The Book: A History of the Morawa District 1850 to 2006
This post provides a link to the publication "A History of the Morawa District From 1850 to 2006". This publication was published in printed book form circa 2008. I have seen the published book, so I know it exists. It is currently out of print and has been (as far as I can determine) since the first publishing run.
This is a long post. For the search engines I needed to include sufficient content here so that this article can be found by anyone looking for it. For this purpose this post is somewhat longer than I would normally post.
My notes about the document: It is hard to read
As a copy-editor and someone who also has some training in typography, I have a few issues with the layout and typography of this document and I feel the need to share this as it may, or may not, help you get through the document.
Firstly, while it is possible the author had their own reasons for making the choices they did, the chosen font is probably the worst choice that could have been made for a document like this. It is a relatively small sans-serif font with long lines and tight inter-line spacing. This breaks a number of basic typography rules: (1) don’t use a sans-serif font for long line content; (2) if you insist on using a sans-serif font then use a slightly larger font; (3) don’t use overlength lines of text; and (4) ensure you have wider inter-line spacing to put more white-space between the lines. In the linked PDF all of these readability guides have been broken.
Secondly, the line lengths are well beyond the recommended maximum of 15 words for optimal readability.
Thirdly, the content is fully justified. Meaning that the left- and right-hand text margins are aligned. This also impacts the readability in a negative way.
Microsoft Word gives this document a readability Flesch score of 12 . As a comparison the readability score of the front page of The Australian newspaper is typically about a 7. The Flesch readability score indicates an estimate of the number of years of schooling you would need to completed in order to read and comprehend the content with relative ease on a first pass reading.
On the upside . . .
On the upside, the PDF has been compiled with embedded hyperlinks that provide some basic navigation throughout the document. I have been careful to ensure these hyperlinks still work. So if you see something that looks like a hyperlink in the document then it probably is a hyperlink and can be used to jump to somewhere else in the document.
The Link
Depending how your computer is configured clicking on the following link will either open the PDF file for viewing/reading/printing or will download the PDF onto you computer so you can then open it in your preferred PDF reader (I use Adobe Reader).
If you are using Windows 10 with the Edge browser then the document will open in the Edge browser and give you the option to download it.
Note that this document is 808 pages long. It may take a minute or two to open/download.
This seems to work okay on Apple MacOS and iOS devices (Apple Mac computers and Apple iPad computers). Thanks to niece Kim allowing me to use her Apple computers.
If you were also looking for the video that was done as part of the Morawa Centenary Celebrations then you can find that here.
Tips on using this document (recommended reading)
Searching/Printing
If you plan to search the document or print any of it then I recommend doing that using a PDF reader such as Adobe Reader (free from Adobe) as this will give you more control of how you search and/or print.
One thing that you can do using Acrobat Reader is print the document a little wider so that the font is marginally larger. You can also print the document in landscape mode with two pages per page (in order to save paper), assuming you can read the smaller text. An example of two pages per page follows.
Highlighting content/Adding comments
If you want to highlight certain content so you find it more easily in future, or so that when you print the page the required content is highlighted, then again I recommend using Adobe Reader.
See my example below of highlighted text and added comments.
Having the PDF read to you (i.e., text-to-speech)
While Acrobat Reader should be able to read this document (i.e., perform text-to-speech) I found this to be very poor and a little hard to set up.
It is MUCH better using the text-to-speech in Amazon’s Kindle application. On a Windows PC you can download the Kindle application for free. Load the PDF into the Kindle application and have it read the document to you. Much better, I think, than using Acrobat Reader to do it.
