59-480: The Bussell family were a family of early settlers in colonial Western Australia . The four brothers John , Joseph Vernon, Alfred and Charles emigrated from England on Warrior , arriving at Fremantle on 12 March 1830. Lenox, Frances and Elizabeth arrived at Fremantle on Cygnet on 27 January 1833, and Mrs Frances Louisa and Mary arrived at Albany on 19 June 1834. On arriving in Western Australia,
118-622: A colony or state called Auralia . This campaign coincided with the reluctance in Perth regarding Western Australia taking part in Australian Federation . Talk of miners' separation and them taking their wealth elsewhere was seen as a threat to the stability of the colony. In 1899, Forrest succeeded unilaterally passing the Constitution Amendment Act, taking control of Aboriginal Affairs without approval of
177-542: A day. The young warrior who threw the spears was Knockindon, a Wardandi man whose land the Bussells were occupying. On 24 July Vernon returned from Perth with the year's rations. On 30 July shouting was heard down at the estuary, and the Bussells, Dawson and other settler men armed themselves and headed down there. They shot and killed at least six people. Bessie Bussell wrote "Three women, one man, one boy are known to be dead, but more are supposed to be dying." Three days later
236-600: A dramatic fall in wool and wheat prices in the late 1920s – early 1930s saw the state's economic collapse. It was not to recover until after World War II when the Federal Government's postwar immigration policy saw a huge influx of migrants, nearly all of them from Europe, in the period 1947 to 1970. Important events in Western Australia included the following: John Molloy (Australian settler) Captain John Molloy (5 September 1786 – 6 October 1867)
295-527: A hostage for ten weeks. Subsequently, Bunbury's horse was found. In October 1839 Henry Camfield, a colonial settler in Perth who was looking for a wife, came down to the Vasse area to woo Fanny Bussell. During his stay there the Bussells set a trap for a Noongar man who came to steal food. They set a trap with a shotgun and the Noongar man was shot. The Bussells then rode off searching for collaborators and Camden
354-547: A letter to his brother John in England, Charles Bussell wrote that "the war with the natives had been properly conducted". In August 1837 Mr Bunbury's horse disappeared and the Bussells headed out again. (Lieut. Henry William St Pierre Bunbury had been stationed down at the Vasse, but was in York at the time.) This time an old Noongar man was shot and wounded and the child he was carrying was dropped. The Bussells kept this child as
413-448: A massacre of dozens of Noongar people. Charles Bussell was part of this group, and Lenox may also have been involved (although by then he was mentally very unwell). The History of West Australia , written in 1897, states that during the massacre "the white men had no mercy" and dozens of Noongar people were killed. In 1842 Charles Bussell shot and killed a little Noongar girl called Cumangoot when questioning her about stealing flour from
472-462: Is growing up now, and the natives can scarcely be said to be increasing in numbers, we shall be paying a very undue proportion of our income as a colony for the purpose of supporting the Aboriginal native race. Discoveries at Coolgardie (1892) and Paddy Hannan 's discovery at Kalgoorlie (1893) sparked true gold fever . Coolgardie prospered particularly well, becoming the third largest town in
531-599: The Carnarvon Range in the Little Sandy Desert from around 50,000 years ago. Over the next tens of thousands of years various groups of Indigenous Australians slowly moved southward and eastward across the landmass. Aboriginal people were well established throughout Western Australia by the time European ships started accidentally arriving en route to Batavia (now Jakarta ) in the early 17th century. The first European to sight Western Australia
590-492: The J S Battye Library had paid a possible WA record $ 91,000 at auction for the personal diaries of Vernon Bussell. Members of the Bussell family include: History of Western Australia#Colonial era The human history of Western Australia commenced "over 50,000 years ago and possibly as much as 70,000 years ago" with the arrival of Aboriginal Australians on the northwest coast. The first inhabitants expanded across
649-635: The New South Wales colonial government, led by Major Edmund Lockyer , landed at King George Sound , and founded what became the port city of Albany . On 21 January 1827 Lockyer formally took possession for the British Crown the portion of New Holland not yet claimed by the crown; that is, the portion west of 129th meridian east . This was followed by the establishment of the Swan River Colony in 1829, which ultimately became
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#1732791426099708-537: The Swan River by James Stirling in 1829. The colonists first sighted land on 1 June , arrived in Cockburn Sound on 2 June, an official proclamation was made on 18 June and the foundation of the colony took place on 12 August. As Lieutenant Governor , Stirling had sole authority to draft laws and decide day-to-day affairs. On 6 February 1832, the colony was renamed Western Australia. Major towns of
