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OUR WRIGHT AND PRICE FAMILIES TO AUSTRALIA |
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LIFE IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA After the death of Ann the WRIGHT family still had considerable contact with each other in Western Australia. Ann’s grandchildren socialised with each other and many a visit was made either to Cottesloe, Claremont and Maylands to visit their uncle/aunt and cousins. Once the grandchildren started to marry contact commenced to wane between many of the cousins. However the central figure in maintaining contact with her nephews and nieces was Aunty Agnes WILSON with her ‘open house’ at Maylands. As a child in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s I recall visiting Maylands and either sitting with all the family whilst they had a cuppa and a talk, or playing in the back yard with one of the many children who always seemed to be visiting their grandmother, great aunt or great great aunt. But back to the son, Alexander, who was making his mark in the ‘West’ almost from the day he arrived. A further extract of a biography of Alexander James WRIGHT states: He played a leading part in the legislation that led up to the passing of this Act, and was for many years a member of the Dental Board of Western Australia, for three years occupying the presidential chair. He filled the post of honorary dental surgeon to the Colonial Hospital for a lengthy period, and on the foundation of the Children's Hospital was appointed to a like position in that institution. He also took some part in public life, retaining his seat for four years at the municipal table at Claremont, where he acted as Chairman of the Health Committee. In the year 1906 Dr. Wright, leaving a locum tenens in charge of his practice, proceeded to Edinburgh where he obtained the dental degree of the Royal College of Surgeons, and at the same time, having gone through the course, secured a certificate of competency in the use of anaesthetics from the same University. Dr. Wright was then made a member of the British Dental Association after having been registered by the General Medical Council as a dentist of Great Britain. Deciding to take further degrees he sailed for America, where he entered the Harvard University and took the degree of Doctor of Dental Medicine, and while there was made corresponding secretary to the Alumni of the University, and in the same year was elected a member of the School of Dental Hygiene in the Council of America. At the request of some of the professors of the University he gave a demonstration at the Jamestown Dental Congress held in Virginia in 1907, and had the distinction of being made Vice -President of the Congress. In 1908 the Fellowship of the American Academy of Dental Science was conferred upon him, this being the highest honour in American dentistry. At Chicago Dr. Wright entered the National Medical University and sat for the examination of Doctor of Dental Surgery, which degree he obtained the same year. Returning to Western Australia, he was elected President of the Western Australia Dental Society, and at the Australian Dental Congress in 1909 was elected Hon. Vice - President, and read a paper before this body on the proper care of the teeth in relation to the health of children. He fills various offices in connection with the Methodist Church, among them that of superintendent of the Ord Street Sunday - School. A Past Master of the Masonic craft, his mother lodge is the "Bonnie Doon". Dr. Wright takes his recreation in motoring, and is a member of the Western Australian Automobile Club. In 1890 he married Rosina, daughter of the late Mr. Charles Walters, of Maitland, Tasmania, and has two sons and a daughter. Alexander James WRIGHT invested heavily into many projects including purchasing the Capital Theatre. But the Great Depression and the inability to obtain the rights to screen quality movies at the Capital Theatre resulted in the collapse of his financial standing. Sir Thomas Coombes wanted shares in Uncle Alex's Capital Theatre but Uncle Alex would not give in. He was then forced by Coombes to show only "B" Grade movies and the people didn't come to his theatre. He lost over eighty thousand pounds, which was a lot of money in those days.
ALEXANDER JAMES WRIGHT 1912 Also from my Aunty Joan ANDERSON, the following details are supplied: Uncle Alex was the biggest shareholder in the Economic Building and he had his Dental Surgery upstairs. He lived where Lucknow Hospital now stands and he built “Monripose” which was a mansion that overlooked the Swan River. He donated the church organ for the Wesley Church in Perth. The Capital Theatre and the Embassy Ballroom were built by him. His youngest son, Malcolm, went to England when aged about 17 years to become a Doctor. He loved England so much that he never returned to Australia. We met him and his wife, Kathleen, whilst in England and corresponded with them for many years. They stopped letter writing a few years ago and may be deceased. After the death of Rosina and when I was a child, in the early thirties, I remember visiting Uncle Alex and his last wife, Ada (nee Foote) when they lived in Eric Street Cottesloe, near Grant Street. His wife, Rosina, died on March 9, 1932 and Alexander subsequently married Ada FOOTE. He died on February 7, 1939 after being found at the railway crossing in Maylands fatally injured. He was thought to have either fallen heavily or been struck by a train. Uncle Alex was either hit by a train or the wind pressure from the train knocked him over. He hit his head on a rock and died on the spot. He was living in a nursing home and Aunty Agnes had just visited him. She said he was crying and tears were running down his face when she left. It was thought that he must have tried to follow her home. He had lost his mind after losing Rosina, Thelma and his fortune. All had turned bad. He was aged 73 years. He is buried at Karrakatta Cemetery along with his wife, Rosina, and daughter, Thelma Dorothy. The headstone is at Wesleyan GC plot 284, inscribed, IN LOVING MEMORY OF ROSINA M DEVOTED WIFE OF ALEXANDER J. WRIGHT D.M.D. FOND MOTHER OF THELMA, AUBREY AND MALCOLM DIED 9th MARCH 1932 PEACEFULLY RESTING ALSO THELMA DOROTHY DAUGHTER OF ABOVE DIED 11th APRIL 1937 ALSO ALEXANDER JAMES WRIGHT D.M.D. DIED 7th FEB 1939 AGED 72 YEARS AT REST
