Name: William John Merritt

Date of Birth: 28th December 1877

Birth Location: Port Pirie, South Australia

Also Known As: Bill, Will, Billy

Age at Burial: 55 years

Date of Death: 31st January 1933

Death Location: Forestry Observation Station, Cundinup, Western Australia

Date of Burial: 1st February 1933

Denomination: Congregation

Row/Grave: Congregational & Presbyterian section. Row 2 Grave # 13

Grave Transcription:

In Loving Memory OF

WILLIAM JOHN.

BELOVED HUSBAND OF

1. MERRITT.

DIED 31st JAN. 1933

AGED 55 YEARS.

THOUGH LOST TO SIGHT.

TO MEMORY EVER DEAR.

ERECTED BY HIS LOVING WIFE AND FAMILY

Father: William Angus Merritt 1854 – 1919

Mother: Mary Frances Brown (aka Coates) 1862 – 1941

Grandparents (father): John Merritt 1818 – 1858 and Elizabeth Figg 1820 – 1876

Grandparents (mother): Charles Henry Coates 1840 – 1878 and Betsy Brown 1839 – 1876

Siblings:

Elizabeth Anne (Annie) Merritt, born 2nd November 1879 at Port Pirie, South Australia. Died 9th September 1943 at Rainbow, Victoria.

Arthur Henry Merritt, born 13th December 1881 at Clear Lake, Victoria. Died 5th December 1946 at Bunbury, Western Australia.

Edith Mary Merritt, born 1883 at Clear Lake, Victoria. Died 1921 at Rainbow, Victoria.

Alfred George Merritt, born c1886 at Clear Lake, Victoria. Died 22nd July 1941 at Rainbow, Victoria.

Eliza Jane Mae Merritt, born c1887 at Clear Lake, Victoria. Died c1954.

Olive Merritt, born c1890 at Noradjuha, Victoria. Died c1891 at Natimuk, Victoria. Aged 1 year.

Mary Agnus Merritt, born c1891 at Noradjuha, Victoria. Died c1977.

Oscar Edwin Merritt, born c1892 at Noradjuha, Victoria. Died 22 November 1912 Nhill, Victoria.

Hurtle Augustus Merritt, born c1896 at Noradjuha, Victoria. KIA 2 September 1918 Peronne, Saone-et-Loirez, Bourgogne, France. Virtual Australian War Memorial

Walter Kenneth Merritt, born 12th December 1899 at Jeparit, Victoria. Died c1957 at Footscray, Victoria.

Sydney Albert Merritt, born 21st August 1901 at Jeparit, Victoria. Died c1954 at Boggabri, New South Wales.

Doris Irene Merritt, born c1903 at Nhill, Victoria. Died 18th April 1951 at Nhill, Victoria.

Marjorie Mavis Merritt, born 22nd March 1907 at Rainbow, Victoria. Died 29th December 1966 at South Australia.

Spouse: Ellen Power Moore. Born Elmhurst, Victoria 9 February 1885. Died Bunbury 24th April 1964. Daughter of John Edward Moore and Sarah Power

Children:

Freda Mary Merritt, born 29th September 1907 Bunbury, Western Australia. Died 6th July 1970 Bunbury, Western Australia

John William Merritt, born 12th December 1909 Busselton, Western Australia. Died 13th September 1970 Nyamup, Western Australia

Vida Ellen Merritt, born 27th October 1911 Nurse Fennell’s Violet Home Capel, Western Australia. Died 23rd August 1992 Bunbury, Western Australia

Leslie Norman Merritt, born 7th July 1913 Capel, Western Australia. Died 15th June 1923 Bunbury, Western Australia

Alfred Winston Merritt, born 20th May 1915 Capel, Western Australia. Died 2nd February 1997 Bunbury, Western Australia

Hurtle Hubert Merritt, born 4th May 1917 Capel, Western Australia. Died 27th August 1955 Perth, Western Australia

Edward Collin Merritt, born 21st March 1919, Merritt farmhouse, Peach Grove Capel, Western Australia. KIA 17th August 1942 as a POW in Mediterranean Sea.

