Family Histories
Family Histories
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BELL James James Bell was born at Jupiter Creek in South Australia on December 11th, 1859. His parents were William and Mary Ann Bell. William Bell's parents were from London and Mary Ann Bell (nee Hutton) came from G]asgow in Scotland. Both came to Australia in the late 1850's per medium of sailing ships, taking five to seven months according to how favourable or contrary the winds happened to be. They came at the same time. Will Bell was a contract well sinker, prospector, farmer and gold miner. William Bell had a farm at Echunga and reared a family of three sons and four daughters. His gold mining was of particular interest and at one stage very prosperous. The mine was called Donkey Gully, because the finding of a lost donkey led to the discovery of the gold mine. One one occasion about 51,000 pounds worth of gold was discovered in one patch and smaller finds were unearthed at various times, but generally it was no "golden mile..'
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BELL & SCHMIDT ADVERT 1912 #1 |
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The system of mining was driving a tunnel into a hill and then branching out north and south as the "load" showed promise. The main tunnel was a direct line to make provision for a trolley on steel rails to convey the dirt from the workings to the earth dump. A central shaft was sunk midway in the mine to supply fresh air (a requirement by law). The width of the main tunnel was 12 feet by 8 feet by 6 feet 6 inches and not necessarily straight but conformed to the directions of the load. The dirt from the side drives was wheeled in barrows to the main shaft to connect up with the trolley system in the main shaft already referred to. The means of lighting was by candles. One fixed lamp (kerosene) was placed at the forefront of the main tunnel and besides being useful, was the eye of the mine and you only had to turn it out on leaving the tunnel to know it's value. The main tools used were pick and shovel, hammers and wedges, crow bar and explosives, sweat and elbow grease. The mode of transport to and from the mine five days a week, a distance of three miles each way was per shank's pony (walking). They carried their picks for sharpening and tools for mending their shoulders each day back to the farm's blacksmith forge. They sharpened their picks while breakfast was being prepared by the womenfolk and left for work at seven o'clock, summer and winter. Odd jobs, on Saturdays and holidays and during periods of exemption from the Mining Department, were put in on the farm and about the place. The fain and the home at Echunga were well run and the womenfolk attended to the flower and vegetable garden and the fruit trees. The produce was made into jams and preserves. A few cows were kept. also a good yard of chooks. This was a good home to go into, always spick and span Grandchildren were always welcomed with a full round of good old bread and jam. The very old Grandma Bell was a very small Scots lady, humorous, fond of reading and a great worker. James Bell was the oldest of a family of seven. As a small boy he was fond of reading but until he was nine, there was no school to go to. The family shifted from Jupiter Creek to Echunga in 1869 and James went to a private school run by a Mrs. Flett and James became her white-haired boy and they were firm friends all his life. The teacher was a Scotswoman and called him "her Jammy" and he quickly mopped up all his work and all she would set out for him for homework. James stayed at school until it was time for him to go out to work. This was before the Donkey Gully mine was found. His first job was as a stable boy at a hotel. He got no wages but relied on tips from men that stabled their horses for the night at the hotel. Now sometimes a man would say when coming back for his horse "Come and have a drink, Jimmy. You don't want any money." Well, it was the money he wanted and the more he saw of the drinking at the pub the less he liked it and he resolved in his own mind that if that was booze, then he became a tee-totaller and he remained so all his life. He left the stable job to go to Conmantoo to be apprenticed to the local blacksmith in the town and to live in their home for a term of five years. He became as one of the family and went everywhere that family went, as was the custom for apprentices in those days. On Sundays he went to church - his very first experience of such things - and though it all seemed strange he liked it. He went along to the men's class in the Sunday School. He was allowed to play on the organ and taught himself music and before he was finished learning his trade he was playing the organ for the Sunday School and the "Band of Hope" (Temperance Society). Some of the happiest days of his life were spent with Mr. & Mrs. Butler at Conmantoo. Having learned his trade, James Bell went to work with a Mr. Handcock at Whyte Tarcowie, still in South Australia. James Bell was a good blacksmith and made one of the first ploughs of two furrows in South Australia. He also made the first set of stump jump harrows, the same as are in use all over Australia. He won the prize for making horse shoes so many times at Terowie, that the show committee made him a judge of the event. James Bell bought the business and home at Tarcowie, though still only a young man. The business grew, a bigger shop was added and extra men were needed, one of whom was Herman Schmidt who leaned his trade with James Bell and married the servant of the household. Then Bell and Schmidt in later life had a business in Gnowangerup and were life long friends.
