"Bill" William James FARRELL
Born in Huntly, Victoria, Australia [54]
Departed the Eastern States on the steamship Rockton and arrived in Fremantle, Western Australia on 21 July 1895 [120: 26-Jul-1895]
Married (1) "Kate" Catherine Ann MAGGETTI in 1898 in Victoria, Australia [54]
Resided at 113 Macdonald Street in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia 1901-1908 [6]
He appears to have initially run a fuel depot in Kalgoorlie[6] before working as a Contractor and then Dealer [258: 16-Sep1902, 1-Nov-1904]
His daughter Mary Marguerita died in Kalgoorlie in 1904 at the age of two years [15]
By 1906 he was the proprietor of a Livery Stable - a stable that boarded horses and had horses and carts for hire [258: 13-Mar-1906]
His wife Kate passed away in Kalgoorlie on 26 January 1907 at the age of 33 years [15] [258: 28-Jan-1908, 4-Feb-1908]
Prior to leaving Kalgoorlie he had a Clearing-Out Sale on 15 April 1908 at which his town property and horses were auctioned [39]
His property put up for auction consisted of Lot 260 on the corner of Hannan and Wilson streets which contained a first-class [39]
blacksmith's shop, 20-stall stable, feed houses, buggy-sheds, harness-rooms, sleep apartments, enclosed by a 10-foot iron fence;[39]
Lot 280 on the corner of Wilson and Egan streets which contained a feed-house, 10-stall stable, 17x10-foot office, all enclosed [39]
by a 5-foot high iron fence; Lot 601 Macdonald Street which contained two wood and iron houses of six and five rooms both [39]
leased to tenants with a loose box and feed-house adjoining one of the houses, and a 7-foot high iron fence dividing the houses; [39]
the lease of Lot 261 on the corner of Wilson and Hannan streets containing a blacksmith's shop, office and up-to-date post and [39]
rail saleyard; in addition to 20 medium and light horses, three good mares, mare and foal, two buggies, six sulkies, [39]
two spring-carts, five wooden drays, seven sets of buggy harness, nine sets of spring-cart harness and sundries [39: 11-Apr-1908]
He and his brothers Matthew J. FARRELL and Thomas J. FARREL worked as contractors along the Midland Railway line [152]
They went to what was to become the Perenjori district looking for land to take up as they wanted some for a horse run [152]
In about 1908 he and his brothers took up the first land "East of Carnamah" which later became Perenjori [44] [152]
Sharefarmer with his brothers as "Farrell Bros" on George J. GOOCH's Bacton Station in Mingenew 1908-1912 [9: 22-Jan-1909] [152]
Through George J. GOOCH he and his brothers donated £1 to the Children's Hospital in Perth in November 1908 [39: 7-Nov-1908]
They advertised in December 1908 that they had good seed wheat, skinless barley, oats and wheaten chaff for sale [39: 15-Dec-1908]
Attended the Midland Railway Company's 9th Subdivision Sale at the Builders & Contractors' Exchange in Perth in June 1909 [39]
The sale was the Company's first of agricultural blocks of virgin bush and townsite blocks in Three Springs [39: 19-Jun-1909]
He bought the four acre Lot 106 of Victoria Location 2022 in the Three Springs townsite for £20, payable by instalments [27]
Samples of Baroota Wonder wheat and Calcutta oats they grew in Mingenew in 1909 were used in a display of fine samples [81] [120]
A photograph of the samples was in The Sunday Times and The Western Mail newspapers on 4 and 11 December 1909 [81] [120]
Sold two medium draught geldings from Mingenew at Cockram's Stock Bazaar in Perth on 29 October 1910 [39: 29-Oct-1910]
A fire went through the property and he lost about £1,500 worth of stuff, as did his brothers and George J. GOOCH [39: 9-Dec-1915]
"Farrell Bros" were also listed as Farmers & Contractors in Carnamah 1910-1917 [6]
From as early as 1912 he had the registered horse and cattle firebrand of 6WF for use on Glenhuntly Farm in Carnamah [486]
He and his brothers were said to have sunk a lot of the dams in the Carnamah district [P399]
In 1912 he was contracted by the Midland Railway Company to make dams on some of their farms in Carnamah and Coorow [34]
For the Company he made the dams on Lot M943 in Carnamah and on Lots M964 and M966 in Coorow [34]
After being burnt out at Mingenew he moved to Carnamah and share-farmed in Carnamah and Perenjori [39: 9-Dec-1915]
He also owned 3,400 acres of land in Perenjori on Conditional Purchase, which he had taken up in about 1908 [39: 9-Dec-1915]
His address had changed from Mingenew to Carnamah by 1913 [44]
Advertised in February 1913 that he wasn't responsible for the debts of his brothers Tom and Mat of Mingenew [39: 15-Feb-1913]