Kenneth Albert Merritt, born 17th August 1920 Merritt farmhouse, Peach Grove Capel, Western Australia. Died 11th April 2001 Murdoch, Western Australia.

Dulcie May Merritt, born 31st March 1922 Bunbury, Western Australia. Died 15th January 1996 Bunbury, Western Australia

Audrey Francis Merritt,  born 23rd September 1923 Merritt farmhouse Peach Grove Capel, Western Australia. Died 25th June 2015 Gippsland, Victoria Australia

Occupation: Carter (water), timber hewer, farmer

Their Story 

William John Merritt was the eldest child of fourteen children born to William Angus Merritt and Mary Francis Brown (aka Coates). William’s birth commenced the third generation of Australian Merritt’s and first generation of the Capel Merritt’s. He was born in Port Pirie, South Australia when his mother was 15 years old.

William was known to have lived in four states of Australia. South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia

Will left his parent’s Toolondo, Victoria selection farm when his father William’s income diminished leaving little money to support the growing Merritt family and to make bank repayments for his land purchases. The emotional burden upon Will’s father at the time must have been grave to let go his oldest son. At age ten to twelve years, Will would have been a useful and cheap worker to help support the family, but the opportunity for him to earn wages elsewhere would have been a strong incentive for him to leave the debt stressed family.

In his early teens young Will set out for ‘Milo Downs’ Quilpie, Queensland where his Uncle Augustus Henry Pegler (AH) was owner of Ned’s Corner on the Murray River, NSW. AH had commenced acquiring an interest in cattle runs in 1879 and was part owner of several stations in the Queensland channel country. This included ‘Milo Downs’.  It can be presumed that Will made this journey at such a young age to work and earn wages. In 1890 he was 12 years old, independent and well able to fend for himself. At that point he had 9 brothers and sisters who were dependent on his parents William and Mary. His mother Mary had not by then completed her family. He was to have little face to face contact with his family again. Some of his younger siblings either never saw him (as they hadn’t been born) or were too young to remember him. Will would have sent all or part of his wages earned at Ned’s Corner and/or Milo Downs Queensland to his father to contribute to their financial hardship. The length of stay at his Uncle AH’s property have been lost in time. Although he was most likely there until late 1892 or early 1893.

By 1888, the Yilgarn Goldfield around Southern Cross in the east of Western Australia had been proclaimed. The stories of gold opportunities to be had at Yilgarn were too great for Will to ignore. Teenager Will Merritt joined the crowds going west, travelling overland along the Nullarbor Plains in horse drawn wagons, arriving at the goldfields a few years after the rush had started. This was a chance for prosperity. Family history notes that he arrived in Western Australia in 1893. How Will Merritt spent his time in the Yilgarn and Coolgardie goldfields is uncertain. Anecdotal evidence is that he operated as a teamster. As Will was aged about 15 years when he arrived in Western Australia, it is probable that he didn’t have his own team. It is more likely he was an offsider and worked with John Moore, who operated out of Southern Cross and later Coolgardie when the railway was completed between the two towns. Will’s children recalled that he was a teamster, carting water to or around Coolgardie. The Moore family were known to the Merritt family and it is therefore likely Will was working for John Moore carting water. Will moved around the goldfields and also worked as a teamster with John Moore. When the railway reached Kalgoorlie, they briefly took up residence in Coolgardie. Moore was a carrier between Southern Cross and Coolgardie. By August 1899, John Moore had left the goldfields and had joined his wife and children at Sawyer’s Valley. He took up work as a teamster and ganger at the Mundaring dam site when living at Sawyer’s Valley.  About 1904 he was a ganger around Baker’s Hill and Clackline

