Wesley Maley. Wesley Maley. Wesley Maley. Wesley Maley. Wesley Maley. Wesley Maley. Wesley Maley. Wesley Maley.
From “The Cyclopedia of Western Australia 1912”
Wesley Maley was a South Australian from Adelaide, where he was born on July 5, 1857. He was a son of John Maley, a well-known agriculturist of South Australia and one of the early pioneers of the mining industry in Victoria when he moved to the mainland from Tasmania in 1843. He had previously been associated in business pursuits with Messrs. Lassiter and Silcott (gentlemen of repute in the Apple Island), and with Mr. Samuel Winch, with whom he had carried on a general contracting business on terms of partnership.
Hounsome Homestead
JOHN MALEY
Mr. John Maley was a Londoner, although his family hailed originally from the west of Ireland, where its members were recognised as among the old aristocratic Irish stock where several of the well-to-do landowners of Connaught in the Western Province of Ireland, bearing the same name.
John Maley
After his arrival in South Australia, he made various investments in town lands in the Torrens Road district – now a portion of Hindmarsh. Wesley Maley’s English mother came with her parents from Hampshire to South Australia by the ship “Buckinghamshire” in 1838.
WESLEY MALEY
Wesley Maley received his education at the well-known Prince Alfred College, at Kent Town, near Adelaide, and at the conclusion of his studies, at sixteen years of age, began his working life in the office of Messrs. Robin and Le Messurier, timber merchants, commencing his training in commerce.
Wesley Maley
Three years later, however, he relinquished this job in order to take over the management of a farming property purchased by his father at Yorke Peninsula. Subsequently he sold out and joined the Civil Service of South Australia serving in a clerical capacity in the Railways Department for some considerable time.
Office life again become distasteful to him, so he resigned from the Department and acquired a property near Adelaide, which he worked until 1882 when the “call of the West” appealed to his love of adventure and which promised a more satisfying outlet for his energies. In due course he arrived at Fremantle when twenty-five years of age. Upon arrival he went into business as auctioneer and estate agent in Perth and at Albany, where he established a branch connection, and continued in this line of enterprise for over a decade.
Mr. Maley’s first selection of land in Western Australia was in Albany. This commenced the marked success of his operations in this State. In 1884, he made purchases of vacant city blocks in William and Wellington Streets, which he improved and disposed of twenty years later at a profit of over £40,000 sterling.
At that time the Katanning area was being thrown open for selection and settlement. Mr. Maley was among the first applicants for a block of land in the district and, although he did not immediately take up residence here, he applied himself assiduously to developing the property whilst also attending to the demands of his numerous other interests. As a result, “Hounsome” took its place among the most highly improved, most picturesque, and up-to-date homesteads of the time, not only on the great southern line, but even in the whole State of Western Australia.
The property, which comprised 3,000 acres, was one of the three pastoral and agricultural holdings owned by Mr. Maley in the great southern districts, which together covered an area of 10,000 acres. The other two were “The Levels,” a block of about 2,000 acres, being situated 20 miles due west from “Hounsome,” and “Mokup Hills” Estate, 5,000 acres in extent, lying 40 miles west of “The Levels.” The three properties were worked as a joint proposition of Mr. Maley and his second son, Mr. W. Eellingham Maley.
“Hounsome,” the parent estate, was favourably situated on rising ground, from portions of which could be obtained a complete panoramic view of the many undulations which distinguish this, the head of the watershed of the Beaufort, Arthur, and Blackwood Rivers.
It possessed a genial climate in addition to many natural advantages. Its fertile soils making it an ideal spot for stock-raising, and soaks and running streams provide a water supply which had been made practically secure by the construction of dams, which conserve an immense quantity of water every season.
The other two properties were equally well watered, and over all of them the ringman’s axe had been busily plied with its work of devastation, paving the way for 2,000 acres of cultivable or cultivated area. Over 50 miles of fencing had been erected at a cost of about £2O per mile, the boundary and subdivision enclosures alike being made with six plain wires.
