Shep's Place Family Tree

Willie had a head of hair,
his Ma's delight, his Pa's despair.
Brush and comb it how you would,
it bolt upright stalwart stood.

In extreme old age, as E.M.S. recalls him, he was a twin to Santa Claus in appearance with snow white, overlong hair and flowing beard, his eyes still a bright blue and he remained quite tall and upright, his complexion not at all weathered. His beard had never been shaved off from when it first appeared in his late teens. His education must have been of the sketchy variety as he was working at the home farm when quite young. He was the only son to miss attending the Hahndorf Academy and to the end of his long life he remained resentful of this omission.

While the brothers moved away eventually from "Westbrook Farm", Will remained. He first appeared in the state Directory in 1872 when aged 20 as "farmer. near Mt. Barker". In that year his father was "A. Wilson, farmer. Hundred of Macclesfield". He had not called himself "gentleman" that time, but the sons farmed, he just looked on. In 1887 Will took John Lang Tonkin ‎(born 23 Sep 1873 at Mt. Barker)‎ into his employ. Jack as he was always known, was aged 14 and was to remain with Will for most of his life thereafter.

In attempting to trace the fate of Horace in the Mt. Barker Police records, E.M.S. came across a William Wilson arrested for drunkenness and riotous behaviour at Mt. Barker on 29 Oct 1883, an overnight gaoling, and a good breakfast and he was sent home, so said the Police Day Book. Riotous behaviour in a public place was hardly Will, so no doubt it was "another fellow". Another entry, more in keeping, was "W.A. Wilson. 31 Dec 1886, Constable Barber left Mt. Barker Station ‎(on horse back of course)‎ to inform W.A. Wilson that his tender for supplying hay and straw for the police horses for 1887 had been accepted. The distance travelled - 8 miles". On 12 Jan 1887, contract for forage to W.A. Wilson renewed. On 14 Apr 1887 - 1 ton 2 cwts. of hay supplied. I did not pursue any further.
Two years later. in 1889. his widowed brother Edward and young family went to live at "Westbrook Farm", at the invitation of their mother Ellen. Will's methods were not Edwards and they disagreed and being superceded after so many years was more than Will could take. so he left home and leased some land about a mile away farming for himself with Jack Tonkin as his helper. A lease No. 322168 was registered at Lands Titles Section 3728 for 7 years from 25 Mar 1898 from Marianna Sophia Hagen. The end of the lease brings the time to 1905 though family members years ago gave the year Will left Mt. Barker as 1903. Also registered was a section transfer no. 393006 from W.A. Wilson to James Grist Masters of Echunga, date 17 Nov 1903. So he apparently worked two leased sections.

Will was always going to do things "one day" and this included getting married but by the time he got to the point of deciding to propose the girl would have married someone else. Procrastination was his second name. He continued to farm for himself "near Mt. Barker" until after Ellen, his mother, died in 1901. He made visits to the city from time to time, the new railway being so convenient and he was able to continue by that transport to the seaside suburb of Grange to visit his sister Marion Lakeman and her daughters. He invariably took small gifts, sweets for the children ‎(a rare treat)‎, farm produce and once a finely constructed cherrywood cage he had made with miniature white doves, to their delight.

The share of his mother's estate, together with his savings enabled him to purchase land "near Naracoorte" for which the purchase price is not now known. Sections 9 and 10, 360 acres in the Hundred of Naracoorte County Robe. This was part of the original Naracoorte Station developed by Thomas Magary, M.P. in the southeast of S.A. some 200 miles from Adelaide. To move there, apparently in 1905, Will travelled overland by buggy with a pair of Shetland ponies with Jack Tonkin following in a spring dray with their goods and chattels, their farm implements and sundries. They built some "tin" ‎(i.e. galvanized iron)‎ rooms for living quarters. and happily set about building up a farm, including a very large and quite splendid stone barn.

