The Honey
History 11 Aug 2011
Chapter One
THE EARLY
HONEYS
The surname HONEY originates in Cornwall,
not as many believe through bee-keeping,
but is a Patronomic, a name
derived from a family name. It is
probably a contraction of the common Cornish name HANNIBAL, as is suggested by Pawley White in “A
Handbook of Cornish Surnames”, and more
or less confirmed through a study of the distribution of early Honeys by Alan Honey.
The key to the family of Honeys in Australia is Thomas Honey's family from the North East of Cornwall. Thomas Honey was an agricultural labourer,
one of a long line of Honeys living around Launceston, dating back over 500
years. A much earlier ancestor, a
Richard Honey, appeared in the "Rotuli Hundredorum" in 1279.
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The earliest known direct ancestors of Thomas date
from as early as 1724 where:-
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William
Honey and Joan Down were married on the 17th August 1724 at South Petherwin, Cornwall. and their son . . .
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John Honey was baptised on
the 22nd October 1727 South Petherwin, buried on the 19th March 1797 South
Petherwin, married on the 21st June
1752 South Petherwin to Mary Martin and their son . . .
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John Honey baptised 29th July 1759 South
Petherwin, and buried 2nd December 1840 South Petherwin, married 16th May
1782 South Petherwin to Mary Cornish
and their son was Thomas
Honey . . .
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An extended family tree of
this early South Petherwin HONEY family is found at HoneyFirst
Thomas HONEY was baptised on the 25th
February 1798 around Launceston, and was buried on the 9th February 1843 at the
tender age of 45 years. He was the
youngest son of John Honey and Mary Cornish of South Petherwin, Cornwall.
Thomas was married on the 16th May 1824 at the St Mary of Magdalene Church in Launceston to Mary
GOODMAN, who was also of a long
established Cornish family. She was born
about 1800. They lived in Kenner's House, a rural house on a crossroad in the
farmlands around South Petherwin, a small
community about 2 miles South West of Launceston. It was here at
the crossroads that they had eight children: - see the full descendants in file
HoneySecond
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BETSY GOODMAN HONEY born 29th April 1824 (bapt 16th May)
KEZIA HONEY (twin) born 15th March 1826 (bapt 15th
March)
MARY HONEY (twin) born 15th March 1826 (bapt 15th
March)
THOMAS GOODMAN HONEY born 28th January 1828 (bapt
27 Jan)
JOHN HONEY
born 22nd March 1830 (bapt 13th April)
MARIA HONEY
born 2nd December 1831 (bapt 1st Jan 1832)
CHARLOTTE HONEY
born 16th May 1834 (bapt 1st June)
RICHARD HONEY
born 30th December 1840, and baptised on the 10th Jan 1842.
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Thomas died suddenly with heart trouble on 6th February 1843, aged just
45, at South Petherwin in Cornwall. Mary was not able to raise a strapping family
of eight children on her own in the farmlands of Cornwall as farming at that time was
undergoing a severe recession,
so she decided to emmigrate. As she had
goitre and knew it was probably going to kill her within a few short years she
took that very brave step into the unknown. She sold the house in 1844, and collected
together what belongings they had, and with seven children went to Australia. The eldest daughter, Betsy, had married in Cornwall to John Jonas so they both joined the migration
to Australia.
They travelled on the barque Theresa, a sailing vessel of 495 tons with Thomas Bacon as master,
with departures from London and Plymouth. They arrived in South Australia on the 3rd May 1847, and the Honey family originally settled at
Alberton. Four years later Mrs Mary Honey died in Adelaide on 16th June 1851, aged 52,
whilst undergoing an operation to remove a tumour from her neck. The family were left to their own
devices. Richard was then only eight
years old, but the others were all young
adults.
BETSY GOODMAN HONEY
Betsy, the eldest child, was born on the 29th April 1824, and
was married to John JONAS in Cornwall. She was pregnant on her departure from England when she and her husband accompanied the
rest of the Honey family on the Theresa
to South Australia. Betsy and John Jonas flourished around Port
Adelaide and Semaphore, where he worked as a carter and contractor. Their eleven children were as follows
William
Goodman JONAS
was born en route to South Australia
on the Theresa.
and was baptised 29th June
1847 in Adelaide. He was a carter of Port Adelaide, just like
his father, and was married on the
1st January 1870 in North Adelaide to Rachel BURTON (1848-1883) He died on the 28th July 1891 aged 44 years, and is
buried in Western Australia. No family descendents have yet been
discovered.
Robert
Drummond JONAS
was born on the 21st March
1849 in Goodwood, SA. His
religion was C of E. He was a carter,
contractor and hotel licensee of Port Adelaide and Alberton. He married Katura TEMPLER (1852- 1918) on the 11th December 1874 and
his three children included Pte Albert Robert B. Jonas (1880-June 1917 killed
in France). Robert died on the 27th November 1929 in his 81st year.
Charlotte
JONAS was
born on the 23rd June in Goodwood, baptised on the 3rd July 1850 in Port Adelaide, and died
on the 13th March 1856
in Port Adelaide, at the age of just 6 years.
Betsy Ann
JONAS was
born on the 23rd February, baptised on the 13th March 1852 in Port Adelaide, and died on the 10th March 1853 at Port
Adelaide to be buried in Cheltenham
cemetery, aged just thirteen months.
John Francis
JONAS was
baptised on the 9th October 1853 in Port Adelaide, SA., died on the 3rd January
1892 as a result of an accident in Port Adelaide and was buried in Cheltenham
Cemetery, aged 38 years. He was
unmarried
Sabina
Victoria Bower JONAS was born on the
28th August 1855 in Port Adelaide, and married on the 31st October 1877 in
Hindmarsh, SA. to William Detmar COOK (1848-1910), a clerk and ship’s
interpreter. They lived in Woodville and albert Park, and their children
include 5 sons and one daughter. Sabina
died in Albert Park, Adelaide on the 14th November 1952,
and was buried in Cheltenham
Cemetery.
Daniel JONAS was born on the 14th February 1857 and
baptised on the 29th March
1857 in Port Adelaide, SA.
He died on the 22nd
October 1924 in Portland, SA., aged
66 years, and was buried in Cheltenham
Cemetery. His religion
was C of E. and he was a carrier with residence at Port Adelaide and Portland. Daniel married on the 25th August 1879 in SA. to Susan Esther
STONE (1855-1921) and they had twelve children.
Elizabeth Ann
Goodman JONAS was
born on the 18th February
1859 and baptised on the 18th March at Port Adelaide. She died on the 9th August 1904 at Semaphore, SA. and was
buried in Cheltenham
Cemetery. She married in 1890 in SA. to James SMEATON
(1852-1891) and as yet no family have been discovered.
Selina JONAS was born on the 9th August 1861 and died
on the 22nd February 1862
in Port Adelaide, SA. She was buried in Alberton Cemetery, SA. aged 6 months.
Rhoda
Charlotte JONAS was born on the 27th December 1862 at Port Adelaide, was first married
on the 28th Oct 1885 to Edwin Thomas RICHARDS (-1912) and there were no
children. Rhoda later married George
Thomas JOHNSON (1867-1936), and they had one child - Lena. Rhoda died at Semaphore on the 19th September 1949 and was
buried in Cheltenham
Cemetery at the age of 87
years.
Richard
Frederick JONAS born on the 18th July 1866, and died on on the 3rd May 1945 in Queenstown, SA to be
buried in Cheltenham Cemetery, aged 80 years.
He was a builder and carpenter, living at Portland road, Queenstown in a
"Bower-owned" house. He
married on the 10th August
1886 in SA. to Rose Eleanor Jane HOWARD (1868-1948) and they had
six children.