The homestead was a model of its kind of the era and would have been hard to surpass in beauty and elegance in the whole of the rural districts of the State. It was built by Mr. Maley in 1903 and was of the modern bungalow type of architecture. The architect was Mr. W. A. Nelson, of Perth, who, in carrying out his work succeeded in producing an ideal country home, combining art with a comfortable homestead. It had a liberal quantity of oranges, apples, cherries, etc., in season, and various other vegetation could be observed in the vicinity of the house.
Coach House & Machinery Shed
Hounsome – Moojebing
The outhouses were among the finest and most modern in the great southern district. Mr. Maley had given special attention to the erection of buildings to withstand the ravages of time and in keeping with the character of the homestead and the standing of the estate in the neighbourhood. Stabling was provided for twenty-eight horses, loose boxes, etc., and nearby were the shearing shed, machinery shed and a workman’s cottage and gate lodge which were neat buildings which added to the air of habitation about the place.
Premier attention been given by Mr Maley to sheep-raising, and over 3,000 sheep were carried over the three properties, the merino type being favoured. Mr. Maley had the distinction of having been one of the first on the great southern line to import a strain of superior blood from the best flocks outside the State, chiefly from South Australia, where the reputation of the late Hon. J. H. Angas as a sheep-breeder led to the introduction of sheep from his flocks to the pastures of “Hounsome.” The ram flock began when Mr. Maley, who was an experienced studmaster, purchased “Wonder,” a champion ram from New South Wales, from which he founded and went by the name of “Wonder Romneys.”
He also imported a registered flock of ewes and rams, including several winners of prizes at the Melbourne Show. This flock was registered No. 16, Australian Flock Book for long-woolled sheep, and was the only flock registered in the first volume of the flock book as owned by a Western Australian flock-master.
The following extract is taken from the Australian Flock Book.
“Flock No. 16. This flock was established in October 1908, by the purchase of thirty ewes from Flock No. 117, N.Z.F.8., and two ewes from Mr. H. Yelland, of Newlyn, Victoria, who had purchased them from Flock No. 1, Vol. 1., N.Z.F.B. The sires purchased were ‘Wonder,’ bred by Mr. S. S. Hunt, of ‘Huntleigh,’ Evans Plains, N.S.W., and ‘Admiral Sperry and nine other rams, bred by Mr. A. E. T. Payne, of ‘Yarra View’ in Victoria. ‘Admiral Sperry’ was by ‘Frederick the Great’ out of ‘Eve’ No. 12.” From this, Romney Marsh flock sheep have been picked repeatedly by the Government of Java for the improvement of the strain bred on that Island.
The wools from both the merino and Romney Marsh flocks were sent to London, where high prices were realized, “Hounsome” being always in the van in this respect; and rams from the “Hounsome” stud were available for purchase at that time.”
About a hundred horses were run on the estate, principally of the heavy hackney type, which were considered by Mr. Maley to be the best suited for light farm work. For years Mr. Maley had made a careful study of horse-breeding, and among his hackneys could be found descendants of the purest blood of the class in England. The imported champion hackney stallion, “Matchless Matthias,” sired some of his most promising stock, while other splendid strains, such as “The Danegelt,” “The Shales,” “Messenger,” and “Lord Derby II.” were also represented in the mob.
PARLIAMENTARY CAREER
Mr. Maley made his first entry into public life soon after his arrival in Western Australia, being elected a member of the Albany Municipal Council in 1883; and subsequently he played a prominent part in the agitation for responsible government. He was the first president of the Australian Natives’ Association in the State, and whilst holding that office he convened a meeting which was held in the Perth Town Hall for the purpose of invoking the assistance of the Eastern States to take federal action and through their respective Agents-General to force the hand of the Imperial authorities to grant responsible government to Western Australia.
State parliament biographical register
Considerable influence was exerted by means of this great gathering, which was regarded as one of the historical meetings of the period and played an important part towards the attainment of the desired end. At the time that the Federation of the Australian States hung in the balance. Mr. Maley was a strong supporter for the movement in Western Australia and was selected by the advocates for an Australian Commonwealth to oppose Mt. F. T. Crowder – an opponent of Federation at the time, for the Legislative Council in the State Parliament. He defeated Mr. Crowder, after a strenuous contest, and held the seat for over nine years, when he resigned in order to contest the Albany electorate in the Legislative Assembly at the request of the Liberal electors of that constituency. On this occasion he failed to secure a majority of votes and did not attempt to re-enter the political arena.
