Streets of Bunbury

FLAHERTY FAMILY OF WELLINGTON LOCATION:  ROELANDS, BRUNSWICK & PICTON

Edward John & Sarah Elizabeth Flaherty (nee Chapman)

In 1829, Edward & Sarah Flaherty arrived in Western Australia from England on board the Gilmore, with their seven children ranging from sixteen to three years old.  They lived at Clarence Beach and Bassendean before moving to Roelands in the 1840’s becoming John Septimus Roe’s tenants.  

They were well known and well liked in the area and have since been referred to as amongst those early settlers who forged their way in a harsh environment, when others gave up.  They weren’t part of the failed WA Company venture of the Australind settlement, but they worked side by side with those and they succeeded (reference). A connection with Benedict von Bibra and James Mylne (friends who became tea planters in India), both of whom married Flaherty sisters, probably enhanced the Flaherty family’s opportunities.  Property acquired by James Mylne was put in the hands of John Flaherty to manage whilst James was in India.  Sadly the Flaherty sisters, both living in India, died at a young age.

Edward and Sarah moved to Picton, near Bunbury sometime around 1860 to a property known as Sungrove, also purchased by James Mylne.  After Edward and Sarah died, their son Edward Frederick ran the 20 acre property and their other son John, remained at Roelands and Brunswick.  Edward Jnr died in 1884 aged 51.   His wife Esther and  his sister Elizabeth ran the property until approximately 1913 when it was sold and they moved to 42 Spencer Street, South Bunbury.

Esther passed away in 1942 and her two unmarried daughters moved to Perth in about 1945.  

The Flaherty connection with Wellington Location came to an end after 100 years.

Edward Flaherty was born in about 1791 in Ireland (reference, p34).  In 1812, in Kent, England,  he married Sarah Elizabeth Chapman, who was born in about 1795.  Her place of birth is not known (reference, p34).  He was employed as a sawyer at the Chatham Naval yards, Kent (reference, p34).

PERTH

Edward and Sarah arrived in Western Australia in 1829 on board the Gilmore with their seven children, Mary Ann (b1813); John (b 1815); Matilda Sarah (b 1820); Sarah Elizabeth (b 1822); Caroline (b 1823); Elizabeth (b 1824) and Henrietta (b 1827) (reference, p34).  The Gilmore was the first of three ships that Thomas Peel purchased for British settlers to sail to the fledgling Western Australia colony.  Their enthusiasm for the scheme soon dissipated when they lost their priority in gaining suitable land due to arriving in the colony after a set deadline and they had to settle for unsurveyed land between the Swan and Murray Rivers (reference).

In 1830 the family were living at the new settlement called Clarence Beach and the girls (except Mary Ann and Henrietta) attended a school in Rockingham (reference).  However the conditions were atrocious, rife with scurvy and dysentery and after a year Thomas Peel’s vision had failed (reference).  

The Flaherty family moved away from the area and on June 5th, 1832 Edward Frederick was born in Bassendean and baptised at St George’s Cathedral, Perth (reference).

In 1835, Louisa Jane was born, possibly in Bassendean (reference).

In 1836 Edward and Sarah’s daughter Matilda married Benedict von Bibra. It was through this marriage that the early connection was made between the Flaherty family and the two tea planters, James Mylne and Benedict von Bibra, probably allowing the advancement of the Flaherty family in working property in the Wellington Location (reference (page 9)).

On December 23rd, 1840 Ellen Elizabeth was born in Bassendean, the youngest child of the family and was baptised at St George’s Cathedral, Perth (reference).

In 1840 John Septimus Roe advertised for tenants at his estate at Wellington Location 4, which later was known as Roelands (reference,  1  ,  reference).

ROELANDS

The Flaherty’s became his tenants and Flaherty Brook is named after them, however the exact date of them moving to the area is unknown.  A C Staples in his book They made their destiny - History of settlement of the Shire of Harvey 1829 - 1929,  assumes it was the early 1840’s when the WA Company ships were arriving ( 2, 3 ).   

However, Edward Snr was successful in obtaining a 200 acre block in the Swan River District on 10 February 1842 (reference).  It is not known what happened to this parcel of land.

The first known reference of the Flahertys residing at Roelands is in 1846  in Marshall Waller Clifton’s diaries.

The Flahertys were living in “close” proximity (approximately 12 kms)  to Marshall Waller Clifton, the ex-Chief Commissioner of the Western Australian Company in charge of the Australind Settlement (another scheme that failed).  He built a house which he called Upton House, (now on the town site of Australind).

There are a number of entries in his diaries for the Flahertys.  On April 8th, 1846 Clifton notes that he was passed by Flaherty’s bullock cart on the bridge at Leschenault Park (4). The bridge referred to is over the Preston River which linked Australind to Bunbury and was built by the settlers alongside prominent people of the district (reference).

In early 1849 there was a  brief report on a verdict of two aboriginals found guilty of killing Edward’s stock (reference.) This was the first of two court cases that the Flahertys were involved with.

