Matthew (Matt.) Edward Wallis (1862 - 1950)

Matthew Wallis was a builder in Bunbury in the latter half of the 19th century whose projects included The Rose Hotel and the old Bunbury Hospital. He was also the founding member of the Bunbury Commercial and Hunt Clubs.

Early Life

Matthew was born in 1862 at Guildford to Matthew and Frances (nee Gee) Wallis. Matthew’s father Matthew Nathaniel Wallis was transported to Western Australia as a convict. He was sentenced to seven years in 1849 and arrived at Fremantle in 1851 on board the Minden. Matthew snr. was originally a bricklayer but after his sentence expired, he formed a building business that employed around 30 men. His company constructed several major buildings including St Matthew’s Church in Guildford and the Christian Brothers College in Fremantle  (reference, reference).  Matthew’s mother died when he was 10 years old. He had four full brothers and nine half siblings from his father’s other two marriages (reference, reference).

Matthew initially followed his father and became a builder. He was 21 years old when he  arrived in Bunbury in 1883 (reference).

Bunbury

Two years after Matt moved to Bunbury, he married local Jane Waddington in the community church in Ferguson Valley, 1885 (reference). It was the first wedding held in the church (reference). Mr Wallis built a large house for his family at 13 Carey Street and they lived there from 1893 onwards (reference, reference). Mr Wallis was committed to the Bunbury community and tried his hand at several businesses in the area. A South Western Times interview with Mr Wallis when he was 86 years old gave him the title of

“Bunbury’s Grand Old Man” (reference).

Business 

Builder

Initially, when Mr Wallis arrived in Bunbury, he started work as a contractor and builder. One of his first projects was a new grandstand at the Bunbury Race Course in 1895 (reference, reference). The following year, Mr Wallis worked with Mr Gibbs doing the brickwork on the new Methodist Church (reference). He then went into  partnership with William Boundy and, in 1897, they built the original Bunbury Hospital (reference, reference). The partnership was brief, though, as it was dissolved in 1898 (reference). Matthew Wallis still continued with the building and contracting business and, in 1900, he secured the tender for the Goldfields (now Railway) Hotel in Donnybrook (reference, reference). However, in the same year the partnership was dissolved, Mr Wallis ventured into an entirely different type of work.

Bottling Works

In 1898, Mr Wallis was appointed manager of the bottling department of the Bunbury Brewery which he immediately expanded (reference, reference). After he took over, there was an increase in business and at the end of that year, he applied for a gallon licence for a shop on the corner of Carey and Victoria Streets (reference). The application was successful and  the following year, he advertised as  the proprietor of the Bunbury Bottling Works (reference, reference). From the shop, he sold Bunbury Ale and Stout (reference). In the same year, 1899, he constructed a pyramid out of 50 dozen bottles of Bunbury beer at the entrance of the Western Australian International Mining and Industrial Exhibition held in Coolgardie  (reference, reference). In March 1899, he was fined for not defacing a stamp on an opened cask as required by the Liquor Act and was fined 40 shillings. Mr Wallis claimed it was an oversight but the inspector thought the stamp was affixed in such a way as to be open to fraud. (reference). It may have been the reason for why Mr Wallis was refused a licence when he applied later in the year for a hotel that was being constructed in Donnybrook (reference, reference). It does seem that he was granted a licence later for the Goldfields Hotel which was cancelled in 1901 for breaches of the liquor act (reference).

Financial Crisis

In February 1901, a notice was placed in the Bunbury Herald asking creditors of Mr Matthew Edward Wallis, Bunbury Building Contractor, to meet with lawyer Mr K. Eastman in accordance with the Bankruptcy Act. However, Mr  Wallis must have been saved from bankruptcy by either his brother James or his wife Jane buying into the company as by October, the company was trading as JK and M Wallis (reference, reference, reference). That year, he was also refused a mining lease in Donnybrook (reference). Matthew continued as a builder until 1908 when he gave it up to become the steward at the newly formed Commercial Club (reference)

Commercial Club

Matthew Wallis was one of the foundation members of the Bunbury Commercial Club and was employed as the steward there in 1908. It seems he found his niche as he was popular among members and he stayed working at the club until 1937 when, at seventy five years old, he retired after an accident in which he broke his neck and was bedridden for three months . Even after retirement, Mr Wallis, who was a lifelong member of the club, would visit there on an almost daily basis (reference, reference).

Community Participation

Mr Wallis was heavily invested in promoting the welfare of Bunbury people from all walks of life and spoke up on their behalf when needed. In 1906, when the council was using prison labour for municipal works, Mr Wallis strongly objected and, after seeing five prisoners working outside his home,  immediately wrote a letter to the Southern Times objecting to the practice. 