Mr Maley was a man of wide interests, and in addition to his landed property in the great southern districts had large interests in metropolitan real estate, and at Albany, Geraldton, and elsewhere. He was made a life member of the Hackney Horse Society of London, and a member of the Australian Long-wool Sheep Breeders’ Association, the Pastoralists’ Association of Western Australia, and the Royal Agricultural Society.
Mr. Maley was married in 1879 to Carolina Henrietta Addison, daughter of Henry Bellingham, the first president of the Adelaide Stock Exchange, and a notable figure in commercial circles in Adelaide in earlier days. Mrs. Maley was a sister of Mr. George Bellingham, for many years a member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia. Of this marriage there were three sons and two daughters.
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THE WANTS OF MOOJEBING.
Western Mail,
Perth – Friday 15 November 1895
(From a correspondent.)
A public meeting of residents in the vicinity of Moojebing was held at the residence of M. K. William Andrews on November 2nd. It was well attended, and in consequence an adjournment was made to the large brick barn. Mr. Wesley Maley presided and explained why the meeting bad been convened. Moojebing was, he said, the centre of rich agricultural lands, the property of the Government, and being situated on the Great Southern Railway, some eight miles from Katanning, was eminently suitable for a town.
Wesley Maley
Parliamentary Photo
It would not interfere with the already established town of Katanning, but instead of being a rival, as some supposed it would be, it would help to feed the larger town, as farmers who were now weary of carting their produce over some eight to sixteen miles of hills to Katanning would be able to forward it thither by rail and spend this time now employed on the road in developing the resources of the district.
The. townsite had been surveyed by the Government, and he believed the Government would be only too willing to meet them in respect of their modest requests. He advised that the Government be approached respectfully, and with reasonable requests based on thoroughly sound grounds.
He was only surprised that in view of the wonderful energy shown by the farmers a special vote of money had not been made for the Katanning agricultural area, of which Moojebing is the centre, but the supposed the farmers in the neighbourhood had been too self-reliant. The time had arrived when something must be done.
Mr. W. Andrews proposed that a position be presented to Mr. J. A. Wright, praying for a siding to be put in at Moojebing. Mr. T. Haddleton seconded. It was pointed out that those present owned and occupied nearly 8,000 acres (3237.5 ha) of land and had already grown a large quantity some hundreds of tons of produce, which, if sent to Coolgardie under existing arrangements, would require first to be carted eight miles (13km) to Katanning and then taken by rail eight miles back to Moojebing in order to reach the site of the proposed siding. The motion was carried unanimously.
Messrs. A. Stewart and E. Higgins were appointed to select the site. It was resolved, on the motion of Messrs. E. Higgins and A. B. Newton, that a requisition be presented to the Premier for a separate Roads Board for Moojebing, to embrace some 70 square miles (181.3 sq km) of country.
Mr. H. Hynes urged the establishment of a post office at Moojebing, this was supported by Mr. Newton and it was decided to prepare a requisition for signature. Mr. Patterson proposed that the mail from Katanning to Cronin’s be discontinued in favour of one from Moojebing via Cartmeticup to Cronin’s. The meeting unanimously agreed to this.
Mr. Carlson, who resides on the Company’s land, said the proposed change would suit his neighbourhood better than the present arrangement. Mrs. J. Day was recommended as postmistress, she having consented to act temporarily.
Mr. Day proposed that the unsurveyed portion of Moojebing townsite north of the railway be declared a commonage, and this was agreed to. It was also decided to petition the Katanning Roads Board to clear Trimmer Road so as to give access to Moojebing.
The delay of the Government in providing school accommodation was criticised, but the meeting was of opinion that the proposed school for Moojebing would be provided shortly, and it was decided to wait a little longer. Messrs. Andrews, Haddleton and the chairman were appointed a committee to draft the above-mentioned requisitions, and it was decided to form a deputation to the Premier to consist of the same gentlemen, with Mr. F. H. Piesse, M.L.A.
The meeting, which was very orderly and enthusiastic, closed with votes of thanks to Mr. Andrews and the chairman.
Moojebing, November 5.
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