Betsy died on the 26th of October 1905 aged 81 years at Newman Street, Semaphore
and she was buried at Woodville. Her
husband John died on the
10th July 1878 at Quebec
Street, Port Adelaide, and was buried at Alberton,
aged 67 years.
KEZIA HONEY
The first of the twins, born on the 1st March and
baptised on the 15th March
1826, was married on the 27th September 1847 in the Trinity
Church, Adelaide,
to John White, a 28 year old glasscutter of South Australia. Kezia died at the residence of Mr David Bower
in Port Adelaide on 2nd July
1871 aged 45 years.
Their three children were as follows:-
Frances
Charlotte WHITE was born on the 1st February 1849 in SA., and died on the 21st
September 1926 to be buried in Cheltenham Cemetery, SA She married in 1870 to James BEATTON
(1841-1905) and they had eight children
Fanny Kezia
WHITE was
born around 1853 and was first married in 1878 to Thomas Benjamin TERRELL
(1855-1881). There was at least one male
child according to family history. The
second marriage of Fanny was on the
17th June 1885 in SA. to Allan QUIN (1849-1893), and there was one
son.
Ellen Maria
WHITE was
born in 1858 and died on the
17th Apr 1929 in SA. She was
buried in Cheltenham
Cemetery at the age of 71
years. Ellen changed her name to Ellen
WHITE-BOWER to satisfy conditions of inheritance in David BOWER’s will, where she was bequeathed the use of “St
Clair”.
MARY HONEY
The second of the twins, Mary was married in about
1847 to David BOWER. David was born on the 11th April 1819 at Upper Mill,
Saddleworth, Yorkshire, and as a youth learned
the trades of mechanic and carpenter. He
left Liverpool in 1841 on the ship England, worked on
several projects in Melbourne, then after a time in Auckland,
moved to Port Adelaide in 1846, His activities in and around this
district earned him the label of “The Father of Port Adelaide”
In that year of 1846 David Bower established the
original Lion Timber Yards in Vincent
Street, Pt Adelaide - opposite the present Town
Hall site. These yards were later moved
when the land they occupied became too valuable to operate as just a timber
yard, to be located as new yards on a three acre site nearer the Port Adelaide
Railway Station. From these early yards he built a number of
shops and residences in Port Adelaide before returning to England for two years from 1858 to
1860.
Back in Australia in 1860, David Bower
established a business in Wallaroo, which gave him the virtual monopoly of
timber trade on the Yorke Peninsular, supplying the copper mines and other
large contracts. He built the Wallaroo Police Station and Customs House, and a
substantial two story home overlooking Wallaroo Bay.
He was elected to Parliament in 1864 for the
Electorate of Port Adelaide, which included the Yorke Peninsular. He remained
in business at Wallaroo until 1870, when he returned to England again. There he puchased
the barque Silver Stream for direct trade between Wallaroo and England. This ship ran aground on 2nd April 1881 on the South Flats off Garden Island
in Western Australia. After selling his interests in Wallaroo to
Thomas Davies in 1872 he took up permanent residence at Woodville.
David Bower was elected the Mayor of Port Adelaide
for the three year term of 1876 to 1878.
David Bower also had built the Jubilee Homes - David
Bower Cottages on Bower Road,
in Semaphore Park to house distressed seamen, and
these were restored in 1978. David's occupations during his life included
mechanic, carpenter, timber merchant, local town councillor and S.A. State
politician, and he had residences in Port Adelaide, Wallaroo, and Woodville.
"St Clair" was the name of the mansion he
bought in Woodville in 1874 for his family, and it was here that both he and
his wife died. Mary died on the 18th of April 1896 at
the age of 70 and David Bower died two years after at the age of 79 on the 6th July 1898. They were buried in Cheltenham Cemetery. There were no children.
In Cheltenham
Cemetery there are also
interred other members of the Bower family.
Miss Hannah Bower (1832-1856), the sister of David, died at his house on 1st August 1856. Of his brother Amos Bower (1820-1878),
although he was buried in Alberton, his wife Mary and both of his sons, Joseph
(1862-1954) and Richard (1864-1950), are in Cheltenham. Indeed, both Joseph Bower, who died 8th Nov
1954 aged 92 years, and Joseph's wife Agnes Mary who died 18th September 1945,
aged 77 years, were interred in the David Bower crypt. They were also given as late of "St
Clair", so the Bower residence was still occupied by the family into the
next century.
Also in the David Bower burial crypt there is buried
a niece of David Bower, Miss Ellen White-Bower, who died 17th April 1929, aged 71 years, at
"St Clair". Ellen was a child of Kezia, Mary's twin sister, who was bequeathed the
use of the residence “St Clair” with the proviso that she took on the BOWER
name. Another nearby grave in Cheltenham gives the other nephew, Richard Bower who died
8th December 1950,
aged 86 years, and Annie Bower died 1st January 1969, aged 100 years, 7 months, so this generation showed a remarkable
longevity among the two sons and their wives.
THOMAS
HONEY
Thomas Goodman HONEY was born in South Petherwin, Cornwall on the 5th
January and baptised on the 27
January 1828. He began work
as a builder around Woodville. He
married aged 33 years at Arrarat,
Victoria to Esther Sophia POULSON
(1834-1913) in 1861. They had no children.
Thomas may have been the trouble-shooter for
"Honey and Co". In June 1886
he travelled from Melbourne to Fremantle on the SS Albany. He was there for nine months probably helping
his brother Richard establish the Fremantle branch of the company, and returned
to Adelaide in
March 1887, again on the SS Albany.
In 1888, nine days after leaving his usual residence
in Woodville, he was on a trip to the Lion Timber Yards in Broken Hill, NSW. There Thomas developed inflammation of the
lungs and he died a further nine days later on the 28th of June 1888 at the age of 61 years.
His brother Richard collected his body which was railed to Adelaide
to be buried within the family plot in Cheltenham Cemetery, S.A. His wife Sophia died on the 23rd September 1913, aged 79
years , and is also interred with him.
JOHN HONEY
John HONEY was born on the 22nd March 1830 and baptised on the 13th April 1830 at
South Petherwin, Cornwall, Eng. John was a 21 year old carpenter of Grenfell Street, Adelaide
when his mother died in 1851. Little
else is known of him. The whereabouts of
John Honey's family is also unknown however he died 29th January 1908, aged 77 years, and is
buried with his brother Thomas in Cheltenham
Cemetery.
MARIA HONEY
Maria HONEY was born on the 2nd December 1831 and baptised on the 1st January 1832 in
South Petherwin, Cornwall, Eng. She was married in South
Australia on the
18th September 1851 to Peter ROBERTS, a Master Mariner, and their residence was at Guichen Bay
in South Australia. Only one child of theirs is known - Charles
Francis Livenburg ROBERTS born on the 24th December 1854. Peter ROBERTS and David BOWER went into
partnership to purchase the “Robert
Clive” and ran freight between Sydney and Melbourne durng the gold
boom, with David BOWER organising the cargoes and Peter ROBERTS probably as
captain of the vessel.
CHARLOTTE HONEY
Charlotte was born on the 16th May
1834 and baptised on the 1st
June 1834 in South Petherwin, Cornwall,
and was just nearing her 13th birthday when she arrived in SA. with her family
on the Theresa in 1847. She was married at the age of 20 years, on the 27th April 1854 at
"St James Church" in Melbourne to
Michael Hummerston, a shoemaker and later a licensed victualler in the
Chidlow’s Well Hotel in Western
Australia. He
was born in 1822 in Epping, Essex, son of George HUMMERSTON and Mary
PINDON, and arrived in South Australia around 1849 and settled in
Ballarat. After their marriage Michael
and Charlotte moved to Steiglitz, North of Geelong, probably in search of
gold, and it was here that their first
children were born.