“This public parade I have the utmost abhorrence for,”

he wrote and added that two free men would easily do the work of the five prisoners and this would save the expense of the supervisor, Mr Moore,  who he referred to as:

“the amateur Pooh Bah Moore”

(a reference to the self important character from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Mikado). He concluded by saying that:

“prisoners should be kept in prison and not suffer the double degradation that is now the order of the day in Bunbury” (reference).

He didn’t stop after writing the letter but continued his campaign by organising a protest meeting for the following Saturday evening on the street corner outside the Burlington Hotel. A large number of people attended this meeting and several prominent citizens spoke out against the practice. Following the meeting, Mr Charles Hastie wrote a letter to the paper saying that prisoners working on the streets would ruin the town’s reputation and visitors would say “no more Bunbury for me, why it’s a real convict settlement”.

He also appealed to the personal suffering of the prisoners, noting that one day it could be anyone’s sons or grandsons and he would not like them to be reduced to such a level. Despite the protests, prison labour was still in force in Bunbury several years later (reference).

Along with his care for people, Mr Wallis also participated in a variety of community activities.

Civic Duties

Mr Wallis first served on the council in 1898 when he was elected to  the council unopposed to fill a vacancy in the north ward (reference). Even though  he was defeated in the following year, it was, the mayor said, when referring to the defeat of Mr Wallis and another councillor:

“the fortunes of war…They were both good men and had proved to be practical men who were very often referred to in road making. Cr Wallis, though he had been a shorter time in the council, had proved a very active member.”(reference).

The Southern Times also agreed stating that since Mr Wallis had been on the Council,

“he has certainly looked after the interests of the ratepayers” (reference).

Mr Wallis later served  on  the council again from 1919 to 1922 (reference, reference).

Mr Wallis was always interested in civic matters regardless of whether he was a councillor or not. One year, he was the only ratepayer to attend the semi-annual ratepayer’s meeting due to most people attending another event. He asked at the outset whether he could ask for the meeting to be adjourned but the Mayor decided it was proper to read all the reports. Mr Wallis then refused to adjourn the meeting and said he had:

“a few things he wanted to put right”

but as no one was attending he would wait until the end of the year. The Mayor replied that he would see Mr Wallis after the meeting adding that he was:

“as curious as a woman to know what you have to say”   (reference)

At the federal level of politics, in 1899,  Mr Wallis was involved in organising information meetings about  the upcoming election on Federation because he felt,

“they should, as citizens, try to get to the bottom of this question in order that everybody might know what were the benefits we were going to derive and exactly what we were going to lose.”  (reference, reference)

Wellington Agricultural and Other Societies

Mr Wallis was on the committee of the Wellington Agricultural and Pastoral Society and was also a steward during the Bunbury Show for many years (reference, reference, reference, reference, reference, reference, reference, reference, reference).  In 1907, Matthew lent his cows to the company exhibiting a new milking machine because he:

“was anxious to afford the numerous dairymen who attended the Show specially to see the machines in actual operation” (reference).

In 1915, Mr Wallis used the Bunbury Show to support the war effort.

 “Mr M. E. Wallis had an enclosure, in which was his Australian Menagerie, comprising two kangaroos, a brush, a fighting rooster, a performing goat, and a turtle. He, at intervals, boxed with his kangaroo and rooster, getting goodly showers of silver to aid the Munitions Fund.” (reference)

He also was involved in the Bridgetown and Busselton shows as a judge (reference) or donating prizes (reference).

In 1901, Mr Wallis suggested that dogs be included in the show and later in the year he became an inaugural committee member for the Poultry, Dog and Caged Bird Society.   He was a steward at their annual show and also donated prizes including one in 1901 for the most handsome cock in the show (reference, reference, reference, reference, reference).

Mr Wallis was also a foundation member of the Bunbury branch of the United Ancient Order of Druids and became the first Arch Druid of the local lodge in 1895 (reference, reference).

Sporting Clubs

Mr Wallis was associated with a wide variety of sports either as an active participant or as a supporter. As an old man, he said his one regret of being old was that he was no longer able to play tennis and golf (reference).

In his early years in Bunbury, Mr Wallis was a sergeant in the Bunbury Rifle Volunteer Corps

and in later years he supported the Rifle club through generous donations (reference, reference).