The linked PDF is 808 pages in length and contains the following chapters:
1 Introduction & Beginnings
2 The Pastoral Industry - Early Years
3 The First Stations In The Shire 1858 To 1872
4 Pastoral Stations From 1873 Onward
5 Farming Up To The First World War
6 Farming Since The First World War
7 Livestock & Vermin
8 Crops & Water
9 The Other Side of Farming up to 1950
10 The Railways
11 Policing The District
12 Local Government
13 Cemeteries and Lonely Graves
14 Mining in the Morawa District
15 Churches and Religious Life in Morawa
16 Matters of Health
17 Communications
18 Entertainment
19 Clubs & Organisations
20 Sport & the Agricultural Show
21 Schools in the Satellite Towns
22 Morawa Townsite Schools
23 Aboriginal People in Recent Times
24 Morawa Water Supply
25 The Morawa Air Service
26 Koolanooka
27 Gutha
28 Canna
29 Pintharuka & Merkanooka
30 Morawa Town - Beginings
31 Morawa Town - The Public Amenities
32 Morawa Town - Service Industries
33 Morawa Town - Blacksmiths etc
34 Morawa Town - Drapers etc
35 Morawa Town - Eating Drinking and Boozing
36 The First World War
37 The Second World War
Following is the introduction text from Chapter One.
This book is intended to be a fairly detailed history of the Shire of Morawa, from 1839 when Europeans first took an interest in the general Victoria district. The local indigenous history prior to this time is not included as little specific information appears to be available, and what has been located is both disputed and very tenuous. This same lack of resources also extends to some other facets of the history unfortunately, making the story at times patchy. There is a significant body of information, particularly of individuals, office bearers, sporting results and other detail, which has not been used in this work, but is available from the Morawa District Historical Society records on request.
Following are the first three paragraphs of the Beginnings.
The establishment of the Shire of Morawa is the eventual result of the spread of population out from Perth to Champion Bay, and then inland from the coastal towns of Dongara and Geraldton. Settlement in the coastal area began in 1849, only twenty years after the arrival of the first settlers on the Swan River in 1829. All things were not rosy however, and Western Australia was not a thriving colony. In fact one 1848 London emigrant’s guide stated that:
“This colony, which twenty five years ago was considered to offer such golden hopes to the colonists, is now, from many causes far inferior to the other colonies in the same part of the world, and these disadvantages are not counterbalanced by corresponding advantages of any description.” An earlier visitors report of 1837 had been even more colourful, and commented that “Spirit drinking, and avarice in obtaining grants of large extent have paralysed the country”.
Not good resumes for success, but there were very determined people amongst those original settlers. Although some of the major figures of the time had come from a more genteel environment, there were also many who had lived far tougher lives than probably anyone could envisage today. Life in the military, on the sea, working the land and in many other occupations created a great deal of resilience in those who survived it. The upper class settler could be equally capable, and any examination of the lives of some of them after they settled in this State reveals quite indomitable characters. A good point to keep in mind when thinking about Western Australian history at this time is the colonies emigrant population size, which is estimated in 1840 to be 1,434 males and 877 females. Things hadn’t improved too much by 1850 when the estimates were 3,576 males and 2,310 females. These were figures for the total settler population, and the actual adult figures would have been somewhat smaller.
Following are the first two paragraphs from Chapter Two: The pastoral Industry — Early Years.
The problems of the southern graziers in the 1840's continued, and when Lockier BURGES, who had been the Geraldine mine manager, and William BURGES his brother, who was hired to superintend the establishment of the garrison returned from their short stint at the Geraldine mine in early 1850, they found that conditions around York were no better. In fact when Gerald LEFROY visited their property there to buy stock for Edward HAMERSLEY, he discovered that the animals were extremely weak from lack of pasture. The brothers, with others were ready to move north to what they hoped were greener pastures, in more ways than one. In the latter months of 1850, they and others like Thomas BROWN, J S DAVIS, Major LOGUE and James WALCOTT moved cattle and sheep north to the Irwin, Champion Bay area, to introduce the pastoral industry to the district.
At this time, and for several decades the only markets for the meat and wool produced by the industry were via the ports at Dongara and Geraldton, or the long trip by land driving stock down the coast to the southern settlements. This was emphasised as the boundary of the industry expanded eastward.
The following content is purely for the search engines to index.
Following are things I wanted add so the search engines would index them. I will likely add to this over the weeks as I read the entire document.