Clara Ann
Maria HUMMERSTON was born about 1855 in Steiglitz, Victoria. Clara married on the 29th August 1878 in Stansbury, SA. to
Daniel Thomas TAPLEY (1844-1909), son of Daniel and Margaret TAPLEY of Burma,
and Woodville, SA. Daniel became a bank
manager of Adelaide,
Redhill and Caltowie, SA. They had three
daughters all born in South Australia.
Rosaline
Victoria HUMMERSTON was born about 1858 in
Steiglitz, and died aged just 1 year old
in 1859, also in Steiglitz, Victoria.
Rhoda Louise
HUMMERSTON was born in 1859 in Geelong, Vic. She was married on the 6th February 1879 in SA. to James Hogarth
CRAWFORD, but their family have yet to
be located.
Charles
Francis HUMMERSTON was born on the
13th May 1861 in Carlton,
and married twice. In 1884 in Adelaide he married
Elizabeth Jane WATSON (c1860-1905) and children were Lindsay Gordon
(1888-1946), Gladys (1893) and Horace Stanley (1890-1926). Horace Stanley was a
Captain in the 16th Battalion, A.I.F., Military Cross and POW in Germany
who died young as a result of this war service. In about 1915 in Kalamunda, WA.
Charles married Rose Chubb (1892-1941) and children were Stanley William
(1929-1997) and another male,
deceased. Charles was a marine
engineer, serving in the Navy, as a lighthouse engineer and then worked for
Adelaide Steamships during the early days of steam. He moved to WA. in the late
1800's and had the Kalamunda Hotel built by 25th June 1902, whereupon he became a full time publican, and
Kalamunda Roads Board Member, and later Chairman in 1905. The hotel was sold in 1926 and he died in Royal Perth
Hospital on the 20th May 1930. Charles and Rose ran a boarding house at 36 Wellington Street, Perth until he died and then Rose
re-married to Richard FURZE
Henry Augustus
HUMMERSTON was
born on the 23rd December
1862 in Carlton,
and married twice. On the 28th February 1887 he married
Eliza Emily Goldsmith (1861-1900) and their children were Rhoda Myrtle
(1888-1969), Dorothy Eliza (1889), Harry Goldsmith (1891-1955) and Douglas
Goldsmith (1898-1898). Henry had moved to W.A. around 1895 and became the
licensee of the Helena Vale Hotel by 1898.
At this time he puchased a town lot and built the two storey brick
Mundaring Hotel, which was opened in April 1898. When his wife Eliza died in 1900 Henry
returned to South Australia in 1901 to marry
her younger sister, Annie Goldsmith
(1872-1956), and they had one
child, John Goldsmith (1906-1982), born
in South Australia. Henry died on 17th March 1932 at his Mount
Lawley residence in Western Australia.
Edith Maud
HUMMERSTON was born in 1865 in Melbourne, Victoria, and married in South Australia in 1885 to Frederick Stacey
PEARCE. Their family has yet to be located.
Ada HUMMERSTON
b c1866 Is this Adella
Richard Ernest
HUMMERSTON was
born on the 11th May 1867
in Stony Creek, Victoria, and was married on the 2nd April 1890 to
Catherine Jane Goldsmith (1866-1949) and their children were Kathleen
(1889-1889), Richard Goldsmith (1892-1976), Harold Francis Shimmin (1897-1898),
Annie Romero (1899-1981) and Leonard Goldsmith (1901-1964). Richard moved to WA around 1887 to work for
his uncle Richard Honey in his rapidly expanding timber interests. His story is tied to the growth of Honey and
Co. and the Lion Mill township given in Chapter Three. Apart from timber
yards, his later interests also saw him
involved like his father and brothers in the hotel industry, holding the licenses to the Mingenew Hotel
(1912-1914), the P & O Hotel in Fremantle (1914-1917) and the Council Club
Hotel in Midland Junction (1917-1919). He died on the 2nd November 1936 at RPH, in Perth.
Lillian Rose
HUMMERSTON was born in 1869 in Stony
Creek, Vic. and married twice. The first marriage was in South Australia in 1890, husband not yet
known. The second marriage was in 1897
to Harold Kingley OVERTON and they had two children in Western Australia..
Adella
Victoria HUMMERSTON was born in 1872 in Steiglitz,
Victoria.
and was married in 1897 to John Harold DOWSON in Western Australia. They had three children and Adella died on the 23rd Apr 1940, to be buried at Karrakatta, WA.
After 1873 there were no further births in Victoria to Michael and Charlotte, because Charlotte
had died in 1876 in Victoria, It was after this that the family moved to South Australia.
Michael Hummerston married a second time to Mary
McCracken in 1882 in South Australia,
and there are two further children:-
Michael George
HUMMERSTON was born in 1884 in Quorn, SA., married 1916
to Daisy Eliza Agnes GOULD (1886-1974) and died on the 11th July 1946 in Perth.
Michael was an engine driver.
William Victor
HUMMERSTON was born in 1889, married Florence Ellen HAYMAN (1889-1983) and
died on the 12th January
1973.
Most members of the Hummerston family later moved
separately or in family groups to Western Australia,
where they became quite settled in the
Upper Swan and Helena
River area. Young Richard moved first around 1885 to go
to work for his Uncle Richard Honey in the timber industry in Fremantle and he
eventually settled in Lion Mill (Mt Helena). Michael moved and by 1902 had
became involved in the hospitality industry in Chidlows Well, with young
Charles and young Henry both being
successful tradesmen in South Australia had the background funds to purchase
and operate licences in the Western Australian Hotel Industry.
RICHARD HONEY
These are the South Australian families, and are
quite well documented.
See the Chapter Two for Richard's story.
Chapter Two
RICHARD HONEY
Richard Honey was the eighth and youngest child of
Thomas Honey (1798- 1843 Cornwall) and Mary Goodman (1800 Cornwall
- 1851 Adelaide). He was born on 30th December 1840 at Kenner's
House, a place situated on a crossroads within view from the township of South Petherwin,
near the City of Launceston, Cornwall.
When Richard was just one year old, his father died
suddenly with heart trouble on 6th
February 1843, aged 45, at South Petherwin, Cornwall. At the age of 5 years, Richard left England
with his mother, two brothers and all five sisters as well as his eldest sister
Betsy's husband John Jonas. His mother, Mary, had sold the property at Kenner's House and collected the whole family plus a few
belongings and sailed for Australia.
They travelled on the barque “Theresa”, of 495 tons with Thomas Bacon as master, from London and Plymouth.
They arrived in South Australia
on 3rd May 1847.
The family originally settled at Alberton,
and when Mrs Mary Honey died on 16th
June 1851, aged 52, whilst undergoing an operation, Richard was
then only 8 years old.
Young
Richard Honey began work as an apprentice to David Bower, his brother-in-law,
in the Lion Timber Yards in Vincent
Street, Port Adelaide - opposite the present Town
Hall site. These yards were moved when
the land became too valuable as a timber yard to new yards on a site nearer the
Port Adelaide Railway Station. Shortly
after the move Richard bought out Mr Bowers share's of Lion Timber Yards and
soon became the sole proprietor.
