Whaling was his Station in Life

BY LLOYD GORMAN

IF PADDY HART WAS ONE OF THE LAST OF HIS KIND IN AUSTRALIA’S 178 YEAR HISTORY OF WHALING THEN ANOTHER IRISHMAN WAS ONE OF THE FIRST. PATRICK MARMION WAS ONE OF WA’S EARLIEST AND MOST ENTERPRISING SETTLERS.

A native of Downpatrick, Ireland the 26 year old arrived in the Swan River Colony in 1841 seeking adventure and fortune. He settled in Fremantle and worked as a clerk, as he had done in Ireland. But before too long the energetic and ambitious young man was branching out into new ventures. He became a shareholder in two mining companies – including the very to be set up in Western Australia. In 1849 he was the licence for the Commercial Hotel and in 1852 for the Emerald Isle Hotel, where the Orient Hotel now stands.

These and his other commercial interests were typical of the business dealings followed by so many at the time as they eagerly worked to build their wealth, reputation and position in the fledgling colony. It was his interest in the whaling that set him apart. Two whaling companies were set up in Fremantle in 1837, helping to develop the sector that has been called WA’s first industry. In 1848 Marmion got the license to operate of them and he assumed the soubriquet of ‘Master Whaler’. However, when he lost the licence in the following year he petitioned the Governor – Captain Charles Fitzgerald born in Co. Clare in 1791 – for the right to establish a completely new whaling station in the area now known as Sorrento, in the present day City of Joondalup. Patrick Marmion’s great-great-great grandson Bill Marmion (former Liberal member for Nedlands) told Irish Scene that the Governor fast tracked his request, so much so that he approved it in a single day, something which caught out his ancestor by surprise. The would be whaler had to wait three months for the building materials he needed to arrive from England. In any case a shore whaling station was built on a site of ten acres of leased crown land at the coastal location in 1849. Smaller rowing boats would set out from the shore station and chase passing whales as they migrated to Monto Bello Island, west of Dampier. When they caught and killed their prey the small boats would tow the bodies back to shore for processing. The station operated until 1852 when it closed permanently, possibly as a result of reduced whale numbers and a shortage of men with the necessary skills as huge numbers of working men opted to try their luck and follow the gold rush to Victoria. The station lay empty and abandoned for decades but it retained a useful function. Its large brick chimney was a helpful navigation point for passing vessels. Maps and charts up until the late 1930’s document it as ‘Marmion’s Chimney’. An oral history interview with a local resident carried out by Joondalup council recalled that ‘substantial parts of the ruin’ cold still be seen there during World War II and until the site (just south of the Sorrento Surf Life Saving Club) was finally demolished in 1953.Just four years after his whaling station closed Patrick Marmion died. He was married to his wife – Charlotte Stone from Limerick – on his death bed. Bill Marmion said that the legality of their wedding day was questioned because of the amount of drink

the priest had on him for the ceremony. In order to avoid any potentially embarrassing issues for their son William Edward – who would go on to become a successful merchant and member of parliament (MLC Fremantle 1872-1890) – tied the knot again just to be sure scandal would not ensue. His widow continued on the licence of the Emerald Isle where she employed five ticket-of-Leave men between 1857 and 1866. She died in June 1869.The Marmion family suspects, but has no hard proof, that Marmion, who was a generous donor to the Church, was also sympathetic to the Fenian cause of John Boyle O’Reilly and his comrades and may well have been involved in some way in their escapes (on whaling ships).If his whaling station was eventually swallowed up by time and progress Marmion’s legacy is not entirely forgotten. A plaque erected on a limestone rock in Geneff Park, Sorrento in 1970 by the City of Wanneroo is still there. A second memorial to him was erected by Joondalup council, near the entrance of the Sorrento Beach carpark in 1998.The Odyssey sculpture (created by artist Albie Herbert) is a 2.5 metre totemic cement sculpture with scenes from the old whaling station carved out on panels. The nearby suburb of Marmion and Marmion Avenue are named after him. ☘ Above: The ‘Odyssey’ at Sorrento remembers the areas association while the Patrick Marmion Memorial can also be found in the nearby Padbury Circle, Geneff Park

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