a report about the Race Club singled out Albert for his contribution:

"They also take pride in the club's course on which many honorary workers have spent a good deal of time. No one is more consistent than Mr. A. E. Hay. His father cleared the course and had foresight enough to leave a number of shade trees in convenient places. His son is now carrying on the good work, and spends a good deal of his time at the course." (reference) Albert was made a life member of the club in 1947 (reference). In 1954, his children donated memorial gates to the Race Club in honour of their father. At the presentation of the gates, his son Mr "Barney" Hay said that: "his father had always battled for the betterment of the club and its interests. He was responsible for getting water laid on to the course and planted many of the fine trees which added so much to the picturesque setting today" (reference).

Albert was 75 when he died in September 1950 after two years of failing health (reference). Albert was well-loved in Bunbury and a newspaper article stated "Albert Hay probably has more friends in Bunbury than most ten men put together." (reference).

Researched by Gaye Englund for the Museum of Perth