Richard was a most genial character and as a young
man he rapidly became skilled in gaining the confidence of people he worked
with. He would have impressed his uncle
David Bower, and with experience took over running aspects of the timber
business. During his work he came into
contact with Francis Reynolds who was a builder, timber merchant and later
Mayor of Port Adelaide, and came from a well established family of builders in
the Colony. Richard, then a bachelor of
thirty four years was attracted to Mary Ann Reynolds, the nineteen year old
daughter of Francis. Family folklore says he gained the finances to buy out
David Bower through his new wife Mary Ann, whose father Francis died in England
twelve months before the marriage.
At the age of 35, on the 16th of April 1875, Richard married Mary
Ann Reynolds in "St Paul's
Church" in Port Adelaide. She was born on the 3rd of May 1855, the
daughter of Francis Reynolds (1824- 1874) and his wife Ann Revell (b.1828).
Their first child was born in Port Adelaide, however
the other eight were all born at "Lionville", Richard Honey's mansion
built in 1876 at the end of Woodville
Road. All were baptised at "St Margaret of Scotland"
in Woodville in two mass baptisms - the first five children on 4th October 1882 by the
Reverend Thomas Blackburn, and the last four children on 29th July 1892 by the Reverend Thomas
Fiedel. They were as follows :-
Ethel Rose
Honey born 15th March 1876 and died 16th September 1947 in Alton, England. She married on the 4th January 1900 to Harry Edward Augustus
Twyford (1870-1967) K.B.E. who became Sheriff in 1934, and Lord Mayor of London in 1937, and they had two children -
Harry Richard (b.1900) and Ennis Mary (b.1917).
Lionel Richard
Honey born 13th June 1877 and died 23rd October 1959 in Bunbury, WA.
He married on 16th July 1900
to Roma Mary Braddock (b.1878), daughter of the first schoolmaster in Lion's
Mill (now Mt Helena) WA. They had six children -James (1901-1901), Roma Mary
(b.1904) Dudley Richard (1907-1971), Robert Henry (b.1910), Lionel Charles
(1911-1973), John Lisle (1917-1946?). Lionel's story is in Chapter Three.
Hilda Mary
Honey born 17th March 1879 and died in
Perth on 3rd August 1964. She married
Lewis Glanville Notley (1874-28 Jan 1949), and they had two children - Lewis
Richard Glanville Notley (1903-1970) and Peter Glanville Notley (1908-1947).
Hilda and her husband spent most of their married
lives in India where he was
a tea plantation owner, returning eventually to Perth, where they both died. Peter died two
weeks after reaching Perth in 1947 from Calcutta on a visit to see
his parents. Lewis remained unmarried,
living in Perth
and later in Kulin.
Ruby
Margaretta Honey born 24th July 1880
and died 19th July 1970
in Adelaide. She married in 1905 to Richard Dawson Tolmer
(1874-1941) and they had five children - Jean (b.1906), Richard Alexander
(1907-1931), Gerald Douglas (b.1908), Nellie (b.1910), Ruby Pamela (b.1914).
Richard Tolmer completed his schooling at Hahndorf Academy,
SA and eventually took up the property near Naracoorte that he named "Caithness".
On retirement the family moved to
Seacliffe.
Harry
Woodville Honey born 26th July 1882
and died 30th March 1933
in Peterborough,
SA. He married on the 3rd August 1911 to Ethel Gladys
Musson (1892-1956) and they had five children - Harry Musson Woodville
(b.1913), Roger Charles Woodville (b.1916) Ruth Mary (b.1922), John Woodville
(b.1925), Nancy Margaret (b.1927).
Harry was educated at St Peter's College where his
name appears on the honour roll of Da Costa Hall. He became an engineer for the
Blue Funnel Line living in Rose Bay, Sydney from 1911-1915, Alton, Hampshire,
Eng. (1915-1924) and then returned to South Australia He was buried 1st April
1833 in his father's plot in Cheltenham Cemetery.
Victor Gordon
Honey was
born 13th November 1885
and died 21st March 1902,
killed in a shooting accident in New Zealand at the age of 16 years. An inscription is on the headstone of his
father in Cheltenham
Cemetery.
Roy Reynolds
Honey born 16th August 1887 and died 21st April 1959 in Adelaide. He married on 14th October 1909 to Gertrude Irene Underwood
(1886-1972) and they had five children - Richard (1910-1980), Hilda Margaret
(1912- 1914), Helen Joyce (b.1914), Mary (1919-1965), Elizabeth (b.1928).
Roy was educated at state
schools, St Peter's College, and then Roseworthy Agricultural
College. He owned the
property "Wyalong" at Naracoorte, S.A., then moved to 82 Cheltenham St, Malvern in about 1916,
where lived for the rest of his life, except during the four years (1927 to
1931) in Broken Hill where he was manager of W.H. Burford & Sons, Ltd. His memorial appears on his father's
headstone in Cheltenham
Cemetery.
Dudley David
Goodman Honey
born 8th February 1890
and died 5th October 1955
in Perth. He
married on the 4th of
November 1914 to Florence Muriel Combley (1894-1970) and they had
five children - Peter Richard (b.1915),
David Dudley (b.1917), Fred (b.1921), Mary (b.1925), and Margaret
(b.1928). Dudley's
story is in Chapter Three.
Charles St
Clair Honey
born 22nd May 1892
and died in Sydney.
He left home when a young man, lived in Sydney,
married late in life and had no children.
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BACK ROW: Harry Woodville, Ethel Rose, Lionel
Richard, Hilda Mary
FRONT ROW: Ruby Margaretta, Charles St Clair, Mrs Mary
Ann HONEY,
Dudley David Goodman, Victor Gordon, Roy Reynolds
(photo taken circa 1896 a few years after the death
of Richard)
|
A more elaborate family tree
of this HONEY family is at HoneyAust
Richard was a large importer of building materials
and technology from all parts of the world.
He introduced into Australia
the Swiss system of timber shrinkage by steaming, patented by the Swiss expert,
Reiser, and established these seasoning kilns in his Port Adelaide yards. He patented the Pavodilus, a floorboard that
didn't need nailing.
As a contractor and builder in South
Australia he built the first workshops in Islington, the new
courthouse at Port Adelaide, Meers, D & J Fowler's premises at Port
Adelaide, State Schools in different parts of the colony, and wharves, jetties
and bridges around Australia. For one of his many contracts he lengthened
the Moonta Railway Jetty by 96 feet in 1874 giving an additional depth of only
six inches. He became the leading timber merchant and
construction contractor in South
Australia, and by 1889 he had established premises of
-
·
the timber yard, Butler
Street, Port Adelaide, SA
·
the stacking and timber storage yards (D. Bower, J.P., and R. Honey),
Formby Parade,
Port
Adelaide. (left
hand side from Vincent Street).
·
the timber yards and sawmills, Honey Road / Godfrey Street, Port Adelaide (James
Bailey,
manager of Honey Timber Yard) (ref 23a)
·
the Port Augusta site
With his South Australian operations under full
control he then extended his sphere of influence interstate.
His empire in Western Australia
became even more extensive than in South
Australia and required his constant travelling
between his interests in both states.
His journeys to Western Australia include four
weeks from May 1886 - arriving and departing on the “South
Australian”, eight weeks including a trip to the North West Ports from
February 1887 - arriving on the “Franklin” and departing on the “Albany”, and eight weeks from
October 1887 - arriving on the “Albany” and leaving on the “South Australian”.
So in this short 18 months he was interstate for more than a quarter of the
time, and travelling First Class on the steamships constantly he would have
made many contacts with other people of substance in the interstate trade.
