William Burleton 1783-1842 – The Pride Before the Fall

East Harptree in Somerset England, the ancestral region of the Burletons and Wookeys

William strikes me as a sort of tragic character. He could have been the most illustrious of his family. I’m willing to bet that was his intention. His ambitions might have been realized had he lived just forty years earlier before the industrial revolution really kicked off. Large scale manufacture swept the rug from under William’s feet just as he risked all of his family’s wealth in one massive business speculation. With the failure of that business, he lost almost everything – his wealth, his home, the respect of his neighbours, the support of his extended family and we can’t know for sure, but he probably also lost the trust of his immediate family, his wife and children.

It was going to happen to the family anyway – the industrial revolution was very tough on provincial yeomen who were not placed to take on the hard nosed role of factory or franchise owner. There wasn’t much call for that in the isolated central regions of Somerset in England. The outside world was still passing these people by. They were a step back in time, living by rules which had ceased to apply in most of England by the turn of the 19th century. But though with hindsight we know that it was probably going to happen – at the time, it all looked like the fault of William Burleton, eldest son and heir to a moderate but sufficient livelihood built up by the generations before him.

Flour Mill Equipment

William was baptised on 25 Dec 1783 at East Harptree, Somersetshire, the eldest known son of John Burleton and Sarah Butler. He had two elder sisters, Elizabeth and Ann. There is room for another child between the two girls but no more records have been found.

Both of his parents came from yeomen families. John Burleton’s father was a Burleton of Motcombe, Dorset, a family who had owned land there for generations. John’s wife Sarah was a Butler from Witham Friary. They and their relatives were local magistrates, church wardens and large scale benefactors of local charities. Their credit was good, their standing was very good. William was born into a world of advantage.

I have found no records regarding their education, but the children all reached adulthood with the ability to read and do accounts, even the girls which was not always the case in those years. After William came Robert, Joseph, Sarah and John. (There is a slight discrepancy in John’s records, he may have been older).

He reached adulthood without entering into any official record and became a miller and dealer in meal.

Church of St Margaret at Hinton Blewett By Rodw [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons . No changes made.

William married Elizabeth Dudden at St Margaret’s in Hinton Blewitt, Somerset on 18th June 1807.

For years, I had the wrong Elizabeth Dudden. There were two and they were second cousins. I thought he had married the daughter of Parsons Dudden who was born in 1788. It turns out he married the daughter of George Dudden who was born in 1784.

Which is the first indication, really, that William was headstrong and that he lacked the conservative practicality of his family.

It’s the reason I hit on the wrong Elizabeth. The Duddens were yeomen of the past. By 1800 most of them were struggling labourers but with a few lines of descent which held on to small properties and local prestige. Parsons Dudden was one of those. George Dudden was not. It made perfect economic sense that a Burleton would marry a daughter of Parsons Dudden. But he married the daughter of George.

St_Andrew's_Church,_Chew_Magna,_Somerset_(4417620245)

Chew Magna, the home of Elizabeth Dudden’s mother Mary. By Robert Cutts from Bristol, England, UK (St Andrew’s Church, Chew Magna, Somerset) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Not that I wish to denigrate George and his family. They were honest hardworking folk as far as I can tell. But they were landless labourers and Elizabeth made a startlingly good marriage, in the Jane Austin sense. I have a feeling she must have been very pretty.

The comparison to the Bennett girls of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ can be taken further, though this family was in a different social sphere entirely. Elizabeth Dudden was the daughter of George Dudden and Mary Harvey. George was from the less successful branch of a respectable Dudden family – admittedly a surname which only had meaning in the highlands of Somerset – while Mary Harvey was a girl from a labouring family. At the marriage of George and Mary, he signed the register while she marked with an ‘X’. What she was able to teach her daughter about good household management and the dull, self-important world of respectable yeomanry is uncertain.

So Mary had made a good marriage by uniting herself with George Dudden, and Elizabeth then made a good marriage by uniting with William Burleton – which brings us back to William himself.

