Malcolm (Cr) William
| Type of person | Individual |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 31 July 1841 |
| Place of birth | Adelaide |
| Principal occupation | Manager of Victoria Mills |
| Date of death | 1888 |
William Malcolm was a resident of Gawler during 1865 until 1887. He worked as manager of the Victoria Mill. Malcolm also served as a Councillor on the Gawler Council, elected in 1877 to 1878 as Councillor for South Ward.. Malcolm was asked to stand as Mayor of Gawler but declined to pursue an interest in Ostrich Farming.
William was born in Adelaide on 31 July 1841. His father Alexander Malcolm owned the Black Bull Hotel (Princes Berkeley) and his mother was Mary nee Kelly. By the year 1862 William was a miller in Reynella. He married Mary Jane Pool (18 years) on March 4 and a daughter was born on December 5. In 1863-1864 he was connected, with the Allendale Mills near Kapunda. His wife Mary died at the age 20 years at Gawler on April 18, 1865. By January 1866, William, was the manager of the Victoria Mill, Gawler which comprised most of the land encompassed by Jacob, Cameron, Tod, and Dundas Streets.
He was chairman of a meeting of the Gawler Agricultural Society held on October 6, 1866. William remarried on 28 November 1866 to Miss Alice Mary Roberts at the residence of her father in North Adelaide, and on the 22 December 1866 he addressed the Presbyterian Young Men’s Christian Association and continued with an involvement with this association over a number of years.
The mill was badly, damaged by a fire in June 1867 and on the 21 September 1867, the foundation stone was laid by Master D W Duffield, William Malcolm, overseer and manager of the Victoria & Union Mills, supervised the erection of the new mill in Bassett Town.
On the 18 May 1870, William, was a steward at the athletic sports meeting.
On the 20 April 1872 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace.
October 1872 William placed entries into the Gawler Agricultural Society Show and won prizes for duck eggs, duck and drake, goose, and gander.
He exhibited, at Kapunda, in April 1873 a collection of gold bearing quartz from his Lady Alice Mine in the Barossa diggings. On the 3 May, 1873 he formed a mining company and was one of the five directors and in July of that same year he held a meeting at Kapunda to form a mining company for Malcolm’s Barossa mine where copper had been found. And again, in the same year he was part of deputation to the Commissioner of Public works for a road to be built to the Barossa goldfields.
At the Gawler Agricultural Society show, October 1876, he was a judge of agricultural products and as an entrant won prizes for ferns, Brahmapootra cock, gander and goose, duck and drake, buggy and pair driven in harness, cow for dairy, in calf or in milk, and a sow. William continued to enter and win prizes over coming years until he left the district. Another serious fire at the Victoria Mill in 1876 required extensive new construction which was supervised by William and in February 1877 it was re-opened. During this period, William, opened mills at Peterborough, Crystal Brook, and Port Broughton. The Peterborough mill was laying idle by 1886.
In October 1877 he presided over a meeting to consider increased rail-charges and general maintenance. It appears that William like to make speeches and did so often, they were always lengthy orations. He was actively and verbally trying to get something done about the Gawler water supply and in June of 1878 was part of a deputation to the Government about this.
In June 1879 he sailed on the ship ‘Annie Braginton’ to Capetown, South Africa to buy some ostriches and arranged for 4 to be sent to South Australia of which 3 died on the voyage. The fourth ostrich had a number, of fertile eggs. He gave lectures at Gawler and Kapunda on South Africa and ostrich farming. By June 1881 the ostrich farm, ‘Hilton’, four miles from Gawler, was completed and James Rankin was in charge. Some birds were sent to Mr.Bignell at Port Augusta. In 1882 the Governor of South Australia visited the ‘Hilton’ property at Gawler. The farms flourished until June 1887 when the industry collapsed due to changes in fashion as there was no call for feathers. A special act of Parliament was passed to encourage ostrich farms in drier areas of South Australia, sometimes called the Malcolm Act, as he spent a lot of effort pressuring politicians on this matter. Duffield & Co and the Adelaide Milling & Mercantile Co merged (the name Duffield was then dropped from the company name). William was a director until June 1884 when he left to begin business on his own.
28 July 1883 – He was appointed to the Adelaide International Exhibition committee. September 1883 – Judged pigs at the Gawler Show. He was President of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). Established “Lincolnfields” in the Hundred of Wiltunga which he was in possession of for 16 years.
14 September 1883 purchased land at Tickera. 26 Jul 1884 – was part of a deputation to the government for a railway line from Peterborough to Silverton. August 1884 – Advertised - to let his land at Tickera. October 1884 – Made a proposition to the Queensland government to establish an ostrich farm in the dry areas there 1884-1885 – Reports of him being ill and confined to bed but he was about again by the end of March. He had been superintendent of the Baptist Sunday School for some time but had to resign in October due to ill health.
May 1885 – Advertising – Was advertising for hay, he had chaff mills and wheat stores, was a shipping agent, stock agent, miller, and general merchant. 17 December 1885 – Insolvency – A meeting of creditors was held.
March 1886 – Insolvency Court – causes of insolvency were – his severe illness, depressed trade, depreciation in property and value of merchandise, failure of harvest, losses in mining, calls on the union reef mining company shares (Silverton?) – now in liquidation. It was noted that he had very few debts before 1885. Properties and interests auctioned February and March 1886. 1887 – He was asked to stand for parliamentary election for Stanley. He addressed electors in Snowtown, Redhill, Blythe, Clare, Rochester, Mintaro, Spalding, Yacka, Koolunga, Mundoora, Port Broughton, and Tickera. He withdrew to ill health. 1888 – He was growing good fruit at “Lincolnfields” He died on 1 November 1888 aged 47 years and was buried at Lincolnfield under pine trees. The stock etc. was auctioned on the 26 January 1889.
Frederick May purchased “Sunnybrae”
Lady Alice Mine in the Barossa goldfields was named after his wife.
His brother James was mayor of Wallaroo.
William was the first South Australian born to lecture in the Adelaide Town Hall.
Children of William Malcolm Jane (Jeanie) Malcolm daughter of his first wife, who was born 5 December 1862 at Gawler West, on 23 May 1884 she married Frank Allwork at Sunny Brae, the home of William Malcolm, Gawler West.
Douglas Malcolm (2nd Wife) was born 16 September 1870 at Gawler West, he married Jessie Cecilia Foale on 30 Apr 1901 at Christ Church, North Adelaide. He died 28 August 1930 at Wagin, Western Australia.
Bruce Malcolm, born 27 January 1872 at Gawler West. He married Ethel May Hack on 9 January 1902 at St Peters College Chapel, Hackney
Ethel May Malcolm, born 21 September 1873, Gawler West, married Thomas Davidson on 13 March 1901 at the residence of Mrs Roberts, Largs Bay.
Cecil Bertram Malcolm, born 10 September 1879, Gawler West, died at Coolgardie, Western Australia on 9 February 1909.
Twin girls were born on 17 February 1884 – no record of birth or death registration. There was a family notice in the Bunyip newspaper on the birth of the twins.
Wife, Alice Mary Malcolm, was buried on 22 February 1884 at the Willaston Cemetery.
Prepared by the Volunteers of the National Trust Gawler Branch
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