Richard established other Lion Mill Yards at Adelaide and Port Augusta in South
Australia, Bunbury, Fremantle (established May 1887), Maylands,
and Perth (near the railway station) in Western Australia, and Broken Hill in New South Wales. For his source of timber, mills were
established in the forests at Lion Mill (now Mount Helena)
and Crooked Brook, both in WA. He also imported timber from all over the
world including the Baltic and Burma. During its developing days around 1887 the
firm averaged between 300 to 350 employees throughout Australia, and was beginning to
expand.
Richard had eight sailing vessels of his own in the
intercolonial and coastal trade including :
“ETHEL” - his private yacht, which
came third in the 1880 Glenelg Yacht Race.
“MARY BLAIR” - the barque of 327.64 tons
under Captain T. Askin, built in 1870 of wood by Duthie of Aberdeen, with
dimensions of 141.6 x 27.0 x 14.6 feet, having a round stern, 1 deck and 3
masts. Listed from March 1887 to the Port of Adelaide and then also listed in February
1889 in the Fremantle Register of Shipping, to "R. Honey and
Co."31 This barque was put on to
the Adelaide to Fremantle run, transporting
timber to Adelaide
and passengers on the return trip to Fremantle.
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“CAPELLA” - the ketch of 73 tons. For a time under Captain Richardson
who worked for him for 18 months and
said of Richard Honey:
"He was one of the finest
men I have ever worked for."
“BEATRICE” - which was also used on the Fremantle run.
“ELSIE” - the ketch of 59 tons
“LILY HAWKINS” - the ketch of 84 tons, owned by R. Honey & R. Glen.
“ELIZABETH ANNIE” - the schooner of 61 tons.
“OUSIORI” - the barque of 357 tons.
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Richard was an enthusiastic and expert yachtsman,
and his enthusiasm ensured his election as Commodore of the Port Adelaide Royal
Yacht Club. He was made a Justice of the Peace.
The family residence at "Lionville", at
the top of Woodville Road
was built around 1876 and demolished over a hundred years later in 1978 so that
the Woodville Road
could be extended.
His interests into Western Australia were just beginning to
expand when he died. His eldest son Lionel Richard Honey was not quite old
enough to take on Richard's expansion programme, though he became quite a
successful timber man in his own right. The amalgamation of the timber industry
in WA. started soon after Richard's death. The potential that Richard had seen
there but Lionel was unable to grasp was taken up to become "Millars"
and "Bunnings"
Richard died at his "Lionville" home on 24th November 1892, two
weeks after falling ill on his yacht “Ethel”,
at the age of only 51 years. This illness may have been aggravated, if not
caused by, strain on his heart during a trip to Bunbury in late October where
he extricated a coach from an accident, and returned unwell to Fremantle. His wife Mary Ann died at the age of 72, on the 22nd October 1927 at
her residence - then in Railway Terrace, Franklin. They are buried together in
the Cheltenham Cemetery with the high monument entwined
with a ships anchor.
A list of their direct descendants now number over 198 confirmed, and are
spread throughout the world.
============================================================
Chapter
Three
HONEY and
PORT, Western Australia
The Honey involvement in the State of Western Australia began through the efforts of the
intermediary J.C.
Port. His involvement in
the timber industry of Western
Australia spans nearly fifty years, most of the time
in tandem with the Honey family.
JAMES CORNISH PORT 1858 -
1942
James Cornish
Port was born on the 25th December 1858 to James Port
and Sarah Cornish, in Newtown (Geelong), where his father had first settled after
emigrating from England to Australia
in about 1852. James
Port senior had opened a timber yard
at Geelong,
and then later another one in Melbourne
on the corner of King and Collins Streets.
At the age of 17, young James left one of the Geelong schools to work in
his father's business. However, the
depression which had affected Melbourne around
1875 overwhelmed the business, so his
father sold out and the family moved to Port Pirie, where he set up an agency
business for some of the Melbourne
companies. With the local drought and little to occupy two men, James Cornish
Port was sent by his
father to seek out Richard Honey in Port Adelaide.
"Meeting Honey for the first
time, he introduced himself as the son of James Port,
Timber Merchant of Melbourne.
'Perhaps you know my father,' he
said.
'I know your father very well,'
replied Richard Honey, 'but it is not enough to know a man's father. Only a few
days ago I put on a man because I knew his father, but a few days later he got
away with the men's week's wages.'"
Richard Honey gave young James Cornish
Port a job as a
timekeeper at the Islington Workshops, at that time being constructed under
contract by Honey.
This massive building tender was
eventually successfully completed at a cost of 22 000 pounds.
In 1880, after several years in his employment,
Richard used his influence to arrange a passage for J.C. Port
with the Adelaide Steamship Company. He
was the only passenger on the SS Franklin
under Captain Creer, on its first Western run from Port Adelaide to Albany,
en route to Champion
Bay (Geraldton). (Another
steamer had just been lost off Rottnest
Island).
In 1883, Port was sent by Richard Honey to organise
orders for him and to investigate markets and prices in Western Australia. He arrived in Fremantle on 18th and left on 25th May 1883, again on the
Franklin,
gaining two new contracts.
In his third voyage James arrived in King George Sound (Albany) on the
2nd August by the Ballarat, and then travelled to Fremantle on the Perth by 6th August 1886. This time he was to organise the construction
of the National Bank, Perth,
under contract to Richard Honey. He
began operations by establishing a timber mill in Fremantle, and obtained
supplies of timber from White's Mill out of Guildford.
Just before this third voyage, James Port was married
at Adelaide to Emma Hayman from Woodville, S.A.
He was away in Fremantle when his
one and only child Lily Elizabeth Port
was born in Woodville, Adelaide om 30th October 1886. His wife and baby daughter travelled to join
him just three months later and landed at the place now known as Robb's Jetty.
The trip from Adelaide may have been in the
company of Richard Honey who arrived on 10th February 1887 on the Franklin.
" RICHARD HONEY AND CO "
The "Honey and Co" Fremantle timber yard,
which included a mill, was established about 1886 in Short Street, near the building that was
then dubbed as "Manning's Folly" - an opera house too big for its
time. This "Manning's Folly" is now(?) the Fremantle skating rink.
A composite portrait picture of the staff of
"Richard Honey and Co, Fremantle, W.A." dated around 1887 includes
Richard Honey, (proprietor) in the centre surrounded by J.C. Port (Honey &
Co) Capt. T. Askin (the Mary Blair),
R.G. Oldham (foreman carpenter), Richard Hummerston (foreman), W Birch (clerk),
William C. Forsyth (manager), F. Renner
(staff) and J.A. Rowe (clerk). Pictures
of the Perth Timber Yards, Fremantle Timber Yards, Lion Jarrah Mill (Mt Helena) and the barque Mary Blair are also included. In the second listing of the Western
Australian Telephone Exchange of February 1888
"Honey, R. of Lion Timber Yard, Fremantle" is one of the 124
listed businesses.
Richard Honey personally visited the state from 12th
May to 12th June 1886
on the South Australian probably to
finalise the National Bank contract. For the first of two 1887 visits, he arrived
in Fremantle 10th February on the Franklin
stayed for eight weeks and left for Adelaide 13th April 1887. His brother Thomas Honey arrived 7th June 1886 from the Eastern
Colonies, stayed eight months and left
on 9th March 1887 travelling both times
on the Albany. He was most likely assisting J.C. Port
and brother Richard in establishing "Honey and Co".
Six months later Richard arrived again in Fremantle
7th October on the Albany, spent some time conducting business around Perth and then travelled
North just three months after the "North West Hurricane of May 1887"
that had devastated shipping and properties, and cost so many lives.
He visited Geraldton (Champion Bay) on 18th November 1887 on the SS Flinders as the number one cabin
passenger coming South from Derby in the North West.