The marriage record is in the name of William Burlington.

MARRIAGE EAST HARPTREE:

William Burlington and Elizabeth Dudden, both of this parish, were married in this Church by Banns this Eighteenth day of June in the Year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Seven by me, Hugh Lewis, Curate.

This marriage was solemnized between Us :

William Burleton (signed his name as Burleton)

Elizabeth Dudden (signed her name)

In the presence of Samuel Hand and Hester Lewis.

They became the parents of a large family:

William 19 Apr 1809 Hinton Blewett
Eliza 01 Jul 1810 Hinton Blewett
Sarah 17 May 1812 Litton
Francis 31 Jul 1814 Litton
Elizabeth 30 May 1816 Litton
William 19 Jul 1818 Chewton Mendip
George 6 Jan 1820 Chewton Mendip
John 4 Oct 1821 Chewton Mendip
Robert 1 Dec 1823 Chewton Mendip
Eliza 13 Sep 1824 Chewton Mendip

It was in Litton that William made the mistake which changed the whole course of his life.

On his own land, William built a brand new flour mill, putting himself into debt with the expectation that the business would prosper and enable him to pay back the money. He built the finest mill that he could, filled with new equipment. Litton was very proud of it.

Litton in Somerset

With the benefit of hindsight, the first indication of financial trouble appeared in 1815 with a notice in the Bath Chronicle (1):

SOMERSET

TO be LET, in the parish of LITTON near Chewton-Mendip, for one year, five or seven and entered upon at Lady Day next, a New-built and Well-accustomed WATER GRIST-MILL, working two pair of stones together, adjoining with a neat Dwelling-house, Bake-house, two Gardens, large Orchard, barns, stables, pig-houses, and all other offices, suitable for any respectable person who wishes to enter into the Meal and Baking business – for a view of the premises apply to Mr Wm Burleton, the proprietor, of Litton aforesaid.

The notice reappeared in the Bath chronicle in September 1816 in almost identical words.

Another notice appeared in the Bristol Mirror in 1820:

TO MILLERS AND BAKERS

TO be SOLD by Private Contract, with immediate possession, a newly-erected FLOUR MILL, called Litton Mill, working two pair of Stones; with a good substantial DWELLING HOUSE, Bake-house, Barn, Stable, and other Outhouses, Gardens and Orchard adjoining; situate at LITTON near Chewton-Mendip, in the county of Somerset; distant from Wells 6 miles, Shepton-Mallet 7 miles, and Bristol 13 miles.

The above Premises are part of the Manor of Litton, and held by Copy of Court Toll for three young healthy lives.

For further particulars, and to treat for the purchase, apply to Mr WILLIAM BURLETON, of Chewton-Mendip, or to Mr DOWLING, Solicitor, Chew-Magna.

N.B. If the above Premises are not sold before the 1st of May, the same will be then to be Let. (2)

In 1823, William’s eldest daughter Eliza died at the age of thirteen. Her cause of death is not known. It must have added to an already troubled time for the family.

Scene of family from ‘The Fairchild Family’ by Mrs Sherwood, 1826 edition.

A further notice in the Bristol Mirror in 1824 for the sale of a property belonging to William Burleton.

TO BE SOLD BY AUCTION by SAMUEL OLIVER,

On MONDAY NEXT, the 12th day of January, at the Mitre Inn, WELLS, at five o’clock in the afternoon, (unless in the meantime disposed of by Private Contract).

A COMPACT FARM,consisting of Five Closes of Arable and Pasture Land, adjoining each other, containing together 105 Acres (more or less), situate on MENDIP, near Green Ore Farm, in the parish of St. Cuthbert, Wells, near the turnpike road, and adjoining lands of John Davis and Edward Tuson, Esquires.

Of the above Premises, 74A. 3R. 24P. are held by lease, under the Bishop of Bath and Wells, for three lives; and the Residue is Freehold.