767-527: The federation of the Commonwealth of Australia , of which they each became component states. However, Western Australia was reluctant to join the union, doing so only after they were offered a five-year transitional period on inter-state tariffs and a transcontinental railway line . The wealth generated from gold soon disappeared and by the early years of the 20th century, the economy was once again dependent on wool and wheat. This dependency meant that
826-511: The 143 crew remained on the Monte Bello Islands for 7 days, during that time sighting Barrow Island , before sailing to Batavia in a longboat. A second boat brought some more crew to Batavia, so just over 40 people survived, including Brookes. Almost one hundred crew apparently perished in the wreck. Tryall became Australia's oldest known shipwreck. A later English visitor was William Dampier , who in 1699 sailed down some of
885-428: The 1880s the economy of the state was based largely on wool and wheat . A major change in the colony's fortunes occurred in 1885 when gold was discovered and prospectors by the tens of thousands swarmed across the land in a desperate attempt to discover new goldfields. In 1887 a new constitution , including proposals for responsible government , was drafted and sent to London by Governor Broome for approval. It
944-599: The 7300 settlers in the colony at the time. Wool production, usually on large stations , was also the basis of expansion further east and northward. The first permanent European settlements in the North West (later divided into the Pilbara and Kimberley regions) took place in the mid-1860s, initially at the Harding River , De Grey River and Roebourne (gazetted in 1867). Pearling also came to dominate
1003-517: The British House of Commons. Many Aboriginal people argue that the 1899 amendment was an illegal usurpation of British government power and one percent of accumulated Government revenues should be set aside for Aboriginal welfare, as intended. On 1 January 1901, following a proclamation by Queen Victoria , Western Australia, along with the other five British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, formed
1062-413: The Bussell brothers buried the bodies when they realised that Noongar people were not going to come back for their dead. Lenox refused to do a report on this incident to the resident magistrate John Molloy . Dawson submitted a report about his spearing instead. During these two massacres, John Bussell was away in England seeking a wife. The other Bussell brothers Charles, Lenox and Alfred were involved. In
1121-613: The Bussell brothers in a further massacre over a number of days, starting out with isolated killings and then a mass shooting of dozens of Wardandi Noongar people at Lake Minninup. Molloy gave orders that women and children should be spared, but no mercy should be shown to the men. Noongar oral history remembers that "the white men's guns were too many so some of the Aboriginals got away but they were rounded up and shot north of Capel River". Georgiana Molloy 's incomplete collection of writings does not mention her husband's activities and
1180-712: The Bussells found that all of the good farm land around Perth and Fremantle had already been granted , and were advised by the Governor , Sir James Stirling , to form a sub-colony in the vicinity of Cape Leeuwin . The Bussells first settled in the Augusta area in May 1830, but met with little success. After a number of exploring expeditions, John Bussell discovered good farm land in Busselton in December 1831, and by 1834
1239-661: The Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The desire of Western Australians to revert to complete self-governance, separate from the Commonwealth, culminated in 1933 with a successful referendum for secession supported by 68% of electors. In 1935 the British parliament declined to act since secession would require the assent of the Australian parliament, and the movement lapsed with an improving economy and generous federal grants. When Australia's first inhabitants arrived on
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#17327914260991298-644: The Governor could still veto the council's decisions. John Forrest led two major expeditions: In 1872, controversial explorer Peter Egerton Warburton made a journey from Alice Springs to the Western Australian coast. Ernest Giles twice traversed the Gibson Desert between 1872 and 1876. During the 1870s, the Murchison and Gascoyne regions were also settled by Europeans. Until
1357-580: The Molloys join with some other newly arrived settlers in forming a subcolony in the vicinity of Cape Leeuwin . Late in April, a group of prospective settlers including the Molloys and Bussells accompanied Stirling and his official party to the proposed site of the subcolony. After a four-day exploratory expedition up the Blackwood River , Stirling confirmed his decision to establish a settlement at
1416-538: The Murchison goldfields began when Tom Cue discovered gold at the town which now bears his name. In the years that followed dozens of gold towns – Day Dawn , Nannine , Peak Hill , Garden Gully, Dead Finish, Pinnicles, Austin Island and Austin Mainland – flourished only to be abandoned when the seams were exhausted and the gold fever moved on. The influx of miners from the eastern colonies and from overseas increased