CH 1 to 3
Canna, Gutha, Koolanooka, Morawa, Pintharuka, Morawa Cemetery, United Farmers Co-operative, M Walter, Champion Bay, Yandanooka, Joshua Waldeck, Waggara Spring, Wainwright & Co, C Crowther & Co, Cattle Company, Hamersley & Co, Samual Pole Phillips, Midland Railway Company, John Taylor Cooke, Gullewa, Frederick Waldeck, Henry Gray, Dreghorn, Billeranga Hills, Nanekine Station, Robert Broad, Jack Campbell, Little Mingenew.
CH 4
Kouragabby, Peterwangy, Murchison Gold Field, Murray Well, John PULBROOK, Pindawa, Yandanoo Spring, WHEELOCK, Cadji Cadji, Codgy Codgy, Cagy Cagy Spring, Koolanooka Spring, ka Spring, Muthongutha Water Hole, George Alexander DAVIDSON, HOLMES Bros partnership, Francis Gustavi BURT, Frank BROAD, Bowgada Station, Warr Water Hole, Mellenbye Station, Henry BROAD, Muthingootha Rock Hole, Emerald Reward Mine, Mora Spring, Morawa Rock Hole, Billeranga Hills, Victoria District.
CH 5
Rothesay, Ebeno Chute, Fairview Farm, Alf EVANS, BICKFORD brothers, TROPIANO, SORGIOVANNI, FRANCO, TASSEFF, John MILLOY, Carl BRINKMAN, Alf EVANS, PRATER brothers, Reginald Charles [Charlie] PRATER, Bag huts, Midland Railway Company, Merkanooka, Yongarloo Farm, STOKES family, John STOKES, Merkanooka Soak, Henry Leslie YEWERS, Adela GROSSER, James DWYER, Mick DWYER, Francis Henry AGAR, Harry HEPWORTH, Jim AGAR, Sid Poulter, five room house was built of bush timber with hessian walls, South Morawa school, James DREGHORN, Joseph WADDILOVE, Sidney McKenzie VALENTINE, rammed anthill floor, The TREGONNING family, Ivan Julian Clarence Hubert GRANVILLE, Francis Arthur [Arthur] GRANVILLE, Rose Lily SMEED, Eric and Philip Rafe SASSE, Richard Henry SASSE, Pintharuka Well, William and Herbert [Bert] COAKER, Edgar C FRANCIS, Abraham, William, and James POWELL, Mary Jane POWELL, Margaret BOWMAN, John William TUBBY, Constance JONES, George R BARNES. Spearwood Well, James Henry COLLINS, The Settlers Handy Pamphlet, Agriculture Bank, George TILLEY, Fred and Cliff KNIGHT, George P HARLEY, three roomed hessian sided humpy.
CH 26
The Aboriginal word from which Koolanooka derives is supposed to mean "hill of wild turkey", with young Francis [Frank] POWELL in the foreground, Abe POWELL's garage just appears in the right foreground, Hubert ASHDOWN, Anthony E ROBINSON appears to offside Francis E BOWLER, another of the many Koolanooka officers, John E McCARTHEY, Mrs Florence LEE, These Fordson tractors at the loading platform of the Koolanooka siding were waiting for Abe POWELL, the local dealer to unload them. Abraham and Gladys POWELL, Gladys STEWART the original Merkanooka school teacher. Koolanooka railway stock yards, Eric SASSE. Abraham POWELL with his three daughters. The oldest is Gertrude Mary [Molly] Powell on the left holding the large doll. Dolls are precious, especially such large ones and she commented to the interviewer that "the #&*@$ bit it's nose off" referring to her baby sister Margaret [Peggy] Powell who is also in the photograph. At right is another sister Myrtle Powell. Edric THOMPSON and Brigit Murial ADAMS. Bill BEATTIE. Storekeeper Harry GAUNT in one of his other guises as a member of the Koolanooka Ladies Cricket Team. John Elliot OLIVER a well sinker. Morawa Merkanooka and District Farmers Co-op. Clive GRIFFITHS was the son of Tom GRIFFITHS, and was looked after by his maternal grandmother Mrs Bill BEATTIE Mrs Bertha TONNISSEN as an agent, and G.TONNISSEN as a butcher. The Koolanooka Public Hall. Texaco Super Power kerosene. On the military side the move of the 1st armoured Division to Morawa.