There is a good Limekiln and an excellent Spring of Water on the Freehold part of the Premises, which abound with Limestone and Stone for Building.

N.B. The above Premises, if not sold, will be to be LET.

For a view of the Premises, apply to Mr. William Burleton, Chewton-Mendip, and for further particulars, and to treat by Private Contract, to Messrs DOWLING AND MARSHALL, solicitors, Chew-Magna. (3)

It all came to a head in 1826. A suspicion of mine is that William’s creditors were assuming that he would inherit from the estate of his very elderly father. John Burleton was almost forty at the time of William’s birth. Now he was about to turn eighty and was probably ailing. But at John’s death in November 1825, his property – Eastwood in East Harptree – was left to his second son Robert, skipping over the elder William.

The family probably knew more about William’s character than we can deduce today through the records. The creditors waited no longer. It was game over for William Burleton.

FROM THE LONDON GAZETTE

BANKRUPTS

W. Burleton, Litton, Somersetshire, mealman (4)

landscape-around-monmouthshire-wales_800

Landscape around Monmouthshire. Public Domain photograph.

There was something of a rift within the family from this point. Whether it was William removing himself from them or vice versa is unclear. William’s brother Robert – a highly responsible, sensible, solid chip off the old block if ever there was one – rendered assistance to the family by taking Joseph and Francis under his employ. Looking at the generations ahead, this was something we can be very grateful for. But it probably didn’t feel like much to William.

William and the rest of his family moved to Monmouthshire. Two children – William and Eliza – were deceased. Joseph and Francis stayed in Somerset. The other seven went to Monmouthshire with their parents.

Maybe there was family there that I haven’t discovered. Maybe they just got the hell out of the home town with its pity and recriminations and sideways glances and memories. Perhaps Monmouthshire seemed like the place for a new beginning where nobody knew them. Perhaps it was brother Robert’s doing.

William took employment at a country mill, working for a Mr John James. It was a chance for a new start – not easy for a man in his forties who until now had had all the luxuries and conveniences that he could desire.

But at least he had a fresh beginning and he still had his family. Perhaps it wasn’t game over after all.

Story of William continues here.

1. ‘SOMERSET’,Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette 23 November 1815 p.3

1. TO MILLERS AND BAKERS, The Bristol Mirror 15 Apr 1820 p.1
2. ‘TO BE SOLD BY AUCTION’, The Bristol Mirror 10 January 1824 p.1

‘BANKRUPTS FROM THE LONDON GAZETTE’, The Caledonian Mercury 25 Sep 1826, p6

Herbert Dunstall – Optimism Against the Odds – #52Ancestors Week 12 – Misfortune

Between Bethel and Templers 2016

William Herbert Dunstall was born in harsh summer’s heat on 26th February 1873 in the Midnorth district of South Australia. At the time of his birth his brother John was aged five and his brother Charles was three. Another brother, Kenneth Norman, had been born two years earlier but died as a baby.

Herbert’s father James Dunstall was a struggling farmer, the son of a more successful farmer from Yankalilla. James knew how to farm, but unfortunately he had made a bad speculation – he headed inland for land to the harsh, dry salinated regions thinking he could make a go of it.

Herbert’s mother was a Scottish woman named Annie McLeod. She was an orphan, brought to South Australia by her married sister after the death of her parents in North Uist. She was an intelligent woman, able to read and write and a hard worker, but plagued with ill health seemingly from birth. The South Australian climate was tough on her.

Despite their struggles, the children in the family all gained an education. The parents managed to raise highly literate, community minded children.

Dunstall locations in South Australia. This is a modified version of User:Fikri’s GNU-licensed road map of South Australia on Wikipedia under conditions of https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en .

Herbert was still a baby when the family left Templers and moved to Warooka on the Yorke Peninsula. They lived at Orrie Cowie station. I’m not sure of the circumstances – if they were employees or if they owned or sharefarmed there. They lived at Orrie Cowie for the rest of Herbert’s childhood.

