Richard and Elizabeth Rowland
Their Lives and Descendants
Or read their history below..
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Richard and Elizabeth were married aboard the Tranby between the Cape of Good Hope and Fremantle [-38.2900S, 68.4700E] (see the voyage of the Tranby story as it develops (now extended to Part 2) for details.
They were destined to arrive in the Swan River Colony as a young married couple ( Richard, arriving aged 26, and Elizabeth, aged 23 years old). |
For more 'Before Departure in England' information: |
Elizabeth Rowland (nee Johnson) was entitled to a total of 220 1/2 acres of land for the value of her goods that she had brought to the Colony.
At the Peninsula Farm, Elizabeth was granted two small Lots: M and N running down to the Swan River the same as the others. Lot 'M' of 18.2 acres running in a southerly direction and the other Lot 'N' of 2 acres in an easterly direction. NEW - 2020: [More information of the Peninsula grants is available Here.] These small grants were made by James Stirling until more suitable land could be discovered and surveyed further out from the settlement. Elizabeth had 200 acres yet to be allocated. |
New usable land was discovered by Ensign Robert Dale and released by Lieutenant Governor Stirling at the end of 1831. [Click Here] to read about the Discovery, the involvement of the Clarksons, and the settlement of the Avon Valley. Elizabeth Rowland was assigned her remaining 200 acres in the York area. It is not known if the Rowland family ever moved up to York district, and then successfully improved the property, to be 'granted' the property at a later date. |
The reasons behind Governor Stirling taking of the 1832 census are clear; he was about to depart for London, with the intention of confronting the Colonial Office and attempting to make it provide more support for his ailing colony and needed to have fact and figures to support his case. Stirling left Captain Frederick Irwin in charge.
By 1832, small settlements had already been formed outside Perth and Fremantle; at Guildford, Kelmscott, Pinjarra, York, Toodyay, Bunbury on the Vasse, and at Augusta. The year 1832 marked the end of the original land grant system. This action deterred the arrival of new emigrants. During February and into March 1832, there were many fires in the Perth district. |
On 5th January 1839, Sir James Stirling finally returned to England and John Hutt was appointed as the second Governor of Western Australia. His brother, William Hutt, was closely involved in the settlement of South Australia. John was appointed superintendent of emigration for the South Australian Colonization Commission and both he and William applied for the Governorship of South Australia but neither was successful.
John was offered the position of Governor of Western Australia and he arrived in the Colony aboard the 'Brother' on January 1st 1839 and took over as Governor after Stirling resigned and returned to England. |
Elizabeth Rowland, Richard's fifth daughter was born, on the Peninsula, on the 28th July 1841. Western Australia's Birth and Death Registration did not begin until this year (1841) and so Elizabeth's Birth Certificate bears the registration number 006.
Elizabeth was baptised on 12th September 1841, at the recently completed Wesleyan Chapel in Perth. Her name appears on Page one of the Wesley Church's Register. |
In August of 1841, Richard Rowland, now aged 39, was elected to the Board of the Wesleyan Society of Western Australia.
Back home, Britain conducted it’s first full census and found that the population had reached 18.5 million that year; that compared to the U.S.A. with 17 million, and in Ireland, 8 million. Western Australia remained a land of around 2,000 European settlers. The next year, British soldiers were massacred in the Khyber Pass, and the year also saw an end of the Opium War with Britain gaining the island of Hong Kong. |
The economy was still bleak in 1847. Richard Rowland, who had purchased encumbered land on the Peninsula from the Clarksons was permitted to work off his commitment to the Colonial Treasury. On one occasion he was given only one day's notice to provide bullocks and a cart for the carrying of ammunition from the old to the new artillery magazine.
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By the end of 1829 Stirling was able to report to Sir George Murray that there were 850 settlers in the colony, as well as military and navy personnel. Ten years later the population barely exceeded 2,000 and was still less than 5,000 in 1848, the year of the first official census. |
The long awaited Swan River service to Guildford was introduced in 1857 with the Pioneer, a flat-bottomed stern-wheeler, capable of negotiating the shallow upper reaches of the Swan and particularly near Heirrison Island.
On its maiden voyage, guests were invited to steam up past the Peninsula to Guildford where they had a celebration feast. The return voyage was made in good time but while they were pulling up to the Perth landing a steam pipe burst. The frightened passengers leapt overboard into the river. |
On the 5th of December 1857, Richard and Elizabeth's house, on the Peninsula farm, was gutted by fire while the unmarried Rowland children were home alone. Richard and Elizabeth were in Perth at the time. Nearly everything in the house was consumed by the fire. One of the young members of the family very narrowly escaped while endeavouring to save some portion of the property. This setback no doubt contributed to Richard's decision to lease his Peninsula holdings and take up land on the Irwin River.