He also recalled with much pleasure his involvement with the sports involving horses. He was on the committee of the Bunbury Race Club and was a starter and Clerk of the Course for 20 years (reference). In 1897, the Bunbury Herald said Mr Wallis was:

 “always an able and indefatigable worker and his smiling face and willing help would be greatly missed on the Bunbury course” (reference)

Also, in 1902, the Collie Miner report on the summer race meeting in Bunbury said that  Mr Wallis:

“secured some of the cleanest starts ever seen on a racecourse” (reference)

As well, in earlier years at race meetings,  Mr Wallis often ran the totalizer (reference, reference). 

Mr Wallis owned many horses, some of which were successful in races (reference. reference, reference, reference, reference, reference). It was recalled that, even though he weighed 18 stone 10 lbs (119 kilos approximately), he would ride his own horses in races if he could not get a jockey (reference), 

Another horse sport that Mr Wallis was actively involved in was hunting. In 1905, he was a foundation member of the  Bunbury Hunt Club and was made the Master of the Hounds while the club was active (reference, reference, reference). This caused some problems as Mr Wallis housed the hunt pack at his residence and the smell and noise of twenty eight beagles gave rise to  complaints from his neighbours  (reference, reference). One of these hunt dogs was lost in the bush when the hunt club visited Collie. He made his way into the town, settled at the railway station for many years and was known as “Buller the railway dog” (reference). The hunt club disbanded  in 1911 and in 1934, Mr Wallis presented the whip and horn from the original hunt club  to the Bunbury Cross Country Horse Riding Club (reference, reference).

Mr Wallis supported several other local sports. In 1895, he was the Vice President of the Temperance Cricket Club (reference) and in 1897 and 1898, his company played cricket against the Gibbs Brothers (reference, reference).

He was also vice president of the Bunbury Football Club and the South West Football Association and sometimes acted as a delegate in disputes (reference, reference, reference, reference, reference, reference).

In 1896, Mr Wallis erected goalposts for a game of rugby with visiting city players and in 1898, he was involved in forming a Rugby Club in Bunbury (reference, reference).

Sailing was another sport that Mr Wallis participated in. He owned the yacht “Annetta” which he used in local races (reference, reference). He  also played a key role in organising several annual regattas for Bunbury in the late 1890s (reference, reference, reference, reference, reference).

As well, in 1899, Mr Wallis chaired a small meeting to establish the Bunbury Amateur Racing and Sports Club which covered both horse and foot racing. Their aim was to have sports programs organised for special holidays and any horse that had won more than £5 in a race was disqualified from participating (reference).

Other

Mr Wallis was always eager for Bunbury to celebrate special occasions and, as stated previously, he often organised regattas and sports for special occasions. In 1897, when Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee was approaching, several people, including Mr Wallis, noted that the council had done nothing in the way of preparation and publicly petitioned them to organise something. They then organised a public meeting to discuss preparations at which Mr Wallis spoke saying 

“all the other towns in the colony had had meetings and formed committees for the purpose of carrying out the celebrations with the exception of Bunbury, which, in his opinion, was more important than any of them.”

Mr Wallis was very exasperated by the council’s lack of enthusiasm so when it was suggested that the council be asked for the ₤100 grant they had received from the government for the jubilee celebrations, Mr Wallis said:

“Ask the council for nothing!”

to which Mr Haywood immediately replied:

“And you will get it!”. 

At that meeting, Mr Wallis was included in the committee that was formed to organise the celebrations (reference, reference, reference, reference).

Again, in 1899, he and several others, petitioned the Mayor to convene a meeting to organise the inaugural Bunbury Week celebrations which were designed to promote tourism in Bunbury (reference).

Mr Wallis also helped with several children’s events and was obviously careful to be inclusive, from the example of a picnic in 1900, when he was the judge for the children’s sports that a Mr English organised.  Reporting on the event, the Southern Times noted:

“The children did enjoy themselves. They all ran several times and were so handicapped and re handicapped that every child on the ground got three or four prizes.”(reference)

Mr Wallis was also very supportive of the Bunbury Nursing Association and while working at the Commercial Club, he would collect sixpence for the association from each note that was changed at the club  He was called a silent working friend of the association and in 1923, the chairman of the Association thanked him by name saying:

“ Matt Wallis [...] is always ready to do anything he possibly can to help our Association along”  (reference, reference).

Personal Life

Mr Wallis had a few personal interests outside his employment and community work. He bred poultry and won prizes at the show for a variety of birds including ducks, turkeys and Orpington hens (reference, reference, reference, reference, reference). He also grew vegetables and both he and his wife won several prizes at the Show  for eschalots (reference, reference, reference, reference).