Approach to Warooka

Herbert was aged 2 when his little brother Ernest was born, and just 3 when Lewis came along. The older boys probably helped their father on the farm, while the younger ones may have helped their mother around the house. It is hard to see when they had time to be educated but we know that they were.

Members of an Aboriginal group lived on the property and may have helped, but were not employed by the Dunstalls. Herbert played with the Aboriginal children and learned a lot from them, skills which may have helped him survive at later times. These were probably Narungga people, who suffered greatly from white settlement in their territory. Annie had experienced the domination of British white autocrats herself, as a member of the McLeod clan who were forced by England to leave their home in the 1850s. She was no friend to oppression and it seems tried to pass her native Gaelic on to her children despite a British attempt to remove it from their colonies.

As I said in my last blog post, Herbert was a very gentle soul, an extremely quiet and meek person. He comes across as having a belief in strength through community. He gave, wherever he went.

The youngest two members of the family were born in 1879 and 1882. After all those boys, finally there were two daughters, Annie and Martha (Mattie). The family was complete.

Uniting Church at Warooka 2015

There probably would have been more children had the family not lost their father after Mattie’s birth. His death was devastating, depriving them of their breadwinner as well as of a much loved family member. He died on 17th May 1883 when Herbert was aged 10.

“Family Notices” Evening Journal (Adelaide, SA : 1869 – 1912) 19 May 1883: 2. Web. 1 May 2018 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article197786317>.

John and Charles took over management of the farm and the family continued to live at Orrie Cowie. But things were tough. Their mother sickened and did not regain her strength. She developed tuberculosis. She wrote a will where her great concern over the future of her children was her principal concern. Mrs Annie Dunstall passed away on 9th June 1887 when Herbert was aged fourteen.

No announcement was placed in the papers upon Annie’s death. I suspect the young orphans were too distressed to think about such a thing.

John Dunstall was aged 20 in the year of his mother’s death, still not at the legal age of adulthood and now the legal guardian of a whole family. This is exactly the circumstance of his aunt Mary McVicar nee McLeod, who brought her orphan siblings with her to South Australia in the 1850s. There must have been some assistance, but it’s a puzzle. The family continued to live near Warooka, continued to struggle to hold their family together without a legal adult among them.

Grave of John James Dunstall 1867-1890, eldest son of James and Annie Dunstall of Warooka

But the sickness was still in the family. Tuberculosis had struck several of them and they languished in these harsh years. The first of the siblings to die was John, the eldest, the guardian of the Dunstall children. He was only 22 years old. Little Annie followed him to her own grave a year later, aged 11.

These would have been very dark years for Herbert. With so many deaths he was probably convinced that he, also, would sicken and die. The five survivors were split up. Nine year old Mattie went to Dunstall relatives who seem to have been living on the Yorke Peninsula at that point. The boys continued to live in Warooka until Lewis’s death at the age of 18 in 1894. Herbert was now aged 21 and had reached the official age of adulthood.

You certainly can’t blame them for leaving. Three young men still with their health having watched their family slowly die of tuberculosis. Charles was 26, Herbert was 21 and Ernest was 19. The brothers packed their things and headed for the goldfields of Western Australia.

The years had been tough on Herbert, but even now he had hopes. He had a dream of finding gold and becoming rich. He had worked hard all his life, he knew he could do that. He had watched his father put every ounce of strength into farming and it is clear that Herbert had no belief in farming as a means to safety and security. Gold was the answer – it was either there or it wasn’t, and if it was there then wealth was to be made.

Misfortune had not defeated him.

At Port Augusta on the logical route from Warooka to Kalgoorlie. ‘Bob, the railway dog’ at Port Augusta, State Library of South Australia, B 6422

Adventurous Alice Part Four – A Single Young Woman in Kalgoorlie 1897-1899

Back to Adventurous Alice Part Three – A Single Young Woman in Western Australia

Back to Alice’s Train Journey Part Three – Southern Cross to Kalgoorlie

Golden Horse-shoe Gold Mine circa 1900, Kalgoorlie (Public Domain)

In 1897, Florrie and Alice Head arrived at Kalgoorlie, probably with several other women from the ‘Port Phillip’. There was good money to be made as a domestic servant in the goldfields. It was also an exciting place to see for two single young women from London.