The SS Flinders had replaced the SS
Perth on the North
West run for the Adelaide Steamship Company after Perth
was wrecked on the Point Cloates reef on 13th September 1887.
Richard continued on to Adelaide
on 5th December 1887
aboard the South Australian.
After seeing the potential for his own
"Lion" Company Richard Honey began a programme of expansion. The "Honey and Co", Perth timber yard was
established in Maylands, probably around 1887, on the corner of Tenth Avenue and
Railway Parade (where Irwell Taps is now). The barque Mary Blair was transferred from the Adelaide Register to the
Fremantle Register of Shipping in February 1889, and White's Mill was purchased in 1888.
In 1891 a small "Honey and Co" mill was
built at Crooked Brook, on the Ferguson
River, near Bunbury, and a "Honey
and Co" sawmill and timber yard was opened up in Bunbury personally by J.C. Port,
to be maintained there for many years. The Crooked Brook Mill supplied the
sleepers for Bunbury end of the Perth-Bunbury railway, a contract Richard Honey
had secured.
WHITE'S
MILL
White's Mill was named after Mr Abraham White, who with his son- in-law Edward V.H. Keane,
managed this timber mill in 1882, about one kilometre north of the railway and
20 kilometres from Guildford on the York Road.
They were assisted by his eighteen year old son Lionel White, who had
gained considerable sawmilling experience from Wirraburra in South Australia. White's Mill was to supply the sleepers to
"Wright and Co." who had the
contract for the second section of the Eastern Railway extending from
Guildfordto "Chidlow's Well". Another of Abraham's sons Edward was sent
for from South Australia to assist with
surveying the railway, an aspect where he had good experience from the Keane
and White families' earlier contracts in South
Australia.
The firm of "Wright and Co." consisted of
two South Australian railway contractors - James W. Wright and Edward V.H.
Keane who formed the partnership to gain the contract to build the Eastern
Railway. Wright selected the mill-site
and Keane applied for the original timber licence on 22nd April 1882. The licence No.12/4 was first granted on 26th August 1882, but by then the mill was in full operation. The whole milling plant was brought in from South Australia on the Jubilee, steamered up-river
to Guildford, and then hauled into the hills.
The mill was originally called
"Marrionvale" but soon became known as just White's Mill, initially using two portable engines of 16
and 10 horsepower, but upgraded to a modern mill operated with a 130 horsepower
Marshall engine. By 1884 the mill was sawing about 18 000 super feet per
week. Before the original twelve month
concession to cut timber had expired, Keane and White purchased the entire mill
from J.W. Wright for 4 000, and the next year gained the fourteen year lease on
Lot 1036 for the 1020 acres that James Wright had originally secured.
Edward Keane, an English civil engineer, won the
contract for the third section of the railway from Chidlows to York, and dissolved his
partnership with J.W. Wright. Later he
gained contracts for the fourth section from York to Beverley, and then in 1886 the first
40 miles of the Midland Railway to Geraldton,
but with the death of his father-in-law Abraham White on 14th May 1885, the Midland
Railway contract became more difficult to manage. Young twenty one year old Lionel White took
over the management of the mill until 1887 but the lure of gold prospecting
took him away from the mill.
Gold became quite a common conversation piece around
"White's Mill". Lionel White was with Colreavy and Huggins when they
discovered Golden Valley,
North of Bullfinch. Edward Keane equipped Colreavy to return to the Yilgarn and
he found the Kathleen Mine. Thomas Riseley, Keane's manager, went with Mick
Toomey and Charles Crossland when they discovered the Southern Cross gold
field.
To finance the escalating costs for the Midland
Line, Edward Keane closed White's Mill in May 1888, sold the machinery, and signed over the
timber concessions and mill site to the Union Bank.
He was later able borrow funds in London,
and went on to complete all of the Midland Railway to Geraldton in 1890.
Recognising the export value of the Western Australian hardwoods, and needing a
good supply, Richard Honey bought the "White's Mill" site in 1889 on James Port's
recommendation,
LION MILL
James Cornish
Port was put in as the manager for
Honey and Co. The site of White's Mill was renamed by J.C. Port
as "Lion Mill" to carry on the Honey Company's trade mark, a rampant
lion, from his South Australian mills. Of Richard Honey the local newspaper reported
a speech he made at a mill-town banquet at Lion Mill
"He stated that before he took
over the sawmill all the people with whom he conversed about it advised him not
to take it, that everyone who had gone into similar ventures had lost their
cash and come out of it very much wiser and poorer men."
The mill was fully reconstructed in 1889 by Port a
little further West than the original mill and, operating for Honey and Co
until 1892, supplied timber to their yards in Fremantle and Perth. The railway siding itself was not
shifted and renamed as "Lion Mill" until 1892.
This mill had the best planing machines in
Australia, and produced floorboards either tongue and groove or in Richard
Honey's own patented pattern that did not require nailing, known as "the
Pavodilus". These floorboards were used in places in W.A. as afar as the
Albany Skating Rink (using 10 000 feet) and the Greenough Flour Mill. The mill
had already supplied the top quality timbers needed in the construction of the St George's Cathedral, Mr Harper's "Woodbridge"
in Guildford, the Fremantle Town Hall, the W.A. Bank in Perth and the Union Bank in Fremantle. Now timber was also being shipped to South Australia on the
sailing barque Mary Blair to fulfil many of Richard Honey's other interstate
construction contracts.
For the 50 hands employed by the mill, plus the
attendant blacksmiths and carpenters of the town, James Port, a popular and
energetic manager, as Mill Superintendent, ensured that their comforts were
supplied, with :
"a large store supplying fresh
bread daily and other necessities are kept in stock... and ...
a large and commodious room fitted
with a stage. This room serves a variety
of purposes being used as a literary institute, a schoolroom, a concert hall,
and a ballroom. Between 40 and 50
children of the neighbourhood assemble there three times a week for
instruction."
With the Lion Mills of Perth running smoothly James Cornish
Port assumed control of
the new Bunbury Mill. On 1st December 1891 a parting
banquet was given for him, and he was presented with
"a handsomely illuminated
address, signed by the representatives of the men of the Eastern Railway, Perth and Port mills, and
conveying the cordial good wishes and esteem of the men employed at the mills
... together with a beautifully chased gold watch and Albert chain."
The planned "Honey and Co" expansion was
cut short by the untimely death of Richard Honey in Woodville, South Australia
on 24th November 1892,
at the age of just 51 years. J.C.
Port purchased most of his interests
in Western Australia,
however two former employees from the Fremantle timber yard days bought Lion
Mill. William C Forsyth was the manager of Fremantle timber yards and Richard
Hummerston had taken over as manager of the Lion Mill site when Port left to
establish the Bunbury timber yard.
Forsyth retained the Fremantle site and together with Hummerston gained
control of the Lion Mill timber yards.
Richard Ernest Hummerston was Richard Honey's
nephew. He was born in Stoney Creek,
Victoria in 1867, the son of
Michael Hummerston and Charlotte Honey, who was elder sister to Richard.
He was probably brought across from South
Australia around 1887 to learn the Timber trade and
add family support to Richard Honey's interest, as his own children were still
too young. Other young Hummerston
nephews, brothers Charles Francis and Henry Augustus (Harry), later appear to
take up the licences of the Kalamunda Hotel in 1902, the Helena Vale Hotel
before 1898, Midland Hotel by 1902, and building the Mundaring Hotel by 1902. Michael Hummerston himself appeared around
1902 in the Chidlows Well Hotel.
In partnership, William Forsyth and Richard
Hummerston expanded with the gold boom and developed with timber yards at
Geraldton, Coolgardie, Fremantle and Perth. Forsyth was a builder who advertised ...