Another of Mr Wallis’s interests was  duck shooting. On one occasion, when he had gone out  on his own, there was nearly a very nasty accident. He was in the reeds waiting for the ducks to land on the river. When they did, he waited a bit longer to make sure there were no other shooters in the area and then fired.  Unfortunately, he accidentally hit a young man named Harry Lockhart. One  bullet had entered just over the eye and another over the ear but luckily, once the doctor had removed the shots, Harry was left with only minor injuries (reference).

It seemed Matthew liked to share his great experiences with others as, by way of example, when he saw a bright comet passing over at 3 o’clock in the morning, he immediately woke up his neighbours so they could all witness it as well (reference).  He also donated a giant petrel that he had found to the museum (reference).

Even though he suffered a broken neck from a fall when he was 75 years old, Mr Wallis lived another twelve years and was 87 years of age when he died in 1950 after being ill for several months (reference).

Family

Mrs Wallis

Jane Wallis, the daughter of pioneers Richard and Sarah Waddingham,  was born in 1864 in Parkfield and lived her whole life in the area around Bunbury. Richard was a timber carrier from Parkfield and later became a farmer at Dardanup. (reference). 

Jane enthusiastically supported her husband in his different pursuits, and was especially active in the Bunbury Hunt Club. Jane and her husband often exchanged roles as “Master” of the Hounds (reference, reference). The Hunt Club acknowledged her contribution by presenting her with a valuable purse:

“to mark the high esteem in which she is held by the members of the club.”

and

“for the great amount of energy she had at all times exerted to further the interests of the club.” (reference, reference).

When the foundation stone for the new building was laid, the President of the Commercial Club also acknowledged the contribution of Mrs Wallis to the club saying:

“Never was a social function held at the Club at which Mrs. and Miss Wallis had not done a great deal in so far as the creature comforts of the members were concerned. Almost every one in Bunbury knew the perfection of Mrs. Wallis in the culinary art and her skill and wonderful taste were always in evidence when the festive board was crowded with the good things of life”

(reference).

Mrs Wallis was also a keen and successful angler.  Her catches were often reported in the local newspapers and the Bunbury Herald referred to her as:

“Bunbury’s champion lady fisher” (reference, reference, reference).

She kept this hobby up until the end of her life and was a familiar figure on the jetty at all hours of the day (reference).

Although Mrs Wallis had health issues for some time, she was still active and her death in 1944 was very sudden. She had a turn and was admitted to hospital in the morning and she died that same evening. She was seventy nine years old (reference). 

Children

Jane and Matthew had eight  children: Violet Melrose (b. 1886); Albert Edward (b. 1887); Clarence Herbert (b. 1891); Douglas Kneale (b. 1893); Evaline Maud (b. 1895); Donald Matthew (b. 1898); Mabel Marion (b. 1901); and John Richard Burns (b. 1905). Violet died in infancy (reference).

Albert (Bert) Edward Wallis

Albert grew up in Bunbury and was educated at the public school (reference). He worked as a millhand before the war and enrolled for service in 1914 (reference). Albert fought at Gallipoli and was wounded there. He recovered and  later fought in Palestine. He was awarded a Military Medal for an act of gallantry which was described in his recommendation:

“8th  November 1917.  For conspicuous gallantry in the field.  On the right flank this man galloped into the retiring Turks and took the surrender of one officer, nine men and one Machine Gun ,with two complete packs.  His action and dash dumbfounded the enemy and I consider him worthy of a special award.  He was detached from his troop at the time  as flank guard and his action single handedly speaks for itself”.

Albert was discharged in April 1919 and arrived home in October 1919 (reference).

In 1920, Albert moved to Collie to live and the following year, he married Collie girl, Mabel Evelyn (May) Gamage (reference, reference). They had two sons, Peter and Teddie (reference, reference). Albert was 46 years old when he died in 1934 after a short illness and just after the birth of his second son (reference). His wife, Mabel, died suddenly five years later at 39 years of age (reference).

Clarence Herbert Wallis

Clarence was three years of age when he was kicked by a recently purchased family pony in 1894. Although the pain from the kick started to decrease, he didn’t look well after some time. Mrs Wallis took him to Dr Sampson who gave her some medicine and instructions but Clarence died 2 ½ hours after seeing the doctor. An inquest was held and the death was declared accidental with no one at fault (reference).

Douglas (Doug) Kneale (or Neil) Wallis

Douglas grew up in Bunbury and was educated at Bunbury Public School. While in the Infants School, he participated in a concert acting as a Captain putting his men through drill. The Southern Times gave this description:

“Captain Douglas Wallis, who was not much bigger than his toy rifle, took his men in hand and put them through some firing exercises, which was well done.” (reference).