I don’t know exactly what work they did this year, but with the benefit of hindsight it is very likely that they were employed in boarding houses or hotels.

Kalgoorlie was a new city at this time. I found an excellent summary of the Kalgoorlie’s history from 1898. I really couldn’t phrase it any better:

Probably no more potent illustration of the colonising power of gold can be found anywhere in the world than is afforded by Kalgoorlie and the Boulder cities, where, in the short space of five years, a population of 25,000 persons has settled down, every soul entirely dependent for existence, upon the gold-producing capabilities of a narrow strip of ground smaller in area than many a South Australian farm.

Five years and a half ago Hannan lost his horses in a dense bush ; in the search for them he found gold, and the “dense bush ” was immediately tramped out of being by intrepid men, two fair cities were planted on the soil, hundreds of homes were founded, and the close co-operation of energy and capital brought into existence a new force -a centre of industrial operations unsurpassed in the mining world, and a mighty and prodigal contributor to the wealth of the Australian Continent.

…Although there may be a flavour of romance, there has been precious little poetry about the growth of Kalgoorlie. Nature does not surrender her golden treasures too easily, and Kalgoorlie did not find an abiding place without a desperate struggle and a persistent fight against terrible odds.

… Organisation, however, is a ruling principle in the ethics of British colonisation, and where two or three Britishers are gathered together there shall a Progress Committee be found. So it was in the early days of the Kalgoorlie gold hunt. A Progress Committee was formed, and necessary public work was carried out for twelve months ; streets were roughly shaped, roads opened up, sanitary conditions observed as far as practicable; and a virile community soon had firm footing on what had been regarded for half a century as a worthless and uninhabitable sand and spinifex tract of country.(1)

This is what Florrie and Alice came to. A brand new city with a busy, bustling population and the neighbouring city of Boulder, just a few miles further down the road. The train from Perth stopped at Kalgoorlie. There was another local line, a very busy line, between Kalgoorlie and Boulder.

Kalgoorlie in 1897 was a small city with extra wide streets of hard packed dirt surrounded by mining infrastructure. Camels and horses were common modes of long distance transport, but bicycles were the most common. Bicycles did not suffer from dehydration in dry spells, did not need feeding and could cope with extreme heat without requiring shelter. Men and women of all ages rode bicycles. I fully expect that both Florrie and Alice had bicycles.

Bicycles were obtainable second hand in Kalgoorlie “Advertising” Kalgoorlie Miner (WA : 1895 – 1950) 11 August 1898: 8. Web. 30 Apr 2018 .

Woman_cycling_in_Brisbane,_ca.1900_(26871293536). Public Domain, held by State Library of Queensland, Australia

Actually, Alice did not stay in Kalgoorlie. She was in Boulder. And I think she was employed at Mulcahy’s Grand Hotel on Burt Street in Boulder. I can’t be sure, but it makes a lot of sense.

Employment in domestic service in Kalgoorlie and Boulder. “Advertising” Kalgoorlie Miner (WA : 1895 – 1950) 11 August 1898: 8. Web. 30 Apr 2018 .

I can’t find an image of Mulcahy’s Hotel which allows me to copy it so I’ll link to a news story about the hotel instead. You can see the hotel behind the then owner.

Mulcahy’s Hotel – as it was known – was a big place, commonly used by local groups to hold meetings. Local groups, for example, like the Independent Order of Oddfellows, Boulder City Lodge.

“Advertising” The Evening Star (Boulder, WA : 1898 – 1921) 11 August 1898: 3. Web. 30 Apr 2018

Of the five ‘Port Phillip’ girls known to have travelled to Kalgoorlie as single women, the first to marry was Jean Christison. In 1897 she married an Italian man named Vincent Caleo. The other girls may have attended the wedding.

