Point of Interest # 10

William was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, England in 1869 and married Matilda Sophia Lawrence in 1886 at Ipswich, before migrating to Western Australia that same year on the ship “Helena Mena”. After serving at Smith’s Mill, the family was transferred to Spencer’s Brook, where he died in 1896 from a shunting accident, leaving his wife and 4 children without a breadwinner. There were articles in the paper after this accident deploring the fact that there was no provision for widows of Railway men who died on the job.

Charles was born in 1868 at Margate, Kent, England. It isn’t known when he came to Western Australia or if he married Florence Mcauliffe in England or Australia, but he joined the WAGR in 1893 and his first child, Mona, was born in 1894 at Smith’s Mill. He resigned in 1898 after being posted to Roebourne and went into business as a Publican at Cossack, later dying in 1900 from illness at Roebourne, leaving his young wife with two small children to raise.

James was born about 1851 in Stockport, Cheshire, England and came to Australia as a young man, where he spent time in the Eastern States before moving to WA and joining the WAGR in 1887, aged 36 . While working at York, W.A., he met and married Edith Elizabeth Heal in 1889. From York he went to Smith’s Mill which was his first appointment as Station Master. James and Edith married when he was 38, they had no children and he retired in 1925.

Francis was born in 1864 in Western Australia. This was his first appointment as Station Master, he had initially started as a Porter in 1895 then became the Station Master at Smiths Mill in 1896 and served until 1900. He was single while here and may have been the first to occupy the newly built Station Master House, completed in 1898. One of his responsibilities as Station master was to ensure the destruction of a Stinkwort plant pest that grew along the Eastern Railway line between Darlington and Smith’s Mill. He was also the Post Master as the new Post Office wasn’t built during his time at Smith’s Mill.

Richard was born at Armidale, NSW in 1868 and it was there in 1896 that he married Ella May Rendalls, before moving to WA and joining the WAGR in that same year, beginning his career as a Guard at Fremantle. Smith’s Mill was his first appointment as Station Master and there is a note on his records indicating the house was included free of rent, as part of his appointment. He was also the last Station Master/Post Master for which he received a separate payment. While at Smith’s Mill his third child, Horace, was born in 1902. At their farewell he was thanked for his efforts with the football club.

Herbert was born about 1866, where is unknown, and married Florence Amelia Blumfield at Northam, Western Australia, in 1897. The Knights had two sons before being posted to Smith’s Mill, which was Herbert’s second posting as Station Master; his first appointment being Grass Valley where he and his wife were prominent in organising and attending numerous social events. After Smith’s Mill, his posting was a swap with William Snowden, where Herbert took William's job at Busselton and the Snowdens moved from there to Smith’s Mill. In 1928 Herbert failed the vision test with the Railways and in 1931 he was granted a pension and left the service.

William was born in 1868 in England and migrated to Australia (QLD) where in 1888 he married Annie Eda Lena Klemm. They had 3 children, the last in 1892. However he left his wife and came to WA and joined the WAGR in 1895. In 1899, with the birth of a new daughter, he appears to have a second relationship with Martha Ann Wakerley and together they had 4 children. Some of these children would have been of primary school age when he was Station Master at Smith’s Mill. William’s next job was at Chidlow's Well followed by a number of other country postings before spending his last 10 years at West Perth, from where he retired in July 1933.

Albert was born in 1875 at Melbourne, Victoria, then came to Western Australia where he married Esther (Ettie) Frances Howard in 1896. Sons Bertie and Howard attended the primary school during his time at Smith’s Mill. Albert was responsible for getting the tennis courts developed. Although aged 42, he enlisted in WW1 and served overseas with the Australian Army Medical Corp (AAMC) from 1917-1919. Grandson Colin also worked for the WAGR.

Frederick was born in 1876 at Nairne, South Australia, and he came to W.A and married Ruby Louise Wood in 1910 at Perth. While at Smith’s Mill he was involved with the Anglican Church and active with the public hall where he held a variety of positions. Their daughter, Maude, was born in 1913 at the Station House. Fred apparently grew good quality Cleopatra apples and came equal second with W.G. Clark in the 1912 Hills Horticultural Show. His career was short lived as he retrained into Accounting by 1916 and left the WAGR.

Michael was born in 1878, whereabouts unknown, and entered WAGR service in 1900. He married Rose Whelan in 1904 while stationed at Perth as a Relief Officer. He reached Station Master level in 1910 with his first posting at Gosnells, then his second was at Smith’s Mill. During his time there the town's name was changed to Glen Forrest. While here he helped form the Glen Forrest Rifle Club in 1915 and his two daughters, who seemed to enjoy cooking, both had their prize winning recipes published in the Sunday Times newspaper. The Flaherty’s last child, Maurice, was born while they were at Glen Forrest. Michael died in his sleep from a heart attack while acting as relieving Traffic Inspector at Merredin in Dec 1936, aged 58. Michael’s son John Flaherty also worked for the WAGR.

Maurice was born in 1881 at Melbourne, Victoria and commenced with WAGR in 1900. In 1904, shortly after joining, he married Elsie May Udy at Subiaco. He took 13 years to become a Station Master, firstly at Comet Vale then Hines Hill. Apparently Maurice appeared to have a good singing voice, which was put to good use in 1916 when the Hines Hill community held a concert to farewell the men who had enlisted for WW1. Maurice and Elsie had three children, the two daughters were past primary school age when the family came to Glen Forrest in 1922, but young Morrie would have attended. In 1932, while Maurice was at Daglish, he had an unfortunate experience of finding a man’s body that had been hit by one of the trains. He retired in 1941. His son, also called Maurice Blaney, worked for the WAGR.

John was born in 1886 at Perth, Western Australia and joined the WAGR in 1904, attaining the position of Station Master by 1913 when transferred to Bruce Rock. Prior to this he had married Ruby Muriel Sinclair in 1911. When he came to Glen Forrest with his family, they had two sons, Leonard and John, who would have attended the local primary school. In 1925 they had a third son. From Glen Forrest the family’s next placement was Midland Junction where he appears to have reached retirement age in 1942. In 1953 John’s wife Ruby died suddenly aged 62 and John died two years later.

Morgan John Morgan was born in 1887 in Wales. He migrated to WA in 1908 and later joined the WAGR in 1911. The year 1910 had an important event: he met a young lady visiting from Wales called Harriet (Hetty) Roberts. He was to marry her in 1913 at Kalgoorlie, where he was working close by at Boorabbin. The couple were moved around to a number of country postings while Morgan gradually worked his way up to a Station Master. He achieved this goal in 1922 when he was appointed to Konnongorring, which is between Wongan Hills and Goomalling. His last posting before Glen Forrest was at Balingup. In 1929 he came to Glen Forrest, where he was to remain for the next 22 years, becoming the longest serving Station Master. Along the way the Morgan family expanded to include 4 children.
Morgan was instrumental in starting the Bowls Club in 1930. In 1979 the Station Recreation Reserve was named after him in recognition of his service to the community during his time at Glen Forrest. He died in 1966 aged 79.

Edmond was born in 1926, whereabouts unknown, and served as an Assistant Station Master at Meekatharra, where he married Theresa Josephine Ryan in 1950. As a newlywed couple they moved to Glen Forrest, where he was promoted to Station Master and they had a son while there. His time here was cut short as the station ceased to operate after 1954 due to the closure of the Mundaring Line by the State Government. After the closure the family were sent down south to Boyanup.
His son, Graeme, also worked for WAGR.