Sometimes when researching on Trove, the database of the National Library of Australia I find interesting and relevant articles about people and places in Subiaco by chance. This time I found an article from over one hundred and thirteen years ago about a personal recollection of the history of the early years of Perth from a long time resident of Subiaco, Mrs George Bell.
Articles like this lead me on an interesting journey though official databases and family history websites. The article 'A Diamond Wedding. A Page Of History' was first published in the Western Mail newspaper in 1906. The article is accompanied by some wonderful photographs of Mrs George Bell and her husband Mr George Bell and their descendants. They are copied below.
The newspaper article tells me a lot about Mrs George Bell and how she came to be in Western Australia in the early years. It is wonderful to read a woman's account in a newspaper of the early history of Western Australia. But I wanted to know more about her than she was married to a man called Mr George Bell. For example, what was her Christian name and where did the family live in Subiaco.
A lot has been done on the early pioneers of Western Australia. One example is a family history site I found called the John and Julie Tucker family history website which provides a great amount of detail on Mr George Bell, with links to official documents and obituraries on Trove, the database of the National Library of Australia. There is a link to his wife and her family. The website did not provide links to the article below.
Lydia Charlotte Duffield was born on 4 June, 1829 in Plymouth, Devon, England. She died on 23 July, 1915 in Subiaco, Western Australia at the age of 86 years. She arrived in Fremantle on 28 December, 1831 aboard the ship 'Eyptian' with their mother, servant and brothers and sisters, John Hole (Jr), Charles Hole and Samuel Bidgood. Her father had arrived earlier on 12 March, 1830 aboard the ship 'Warrior'.
Lydia married George Bell on 24 January, 1846 . The Postal Directories of Western Australia show George Bell lived at 71 Churchill Street, Subiaco in 1906. Together Lydia and George had 12 children.
George Bell was born in 1819 and died on 29 November, 1908 aged 90 years. He arrived in Western Australia on 10 January, 1841 aboard the ship 'Napoleon from London, England. George lived in the colony of Western Australia for 70 years. There were several obituaries published on George Bell and his life is the subject of another post.
The article is from Trove, the database of the National Library of Australia. No copyright infringement intended.
Western Mail, 3 February 1906.
A DIAMOND WEDDING
A PAGE OF HISTORY.
INTERVIEW WITH A SEPTUAGE NARIAN.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA IN 1829.
(See Portraits.)
To but few is sufficiently long life vouchsafed to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of their wedding, and among the few are Mr. and Mrs. George Bell, who reside at "Bicton," Subiaco. On January 24, 1846, the old couple were married in St. John's Church, Fremantle by the late Rev. C. King, the record of the ceremony being contained in volume 1, page 3, of the matrimonial records of Western Australia.
Mr. Bell, who is now in his 87th year, was the third son of the late Mr, Henry Trubshaw Bell, of Greenwich, England, and he arrived at Fremantle in 1840 in the old sailing ship Napoleon which was in charge of Captain Rutledge - his brother-in-law - his sister being also on board.
Mrs. Bell was the eldest daughter of the late Mr. John Hole Duffield, of Fremantle, formerly of Plymouth, England. The latter came to Western Australia in the sailing ship Warrior in 1829, and a year or so later was followed by his wife and children, among the latter being Mrs. Bell, who was two years of age.
Their voyage was accomplished in the sailing vessel Egyptian. Mr. Duffield was disappoint ed with the Swan settlement, the life being so rough and the natives so troublesome that he resolved to proceed to Sydney, taking with him his wife and children in the Egyptian.
Mrs. Bell has a distinct recollection of hearing her parents conversing about the voyage and its attendant incidents, as well as the episode which determined their return to Fremantle.
"When my father and mother landed at Sydney," said Mrs. Bell to a "Western Mail" reporter, "the so-called hotels were rough bush huts, and to one of these they proceeded. My mother could not sleep during the night, because of an almost continuous noise of hammering, and when daylight broke she peered out of the window to ascertain the cause.
Several cross-trees met her gaze, and later on when her husband looked at them he was horrified to see the bodies of eight Greek pirates hanging from the beams. So discouraging was the general appearance of the settlement and so sinister did the bodies look hanging from the gibbets that my father made up his mind that, bad as the Swan Settlement was, Sydney was worse; so he decided to return here in the same ship which conveyed us to the East.
When we arrived from England my father had no home for us, but he had commenced to make one, and on our return from Sydney he completed it. He excavated a hole in the ground, to the bottom of which two steps led, the walls and roof being composed of blankets. This was at the end of what is now Leake Street, and it formed the living place for my mother, her servant, whom she brought from England, and the four children. My father's bedroom comprised two barrels, placed in front of the entrance to the dwelling. He used to crawl into one and then pull the other over his legs.
On one side of the interior of the first barrel hung a gun, and on the other a French horn or bugle as a safeguard against predatory natives. On no occasion, however, was he called upon to use the gun against the blacks, a blast or two from the bugle being sufficient to frighten the boldest of them. Whenever he went fishing he took the bugle with him, and if the blacks occupied the fishing ground it was only necessary to blow it to send them scurrying away as fast as they could go. The natives then were a source of considerable amusement to us.