Some events at Kalgoorlie were creating a stir. In 1897, new streaks of alluvial gold were discovered around the town, particularly in Boulder. Miners who had been doing it tough found new hope and set to work.

This is only an approximate explanation. A government injunction forbade miners with an alluvial mining license to go below 10 feet. But the gold went deeper. It was a tough situation, very unfair on impoverished, even starving miners who were putting up with awful living conditions. Some ignored the injunction. Others obeyed but fumed.

“THE RIOT AT KALGOORLIE.” Leader (Melbourne, Vic. : 1862 – 1918) 16 April 1898: 5. Web. 30 Apr 2018 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article197300636>.

29 January 1898: The Golden Horseshoe mine was pegged today by alluvial diggers. It seems that the sinking of a telephone pole below the cement revealed matter, containing good gold, in consequence of which the diggers have taken possession of the larger portion of the area. (2)

31 January 1898: A mass meeting of alluvial miners was held yesterday on the Ivanhoe Venture lease to consider the action to be taken in reference to the new regulation passed by the Executive Council precluding alluvial miners from sinking more than 10 ft … Mr. Vosper received an ovation on rising to address the meeting. He vigorously condemned the action of the Government, and stigmatized the new regulation as an act of the grossest injustice. He recommended the miners to send a deputation to Perth, and in the meanwhile to totally ignore the regulation. He said that he had obtained legal advice that the new regulations were “ultra vires” … A resolution was passed condemning the regulation, as it was calculated to destroy the alluvial industry of the colony. The meeting decided to send a deputation, consisting of representatives of the different fields, to Perth. (3)

18 February 1898: Owing to developments at Kalgoorlie to connection with the alluvial question, three police officers and fourteen constables were despatched thither from Perth within the past few days. (4)

12 March 1898: To-day cases were called on at the Warden’s Court against two men for having disobeyed the warden’s injunctions not to work on the Ivanhoe Venture lease. The men did not appear, but Mr. Hare, who appeared for the company, stated that they they had been unable to procure a solicitor, and on their behalf he asked for an adjournment. This was agreed to and the cases will come before the court next Friday. About 30 additional summonses are being issued, and will be heard on Friday. Some of the men express anxiety to resist the police, and it requires all the efforts of their leaders to prevent a disturbance. Many fear that the affair will not end without a serious outbreak, as the diggers are determined at all costs to maintain what they believe to be their rights, no matter how many are sent to gaol. (5)

The whole thing seems reminiscent of the Eureka Stockade. Both Florrie and Alice were in the middle of this. On 24th March 1898, the Premier Sir John Forrest came to Kalgoorlie to hear the deputation and address the miners. It went very badly.

MENNELL(1894)_p073_SIR_JOHN_FORREST,_FIRST_PREMIER_OF_WESTERN_AUSTRALIA

Sir John Forrest 1894. Image extracted from page 73 of The Coming Colony. Practical notes on Western Australia … Second edition, by MENNELL, Philip. Original held and digitised by the British Library.

25 March 1898: During the day immense crowds arrived from the outside districts -1,500 from Kanowna, 300 from Bulong, and 200 from Coolgardie. A band and banners headed a procession, and all-sorts of devices were displayed. One of the illustrations showed Mr. Wittenoom, the Minister of Mines, being kicked in the rear by 10 feet -signifying contempt for his proposed legislation. (6)

29 March 1898: A serious riot occurred at Kalgoorlie goldfield, West Australia, on Thursday, The Premier, Sir John Forrest, arrived there by train and proceeded to Wilkie’s Hotel, to receive a deputation from the alluvial diggers, but while crossing-the street he was hooted by a large crowd. A deputation of 20 miners waited upon the Premier in the hotel, and requested that the 10ft. regulation be repealed, and the men imprisoned for disobeying the Warden’s injunction be released at once.