Farmer in Carnamah 1913-1915 [9: 27-Jun-1913] [39: 9-Dec-1915]
From about June of 1913 he was leasing farmland in Carnamah that belonged to Charles J. A. HORROCKS [9: 27-Jun-1913]
The land consisted of 300 acres of cleared land and 2,000 acres of grazing country and was leased for £250 a year [39: 9-Dec-1915]
He leased the land with an "Edward Davidson" which is probably a misprint for his father-in-law Edgar DAVIESON [39: 9-Dec-1915]
At the same time he was also share-farming with Donald MACPHERSON on Carnamah Station [225: 8-Dec-1915]
In 1913 he harvested 51 bags of wheat over 48 days from his crops totalling 1,200 acres [225: 8-Dec-1915]
Married (2) Juanita Constance DAVIESON on 19 July 1913 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Perth [39: 23-Aug-1913]
Purchased the quarter acre 1 Macpherson Street in the Carnamah townsite (Lot 6 of Victoria Location 1936) on 20 February 1914 [27]
Days later, on 26 February 1914 he purchased the adjacent quarter acre 3 Macpherson Street (Lot 7 of Victoria Location 1936) [27]
Both blocks were purchased from the Midland Railway Company for £28 and £22/10/- respectively, payable over 18 months [27]
Rates for 1 Macpherson Street were sent to him until 1921-22, and from 1922-23 were sent to his mother-in-law [27]
1 Macpherson Street was later acquired by Elder Smith & Co Ltd who had an office built on the block [3]
He was never rated for 3 Macpherson Street, which by 1932 was owned by Fremantle mechanic John MIROSEVICH [3]
In 1915 had an £800 Agricultural Bank mortgage on his Perenjori farm and owed £344 to the Industries Assistance Board [39: 9-Dec-1915]
Attended the Saint Patrick's Day Sports Meeting held at the recreation ground in Three Springs on Wednesday 17 March 1915 [10]
His speedy Chestnut horse competed in races during the day, and won both the Hack Race and the Flying Handicap [10: 26-Mar-1915]
In December 1915 approached the Midland Railway Company with his mother-in-law Annie DAVIESON wanting to buy farmland [34]
He, his brother and his mother-in-law were desirous of purchasing Lots M938, M954 and M955 in Carnamah [34]
The Midland Railway Company refused to sell the farms to them as they were unable to finance the proposition [34]
Did contract and subcontract work in Carnamah for the Midland Railway Company over the 1915-16 harvest [10: 12-Oct-1915] [34]
Contract carted wheat for the Midland Railway Company from their unsold farms to the Carnamah railway siding in 1915-16 [34]
Over the 1915-16 harvest carted 778 bags of wheat from Lot M938, 349 bags from Lot M957 and 60 bags from Lot M938 [34]
Over some of the 1915-16 harvest also worked as a subcontractor for John BOWMAN, who had harvest contracts in Carnamah [34]
The harvest contracts were also on the Midland Railway Company's farms, and among those he did was the crop on Lot M943 [34]
When he started harvesting for BOWMAN he got bogged, and it was expected to be two days before he could get going again [34]
He was examined for bankruptcy at the Practice Court in Perth on Wednesday 8 December 1915 [39: 9-Dec-1915]
At the time he owed £781 to unsecured creditors, £2,237 to secured creditors and £227 to a partly secured creditor [39]
The value of the assets the £2,237 was secured to was estimated to be worth £4,771, while the £227 was secured against £170 [39]
His situation had arisen after losses from the fire in Mingenew and from unfortunate cropping results in Carnamah and Perenjori [39]
He'd done alright in 1915 and his crop from the land in Carnamah leased from HORROCKS exceeded the £250 lease charge [39]
Farmer in Perenjori in 1916 and 1917, and Contractor in Carnamah in 1918 and 1919 [6]
He then had only 1,156 acres of Conditional Purchase leasehold in Perenjori which became Victoria Locations 3589 and 3710 [44]
Purchased some of his general supplies from general store "The Supply Stores" on Yarra Street in Carnamah during 1917 [92]
Farmer & Contractor in Wubin 1919-1948 [6] [19]
Won 2nd prize for Draught Colt or Filly in the Horses section of the District Agricultural Show in Dalwallinu in 1929 [120: 24-Oct-1929]
Father of George Albert, Mary Marguerita and William Vincent [15]
Died 3 January 1952 [39: 8 & 10-Jan-1952]
| Reference: Carnamah Historical Society & Museum and North Midlands Project, 'William James Farrell' in Biographical Dictionary of Coorow, Carnamah and Three Springs, retrieved 18 November 2024 from www.carnamah.com.au/bio/william-james-farrell [reference list] |
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