William Forrest (1819-1899)
William Forrest was born on 19 February 1819 at Bervies, Scotland as the only son of James Forrest, a writer for the Signet (reference). Despite William’s small size, he was a trained civil and mechanical engineer, full of energy and ready for the informativeness required of the early settlers in Western Australia (reference; reference). William married Margaret née Hill and they had a daughter in Scotland who died before they came together to Australia. They boarded the Trusty on 2 August 1842 as part of the Australind settlement under the Western Australian Company as employees to Dr John Ferguson and arrived in Australia on 9 December 1842 (reference; reference). Their employer, Dr Ferguson, is the namesake of the popular tourist destination in the south-west, Ferguson Valley.
Together they had eight children that survived infanthood. Their oldest son, William, was born on the Trusty on the voyage to Australind (reference). James was born in 1845 at Australind, John in 1847 at Mill Point, Alexander in 1849 at Leschenault Mill, known as Forrest Homestead, David in 1852 at the Forrest Homestead, Robert in 1854 at the Forrest Homestead, Matthew in 1857 at the Forrest Homestead and George in 1858 at the Forrest Homestead (reference; reference; reference). They had one more son, Augustus, born in 1861 who drowned on their property as a toddler (reference). Each of William’s children grew up to play a role in the development of Western Australia, with John’s involvement in the Goldfields’ Water Supply project and becoming the first premier, Alexander a surveyor and explorer, Matthew completed explorations with his brother Alexander to the Kimberly and in the pearling industry in northern Australia, James and William were successful farmers and Robert took over the family mill business when his father passed (reference; reference; reference; reference; reference). They attended primary school at Picton before some continued their education in Perth, including John who went to Hale School in Perth (reference; reference).
While in Australind, William constructed the bridge over the Brunswick River (reference). Over the years he continued to receive contracts to build infrastructure in the state, including a bridge over the Ferguson River in 1857, a bridge over the Meredith Brook at Bunbury, a footbridge over the Blackwood River in 1862, and a jetty in Bunbury in 1863 (reference; reference; reference; reference; reference; reference). He constructed the first section of the jetty that was later extended (reference). This jetty enabled small vessels to discharge their cargo (reference). In 1862 William built two bridges in Bridgetown, which resulted in its name, first known as ‘the town of the bridge’ before being contracted to Bridgetown (reference).
William and Margaret came to Australia as colonists part of the Western Australia Company Australind Settlement scheme. For their travel to the colony, they agreed on a fixed wage contract ranging from five to seven years (reference). However, the Australind settlement’s failure led to early termination of their contract with Dr Ferguson in 1846 (reference; reference). Now free to move around the colony as they pleased, William and Margeret built their home on the banks of the estuary near Bunbury and called it Mill Point, named after the mill they built alongside their small timber homestead (reference). At Mill Point, their arguably most famous child, John Forrest, who grew up to become the future premier of Western Australia, was born there in 1847 (reference). The young family only remained at Mill Point for a few years, as the wind propelled mill did not receive enough wind to function (reference; reference).
In 1849 William purchased 100 acres from James Hertman for £50, moving his young family to Picton (reference). At their new home, they created the Leschenault Mill, now called the Forrest Homestead, the first water-powered flour mill of the state, alongside their new home, the Forrest Homestead (reference; reference; reference; reference; reference). William built the house with a shingle roof and hand-fired bricks using clay from his property, crushed limestone and pit-saw jarrah (reference; reference). The flour mill was 100 feet by 40 feet with two floors (reference). The Leschenault Mill was operational from March 1851 (reference). The flour mill serviced the region, milling wheat grown in Dardanup, Preston, Collie, Brunswick and Harvey (reference). Supposedly the mill could be heard over two miles away and scared the surrounding cattle (reference). A mile upstream from the mill, William built a dam on the Picton River (reference; reference). The dam included a wooden flume 8 feet wide and 2 feet deep that carried the water down to the mill, where it fell over a large wooden water wheel to power the machinery (reference; reference). He later added a sawmill, which milled most of the timber used in the old Bunbury buildings and furniture (reference; reference). The flour ground at the mill was exported around the colony, including Fremantle (reference). Flour ground at the Leschenault Flour Mill was advertised regularly in the newspapers, as well as any changes to the services provided (reference). One such announcement appeared in the papers in December 1863, when William announced a reduction in the price of grinding wheat (reference; reference). He also reported there was a new addition of a silk-dressing machine to produce superfine silk-dressed flour (reference; reference). Tragedy struck the struggling early settler pioneers of the south-west when the Leschenault Flour Mill caught fire. On the night of Saturday 28 September 1867 the entire mill burnt down, consuming half of the stocked 4 000 bushels of wheat and damaging the rest (reference; reference; reference; reference). The fire was so hot that no machinery survived, “brass fittings were melted out of their sockets and the cast-iron fused” (reference). Estimates predicted the fire caused damages of £3,000 (reference).
The Bunbury correspondent of the Inquirer and Commercial News, 9 October 1867 newspaper reported (reference): “The scene which presented itself to the visitor within a few hours of the fire would take a more graphic pen than mine to describe. The bare walls of the engine-room, with a few wooden pillars, was all that remained of the once splendid mill, and in their grim blackness they looked as though in deep mourning for the ruin and desolation with which they were surrounded, the building having been mahogany, the fire had done its work too well. Among the smoking embers were pieces of machinery of every description, a new and valuable dressing machine, smut machine, portions of ironwork belonging to the steam engine - all appeared to be twisted, broken, and completely destroyed. Fortunately, the new Turbine water wheel, which was submerged, escaped injury. About 50 volunteer labourers with begrimed and smutty faces, were hard at work removing a large heap of wheat which had fallen to the ground with the granary flour, and although most of it is more or less injured by the fire and smoke, it is considered that a quantity may be used of for feeding animals. We were all glad to notice that our unfortunate friend Mr. Forrest bore his loss bravely, and to his credit be it said, that although the fruit of many years’ patient industry was swept from him in a few hours, he appeared as concerned for his fellow sufferers as grieved at his own terrible loss.”