Later on in 1849 Edward and Sarah’s daughter Henrietta married James Mylne, the friend of Benedict von Bibra, her brother-in-law (reference (p 185)).

Tragically in 1850, Edward and Sarah’s youngest daughter, Ellen,  died in a freakish accident.  She was in a cart being driven by her brother Edward, when the cart overturned (may have hit a rock or similar) and Ellen was thrown out.  She died of her injuries a week later (reference, 5).

Another reference to the Flahertys in Clifton’s diaries was on October 29th, 1851 when they were called upon to help him out with sheep dipping. ( 6 )

On May 15th, 1852 Edward Snr placed a legal notice regarding a heifer who had strayed onto his property and if not claimed would be sold to cover expenses  (reference).  Clifton notes in his diary on June 14th, 1852 about a court case of Crampton vs Flaherty, possibly relating to the strayed heifer ( 7 ).   

The full details of both legal cases are unknown.    

No records can be found that verify when Edward Snr relinquished the Roelands’ tenancy, but according to A C Staples’ book the family were still at Roelands during the 1850’s ( 8 ).  On January 6th, 1853 in Clifton’s diary he referred to visiting J Flaherty’s property and its description  appears to be Roelands ( 9  ).  From this it could be deduced that Edward Snr was no longer taking an active role in the property; he was about 62 years of age.

PICTON

Edward Snr & Sarah moved to Picton, to two blocks of land (Wellington Locations 140 & 167, covering 20 acres), known as Sungrove, purchased by their son-in-law James Robert Mylne ( 10  ). The exact dates of their move are not known.   This is now modern-day Davenport, in the vicinity of Southwest Highway, Halifax Drive and Clifford Street, on the outskirts of Bunbury (reference).

Edward Snr died suddenly in 1862 (reference). Sarah died in 1865 at Picton (reference).  There are no official death records for either Edward or Sarah but they are both memorialized on a tablet at St Mark's Church, Picton, the earliest church in Bunbury (reference , reference ).

FAMILY

Mary Ann (1813 - )  (reference, p34).    

John (1815 England - 1897 Bunbury WA), married Mary Ann Fisher (nee Marsh) in 1865 at Brunswick (reference, p34).  John worked at the Roelands property and had land at Brunswick ( 9  ;  reference).  See his biography here.

Matilda Sarah was born about 1820 in England  and married Benedict von Bibra in 1836 (reference, p34).  Sadly in 1857, aged only 37, Matilda died in India (reference).  Benedict, originally from Tasmania, who went to India and became a tea-planter, died February 2nd, 1884 at Howrah, India (reference).  

Sarah Elizabeth  (1822- ) (reference, p34).    

Caroline (1823- ) married J P Okley in 1838 (reference, p34).    

Elizabeth 1824 - 1906.  Later lived at Sungrove, Picton with Edward Jnr’s widow and daughters (reference, p34) .  She died there and was buried at St Mark’s Church, Picton (reference).

Henrietta  (1827 - 1861 India).  Photograph of Henrietta is available at the State Library of WA (reference).  Married James Mylne (1815 Scotland - 1899 India) in 1849 (reference, p185).  James purchased 500 acres at Beelah, near Brunswick and 20 acres at Picton, known as Sungrove ( 10 ;  reference, p8).  Sungrove Avenue, Wollaston, near St Mark’s Church, is named after this property.

Edward Frederick  (1832 Bassendean - 1884 Picton)  Married Esther Allison (1856 -1942), daughter of a pensioner guard, in 1874 at Australind.  They had two daughters (reference, p34). See his biography here.

Louisa Jane (1835 - 1929) married Alfred Moore in 1853 at Picton (reference, p34; reference).  Alfred (1832 - 1893) was the uncle of Sir Newton Moore, Bunbury Mayor 1900-1904; WA Premier 1906-1910  (reference; reference).

Ellen Elizabeth  (1840 - 1850) (reference, p34).   

1. A C Staples; They made their destiny - History of settlement of the Shire of Harvey 1829 - 1929 

(Bunbury, WA:  South West Printing & Publishing Co P/L) p61  

2. Staples; They made their destiny p62

3. Staples; They made their destiny pp 63-64

4. Phyllis Barnes, J M R Cameron et al (eds.); Australind Journals of Marshall Waller Clifton 1840 - 1861 

(Carlisle, WA: Hesperian Press)  p272

5. Barnes, Cameron et al (eds.); Australind Journals of Marshall Waller Clifton p371

6. Barnes, Cameron et al (eds.); Australind Journals of Marshall Waller Clifton p407

7. Barnes, Cameron et al (eds.); Australind Journals of Marshall Waller Clifton p422

8. Staples; They made their destiny  p155

9. Barnes, Cameron et al (eds.); Australind Journals of Marshall Waller Clifton p437

10. Staples; They made their destiny pp 156-157