1475-653: The North West, initially in Nickol Bay, with a fleet at Tien Tsin Harbor (later renamed Cossack). In the North West, unlike southern Western Australia, the labour force was dominated by Indigenous Australians, often under harsh forms of unfree labour . In 1870, some members of the Legislative Council were elected for the first time, although only male settlers with significant property could vote and
1534-470: The Western Australian coastline were given names which did not last past the exploratory era in names of features – such as Eendrachtsland . However some names, such as ' t Landt van de Leeuwin (Leeuwin's Land), materialised at a later date as Cape Leeuwin . Below is a timeline of significant events from the 1616 landfall of Dirk Hartog until the eventual settlement of the Swan River Colony in 1829: The first formal claim of possession for Great Britain
1593-475: The basis of all expansion until the 1850s. While Western Australia was initially a "free settlement", economic problems for settler capitalists led them to seek the transportation of British convicts. Western Australia became a penal colony in 1850. The Gregory brothers led major exploration expeditions to many parts of the colony, including: By 1859, all the other Australian colonies had their own parliaments and colonists in Western Australia began pushing for
1652-544: The colony after Perth and Fremantle. Gold inspired a new wave of exploration, including David Carnegie who, in 1896, led an epic expedition that travelled through the deserts north of Coolgardie, through the Gibson and Great Sandy Deserts to Halls Creek in the Kimberley, before returning to Coolgardie. In the late 19th century there was talk of the gold-rich region around Kalgoorlie seceding from Western Australia, as
1711-568: The colony developed slowly into the port city of Fremantle , the main settlement of Perth 20 kilometres (12 mi) upriver, and Guildford . Much of the land around the Swan River Colony was unsuitable for agriculture and it was inevitable that the colony would have to expand beyond the Swan River area after the most fertile locations were quickly settled. Sheep farming was the most successful early agricultural activity, and
1770-452: The commission the same day. He resigned as Government Resident in March 1851 on the grounds of old age. From 1860 on, he gradually turned over management of his property to Richard Gale . He died on 6 October 1867, and was buried alongside his wife. The age given on Molloy's grave, 87, is inaccurate: it should be 81. Molloy's eldest daughter Sabina married Matthew Blagden Hale , who became
1829-736: The control of the British Parliament, not the Western Australian one. Governor Broome had earlier warned the British Colonial Office that Western Australians could not to be trusted in matters relating to Aboriginal persons. A further clause to the constitution stated that 5,000 pounds or one percent of state revenues, whichever was the greater, was to be allocated to Aboriginal persons for their welfare and advancement. Many settlers resented these clauses, and Western Australia has never honoured this clause to its own constitution. A previous Governor, Sir William Robinson ,
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1888-411: The dominant football code when several local rugby football clubs switched codes. John Forrest – the first Premier of Western Australia and its only premier as a colony – clashed with Robinson over section 70. While Forrest had argued that Western Australians should accept section 70 to obtain self-government, by 1892 he was attempting to have it changed. William Traylen argued that as our revenue
1947-417: The east and south of the continent. The first recorded European contact was in 1616, when Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog landed on the west coast, having been blown off course while en route to Batavia , current day Jakarta . Although many expeditions visited the coast during the next 200 years, there was no lasting attempt at establishing a permanent settlement until December 1826. An expedition on behalf of
2006-582: The estate to William Molloy's mother, who was living in King's County , Ireland. St Giles was well known as a quarter where Irish tradesmen settled. William Molloy died in December 1804. John Molloy was able to buy a commission in the Rifle Brigade on 17 December 1807, just over three months after his 21st birthday, when he came into his inheritance. He fought in the Peninsular War of 1808–10 and
2065-499: The family had established a property named "Cattle Chosen". The town of Busselton, surveyed in 1837, along with the Bussell Highway , are named in their honour. During the early years of their settlement in the Vasse area the Bussell family were involved in several massacres and many other shootings of Wardandi Noongar people. On 27 June 1837 Bessie Bussell wrote a diary entry about the first massacre at Vasse. The trigger
2124-477: The family's stores. Charles was charged with manslaughter and fined one shilling. Many of the Bussells were prolific letter-writers, and much of their correspondence has been preserved. These letters provide an outstanding record of the lives of a class of settler that were largely neglected by contemporary historians and record-keepers. Consequently, they have been much studied by modern historians. On 14 August 2007, The West Australian newspaper reported that
