An eventful journey for early Collie settlers 10 COLLIE RIVER VALLEY BULLETIN, FEBRUARY 23, 2023
MUSEUM MORSELS Contributor: TOM REARDON THE Western Australian Passenger Arrivals Index of 1839 – 1890 contains details of 27,907 immigrants, including convicts and their guards, who arrived in Western Australia from the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia and other ports in Australia. Two of these arrivals were destined to become some of the original settlers in Collie. They were Mary Jane Brandis
Mary Jane Brandis.
and Absolom Bickley. Mary Jane Brandis was born in Birmingham on October 8, 1848, to William John and Charlotte Brandis. Four years later, the family made the decision to immigrate to Western Australia. The family boarded the windjammer “Palestine” and after a voyage of 180-odd days, arrived at Rockingham with most of the pioneers travelling on to Perth in bullock wagons. Unfortunately, three months after their arrival, Mary Jane’s father drowned in the Swan River. In 1854 her mother married John Browning. Five years earlier in Nottingham, Absolom Bickley was born to Absolom and Sarah Bickley. Life took a very different path for Absolom, for in July, 1863, he was convicted of robbery with violence, and his penalty was transportation to Australia. A newspaper report of the day reads: “Absolom Bickley, 19, trimmer, George Jones, 21, labourer, Thomas Parr, 41 lace-maker, and John Green, 32, watch-maker, were charged with assaulting and robbing William Henry Henson of two shillings ($0.20) and a gold watch valued at £18 ($36) on February 26, 1863.” Absolom was sentenced to 20 years in prison. It appears that in the interim from July, 1863 to May, 1865, he, with others, was held on hulks in the river at Woolidge (Woolich), fed well and sent out to work to build them up in readiness for their voyage to Australia. Absolom, now aged 21 and known as convict number 8218, embarked on the convict ship “Racehorse”. This 1077 ton ship was built in Jersey in 1853. It was employed as a convict transport for Western Australia and left Portland, England on May 26, 1865, bound for the Swan River Colony. The ship carried the 32nd of 37 shipments of male convicts destined for Western Australia. The voyage took 76 days and the “Racehorse” arrived in Fremantle on August 10, 1865 with 172 passengers and 278 convicts. On board, the space forward of the bulkhead was for
The convict ship 'Racehorse,' then known as the 'Matilde Wattenbach,' painted at the time of her launch 1853. convicts and the only access was through a small iron studded door. It allowed one convict at a time and they almost had to crawl on hands and knees. Convicts were given individual numbers which were stencilled on the back and under each breast pocket of their coats. Odd numbers were allowed on deck at one time and even numbers for the next period. Remarkably, it has been reported that only two convicts lost their lives on the voyage. Up until 1880, many changes took place for both these pioneers. Mary Jane married George Bagshaw (Backshall in some documents) in 1862. Records of her baptism show that she was baptised in Combroke, Warwickshire in 1848 while census records show that she was two years old when the 1851 census was taken. If these records were accurate, it would make her 14 or 15 when she married. Mary Jane had her first child in 1865 with three more children following in 1866, 1867 and 1868. Her husband passed away in 1869. In 1870, Mary Jane married Bernard Leonard and a son resulted from that union. Sadly, Bernard passed away in 1873. This chain of events led to a marriage with Henry Cooper in 1874 at Greenough. Their wedded bliss lasted less than three years before Henry passed away while Mary Jane was carrying their second child. It was then that Absolom came into her life. In the meantime, Absolom was given a ticket of leave in 1874. This meant that he could leave prison providing he could support himself, attend church on Sunday and report to a magistrate once a week. Absolom eventually made his way north and met Mary Jane. It seems they were married within a year of the death of Henry Cooper. Absolom worked on the construction of the Geraldton to Northampton railway line from August 1878 to February 1879. It would appear that Absalom and Mary Jane lived in the Fremantle area for a number of years because three sons were born there in 1879, 1881 and 1883 before the fourth son was born in Geraldton in 1888. Absolom was granted a full pardon on August 25, 1885. After their fourth son was born in Geraldton in 1888, birth records suggest that they were back in Fremantle for the birth of two more sons. Tragedy struck in February, 1888 when Caroline - Mary Jane’s daughter to Henry Cooper - was killed in a quarry
while delivering lunch to Absolom. The family moved south as Absolom worked on many of the railway projects. This brought the family to Collie with the construction of various lines in the area after the Brunswick Junction to Colliefields line was complete. Mary Jane followed Absolom wherever he went, living in tents at the railway campsites.
Absolom Bickley.
With many of her 13 children in tow, Mary Jane was often the general cook at these camps. On various occasions she supplied the refreshments when Sir John Forrest made official visits to the railway camps in which the Bickleys were residing. The family resided in Collie until they moved to Bunbury in 1911, except for a short stay at a railway construction camp at Greenbushes around 1906. Absolom died on March 13, 1916 when two of his sons were serving in the War overseas. He is buried in the Bunbury cemetery. Mary Jane moved to Fremantle and passed away there at the age of 91 on July 21,1934 in Palmyra. She was buried in the Fremantle cemetery. Mary Jane was the mother of 13 children, nine of whom were living when she passed away. The eldest was Mr Alfred Bagshaw of Walkaway, who was 73 in January, 1934. Thirty-seven grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren survived her. The Bickley extended family were the “salt of the earth” and contributed an unsung legacy to the history of Collie and the development of Western Australia. As the researchers at the Coalfields Museum and Historical Research Centre delve deeper into the list of pioneers, more remarkable stories of dedication, courage and endurance will emerge. Collie needs to pay tribute to its remarkable pioneers.