HEADSTONE ALEXANDER JAMES WRIGHT AND FAMILY - JUNE 1988 Photograph courtesy Allan CRESSWELL
THE WILSON FAMILY HOME MAYLANDS C1909 AGNES ANN HOLDING BABY IRIS WITH JACK AND EDNA STANDING Photograph courtesy Joan ANDERSON (nee CRESSWELL)
THE HOME OF JOSEPH BROADHURST AND HIS WIFE FRANCES JANE (NEE WRIGHT) COTTESLOE WESTERN AUSTRALIA C1916 Photograph courtesy Joan ANDERSON (nee CRESSWELL)
FRANCES JANE BROADHURST (NEE WRIGHT) C 1940 Photograph courtesy Joan ANDERSON (nee CRESSWELL) In the meanwhile Frances Jane BROADHURST brought her children up in Swanbourne, then Cottesloe and subsequently married her husband's brother, Joseph Albert BROADHURST, at Fremantle in 1922. Uncle Joe came to live with mum. Uncle Joe never had a family. He had lots of different jobs such as sleeper cutting, working on the "Zephyr" and was a saddler on the Troop Ships in the First World War. He used to scare me. He came to live with mum and later they married. Mum told me one day that she had married Uncle Joe and that Colin and Leila were witnesses. Later on my dad told me that he was never served with any divorce papers. Prior to coming to live with mum Uncle Joe lived a Bachelor’s life. Aunty Agnes' daughter, Annie Wilson, who was a few months younger than me, and I, used to visit Uncle Joe in a house, one of a group of four, that was on the opposite side of the road to the Swan Brewery. When we came to see him he was always lying down on a single bed. Uncle Joe brought the block of land in Kathleen Street for mum and paid twenty five poundsfor it. The Perth Building Society built the house and we moved into the house when I was 16 years of age. I returned to Beaconsfield in 1924. I went with Wallace and your father, Ron, who was three years old. We went by boat from Perth to Melbourne. We stayed near Ascotvale Station in Melbourne before going onto Tasmania by boat. We went direct to Elsie and Amy Price by coach from Launceston. We stayed with them, those two never married. One brother, Leonard, who lost his arm in the war was also there. They were living in George Price’s house. Both George and Sarah were dead. Aunty Susan came to the Price house and said, “I believe Mona is here”, and the girls said, “yes, come in”. The subsequent meeting between Mona and her father is further discussed in the article, Our Broadhurst Family. Whilst at Beaconsfield I became so ill and they got the doctor to me. He wanted to put me into hospital. You will have great care of you taken at the hospital he told me. “You will be the only patient. There is not a soul in the hospital”. I said no to the doctor and told him I would stay with my two cousins and be treated from there. Beaconsfield was nearly a ghost town in 1924. We also stayed with the eldest daughter, Eva, at a place called Herrick for six weeks. She was married to Arthur Dilger. She said that the other girls would love to see you so we wrote to Launceston and then went there. Before mum married dad she nearly married a Will Best and I visited him at Launceston. He lived with his two sons, one named Alex, near the gorge. We left Tasmania and returned to Melbourne and stayed with Maida Price at South Melbourne, then onto Heathcote where Joan was born. We stayed there for two years. Maida was one of the younger sisters. I think Stan and Walter were also there, George was in Launceston. I used to write to George’s daughter, she died. She was older than me. June stayed with Maida when she went over to Melbourne when she was eighteen years of age. Frances' first husband, William Thomas BROADHURST, died at Beaconsfield, Tasmania on January 13, 1928, aged 64 years, and second husband, Joseph BROADHURST, died at Cottesloe on November 3, 1955. Dad died of the miner's complaint. He used to tell me that he stood all day up to his knees in water in the mines looking for gold. Mum did not live in Kathleen Street Cottesloe all the time. After we all were married and had our own families mum and Uncle Joe moved to New South Wales and lived over there. I think they lived in Hurstville. They came back to Western Australia in the early fifties and came to live with Wallace and I. Uncle Joe had already sold the Kathleen Street house to your dad. Frances died at Cottesloe on June 18, 1959, aged 85 years. Her death certificate gave cause of death as (1) Cerebral Thrombosis and (2) Senile Arteriosclerosis. Her eldest son, Albert John (Jack) had pre - deceased her. She was cremated at Karrakatta Cemetery following a Methodist Service. Her sister, Agnes Annie, raised a family of seven children at Maylands and with the death of her husband, George Henry WILSON, on February 17, 1925 aged only 50 years, was left to raise the family. George had worked for the Swan Brewery for many years. Agnes lived for another 37 years yet always had a smile for everyone. I have very fond memories of Aunty Agnes and I am sure that all who met her had those same wonderful memories. Agnes passed away on January 21, 1962, aged 86 years, at the Mosman Park residence of her daughter, Edna GIRDLESTONE. Headstone at Karrakatta Cemetery Wesleyan BA plot 432, reads: IN LOVING MEMORY OF
BELOVED HUSBAND OF BELOVED WIFE OF AGNES ANNIE WILSON GEORGE HENRY WILSON DIED 17th FEB 1925 DIED 21st JAN 1962 A PATIENT SUFFERER UNITED GONE TO REST WITH DAD
HEADSTONE GEORGE HENRY AND AGNES ANN WILSON - APRIL 1991 Photograph courtesy Allan CRESSWELL
GEORGE HENRY WILSON AND HIS WIFE, AGNES ANN (NEE WRIGHT) C1924 Photograph courtesy Joan ANDERSON (nee CRESSWELL) |