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In 1853, a loop along the edge of the Gingin Brook, which today is known as the "horseshoe" was fenced across and a Police Station was built. Horses were rested at this place on the long journey to the Victoria Plains area. Adjoining areas known as Frogmore and Granville were put forward as possible alternative town sites at various times, but were rejected as Gingin prospered. |
In 1862, Geraldton was proclaimed a town. Previously, on the 3rd of June 1851, the town site of Geraldton on Champion Bay, had been declared and the first sale of Geraldton lots were sold by public auction in Perth. Geraldton was originally called Gerald’s Town after Governor Charles Fitzgerald (1848-55) but later shortened to Geraldton.
In 1862 as well, winter rains flooded the Greenough Flats and in August, it was reported that there had not been one fine day in six weeks. Later, hail ruined half the barley crop. |
This may have been the reason, son Michael Rowland moved to south to Gingin in 1865. He was married, later the following year, in Gingin. Thus, on the first day of November 1866, at the age of twenty-seven, Michael Johnson Rowland married Rebecca Owen (born during 1844, in Perth).
Rebecca was the daughter of Thomas Owen, a farmer. The 22 year old Rebecca had been born during 1844, in London, and came to Australia, during 1864, with her parents. They were married in the Church of England at GinGin. On his Marriage Certificate, Michael is described as a ‘Mail Carrier’. Michael's older sister, Ann Margaret and her husband John Cockman were now living in Gingin with John Cockman signing, as a witness, to the marriage. Earlier this year, the citizens of Dongara wrote to the Governor, asking for an Inn, a Cemetery and the construction of a road to Port Irwin. |
Wheat Rust
The end of 1868 was bad for the community with the majority of wheat farms affected by rust. A final assessment for that cropping season revealed that of the 11,857 acres (4,800 hectares) sown, it had been anticipated that 177,855 bushels would be reaped, but only 10,478 bushels of inferior grain were carted to the mills from pastoralists and farmers. Those who were deeply in debt could not obtain further support. A special meeting was held in the Hampton Hotel in the Greenough Flats, on the 17th of October, to discuss the destruction of the crops by 'red rust'. A report in the Perth Gazette of the 11th December states: " Mr. Rowland, of Dongarra was the first to call his attention to this quality of the Egyptian wheat, and he (Mr. Rowland) being present would no doubt give them his experience of it." then, later in the meeting; "Mr. Rowland said he had some time since a few ears of Egyptian wheat which he cultivated for a year or two, more as a curiosity than any- thing else, but this year he did not cultivate any, a number of plants however had accidentally spung up in his field with the rest of his wheat, and these plants were sound and healthy and the ears full of corn, while all other wheat in his field was completely destroyed. His wheat was in bloom when attacked, and then promised a very large yield. Egyptian wheat does not make good flour but would be very acceptable when good kinds fail. He would recommend farmers to grow a sufficient quantity of it for their own use; he believed there was scarcely a crop on the Irwin which would repay the expense of reaping." Even the most frugal of the Irwin farmers had been compelled to apply for seed wheat and when seeding time was near, the were forced to travel distances ranging from eighty to one hundred and twenty miles to obtain their quota. |
The Governor Visits Governor Weld arrived in the Colony in September 1869, and he was soon made aware of the impoverished state of the Victoria District. In October, he set out on a tour of the country areas. He visited the Avon Valley and Victoria Plains and then continued overland north to Irwin House. According to the Inquirer, Dongara made extensive preparations to give him a warm welcome. The Governor was met with loud cheering and every sign, as he reported to England, of a hearty welcome. S.F. Moore read an address of welcome and concluded by saying that owing to the unfortunate circumstances of the rust and fires, the settlers were obliged to let the Governor pass through Dongara without giving the usual banquet or dinner. Dongara, he said, was a 'ration station' but it was hoped that the evil days would soon be over and that they would see the Governor again under more favourable conditions. |
Richard Rowland advertised, and then sold his land and buildigs on the Peninsula, during 1875, after being behind in some of his payments. This included the 105-acre farm known as 'Fogerthorpe', (that he had purchased from the Clarkson brothers in 1845) This had 30 acres under cultivation with a brick two-story house. Also, the large parcel of land on the other side of the river at Belmont. This consisted of 916 acres with the Perth to Guildford Road running across it. He eventually sold the Fogerthorpe property, on the Peninsula, to R.H. Hardey. The Rowland family was now fully established in the Victoria District. |
By 1883, the Dongara community members felt a church for Methodists, separate from Greenough, was badly needed. So a meeting was called, presided over by Rev. Thomas Bird to discuss ways and means. As a result, Messrs F. Pearse, E. W. Clarkson, R. Pettit, J. Turtin, D. Branch, W. H. Linthorne, Richard Rowland Snr., Richard Rowland Jnr. and Frederick Waldeck were called to form a building committee. |
At the time of Elizabeth's death, there were four daughters, four sons, over forty-five grandchildren, and numerous great grandchildren, surviving Richard and Elizabeth.
Since their death, their descendants - The Rowlands' of W.A. have slowly spread throughout the state, and across Australia, with the surname continuing to appear regularly in the birth registers of this nation. |