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JAMES BELL & HERMAN SCHMIDT BLACKSMITH'S BUSINESS AT GNOWANGERUP 1909 #2 |
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Before buying the home and business at Tarcowie, James became attracted to a Miss Annie Howe; and a Miss Sarah Nourse became attracted to James Bell. I cannot go into that very interesting story, sufficient to say that Sarah Nourse won and thus I am writing this story many years later. Much could be said of Sarah Nourse who became Mrs. James Bell but just passing reference to a wonderful woman would not be worthy of her, it could be noted that she was a very slight, rather delicate mother of a large family of 14. She was an outstanding nurse at any illness or accident and especially in the case of childbirth. Although Sarah Bell attended over one hundred mothers, she never lost either a mother or a baby. In the year 1896 James Bell was offered some interest in the Donkey Gully mine. The home and business was sold to a Mr. James Potter in 1896 and the family shifted to Euchunga. The family by now consisted of father and mother and nine children. But the family move was a disastrous one. A few weeks after arriving at Echunga the family was stricken with Typhoid Fever. Father first, then Grace, the eldest, then Fanny then two or three at a time, until all were down with it and Mother was looking after the lot. The house we shifted into while our house was being built had a patient die in it sometime before, and the place had not been fumigated. Father was unable to work for 18 months so we were really in a bad way. Anyway, we shifted into our new home in Echunga. Dad had taken a job as insurance agent for a while but eventually came over to W.A. to his own trade, blacksmithing, on the Brown Hill gold mine, Boulder City. This was in the year 1899. Later Ernest and Arthur followed in 1903 and the whole family a little later. When father arrived on the goldfields in W.A., naturally his first idea was to get a job, blacksmithing if possible, but a job of some sort. He went to the Brown Hill gold mine and soon found that jobs of your own choosing were not easily come by. He was very fortunate because when he found his way to the blacksmith shop, who should he find there but one of the men who had leaned his trade in his father's blacksmith shop. His name was Herman Schmidt (already referred to). Herman offered to introduce him to the manager of the gold mine. After waiting for a couple of hours the manager, a Mr. Geo. Miller, came to the shop and the introduction took place. Now the highest recommendation Herman could give to the manager was "Anything I can do, Mr. Bell can do better. In fact he taught me all I know."Mr. Miller said James could start straight away, but he didn't have any tools. Father said "Give me a hammer and the matter and I will make a set for myself." So the tools were made and James Bell worked in the same shop for several years. He invented a candle holder called a spider for the use of the miners working underground. He won first prize at an art competition with this invention. A home was bought in Millen Street, in Boulder City and Father, Mother and the whole family were very happy there. With the improved wages and the other members of the family earning as well, it made life a lot easier and happier. Clifford was born at Boulder City and caused at lot of interest amongst the family, especially the girls. Father lock great interest in public`life. He was a great reader, a strong debater and he was always in great demand as a local preacher in the Methodist Church. He was also fond of music and sang in the church choir. |
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FAMILY OF SARAH MARGARET NOURSE & JAMES BELL |
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He was also a member of the choral society. He sang tenor and was in the choir that won many competitions. Sport always found a way into his life, especially cricket and he was a good captain and a good opening batsman. James Bell was also a Justice of the Peace and his rulings though firm and fair, were always tempered with compassion. Band music was one of his enjoyments. When at Boulder, after Sunday night church, he would go down to hear the Boulder City band in the recreation ground. He was also very fond of family singing even when we were all very young. In the winter time the family would sing old Sunday school hymns and church hymns for hours. As a father he was very firm, and woe betides anyone if there was a lie to sort out. He had a cheerful disposition and could tell a good yam and enjoy a good joke. He could become very depressed if things were not going well in his business. He was a tip top tradesman but allowed too much credit. In his very large business he conducted blacksmithing, wagon building, sulky building, making ploughs, harrows, as well as conducting a paint shop and doing every kind of farm repair work imaginable. He did a big trade in horse shoeing. The first World War hit the business severely. His right hand man, Bickford, had left for the war and Gladstone, the expert at the shoeing forge, had married and left for the city. There was plenty of work but too much credit and not enough money coming in to keep the workmen together. The State of Western Australia was going through a bad time and as banks were giving very little credit, blacksmithing was one of the first trades hit and very severely. To add to all his troubles he had to undergo an eye operation, then a couple of years after that he had pneumonia and his health broke up rapidly and completely. Farming came into his life somewhat late. Farming and blacksmithing had a particularly bad time in the 1914 drought and the war period and he was really lucky to continue paying 20 shillings in the pound even after disposing of farm and business houses and blocks of land. His family,in the main, stuck by him in the course of business or in the winding up of the affairs in the end. James Bell retired to Perth in the early twenties and built a home at 5 Howick Street, Victoria Park. He passed away on January 19th, 1930 and left behind a life full of attempt and much achievement.
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References: Article: "Gnowngerup the Town" My Story by Pearl Marshall Image:
Copyright : Gordon Freegard 2024 |