2183-513: The first time when Major Lockyer formally annexed the western portion of the continent in a ceremony on King George Sound. In March 1831, the penal settlement was withdrawn, and the control of King George's Sound was transferred from New South Wales to the Swan River Colony . Captain James Stirling decreed that the settlement would be named Albany from 1 January 1832. The first documented European settlements were established at
2242-420: The location. The settlers' possessions were unloaded, and Molloy was appointed Government Resident and resident magistrate for the settlement, to be called Augusta . For the first few years of the settlement, Molloy's main tasks, other than establishment of his own farm, were the allocation of land, and laying out of the townsite. When Molloy named the streets and coastal features of Augusta in 1832, he chose
2301-454: The massacre was not reported in detail by Captain Molloy to authorities. When his wife died in 1843, he stayed on at Busselton. In 1850, he visited England, returning to Western Australia in 1852. On his return, he continued as Busselton's magistrate, dealing with the arrival of convicts . In 1859 he transferred to the 9th Foot and was promoted to major and lieutenant-colonel , but sold
2360-427: The names and titles of Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany , who had died five years previously: Osnaburg Street, York Street, Albany Terrace, Duke's Head and Point Frederick. In 1839 he moved to Busselton , and began to work on building a 12,000-acre (4,900 ha) property called Fair Lawn in what is now Bovell . He became the town's first magistrate, which he found more complicated than at Augusta because of
2419-746: The northwest coast 50,000 to 70,000 years ago the sea levels were much lower. The Kimberley coast at one time was only about 90 kilometres (56 mi) from Timor , which itself was the last in a line of closely spaced islands for humans to travel across. Therefore, this was a possible (even probable) location for which Australia's first peoples could arrive via boat. Other possible immigration routes were via islands further north and then through New Guinea . In 1999 Charles Dortch identified chert and calcrete flake stone tools, found at Rottnest Island , as possibly dating to at least 50,000 years ago. A 2018 study using archaeobotany dated evidence of continuous human habitation at Karnatukul (Serpent's Glen) in
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2478-712: The presence of trade unions in Western Australia. The Trades and Labor Council, Perth was established in 1891 and Perth Trades Hall opened (1912). The first edition of the Westralian Worker appeared on 7 September 1900 and was followed shortly afterwards by the opening of the Kalgoorlie Trades Hall, the first such hall in Western Australia. A Trades Hall was opened in Fremantle in 1904. An influx of people from Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania led to Australian rules football becoming
2537-704: The presence of American whalers and difficult relationships with the Indigenous Australians. In 1841 Molloy led a massacre of Wardandi Noongar people in reprisal for the spearing of George Layman. The massacre took place over several days, with around seven people killed initially. This was reported in the Perth Gazette in March 1841. Molloy was joined by two Bussell brothers, and Frances Bussell noted in her diary on 27 February: "Captain Molloy drank tea here. 7 natives killed." Molloy subsequently led his soldiers and colonial settlers including
2596-403: The present-day capital, Perth . The harsh conditions faced by the settlers resulted in population growth being minimal until the discovery of gold in the 1880s. Since the gold rush , the population of the state has risen steadily, with substantial growth in the period since World War II. Western Australia gained the right of self-government in 1890, and joined with the five other states to form
2655-404: The right to govern themselves. The British Colonial Office opposed this because of the slow rate of growth and the presence of convicts. Petitions asking for some of the positions in the Legislative Council to be filled by elected members were presented to London twice during the 1860s. By 1868, over 9,000 convicts had been transported to Western Australia on 43 convict ship voyages , outnumbering
2714-440: The son of William and Mary Molloy. As John celebrated his birthday on 5 September in later life, his birth date may have been 5 September 1786. This William Molloy had a shoe warehouse at 16 High St, St Giles, London. He made his will in 1804, leaving bequests to his son, John, and his daughter, Susanna, who were to inherit their shares of the estate when they reached the age of 21. The will also stipulates regular payments from
2773-401: The west coast of Australia. In 1826, the Governor of New South Wales , Ralph Darling , ordered the establishment of a settlement at King George's Sound. An army detachment was sent from Sydney headed by Major Edmund Lockyer with eighteen soldiers, one captain, one doctor, one storekeeper and twenty-three convicts. On 21 January 1827, the whole of Australia was claimed as British territory for