The Premier was conciliatory, but said the men would have to purge their contempt and apologise before they could be released. While the Premier was addressing the deputation some police entered the room and asked the deputies to go out and pacify the crowd, which was becoming unmanageable.

The Premier shortly afterwards left the hotel, to proceed to the railway station, but though he was surrounded by police and others he was jostled by the crowd, hit in the face, and bruised on the side. He tried to regain the hotel, but was unable to do so, and after half an hour’s buffetting he managed to reach the railway station door; but this was found to be locked, and before it could be burst open he was much knocked about.

The Riot Act was read and the mounted police rode the crowd down in an effort to get to the barracks to secure their arms. The Premier was hustled off the platform on to the rails, but with the assistance of friends and the police he managed at last to get into a train and escape from the mob.

The disturbance is regarded as the most serious that has occurred since the Eureka Stockade riots, and much indignation is felt by the law-abiding population at the violence offered to the Premier and those who tried to help him. (7)

After all the fuss, things began to settle again. There were arrests and evictions and cancellation of mining licenses. It took five months to ship all the prisoners out of town.

Alice and the others were presumably carrying on life as usual through all of this. Thanks to the local Kalgoorlie papers we have a few references to both Florrie and Alice during these years. They were social girls and attended local balls, including fancy dress balls which seem to have been popular in those years. I’ve plucked relevant names out of the very long list of attendees:

June 1898: BALL AT THE BOULDER.

The Boulder Bicycle Club’s fancy dress ball, which took place in the Mechanics’ Institute on Tuesday night, proved a great success socially, but as a spectacular event it was not quite up to expectations, the young men and women of the district being apparently too prosaical to go to the trouble and expense of getting a costume expressly for one night’s pleasure. Evening dress was the rule amongst the sterner sex, though the sombre black was relieved by the showy apparel of a pair of ancient courtiers, while a fantastically accoutred coloured gentleman was to be seen manoeuvring round the room.

The ladies’ dresses were not very showy, and Miss Knuckey, whose costume was evidence of some artistic efforts, had no trouble in securing the prize offered. She was attired as “Westralia,” and looked very neat and pretty. The prize for the best decorated bicycle was won by Miss Dingle.

Jackson’s Band supplied the music, and Mr McLaren made an efficient M.C. Mr Stubbing, of Messrs Brennan Bros, excelled all previous efforts at stage decoration, the platform from the rear of the hall looking like a fairy bower.

The following left cards:- Miss M. Brown, blue satin bodice, white and blue ribbons to match, black silk skirt; … Miss Florrie Head, “Schoolgirl,” pale blue and white, large white hat; … Miss Alice Head, “Schoolgirl,” pale blue and white, large white hat (8)

.Florrie and Alice’s dresses might not have been this elaborate – but you never know! 1890s ball dresses. (Public domain).

And again:

October 1898: BOULDER DISTRICT CRICKET ASSOCIATION

THE CINDERELLA SOCIAL.

“The most successful gathering of the season” was the verdict passed by the happy crowd that attended the social on Wednesday evening in the Mechanics’ Institute, Boulder City. The scene was one of pleasure and gaiety, happiness and good humor reigning throughout. The endeavors of the sub-committee appointed to make the necessary arrangements for the successful carrying out of the function … were amply recompensed by the large number of local residents and visitors who put in an attendance to enjoy themselves with a few hours’ terpsichore.

The music, which was all that could be desired, was supplied by Messrs Jackson and R. Thomas. A special feature and attraction of the evening was the stage decorations. The drapings were kindly donated by Messrs Brennan Bros., with the result that a highly effective and admirable display of the several clubs’ colors were strikingly portrayed.

Various articles of cricketware were hung among the drapings as emblems of the favorite summer pastime, and Mr T. Potton is deserving of a mede of praise from the association for his able management in adorning the stage so tastefully. It should be a pleasure for the committee to report that there was such a jovial and representative gathering, and it is a foregone conclusion that the result financially should be most satisfactory.

