Charles Henry GOOCH
Born 18 July 1861 in Mount Brown, South Australia [55]
Son of George Cornelius GOOCH and Emily Mason RICHMAN [55]
Married Lucy Alice Brough ABBOTT in 1886 in Victoria, Australia [15]
Farmer in Dutson, Victoria, Australia 1903-1909 [50]
On 10 December 1909 he purchased 1,883 acres of virgin land in Three Springs, Western Australia [27]
The 1,883 acres were Lots M849, M850 and M851 of Victoria Location 2022 and cost £1,670/10/-, payable by instalments [27]
The 941 acre Lot M849 was priced at 11/- an acre, while the 477 acre Lot M850 and 465 acre Lot M851 were 24/6 per acre [27]
All three lots were adjacent and are situated on the south side of what it is now the Three Springs-Perenjori Road [62]
Departed Melbourne, Victoria on the steamship Otway and arrived in Fremantle, Western Australia on 3 January 1910 [70]
He had travelled to Western Australia to inspect further land he had under option to purchase in Three Springs [9: 14-Jan-1910]
Being decidedly pleased with the land after inspecting it, he purchased the land from the Midland Railway Company [9: 14-Jan-1910]
The land was the 1,778 acre Lot M853 of Victoria Location 2022, which cost £311/3/-, or 3/6 per acre [9: 4-Mar-1910] [27]
Lot M853 bounded the south side of his other three lots, and took his property to a total of 3,661 acres [44] [62]
Farmer and Grazier of Binderrie Farm in Three Springs, Western Australia 1910-1920 [6] [9] [19] [50]
Member of the Kadathinni Farmers & Progress Association in 1910 [9: 23-Sep-1910]
His Binderrie Farm in Three Springs was managed by his eldest son Sydney C. GOOCH from 1911 to 1917 [6]
After spending a few months on his farm in Three Springs he returned to his home in Sale, Victoria in August 1915 [10: 13-Aug-1915]
By May 1916 he and his wife had left Victoria and taken up residence on their farm in Three Springs [10: 6-Oct-1916] [30: item 40770766]
He was a "French Policeman" at the Plain & Fancy Dress Ball in Three Springs on 19 July 1916 in aid of the Red Cross [39: 31-Jul-1916]
He gave evidence to the Royal Commission on the Agricultural Industries of W.A. in Three Springs on 16 December 1916 [152]
Grew 300 acres of wheat crop on his Three Springs property in 1917 [10: 19-Jun-1917]
His dog was the winner of the Sheep Dog Trials at the Red Cross Gala Day held in Three Springs on 23 May 1918 [10: 31-May-1918]
Judged the Horse events at the Three Springs Day picnic meeting in Three Springs on Thursday 25 September 1919 [9: 19-Sep-1919]
Roads in Three Springs, Carnamah, Coorow and districts came under the Upper Irwin Road Board at Mingenew [86: 16-Apr-1918]
He nominated to serve on the Upper Irwin Road Board after the resignation of Francis J. MORGAN of Three Springs in 1918 [86]
Two other men also nominated - Arthur G. DARLING of Carnamah and Angus A. N. MCGILP of Coorow [86]
He and DARLING both received 66 votes and MCGILP 51 votes, forcing the returning officer to cast a deciding vote [86]
He lost by one point, with the vote going to DARLING as he was more centrally located between Arrino and Marchagee [86]
Father of Ethel May, Sydney Cornelius, Jack, Lurline, Fannie, Olive and Eric [15] [54]
Died 28 June 1920 in Dongara, Western Australia [10: 9-Jul-1920] [29]
Following his death his eldest son Sydney C. GOOCH appears to have inherited his 3,661 acre Binderrie Farm in Three Springs [44]
From the Progress Report of the Royal Commission on the
Agricultural Industries of Western Australia on the Wheat-Growing Portion of the South-West Division of the State:
Saturday 16 December 1916 at Three Springs
"CHARLES HENRY GOOCH, Farmer, Three Springs, sworn and examined:
I have been seven years here. I had very little experience previously in Sale. I hold 3,600 acres of Midland [Railway Company] land. The average price is 10s. 10d. Eleven hundred acres are first class land; the balance is sandplain seven miles from the railway. I have 450 acres cleared and 100 acres rung and scrubbed. It is all fenced and divided into six paddocks. The water supply is a dam of 1,000 yards. We excavated it ourselves. The price at the time was 1s. a yard, but it is not a permanent supply. When it runs out we do the best we can from our neighbours. It is 10ft. deep and good holding country. The house is a humpy. There are no stables. I have an implement shed. I put £4,000 into this property. I have a full farming plant, 13 working horses and 135 sheep, 30 donkeys and 13 pigs. We use the donkeys for wheat carting and can go where teams of horses cannot go. I work 15 in a team. I used to bring in 55 cwt. where Billy Dean could only bring in 40 with his eight horse team. I have 430 acres under crop this year. I believe in fallow, but I have not got any. I sow from ¾ of a bushel to one bushel per acre and 50lbs. of super, but less on heavy land. The highest average yield I have had was 2,300 bags over 400 acres. I expect 1,500 bags this year. To pay the actual expenses of putting in and taking off would amount to 12 bushels. I use a 10-disc Shearer plough, but there is no doubt that larger machinery would lessen costs, as well as the selection of wheat that is best suited to the district. My experience is that one has to try and find out what is best. I have experimented and I found Bunyip and Federation are the two standard wheats for our locality. Bulk handling should reduce costs. The grain could be carted in tanks in drays. I have no considered the question of the tariff [on imported farm implements].
I have never had any disease in my crops. I pickle, but do not grade my wheat. I have tried fodder and artificial grasses. I had a sample of Japanese millet which has grown to a great height and only had rain on it. Our pigs do very well here. I do not think a man would make a decent living on less than 2,000 acres or 3,000 acres here with the water supply given in. A man should do 400 acres himself annually, 400 in and 200 fallow. My son has put all my crop in. I suggested to the Midland [Railway] Company that they should extend the terms of payment of rent for three years and make the payments due later.
We put down 12 bores without any satisfactory results; that is why we have no sheep. I have hoped of getting well water as all my neighbours have it. Sir Walter James was watching me at work on 12ft. Bore. He borrowed my plant and got water within half a mile at 50ft. So long as the farmer has to pay these ridiculous rates of wages he has no hope of prosperity. I think they ought to drop the duty on bags. They cost about 10d. to 11d. delivered we only get 1½ d. for them back. The rise in fright on a single bale of bags is abnormally high."
From The Moora Herald and Midland Districts Advocate newspaper, Friday 9 July 1920:
Three Springs
"It is with regret that I have to chronicle the death of Mr. C. Gooch, of Three Springs, which took place at his residence in Dongara. Much sympathy is felt for the widow and family."
| Reference: Carnamah Historical Society & Museum and North Midlands Project, 'Charles Henry Gooch' in Biographical Dictionary of Coorow, Carnamah and Three Springs, retrieved 19 December 2024 from www.carnamah.com.au/bio/charles-henry-gooch [reference list] |
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