Then sister Edith ‎(Maude)‎ arrived to house keep. The tin rooms were given over to her, the men removed to the barn. Will did not want Maude. Maude stayed, believing it to be her duty to see that the men were well fed and cared for. Later, Will put down foundations for a sizeable house of seven main rooms. He built the back three solidly of stone. He never got round to completing the remainder. The farm was on rich land and should have brought him a comfortable fortune had he not spent so much time on his beloved horses which one by one were retired to graze contentedly and not required to work until there were 30 aged but healthy. There was a quarry on his land where earlier the stone for the Kingston railway had been obtained. There were also a great many rabbits upon which Will waged constant war. It was a mixed farm of crops sheep. cattle, pigs, a dairy herd and of course the pampered horses.

Maude and William had many an altercation with Jack Tonkin looking on amused. He left only twice. He was in Western Australia when something of an exodus from South Australia took place, but returned home to the Wilsons and "Brooklyn" as they named the property. They had been his "family" for so long, but to the end of his life he called them, very respectfully, Mr. and Miss Wilson and remained very much the family retainer though always sharing their dining room. He enlisted in the 1st A.I.F., serving in France, and was badly wounded so that always afterwards he walked with a profound limp.

E.M.S. recalls visiting her great aunt and uncle in 1933. There had been phenomenal rains and for endless miles the country was flooded as seen from the train and horse and buggy that conveyed her, her mother and sister out to "Brooklyn". She viewed Jack Tonkin without enthusiasm ‎(she was aged 13)‎ and his long reddish walrus moustache, so fashionable in his youth. It dipped into his soup into which he had crumbled a slice of bread with one crush from his hand, and with a noise hard to describe he drew the ends into his mouth to wring out the last savoury drops. She was revolted, and Jack divining this, with china blue eyes twinkling, redoubled the effort. A grateful Government provided a pension of 7 shillings and 6 pence per week, and with his salary of 15 shillings paid by Will ‎(when he thought of it)‎ he managed quite well as housing, food and clothing were provided.

In 1935 at the age of 84 Will decided that he was ready to retire, and he put his property on the market. I am not sure of what became of the horses. So Will sold his 360 acres and part dwelling for 1275 pounds on 19 Mar 1936 to Colin Henry Williams who in due course built the rest of the house, using the forlorn foundations of about 30 years bareness.

Maude was 9 years the junior of William and Jack Tonkin was 63. At Adelaide Will found a house he considered suitable for the three of them at suburban Reade Park, later to be absorbed into Colonel Light Gardens. The house of five rooms had few modern amenities, a wood stove in the kitchen, open fire place in the dining/sitting room, and a bathroom with chip heater, unknown at "Brooklyn", where baths were in a large tin tub in front of a fire. They continued amicably, pleased to welcome visiting relatives doing less and less as years passed. Will, once when he suffered a bad cold, found a proprietary line of medicine of benefit, in fact continued with more and more bottles long after he had recovered, until he was buying whole cases of the stuff. Jack became alarmed when Will began seeing snakes invading the house and set about destroying them. Jack reported to relatives, a doctor was called in, the cough mixture produced, and the medical man, familiar with the brand, pronounced that the contents were highly alcoholic. End of the addiction saw the end of the snakes.

Will had a happy knack of spoonerism. For instance a business firm with whom he dealt was named Cooks and Brooker. Invariably he address them as Crooks and Booker. On that 1933 visit he told E.M.S. of his visit on holiday to Sydney in 1903 which shocked him profoundly because the women bathing at Bondi Beach didn't wear enough to cover a postage stamp. One wonders how he would have viewed a Bikini!

Inevitably age took its toll and Will was taken to the Memorial Hospital at North Adelaide where he died the day after his 93rd birthday. It was April 1945 and a world war of which he had taken little note, was drawing to a close in Europe. He had made a will, and appointed Farmer's Co-operative Executors and Trustees Limited to see to his affairs. There was a Trust Fund to provide for Maude, the house to remain hers until her death when it was to go to the eldest Lakeman niece, always a favourite, and legacies, amounts varying, to Eunice Marion Lakeman, 665 pounds 16 shillings, to Olive Muriel Gibson ‎(nee Lakeman)‎ 600 pounds and to Violet Maude Stevenson ‎(nee Lakeman)‎ 500 pounds 12 shillings, all without the death duty tax then in force. Contents of the house, furniture and ornaments to go also to E.M. Lakeman. So passed a gentle old man, of much kindness and nothing worse than a temporary addiction to cough syrup.