"Wooden and iron houses, stores
and hotels, framed ready for erection and packed for shipment."
In 1897 Forsyth built his own mill at Chidlows and
sold his half of Lion Mill share to Oscar L. Bernard, a timber merchant of Northam, and who was also another earlier member of
"Honey and Co". Hummerston and Bernard continued at Lion Mill,
winning a large 3200 load export contract for paving timbers in England
in 1897-1898. This however was their peak because the Midland Railway Company
grants (Keane's) had all the millable timber reserves locked up, so they ran
out of millable timber.
The main mill at Lion Mill was forced to close down
in 1898, but Richard Hummerston continued alone in the location with a small
new sawmill to supply most of the firewood for Perth until eventually he too
closed down late in 1904. During this
time Hummerston in partnership with E.D. Forsyth of Chidlows built the Lion
Mill Hotel. The Lion Mill town site was
declared on 10th March 1899,
even though there was not a large mill operating at that time. Two new mills
"Dalgarup" and "Dyke's" began nearby, so the township
remained viable through 1905.
With the Government release of new Midland Railway
Company Land early in 1905, Robert Bunning negotiated for the Lion Mill site
and Bunning's first timber company "Perth Jarrah Mills" was floated on
7th December 1905, with headquarters at Lion Mill. Hummerston's land was
purchased by 5th January 1906.
The new mill built by Robert and Arthur Bunning employed 50 men and had an
output of 60 000 super feet per week.
Bunnings operated in the location of Lion Mill from
1905 until 1923. Name changes to the town were suggested as early as 1910.
"Hillcrest" was suggested in 1923 but not accepted. The town of Lion
Mill was renamed "Mount Helena" on 28th March 1924 as the result of a
competition, but this township lost its growth potential when the Roads Board
Offices, established on 1906, were transferred to the nearby Mundaring Township
in 1925. The mill site is now occupied by the Eastern Hills Senior High School.
PORT AND CO
When Richard Honey died on 24 November 1892 in South
Australia, J.C. Port bought out his interests in Western Australia and operated under his own
name for five years. During this time he bought the mill at Donnybrook from
Teesdale Smith and Joseph Timms after they had completed a contract for a
section of the Bridgetown
railway. Port also acquired in 1896 the mill at Argyle, north of Donnybrook.
In about 1898, to meet the demands of financing his
further expansion, J.C.
Port transferred his
interests to a company formed under the title the "Jarrah Timber and Wood
Paving Co". This company was formed in London
to take over the many small mills in Australia that were producing the
high grade hardwoods for railways, construction and furniture around the world.
It met large sleeper contracts for the Western
Australian, South Australian, Ceylon
and Natal Governments. It provided the piles and sawn timber for the Fremantle
Harbour Works, and it supplied the Jarrah blocks for the paving of Hay Street
and other streets of Perth.
This "Jarrah Timber and Wood Paving
Corporation" had a declared capital of 250,000 ($500 000) and also 50,000
acres of leasehold on the Collie
River. Later it gained
another 30,000 acres of freehold land (from Sir John Downer, a lawyer of Adelaide). J.C. Port
was made the General Manager until August 1902 when this company amalgamated to
become "Millars Karri and Jarrah Forests Limited".
Port retired from active saw-milling in 1902,
preferring to rebuild the yards at Maylands. He was presented with a lovely silver tray by
the employees of the Collie Mills on 6th March 1903 (and this is now in the possession of his
grand daughter). However by 1909, operating as "Port,
Honey and Co", he had again started up another two mills, in partnership
with Lionel Richard Honey, Richard's eldest son.
The first was in 1905 in Heidleberg (South Kalamunda) in the Jarrah forests to the East of the
new Mundaring Weir. The other mill was at Pindalup (in the Worsley region
inland from Pinjarra). He later sold out most of his timber reserve there to
the Railways Department for their mill at Dwellingup. Pindalup continued to operate until
1935. This "Port, Honey and
Co" mill was the only one operating for many years between Jarrahdale and
Karridale.
The "Port, Honey and Co" reverted back to
just "Port and Co" later in the 1920's. when the partnership with L.R. Honey was
disolved. I am uncertain whether this was before Lionel
moved to Bunbury around 1913, or the Bunbury yard was part of the partnership.
James Cornish
Port was recognised as one of the new
breed of merchants in a growing city of Perth.
"One of the most impressive
homes in Adelaide Terrace belonged to James Cornish Port. Called "Collieville", it had a
morning room, drawing room, kitchen, pantry, scullery, and office on the ground
floor, with a ballroom and dining
room. Upstairs were five bedrooms, a
bathroom and a tower. Behind his own
house he built a row of terrace houses, Bicester Terrace."
"Collieville" was built in 1903 on the
block "D3" in the East Ward of Perth, the block now designated as
No.180 Adelaide Tce. This land was
purchased on 25th July 1898
for 3 500 from Alexander P. Matheson (who then used these funds to purchase all
the land of Applecross). The family of J.C. Port
occupied the "Collieville" house on No.180, and built the row of terrace houses behind
both blocks No.180 and No.184 (fronting Hay Street).
During the industrial troubles of 1912 to 1914
between the Timber Worker's Union and the Timber Merchant's Association over
pay rises and lock-outs, James
Port was forced to close
down his yards in May 1914. Matters
became progressively worse and with the beginning of World War I in August, and
the 1914 drought taking effect, the
industry went into recession with most mills shutting down or cutting back.
Around 1921 "Collieville" on block No.180
was sold to the Salvation Army and the Port family moved into the house further
down the street on block No.184 bought from the Sundercombes, which dated back
to before 1903 and was built for the first Governor's Aide. In about 1939 J.C. Port
sold his property in Railway Parade,
Maylands; one portion to the Kauri
Timber Company, including the timber, and the other portion to R.E. Arnold,
sheet-metal fabricators.
James Cornish
Port died in August 1942. His only daughter, Lily, had married 12th March 1919 to Percy
Herbert Bailey and they lived there until selling in August 1962, when they
moved to Applecross. The terraced houses behind were retained by the Port
family until sold.
=================================================================
Chapter
Four
The Next
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN Generations
LIONEL
RICHARD HONEY
In 1893, after his father's death and then aged
about 16 years, Richard Honey's eldest son arrived from South Australia. Lionel Richard Honey was
born on the 13th June 1877
in Woodville, South Australia, the second child of Richard Honey and Mary Anne Reynolds.
Being so young when Richard died, Lionel was not able to immediately assume
command of his father's timber empire throughout Australia, so he just made his
own way as best he could, being assisted by James Port to learn the trade.
He was married on 16th July 1900 at Guildford
to Roma Braddock, the daughter of the schoolmaster who opened the first school
at Lion Mill in 1892. Lionel Richard Honey took over around 1896 as
the manager of the "Jarrah Timber Co" of Forrest Street, Kalgoorlie,
a subsidiary of "Lion Mills S.A.", his late father's company and now
part of J.C. Port's growing timber empire. His first child James was born about 1901 (in
Kalgoorlie?)
but died of haemophilia.
When the amalgamation took over the company in 1902,
Lionel Honey stayed in Kalgoorlie as manager of
the "Jarrah Timber and Woodpaving Corp Ltd", Varden Street, Picadilly, Kalgoorlie from 1902 until
1904. Their second child, Roma Mary was born in
Maylands on 2nd December
1904 so presumably the family had moved there during the year.
The company called "Honey and Co", Timber Merchant was established in
Maylands in this year.
