"Harry" William Harry JEFFERIS
Born 11 April 1867 in Adelaide, South Australia [55]
Son of James JEFFERIS and Marian TURNER [55]
Married Minnie Lane COWAN in 1899 in Perth, Western Australia [15]
He had once been an orchardist and had had farming experience in all of the Australian states [152]
Farmer of Warrah Farm in Latham, Western Australia 1910-1924 [6] [152] [215]
In 1910 he took up 3,000 acres of land - consisting of 2,200 acres of forest country and 800 acres of scrubby land [152]
The land cost 10/- per acre for 1,000 acres and 15/- for 2,000 acres, however the latter was later reduced to 13/- per acre [152]
He was initially going to take up just 1,000 acres but the Agricultural Bank advised him he needed at least 1,500 acres [152]
He cleared and put in 30 acres of crop in 1911 however "the season was a complete failure throughout the district" [152]
Went back to Perth and resumed his business there for nine months and then returned to his farm in Latham [152]
Grew 150 acres of crop in 1913 from which he cut 20 tons of hay off 25 acres and sold 700 bags of wheat [152]
Excluding his expenses for carting the 700 bags to the railway at Wongan Hills he made a profit of 7/4 per bag [152]
For the first three years on the farm they had to get everything from Coorow, which was 30 miles away [152]
In 1914, which turned out to be a drought, he seeded 400 acres of crop which was a complete failure [152]
He remarked "that broke me up" of the 1914 failure, however he pressed on with help from the Industries Assistance Board [152]
Seeded 360 of wheat and six acres of oats in 1915, however lost 100 acres of Federation wheat through rust and a hailstorm [152]
In 1915 his wheat averaged about nine bushels per acre, he cut 30 tons of hay from 30 acres, and got 90 bags from the oats [152]
He had grown early varieties of wheat including Federation, Bunyip and Yadilla King and had tried to get Gluyus [152]
By 1916 he had cleared 450 acres of his farm and had 300 acres under crop [152]
Seeded his crops with 40 pounds of wheat and 52 pounds of super to the acre until 1915, and 60 pounds of wheat in 1916 [152]
By 1916 had fenced 200 acres of his farm and had posts ready to fence a further 1,000 acres [152]
Owing to what was available in his vicinity he used wodjil posts for his fences, which were generally as good as jam posts [152]
The wodjil posts tended to split though, so instead of boring holes through them he wired the posts up instead [152]
He had a 32-feet deep well which yielded about 3,000 gallons of water a day and was "the champion well of the district" [152]
The well was probably the one sunk for him in mid 1913, which at the time provided an "exceptionally fine supply" [9: 20-Jun-1913]
In 1916 he also had an uncovered 1,000 yard dam of 8-feet 6-inches depth [152]
They kept a number of pigs and poultry for their own use in 1916 [152]
Gave evidence to the Royal Commission on the Agricultural Industries of Western Australia in Latham on 24 November 1916 [152]
He believed bulk handling of wheat would reduce costs as farmers made such a heavy loss on bags [152]
During his evidence he gave a demonstration of wiring a wodjil post instead of boring holes through it for wires [152]
He felt that farming machinery was far too expensive, especially some implements in comparison to others [152]
He hadn't grown any but said the only artificial grass that grew in Latham was Canary grass and he expected Lucerne might too [152]
He'd tried to grow six different clovers however they had all died, and had planted fruit trees but most of them also perished [152]
It was his opinion that vegetables could be grown "to perfection" in Latham during the winter months [152]
He had been unable to employ a good man for under 30/- per week and keep and even then they hadn't been very good [152]
He thought the labour issue was because the good ones didn't come as far outback and they got snapped up in the older districts [152]
To make a living in Latham he believed a farmer working on his own needed 900 acres of cleared land plus land for livestock [152]
He thought farmers cooperating would be beneficial but he'd "never struck a community of farmers who could work in unison" [152]
Like others in Latham he hadn't seen any profit but couldn't have foreseen it as no one before them knew the local conditions [152]
He suggested that the Government should cover their liabilities and allow them to repay them over a number of years [152]
It was his opinion that the land at Latham was "undeniably good" but they had to learn how to work with the local climate [152]
He thought they got between nine and ten inches of rain in the growing season plus troublesome amounts of summer rain [152]
Hard conditions and two disastrous seasons had been the drawbacks that had prevented him from getting head [152]
He'd put in his own capital, borrowed from the Agricultural Bank and received help from the Industries Assistance Board [152]
He and his wife felt "a great obligation" to Mrs Annie M. BATTERSBY of Coorow who boarded their sons Jim and Ken [215]
Their sons boarded with Mrs BATTERSBY on Wattle Vale Farm in Coorow so they could attend the Coorow State School [215]
He wrote to the Education Department in November 1920 expressing his hope that the Coorow State School would reopen in 1921 [251]
"The children have got on remarkably well and it will be very unfortunate if owing to the building they have been using being [251]
denied them the promoters of this little school are unable to carry on. It is difficult to see what we out here can do & I trust that [251]
you will look closely into the matter & endeavour to arrange for a continuation after Xmas." [251]
Signatory to a letter sent to the Director of Education by Mrs Annie M. BATTERSBY of Coorow on 14 March 1921 [215]
The letter complained about the sporadic nature, including too many closed days, in which the Coorow State School was run [215]
Later resided in Albany [2]
Father of Kathleen Marian, Vernon Eddington, Mamie Florence, James Cowan and Kenneth Pank [15] [215]
Died 7 September 1947; ashes interred Karrakatta Cemetery, Perth WA (Crematorium Rose Gardens, Rose Memorial, 4A, 3) [2]
| Reference: Carnamah Historical Society & Museum and North Midlands Project, 'William Harry Jefferis' in Biographical Dictionary of Coorow, Carnamah and Three Springs, retrieved 7 November 2024 from www.carnamah.com.au/bio/william-harry-jefferis [reference list] |
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