Memories of Long Ago

21 July 1939

At the end of 1864 or the beginning of 1865 Mr. Spencer, Mr. William Pearce Clifton, Thomas Ashford and Mr. Everett and a few more of the heads met together and managed between them and the Governor to have a wharf built so as to land cargo from Fremantle, also to load up potatoes and timber, instead of having to carry them out to a flat bottomed boat. A number of ticket-of-leave men under a warder named Cook started and cleared a space for a start. The piles were cut (hewn) about 12 x 12 and the beams were cut by hand saw over a pit. They had a man on top of the log and one in the pit. Mr. North and James Hayes had bullock teams and they brought the timber in and the men under Cook dug the holes for the first few bays. After they put up a frame and made a monkey of tuart timber. It was about 200 feet out to 9 feet of water. 

Harry Thomson, a carter, used to drive his horse down, take him out and turn the cart by hand, put the horse in again and load up cargo. There was no crane, only the boats gear. About 1866 another 200 feet was added by the same means and 12 feet of water was got. Another piece was put on later to 15 ft of water that was the head till 1871 when a new head was put on and three cranes erected, one on the east side, and two on the Nor'-West side and four cutters could lay there at once. It was for years called the "Three Crows Head."' 

In 1866 a Mr. Mount and Adam Lindsay Gordon arrived with 4600 sheep from Melbourne, also a Mr. Peake. The sheep were not in very good shape and died as soon as landed. Albert Blythe joined the others and took the sheep out to a place called Weslington about 30 miles on the Jayes-road from Balingup and 65 or 70 miles from Bunbury.

The ship's name was "Clutha." She took a few horses to India or Batavia for a company. Mr. Prinsep and Mr. William Mitchell, of Dardanup, are still well remembered names. The place was called Prinsep Park. Mr. Craig now lives there. 

Bunbury was growing fast. Mr. Moore put up several houses and Mr. Everette also built. Mrs. Mary Hay and her son, David Alexander Hay used to have a shop close to the church in what now is the Koombana House. They bought Lipschitz out and opened up in his store about where a Mr. Derby recently opened a shop. They built the big warehouse at the back of Collett's and built a house on the corner where Woolworths' place is now. The son married a Miss Kate O'Neil about May, 1867. A Miss Hill, a sister of Mrs. Hay, used to serve in the shop and the son, opened a butcher's shop on the site of Collett’s shop. 

Bunbury went ahead. The Cathedral was built, a post office and Customs store of stone, part of which now stands, and is the Agricultural Bank. The old court house and gaol (where the gaol is now) followed. The police office now was the courthouse. Gillman also built a stone store house and several other buildings. In 1872 a firm, Connor and McKay, of New Zealand, started to cut timber and a boat called the "Midas'' took a lot of 70 feet piles and jetty timber on board but she never left the harbour as she went ashore at the mouth of the estuary on Sunday, February 10, 1872 about 11 o'clock in the morning. No one was lost or hurt. The timber was taken away a few months after by a vessel, the "James Hannald." A lot of timber was sent away at this time. A Mr. Stephens (or Stevens) was manager for Connor and McKay. They put the first steamer on the coast—''Georgette" was the name: She went ashore at Margaret in 1876 or 1877. Several people were lost but a good many were rescued. It was never known what made her ashore but some people said that she struck a piece of timber with her propeller and that the stern was pierced and that the captain tried to beach her but was not quick enough. 

A Mr. M. C. Davis opened up a mill on the Upper Ferguson, near Collie River, and it kept going for several years when he took everything to the Augusta to cut karri timber. It was a knock to Bunbury for a while.