2832-477: The western coast of Australia. He noted the lack of water and in his description of Shark Bay in his account "A Voyage to New Holland ", he expressed his frustration: It was the 7th of August when we came into Shark's Bay; in which we anchored at three several places, and stayed at the first of them (on the west side of the bay) till the 11th. During which time we searched about, as I said, for fresh water, digging wells, but to no purpose. A number of sections of
2891-577: The whole of the west coast, the Western Australian south coast and Australia's northern coast. The first English vessel to visit, when attempting to sail the Dutch-established Brouwer Route to the Indies, was Tryall , an East India Company -owned East Indiaman under the command of John Brookes who in 1622 sighted Point Cloates before later on 25 May wrecking on Tryal Rocks , off the northwest coast of Australia. Some of
2950-554: Was an early Irish settler in Western Australia . He was one of the original settlers of Augusta and an early settler of Busselton . The outline of John Molloy's birth and early life are believed by some to be clear, though there is little detail and published accounts vary greatly. This is just one possible version that he was the same John Molloy who was baptised at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, on 8 October 1786,
3009-586: Was argued that due to the increasing wealth being generated by gold rushes, Western Australia should become a self-governing colony . An Act granting self-government was passed by the British Parliament in 1890, giving the Colony independence from the UK in matters other than foreign policy, defence and "native affairs". Section 70 of the self-government act established an Aborigines Protection Board, under
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#17327914260993068-456: Was left to bury the body. Camden then decided against Fanny Bussell as a wife and returned to Perth. In February 1841 a third, much more deadly, massacre – the Wonnerup massacre – took place after George Layman was killed by Wardandi warrior Gayware. John Bussell, newly married, was back from England by then. He and Captain John Molloy led a group of settlers in
3127-479: Was made on 29 September 1791 by Commander (later Captain) George Vancouver RN , on a spot he named Possession Point , at the tip of the peninsula between the waters he also named Princess Royal Harbour and King George the Third's Sound at Albany ( the Third was dropped from the name in 1826). In the early 19th century, the British became concerned about the possibility of a French colony being established on
3186-688: Was promoted to lieutenant in 1809. Then, during a two-year break in military engagements, he attended the Royal Military College , at Great Marlow . From 1812 to 1814, he fought in the Napoleonic Wars under Wellington , taking part in eight battles. In 1815 he fought at Waterloo where he was badly wounded and received the Waterloo Medal . After recovering his health, he returned to active duty, being posted to Glasgow in 1819–20, then Ireland until 1825. In 1824 he
3245-470: Was promoted to captain. On 6 August 1829, Molloy married Georgiana Kennedy , and began to consider emigrating to Western Australia. The Molloys eventually sailed for Western Australia on board Warrior in October 1829. On arriving at the Swan River Colony in March 1830, Molloy was advised by Governor Stirling that the best land in the area had already been granted . Stirling suggested instead that
3304-409: Was re-appointed to supervise the change. He travelled by train from Albany to Perth and towns en route lit bonfires and people gathered at railway sidings to celebrate his arrival and the new constitution. His arrival in Perth on 21 October 1890 saw the city decorated with elaborate floral arches spanning the city's main streets and buildings were decked with banners and flags. In 1891 the rush to
3363-457: Was speared in the arm by a Wardandi warrior, and Mrs Dawson had a spear thrown at her. This would have been in retaliation to the massacre on 27 June. The Bussell brothers Charles, Lenox and Alfred then got together with the Chapmans and took various steps to retaliate and locate the suspected perpetrator, a Noongar warrior called Gaywal; including taking four Noongar women and a child hostage for
3422-647: Was the Dutch explorer, Dirk Hartog , the first European to suggest to have found a continent there, who on 26 October 1616 landed at what is now known as Cape Inscription, Dirk Hartog Island . Before departing, Hartog left behind an inscribed pewter plate affixed to a post. In 1696 the plate was discovered and replaced by Willem de Vlamingh and repatriated to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam . A multitude of Dutch visits followed during that century, charting virtually
3481-599: Was the disappearance on 23 June of a calf of the Chapmans', fellow settlers in the area. The two Chapmans, Alfred Bussell, a corporal, Moloney and Constable Elijah Dawson were led by Bobingroot, a local Noongar man to where those who stole the calf would be. The place was called Yulijoogarup. Another Noongar man called Nungandung refused and ran away. Kenny and Jim, two Noongar men, escaped and nine Noongar Wardandi people were killed and two wounded, including women and children. A second massacre followed in July 1837. On 13 July Dawson
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