John James Gill and Mary Ellen Gill née Kelly were both born in Victoria (reference; reference). They migrated to Western Australia and were married in Bunbury on 15 January 1900 (reference). Together they had two children, Leslie James (1900-1955) and Louisa Ellen (1902-1987) (reference). Growing up in Bunbury, their children attended the Children's Balls, one of which Leslie dressed up as a swagman (reference; reference). In 1913 his sister Louisa received honours from the Trinity College of Music, London in her preparatory exam taken at the Sisters of Mercy Bunbury convent (reference). Leslie went off to the Western Australian School of Mines to study Building Construction from 1918 to 1921 (reference; reference).

John worked as a storekeeper in Wellington Mills in partnership with Robert Thomas Muir for their firm, Muir and Gill, for a time before they dissolved it on 8 February 1910 (reference; reference). Following the dissolution, the Gills entered the hotel business, running Toronto House, a Coffee Palace on Victoria Street, Bunbury (reference).

In November 1910 The Gills were successful in being the first to lease the Grand Central Coffee Palace (reference). Almost immediately after approval, Mary began applying for the licence required to run an eating, boarding and lodging house (reference). As the Gills already ran a Coffee Palace, Toronto House on Victoria Street, Mary took over managing the new establishment while waiting for their old lease to expire (reference; reference). In 1911 they had extensions made to the Coffee Palace to offer electric light, hot and cold baths and electric fans to their guests (reference). In 1915 the Gill’s lease at Toronto House ended and began working together managing the Grand Central Coffee Palace until their contract finished in 1926 (reference). In 1921 John was called to give a character reference before the Divorce Court in regards to the marriage of Robert and Eleanor Holmes (reference).

The Gills then moved to Mullewa, a town 100 km east of Geraldton to run the Railway Hotel (reference). The following year, Mary was involved in a criminal case where Andrew Olsen stole a bottle of brandy from her hotel (reference). Mary stood as witness to the crime, and the accused was sentenced to 2 months hard labour and had to return the bottle (reference). In 1934 on 7 July Mary transferred her lease and licence on the Railway Hotel to Benjamin Burch (reference).

John and Mary spent their later life in Glenelg, South Australia. John died at 90 years of age on 4 February 1955 (reference), followed by Mary on 24 July 1966, one day after her 91st birthday (reference).

Special thanks to Robyn McCallum for her family photos and stories.

Photos courtesy of Robyn McCallum