When he was 14 years old, Douglas broke his leg in two places after falling off a horse but as Dr. Joel was nearby, Doug was admitted to hospital and the leg was quickly attended to (reference).

Douglas had a couple of strange things happen in his youth. Firstly, in 1913, a woman was missing in Bunbury for over a week and then, one morning, Douglas told his mother that he dreamt that he found her body and was going to the breakwater to investigate. He took a friend to where he had dreamed she would be and they found the woman’s body floating in the water (reference). Secondly, in 1914, he accidentally stabbed a horse while going fishing. He was carrying his fishing tackle and a butcher’s knife under his arm and when the pony shied on seeing a cow, Douglas clutched it to stop himself falling and the sharp point of the knife cut into the horse’s neck severing a jugular vein. Luckily, the horse survived (reference)

Douglas enlisted for service in 1914 and embarked from Brisbane in 1915. He was the regimental bugler with the 12th Battalion at Gallipoli and then served in France and Egypt. He also served  in the Army Stores in Egypt and England but he was gassed while in France and suffered quite a lot of sickness while overseas. He was discharged as medically unfit in 1918 and returned to Australia (reference, reference).

Douglas was a bugler and, on his return from service, often played “The Last Post” on Anzac Days and other occasions although this became more difficult in later years due to his ill health (reference, reference, reference).

Douglas married a Subiaco girl, Pretoria Irene Rawnsley, in 1921 (reference). They had one daughter, Joyce, born in 1921 (reference). 

Douglas died in 1932 as the result of a car accident near Brunswick.  On returning from Perth to Bunbury with his father and brother in law, Mr E. Hanley,  his car swiped a burning log on the road and crashed into a fence. While the two passengers were uninjured, Douglas suffered serious head injuries and was taken to St John of God hospital. Members of the RSL kept nightly vigil beside his bed for the five nights he was alive but he did not recover consciousness (reference). 

Evaline Maud (Dewie) Wallis

Evelyn grew up in Bunbury and was educated at the Bunbury State School (reference). She also completed a course at the Technical College in 1913 and gained certificates in English, Bookkeeping and Shorthand (reference). 

In 1931, Evelyn married Ernest James Arthur Hanley who originally came from Claremont (reference). They lived in Stockley Road, Bunbury (reference)

Evelyn died in Bunbury in 1975. She was 79 years old (reference).

Donald Matthew Wallis

Donald was educated in Bunbury and afterwards attended the Technical College where he gained certificates in English, Shorthand and Woodworking (reference). He began an apprenticeship with J. G Hough but enrolled for service in 1916 when he turned 18 and served in Egypt for the duration of the war. He returned home in September, 1919 (reference).  

Donald played football initially for Bunbury but then went to Railways then Lumpers. He finally settled in the Pastimes club (reference, reference, reference). He was also a member of Amateur Swimming Club and a very good swimmer (reference).

In 1920, Donald married Bunbury girl, Ruby Buck. They had two children - Shirley, born in 1920 and Clive, born in 1922. Clive died soon after birth and Ruby died two months later after a painful illness (reference, reference, reference).

In 1924, Douglas remarried in Albany to Gladys Thorpe.They lived in Beach Road, Bunbury. In 1926 they had a daughter, Ina Geraldine who unfortunately died in infancy (reference, reference).  

Donald died unexpectedly in 1930 at the St John of God Hospital after being ill for some time with septic poisoning. He was 30 years old (reference, reference, reference, reference).

Mabel Marion (Tot) Wallis

Mabel was educated at Bunbury and did continuation classes at the technical college. She won a prize there for overall performance in 1918 (reference). 

During the war years, Mabel and other young girls formed the Bunbury Girl’s Guild to sew and knit essential items for the soldiers at the front. In 1916, they received a letter from J. Simmons who thanked them for their gifts (reference). 

After finishing her education, Mabel became a teacher and, in 1919,  was put in charge of the school at Jockerup (reference).

In 1920, Mabel married Stanley Dolley from Gnowangerup. They lived in Gnowangerup and had four children - one boy and three girls (reference)

Mabel died in 1990. She was 89 years old (reference)

John Richard Burns Wallis

John was the youngest child in the Wallis family. He grew up in Bunbury and was 

“as bright and sturdy a lad as any parent could wish to see” 

However,  in 1919, he contracted blood poisoning from an unknown source and died after 5 weeks of intense suffering. He was just 13 years old. (reference)

Researched by Gaye Englund for Streets of Bunbury