Ownership of the Post Office Store transferred to Ron TAMIN. By 1954 his and his wife's business known as Ronilda Agencies. From clothing to sheet music or access to the airwaves with a Batyphone or Radiola radio. They had some of the good old agencies like ShellOil, Chamberlain tractors, Goldsborough Mort, Western Insurance and for something to load up and carry away all your purchases you could buy a Vanguard car or utility, or maybe a Mayflower or Triump. Attention returned to the Town Hall again in September 1948 when an Atkins lighting plant was purchased9 to replace what was left of the five Gloria Petrol lights that had been used previously. Mr K.G.TAPSCOTT of Lauriston farm Koolanooka was awarded a tender for the hall's demolition in March 1967.
CH 30
Morawa rock hole, Morewa, Rupert GERRITSEN argues for Morawa meaning a place where men are made. Richard Stanley SAMPSON, Morawa Strand Cafe. George TILLEY, Wooltana Station, Maurice FIENBERG, William Charles COLE, Samuel Joseph Fortescue MOORE. Mary Isabella VALENTINE, Maurice LODGE, Dick LYONS, Percival Henry LODGE, Morawa Merkanooka District Farmers Co-Operative Co Ltd. Norris GILLS, Horace RUSHTON. David RULE, John LUSCOMBE, Andrew TORRENT, Bill COYNE.
Various A-F
Morawa Hotel, Betty Heitman, George Hearn, Skinny Hearn, Oliver Greenwood, Neville Keeling, Harold Smith, sly grog, Walter McLaren, Robert Gavin James Freebairn, Alan Deason, Venton Wynne, Frank Agar, Jack Agar, Brenda Barnes, Gavin Barr, Gutha Store, Canna Store, Chris Bartolemeus, Gordon Baty, Peter Baxter, Ron Baxter, John Bayliss, Murray Bell, Kevin Bickford, Robert 'Bob' Bickford, Fred Blenkinsop, Anne Blenkinsop, George Bradley, Ann Bradley, Jack Bradley, Bruce McIlwaine, Bruce McIllwaine, Jimmy Bray, Cark Brinkman, Basil Brinkman, Floral Brinkman, Albert Irwin 'Bert' Broad, Charles 'Charlie' Edward Broad, Colin Broad, Frank Henry Broad, John Broad, Bob Brian, Western Mining Corporation, WMC, Peter Colin Bullock, Lorraine Dawn Freebairn, A F G Burt, Mary Burt, Betty Butler, George William Butler, Ted Butler, Jack Campbell, Kim Campbell, Malcolm Campbell, George Carslake, Warren Carslake, Noelene Carslake, Dot Carter, Julie Carter, Dr Henry G Caulfield, William Coaker, Cecily Adele Coaker, Glenn Francis Coaker, Jean Coaker, Lillian Mary Coaker, William Charles 'Charlie' Cole, Dorothy Evelyn 'Dorrie' Cook, John Taylor Cook, Christopher Croot, Douglas Croot, Florence Annie Croot, Keith Croot, George Alexander Davidson, Gordon Dreghorn, Christina Hamilton Dreghorn, James Dreghorn, Charlotte Anne Dwyer, Edward Dwyer, Eileen Dwyer, Bob Erskine, Isobel Erskine, Athol Fallon, Donald Reginald Fallon, Donna Fallon, Bernadette Faull, Kenneth George Ferguson, Brain Finlayson, Christine Finlayson, Jean Finlayson, John Paris Agar, Rosemary Agar, Christopher Agar, B. R. 'Reg' Fitzgerald, Maurice Thomas Fitzgerald, Frank Flood, Antonio Franco, Gavin Alexander Freebairn, Kathleen Anne Freebairn, Alf From, Terry From.