Gnowangerup History

George was the ninth child, and second son, Robert was the tenth child and third son, of John and Ann Wellstead. Neither of these sons married and it appears they lived their lives together, so that is how we tell their story.
As youngsters, George and Robert were shepherds on the family property, until 1891. When George was twenty-eight and Robert twenty-five; they purchased Warrungup from Henry K. Toll who worked at Albany Port
(P.& 0. Co.) and had been the Lighthouse keeper on Breaksea Island.
This farm was located on the northern side of the Stirling Range, about midway along its length. It appears that neither of the brothers was very responsible with money and they had a reputation of being squanderers and hard drinkers.
There is a story told of them buying a binder in Cranbrook and with it a considerable quantity of rum. On arriving home, drinking the rum took precedence over the unloading of the binder off the wagon.
Eventually, they roped the binder to a tree and moved the team and wagon away. The rope broke letting the binder crash to the ground, it was wrecked and remained at the base of the tree for many years. They did not attempt to salvage it.

Andrew Moir brother-in-law to George and Robert, whilst visiting them at Warrangup, with a wagon loaded with sandalwood, misjudged the gate, striking the post with the wagon wheel and pulling it out of the ground. 
George was angry about the incident and proceeded to cut a very large paper bark post as a replacement, saying (Lord Almighty won’t shift this post). 
That night the heavens opened and the rain bucketed down. The next morning George checked the post only to discover that it had been washed out of the ground, so that’s where it was left, but thereafter George was very wary of the Lord Almighty.

Another story is told about the boys being away on a drinking spree. When they finally returned home, they discovered that the dingoes had been amongst the sheep that were grazing along the foothills of the Stirling Range, towards Paper Collar Creek. 
There were many dead and dying sheep and it took weeks for them to find and round up the remainder of the flock. Dingoes were a constant threat to stock and were a prime source of concern to the farmers.
George and Robert had borrowed money from Mr Muir Senior but never fully repaid the debt. Finally, Mr Muir foreclosed on the loan and claimed Warrangup to clear the debt. This was unfortunate, as the boys had done a lot of work in developing the property.

There are many storied about these remarkable brothers, and who knows, perhaps some of them will be told in a future publication.
They were two lonely bachelors enjoying life in the manner that suited them best. The author, John, has childhood memories of the brothers when they were old men living with their kangaroo dogs at Bremer Bay.
George took him kangaroo shooting in a buggy, and to shoot, the old man climbed down from the buggy, rested his Winchester .44 rifle in a fork stick, took aim and shot the kangaroo. This was not for sport, but food for both him and his dogs.

Both brothers retired to Bremer Bay. Robert built a bark hut, with the assistance of his brother Rod. It is not certain when the hut was built but it was there in 1927 and is still standing today (1998) but with a few modifications.
George built his accommodation down on the Bog Arm on the Wellstead Estuary but time has taken its toll, and only rubble remains.
During the years 1930-1940, when family groups camped amongst the paper bark trees in John?s Cove, George and Robert often visited the campers with a supply of fish, or advise as to where the fish were biting.
Both the brothers sat tall in the saddle, even as old men, and Robert’s death was due to an injury sustained while rounding up horses. His horse propped and he was injured internally.

Robert died in the Gnowangerup Hospital on Dec 29th, 1942 from his injuries.
George even tried prospecting for gold, but with no luck.
George died in the Gnowangerup Hospital on May 10th, 1937 with an abscess on the lung and cardiac insufficiency, aged seventy-three years.
Both George and Robert are buried in the Gnowangerup Cemetery.