Early
settlers
To form an accurate picture of the uniqueness of the Bremer River, the Wellstead Estuary, the catchment and the community, it is important to take a step back and look at how Bremer Bay has grown. In particular, to look at the early farming practices of the area and understand the values that the community held then and now for the river and its estuary.
Perhaps one of the greatest historical stories of the Bremer River is of how the area was first settled. John Wellstead (Senior), originally of Sussex, England, came to Western Australia as a private in the 51st Regiment via Hobart and disembarked in Fremantle. He was taken to York and was finally stationed at Kojonup where he went looking for land and ending up in Albany. He ran the first mail run from Albany to Perth and on one trip met his wife Mary Ann (nee Crawford). They were the first to be married at the newly consecrated St John's Church in Albany, which John helped build (Thomas, 1972).
In 1848, after looking for grazing country, John Wellstead (Senior) heard of an area with good, open-grazing country and adequate water. He made a track to the Bremer Bay area and was so impressed that he went back with stock in 1849. The first cottage was built at Peppermint Grove in October 1850 and John's wife and children came to live there some time in the 1860s (Thomas, 1972). John Wellstead (Snr) had to take freehold purchase and further leases on his properties due to the Lands Act in 1875. The Wellstead family were almost self-sufficient but traded with the locally-owned schooners that frequented the coastal bays.
Born in 1854, John Wellstead (Junior) was the eldest son of John and Mary Ann Wellstead's thirteen children. John (Junior) married Bridget Muir and lived at Wattle Grove, Bremer Bay where they also had thirteen children - eleven sons and two daughters. Over the years, the Wellstead's have moved further from Bremer Bay through marriage and employment, however, it remains the home-ground for many of the descendants of John Wellstead (Senior). William, son of John (Junior) and Bridget Wellstead, lived and worked on the Wellstead's Bremer Bay property, Peppermint Grove. He and his wife Grace (nee Garnet) had three children, James, William Max and Valerie (Thomas, 1972).
Mr Max Wellstead (William Max) lives in the original large stone house
built by his great grandfather, John Wellstead (Senior). William and Grace's
children were born in Gnowangerup where the Garnet family farmed.
The children were brought to live at the Wellstead's Bremer Bay
property, Peppermint Grove as infants. Max's farm is the land purchased
in the 1870s. Max has lived and farmed the land purchased by the
Wellstead's in the 1870s all his life, with the exception of his schooling
years at Gnowangerup, Langhall (at Broomehill) and Katanning.
Athol and Jess Jury
Athol and Jess Jury, who are in their eighties, live in Bremer Bay where
they have some of the most breath taking views of the Bremer River
and the Wellstead Estuary from their backyard. Athol is originally from
Katanning and first came to visit the Bremer Bay area at the age of ten
which is when he first saw the ocean. Athol and Jess farmed in Nyabing
and came to Bremer Bay for a twelve month's break in 1958 and later retired
there in 1964.
Mick Aggiss
Mick Aggiss was born in England in 1924 and was three years old when
his family decided to migrate to Australia. His father was involved in
the group settlement scheme which operated throughout the South West
forest. When this finished Mick worked for a farmer in Kondinin and
later moved to farm a 1700-acre block in Karlgarin which is still in the
family today.
Mick first came to Bremer Bay in 1954. In
those days, coming from Karlgarin, they
(families and friends) would go down
a track past Maringarup and
Quaalup out to Doubtful Islands
where they would camp and fish.
They would come into Bremer
for supplies and to go fishing
off of the beach.
Mick took on his own farm at Karlgarin after
four years in the Army and in 1975, retired with
his wife Valerie and left the farms to their two sons. Mick
and Val had different ideas about where they would like to retire
so they made their base Bremer Bay while they were making
up their minds. Theytravelled throughout the state and were
tossing up between Albany, Esperance, Hopetoun and, of course, Bremer
Bay. After seeing all of the options and experiencing the extremes of
weather in Western Australia, they decided to settle in Bremer Bay and
bought a block in Bennett Street.
John Fregon
John Fregon is originally form Mildura, Victoria, and was born and
raised on the Murray River. John arrived in Western Australia in 1954
and worked on stations until 1957 when, as part of the group settlement
scheme, he purchased a condemned, war service dairy farm in
Northcliffe. He later moved to the Bremer Bay area in 1967 to a
`conditional purchase' block on Devils Creek Road. John now lives and
works on the property with his son Rodney and his family. The property
borders the Bremer River on the eastern side but it does not flow through
the property.
Alice Thomas
Alice Thomas, who came to Australia in 1923 when she was very young,
grew up in Borden. She first went to Bremer Bay when she was six year
old and from then it became a frequent holiday destination for her
family. Alice's father was a blacksmith who also carted wool and wheat.
Alice can recall family trips to Bremer and how they would sleep in
tents and on the back of her father's truck.
In the early thirties Alice's mother bought two blocks of land on Bennett
Street and Alice and her husband were given one in the 1940's. They
built a shack in 1956 to accommodate the family during holidays and
later built onto to it to create the home it is today. Alice worked in
Gnowangerup as a nurse up until 1950 and then again from 1970 to
1975 when there was a shortage. Bremer was the number one holiday
spot in their family for summer holidays and other breaks throughout
the year. In 1961, Alice was allocated a block approximately 20
kilometres out of town, where she later went to live permanently in
1975/6.