In 1905 he took over as manager of the Lion Mill
timber operations (then a Bunnings Mill?), however this appears to be for only
a short term as his postal address from 1906 until 1910 was Railway Parade,
Maylands.
His third child Dudley Richard was born at Lion Mill on 18th January 1907, where the Braddock
family was probably still in residence.
The 1906 address was given as "Honey and Co -
Lion Timber Yards" Railway Pde Maylands so it is assumed he was still
closely associated with J.C.
Port, who had
"retired" to manage his own Maylands timber yard in 1902. However in 1909 the company's postal address
became "Port, Honey and Co Ltd, Maylands and Mundaring Weir." Lionel's fourth child Robert Henry was born
on 4th February 1910 in Maylands, and
the fifth was Lionel Charles born 31st March 1911 at Claremont. The youngest, John Lisle was born
on 12th July 1917
in Bunbury.
With James
Cornish Port
and Lionel Richard Honey operating together, they opened a saw mill in
Kalamunda, immediately below an excellent spring of fresh water at a well known
picnic spot called "The Dell" on the Kalamunda Weir Road. The site of this mill is now private
property, but was originally bought from Mr Buckingham who opened this mill at
Heidleberg, (now South Kalamunda) and after one removal sold it to "L.R.
Honey and Co" around 1906. The exact date they began operating it is not
known - probably in 1906 - however it was working in 1907 and closed in 1913
when the timber cut out.
"An old man at Kalamunda
described to me how his father worked at the mill, hauling the logs to a point
overlooking the Mundaring Weir. They were then chuted down to the water, to be
floated to the other side where the railhead to Perth was located. This railhead was the line
built for the construction of the Mundaring Weir, and the route is now just
bush again."
Mrs Heather
Honey, 1983.
In 1908, J.C.
Port approached Mr
William G. Quicke, a local civil engineer, to survey a switch-back timber
tramline from the "Port, Honey and Co" mill in Kalamunda to the
Mundaring Weir railhead. This railhead was the end of the Weir Line built by
the P.W.D. Railway Construction Branch from Mundaring down to the dam site by
June 1898, used in the Weir's construction and then handed over to the W.A.G.R.
in 1909. In due course Quicke surveyed
the wooden tramline and supervised its construction.
"The idea was to survey a route
in such a way that the loaded trolleys, once started from the top of the first
rise after leaving the mill, would coast down under their own momentum, up and down the hills to the Weir.
The mill was situated in a shallow
depression and four horses in line pulled the loaded trolleys to the crest of
the first rise ... As the trolleys began to roll downhill the towline was cast
off and the trolleys, gathering speed, were carried over the next rise and
along the plateau at the top with just sufficient headway to start them down
the long, winding descent into the river valley. Two men rode with the trolleys and they had
to avoid going too fast while at the same time allowing sufficient speed to
carry them over the next rise. Down the
very steep descent into the valley the noise of the trolleys and the squeal of
brakes could be heard for miles around,
and on occasions during wet weather when the brakes failed to grip
sufficiently, speeds of up to 50 miles an hour (80 Km /hr) were reached by the
time the trolleys crossed Farrels Creek at the bottom of the long hill. Finally, the trolleys coasted along a gentle
decline, crossed the river on the original traffic bridge and drew up by the
railhead at the Number 1. Pumping Station. There was a sharp incline over the
last few chains and a winch was used to haul the trolleys up to the level of
the railway trucks at the top of the rise.
A man followed the trolleys with the horses and by the time he reached
the Weir the timber had been off-loaded into W.A.G.R. railway trucks and the
empty trolleys were hauled back to the mill, while the timber went to Port,
Honey & Co's timber yards at Maylands.
The wooden rails were used with some success but
there were difficulties with wearing, especially on the bends, and with coping
with the high speeds. When the mill was
eventually closed in 1913 the wooden rails and sleepers were ripped up and fed
into the boiler furnaces of the Number 1. Pumping Station. The Weir Line has all but disappeared back
into the bush too.
Lionel Richard Honey moved to Spencer Street, Bunbury in about 1913 to
manage the Bunbury Timber Yard, and for many years occupied a position of
prominance in the growing town. He took on the A.M.P. agence while working for Millars Timber and later conducted the Vacuum
Oil Company depot when it was first started in the town. He was a Justice of the Peace for the
district for over 30 years, and served on the Bunbury Town Council for two
terms, being at one time the Council Treasurer. He died there in the Bunbury "St John of
God's Hospital", on 23rd
October 1959, aged 82 years.
DUDLEY DAVID GOODMAN HONEY
Another of the sons of Richard Honey made his life
in Western Australia
independently of the "Honey and Co" influences, though at one time he
also found himself timber cutting in the Jarrah forests of the State.
Being the eighth child of Richard HONEY and Mary Ann
REYNOLDS of South Australia, Dudley was born
on the 8th February 1890
at "Lionville", Woodville, the family's residence at the terminus of Woodville Road in Adelaide, S.A.
and he was educated in S.A.
finishing his schooling at St Peter's College in 1908.
He toured England
for two years from 1909 to 1910, and on returning landed in Western
Australia in 1911, where he spent twelve months gaining farm
experience at Grass
Valley, near Northam.
Dudley Honey purchased the "Castlerock Farm" in Meckering in 1912,
and in 1913 put in the record crop acreage for the Meckering District, but the
1914 drought sent him broke.
On 4th
November 1914 he married Florence Muriel Combley, third child of
Fred Combley and Caroline (nee Weatherall) of Meckering. at "St Peter's
Church" in Meckering.
Florrie was born on 25th June 1894 at York, WA. Their
subsequent family of five children was :-
1. Peter
Richard Honey born 27th
December 1915 at Northam
2. David
Dudley (Beaver) Honey born 27th
December 1917
3. Fred
Honey born 30th
May 1921 at North Perth
4. Mary
Honey born 30th
June 1925 at Kirup
5. Margaret
Honey born 3rd May
1928 at North Perth.
Dudley joined the A.I.F. in 1915,
serving in the Tenth Light Horse during all their campaigns, and on returning
from the war he took up a soldier settlement block at Kirrup, and joined the
many others who tried to carve a farm out of the massive timber forests of the
South West. He also butchered for the local timber mill, by purchasing herds of
sheep in the wheat belt and droving (trucking? ) them to Kirup.
In 1927 the family moved to a stock and station
agency in Kulin and Dudley commenced business
as a John Darling & Son Agent (pre wheatboard), Elder Smith and
Goldsborough Mort Agent, International Harvester Dealer, and a Commercial Union
Assurance Agent. After two years of cramped living with five children in the
small apartments attached to the agency, they moved to 80 Johnson Street. Times were as hard for
the farm machinery dealers as the farmers in the depression because no one
could afford to pay their debts.
In 1945, when the youngest daughter was seventeen,
his wife Florrie left him and went as a shearers' cook in the North of Western
Australia. When her brother Charlie Combley died and left her a comfortable
bequest, Florrie Honey settled in a piece of land on the foreshore of
Cottesloe, but was soon forced out when developers made her an offer she couldn’t
refuse. She eventually settled on a few acres in Seaforth Avenue beside the railway in
Kelmscott, growing fruit trees and watching the Suburbia erode into the
pastures all around her. She died on 30th September 1970 at the age of 76 years.
Dudley Honey died in the Mount
Hospital in St
George's Terrace, Perth
on 5th October
1955, aged 65 years, of war injury induced illness.
The next generation of Honeys of South Australia
also has a representative that migrated to Western Australia. The fourth child of Roy
Reynolds Honey (Richard's seventh offspring) was Mary Honey, who married
another South Australian, Dudley Graham Hanson, and they moved to Western Australia to
raise a family of three daughters.
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