Special mention should be made of the generous and willing assistance given to the committee by the leading business people of the city and others, and to the ladies who were instrumental in no small degree in rendering the necessary assistance which is always so requisite at gatherings of this nature. It is mentioned that a similar social, under the auspices of the association, will be held during the course of a month.

The following is a description of some of the dresses worn by the ladies on Wednesday evening :

Miss Alice Head, blue and white nun’s veiling, trimmed blue chiffon and pearl ornaments ; … Miss Florrie Head, blue and white nun’s veiling, trimmed with blue chiffon and pearl ornaments (9)

If it were not for these social descriptions I’d not have known that Florrie was in Kalgoorlie at all. It’s hard to tell if both girls were dressed identically or if they fashioned very different dresses out of shared material.

They were obviously a part of Kalgoorlie society. I have a suspicion that Alice was making decent money here, and that she was saving very hard.

In 1898, another of the five single ‘Port Phillip’ girls became a wife. Jessie Gray married police constable Henry Kuhlmann in Coolgardie.

Example picture

Also in 1898, Vincent and Jean Caleo’s first child was born, a baby boy named Vincent. Sadly, he was with them for a very short time before they lost him. He was buried in Kalgoorlie in 1898.

As those who have researched Alice will know, my earlier newspaper advertisement regarding the IOOF meetings was not random. The treasurer of that organisation was one Herbert Dunstall. By the end of 1898, Alice and Herbert must have become better than friends. He is not referenced at those balls but he was probably there.

Herbert Dunstall was aged 25 in 1898, three years older than Alice. It seems to me that he was a very mild, very gentle person – probably too gentle for the harsh world of Kalgoorlie. He was a dreamer with a sense of community and a willingness to commit himself to projects for the good of the town.

I’m going to give him his own blog post but in summary he came to Kalgoorlie from South Australia with his elder brother, searching for gold. He worked tirelessly and with good spirit but was not very practical. His dream was to have his own mine and make it rich. In the meantime he was employed in town. He had a turn for literature and was a very bright young man.

“Family Notices” Kalgoorlie Miner (WA : 1895 – 1950) 11 April 1899: 4. Web. 1 May 2018 .

On 8th April 1899, Alice Head became the third of the five women to be married when she and Herbert became husband and wife. They settled in Boulder.

(1) “Kalgoorlie.” Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 – 1954)16 December 1898: 106. Web. 30 Apr 2018 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37725375>.

(2) “THE GOLDEN HORSESHOE PEGGED FOR ALLUVIAL.” Coolgardie Miner (WA : 1894 – 1911) 29 January 1898: 7. Web. 30 Apr 2018 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article217309410>.

(3) “THE MINING REGULATIONS IN THE WEST.” Evening Journal (Adelaide, SA : 1869 – 1912) 31 January 1898: 3 (ONE O’CLOCK EDITION). Web. 30 Apr 2018 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article199925080>.

(4) “INTERPROVINCIAL.” The Pilbarra Goldfield News (Marble Bar, WA : 1897 – 1923) 18 February 1898: 3. Web. 30 Apr 2018 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146083653>.

(5) “THE ALLUVIAL QUESTION.” Albany Advertiser (WA : 1897 – 1950) 12 March 1898: 3. Web. 30 Apr 2018 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69903149>.

(6) “RIOT AT KALGOORLIE.” The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946) 26 March 1898: 41. Web. 1 May 2018 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article138664177>.

(7) “Riot at Kalgoorlie.” The Muswellbrook Chronicle (NSW : 1898 – 1955) 26 March 1898: 2. Web. 1 May 2018 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107013620>.

(8) “BALL AT THE BOULDER.” Kalgoorlie Western Argus (WA : 1896 – 1916) 2 June 1898: 14. Web. 30 Apr 2018 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32192927>.

(9) “BOULDER DISTRICT CRICKET ASSOCIATION.” Kalgoorlie Western Argus (WA : 1896 – 1916) 20 October 1898: 21. Web. 1 May 2018 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32195960>.