On one occasion a number of them came close to our home and saw a cousin of ours who was pock-marked. His appearance caused considerable discussion among the blacks, one of whom happened to bear traces of smáll-pox. He in particular was much taken with our cousin, and my mother, handed him a small mirror. When he saw the reflection, of his face he became frighten ed, threw the mirror away, and ran off screaming at the top of his voice.
We had to endure hardships at times. On one occasion we were without flour for three months. When a consignment arrived it was immediately placed in bond, only a certain quantity being ob tainable by the settlers, and I remember that my father had to pay 2s. 6d a pound for what he required. We were never short of fish or game, how ever, as the lakes and streams teemed with them. We were frequently short of bread.
Once a vessel arrived with, a cargo of cattle and sheep, and in exchange for vegetables we obtained a quantity of wheat from the captain. This we ate boiled, like rice, as we had no means of grinding it. There were no tables or chairs, and we used to sit round the pot. Soap was also a scarce commodity, and I can recollect my mother tying half a guinea in a pocket-handkerchief, and sending me to the store to buy some. In exchange for the money I only got half a pound, and you may be sure that that was the only soap we bought at that price.
There were happy times, happier than the present. Then all were on the same footing, gentle and simple alike, nor was there any distinction in regard to dress. I can look back with plea sure to many parties in the open air, at which we danced in the sand, and were quite happy. When I paid my first visit to Perth there was a very small wooden building on what is now the site of Sir John Forrest's residence in Hay-street, and it belonged to Mr, Chipper. I also remember a brick building near the Causeway, which was the property of Mr.Thurkle. The journey was made in a gig, manned by two or three men, and the charge was 3s. per passenger each way. Mr. Dyer, then an old man, was the owner of the gig.
Before the prisoners were brought to Western Australia, times were rather precarious, there being but little employment, and money was scarce, and everyone who could man age to do so, went away. Personally, I think that the establishment of a Penal settlement did good, rather than harm. It may be interesting to know that my father was the first discoverer of gold in Western Australia, but as an outbreak on the part of the prisoners was feared, the Controller declined to permit him to announce his find.
This was in 1849, and he used to go áway from Fremantle and return with sufficient of the precious metal to enable him to keep his family in comfort for six or eight weeks. When that period of time had elapsed, he would again go out and obtain more gold. On his journeys in search of gold he was accompanied by à servant named Charles Jacobs, but neither my father nor he would divulge the secret of the locality in which the gold was procured, and it died with them. All we knew was that the find was situated a day's journey from Fremantle.
My father was an enterprising man, and made a considerable amount of money by collecting curios, such as minerals, shells, skins, aboriginal weapons, etc., and selling them to the museums at home. The proceeds from the sale of these he invested in land. The last collection that he disposed of was to Captain Jardine, of the ship Shepherd, who paid him 600 guineas, but the vessel was wrecked, and the curios were lost.
Well do I remember the arrival of the first brougham in Western Australia. It was imported by the late Mr. George Leake's grandfather, and, with his daughter, I eagerly watched its landing. When the horse was placed in the shafts, it jibbed for some time, and I was the only one who could muster sufficient courage to take a seat in the vehicle. Sometime afterwards Mr. Leake and his wife got in the brougham, in order to proceed to Perth, but the horse could not, or would not, pull through the sand, so they abandoned the carriage at what is now Cantonment-road, which was then a mass of sand, and rode to Perth, the carriage being dragged back to Fremantle by horses hired for the purpose.
Before this carriage arrived, we never gave a thought to driving, but always walked. The next drive I had was in a small cart drawn by Timor ponies, and subsequently I rode in a bullock-cart. The first steamer that plied between Fremantle and Perth was the Lady Stirling the return fare being 3s., but it so frequently stuck on the sand banks that most of the settlers preferred to travel by boat.
The first church erected in Fremantle was a Church of England, and this was followed by a Roman Catholic Church."
Both Mr. and Mrs. Bell enjoy good health, though, to a certain extent, they have been overtaken by the infirmities of old age. Mr. Bell uses glasses when reading, and his memory is slightly impaired but, beyond deaf ness and a slight impairment of his age, Mrs. Bell retains all her faculties, and her memory is remarkably good.
Their surviving children are:—Mr. H. T. Bell, Perth; Mrs. George Donegan, Geraldton; Mr. G. W. Bell, Perth; Mrs. J. M. Lapsley, Perth; Mrs. E. A. Archdeacon, Newcastle; and Mr. James L. Bell, Mount Magnet. The grandchildren number 47, and their great-grandchildren 14. It will be of interest to recall that one of their grandchildren, Mr. Fred. Bell, while a lieutenant of a Western Australian contingent during the South African campaign, was awarded the Victoria Cross.
The children of the aged couple, as well as a large number of the younger generations, assembled at their residence, where an enjoyable time was spent.