After the fire a meeting was held, where William was found not at fault for causing the fire, and therefore was not responsible for the loss of wheat and other produce held on his land (reference). The produce that survived the fire was divided among those who had lost stock (reference). The wheat and flour refuse that ended up all over the property was swept up and auctioned off (reference). The meeting ended with the attendees offering their condolences to William for the destruction of his mill and hoping that he would be able to rebuild (reference). They also recognised that the mill was the result of William’s many years of hard work and he had lost a lot (reference).
On 2 October 1867, William released a notice to the public (reference): “The undersigned begs to inform the public that his valuable Flour Mill was entirely consumed by fire on Sunday morning, 29th, and hereby requests and hopes that all parties indebted to him, will make an effort to pay their respective accounts at an early date, so as to enable him to commence a reconstruction.”
Despite having lost everything, William rebuilt the mill better than ever. He abandoned the old overshoot water wheel technology and adapted to the modern turbine (reference). The new technology of the turbine allowed for more power produced from less water (reference). The new mill continued the business until district growth of wheat diminished as more produce was being imported from Adelaide and Champion Bay, causing the mill to close (reference).
In 1862 William opened a steam-powered mill close to the Bunbury Jetty at Casuarina Point called the Koombana Flour Mills (reference; reference; reference; reference; reference). In the early operation years, this mill could produce two tonnes of flour a day (reference). The business sold many variations of flour, including ‘Bran’, ‘Barley’ ‘Single Bag Flour’ and ‘Pollard’ (reference). After the fire at the Leschenault Mill, William relocated the engines and stones to the Bunbury mill (reference). In 1875 William passed the mills onto his son Robert to continue the family trade (reference; reference; reference). In 1878 the Koombana Flour Mill was updated with new technology (reference). The Koombana Flour Mill existed for years after William’s passing, with the site featured in the Sunday Times in 1909 (reference). In 1909 the mill was technologically state-of-the-art in the prime location at the foot of the jetty alongside a railway. Surrounding the mill was multiple storage sheds capable of holding up to 8000 bags (reference). In 1909 the mill could make 7 tonnes of flour a day which supplied Bunbury and the surrounding districts, with a high-quality reputation (reference). The article in the Sunday Times also details the mill’s equipment in 1909, including a 3 ½ bag plant, steam produced by the first Hoskins boiler in the state, a 12 horsepower engine, five pairs of rolls (three by Ganz and two by Schumacher), three wheat cleaners and a centrifugal where flour is separated into its pure state. In 1909 the Koombana Flour Mill was one of the oldest businesses that continued to prosper due to its high-quality production of flour (reference).
William treated his many employees fairly. Some even quit their jobs to join his company when they were mistreated (reference). He gave people a chance - such in the case of Henry Stein, who absconded from his employment contract with Charles Hastie (reference). The reason he skipped out on work was apparent in the court with his body showing signs of ill-treatment (reference). William was willing to employ him, even though he had absconded (reference).
William was also involved in the community and appeared to contribute to local elections in politics as well as committees (reference; reference). He saw it as his duty to attend every ball at Government House in Perth, showing he was very much involved in the community (reference). In 1850 he rallied with other prominent members of the area against the Inquirer newspaper by publicly ending their subscriptions to the paper for an article that grossly misrepresented a Public Meeting in Bunbury (reference). He was also a prominent member and honorary secretary of the Bunbury Roads Board (reference). As part of the Roads Board, he was assigned to appoint all Cart licenses for the District from the Leschenault Mill in 1873 (reference). In 1871 William was elected as the Chairman of the Wellington, Nelson and Murray Agricultural Society (reference). In 1896, at 77 years he was still involved in the community, attending the opening of the Donnybrook Agricultural Hall with his son John (reference).
William Forrest appeared in court a few times, all of them either as a witness to a crime or having a crime committed against his person (reference; reference; reference; reference). In 1872 John Wenn was accused but pleaded innocent of breaking into a store in Bunbury and stealing 100 lb of flour and 100 lb of bran belonging to William Forrest (reference).
In 1875 William applied for a Colonial Wine License to be able to sell alcohol at his premises, the Leschenault Mill (reference). In 1878 William retired after 36 years of contributing to the development of Western Australia (reference). In 1897 William Forrest subdivided his estate, creating the suburb Picton Park and selling 25 allotments of a half-acre each (reference; reference).
His wife Margaret died first on 14 February 1895 at 72 years of age, followed four years later by William on 7 June 1899 at 80 years after a fall (reference; reference; reference). The couple are buried together at the Picton Church (reference). When William’s son, Lord John Forrest died, he left £1,000 to use to renovate the Forrest Homestead, which was done by his nephew Ernest Forrest in 1939 (reference). At this time, records tell that the property was well preserved and additional wings had been added to the original building (reference). The kitchen remained original (reference). Ernest, an agriculturalist, having a dairy farm on the remaining 400 acres of the property. Originally the property was 640 acres which were resumed by authorities when the railway was constructed in the area (reference).
There has always been an interest in the properties of Western Australia’s first Premier, Sir John Forrest’s family. In 1939 a survey occurred at Mill Point where the historians found broken pottery and other archaeological artefacts at the site of the original Forrest Homestead (reference).