The Southwest of Western Australia was recognised as a worldwide resource for high standard hardwood timber products needed for road and railway construction. Mutual attraction was developing between Will and Nellie Moore, John Moore’s youngest daughter. In April 1900, Nellie Moore sent Will a signed portrait of herself with the inscription on the back of the photo ‘To Will with love from Nellie – 4/4/1900. It is likely Will became a sleeper cutter at Sawyer’s Valley or Mundaring and relocated to the Southwest tall-timber hardwood forests where the expanding railway system guaranteed plenty of work. At the end of the nineteenth century, William Merritt aged 22 years, was sleeper cutting in the Southwest jarrah forests around the Upper Capel Siding and Greenbushes. In 1900, in the forest between Upper Capel and Greenbushes, Will entered into a partnership with three others, as Cooke Bros and Merritt, to cut railway sleepers by hand in the bush.

Will and Nellie Moore’s fondness for each other was growing. Although for long periods of time this was only through mail. Arthur Merritt, Will’s next youngest brother joined him at Greenbushes for a few years around 1903. In 1905 John and Sarah Moore and children David and Nellie relocated from the Waroona area to Greenbushes where they ran boarding houses for timber workers. By then Will was 26 years old and Nellie was 20. The relationship between Will and Nellie had developed into much more than letters to each other.

During these years there was considerable unrest in the timber industry. Because of this, associated costs with little return and tired of living rough in the bush, Will left Greenbushes for Roebourne in the Northwest of the state where he worked on the Port Samson jetty project. However, little is known about his time in the Northwest, as this was never discussed within the family. It is known however that he was definitely in the area until at least January 1906. Nellie was to receive a Christmas card from him inscribed ‘To Nellie Moore from Will Merritt – Roebourne Nor West W A – Xmas 1905’.

Will Merritt returned to the Southwest in 1906 to work at Kirup long before the Cossack-Point Samson railway line was completed. He then worked in the jarrah forest around Greenbushes and the Upper Capel Siding, where he was mostly living in a tent in the bush close and always nearby to where his sleeper cutting team worked. The timber industry in this southwest area was booming at the time.

In time Will and Ellen were to marry. Their marriage took place on 25 April 1907, at the Wesley Church Stirling Street Bunbury. William John Merritt was aged 29 years and Ellen Power Moore was 22 years, both of Kirup. Will affectionately called Ellen ‘Nellie’, as did close acquaintances, but generally, she was known as and called Ellen. When Will and Nellie were first married they lived in a tent at Bush Landing, Kirup where Will was working as a sleeper cutter. In September 1907, Ellen travelled to Bunbury where her first daughter Freda Mary was born on 29 September 1907.

The Moore and Merritt families left Kirup in early 1909. John and Sarah Moore went to Capel, and Dave Moore, Will, Ellen and baby Freda left Kirup for the Maryvale siding 20 km west of Kirup; two miles west of the Jarrahwood Road, and two miles north of Claymore on the Ludlow River. They were there when Ellen gave birth to their second child, John William at Busselton on 12 December 1909. Dave Moore, Will and Ellen and children Freda and Jack then moved to Nannup Brook, where a small community of sleeper cutters lived in tents. Audrey Merritt recalls her father was a foreman of a railway sleeper cutting gang who worked in the nearby dense virgin forest, felling mainly jarrah trees.

For the birth of her third child Vida Ellen on 27 October 1911, Nellie was in Capel visiting her parents Mummy and Daddy Moore.  They had moved to Capel in 1909. She gave birth at the home of Nurse Fennell in Capel.

MERRITT— at Nurse Fennell’s Violet Home, Bunbury-road, Capel, to Mr and Mrs W J Merritt, of Nannup Brook —a daughter [Vida Ellen]. Both well.

By 1912 both the Moore and Merritt families had moved to Capel. Will was able to work on the building of the second (new) timber Capel Bridge. He had gained experience and skills for bridge carpentry during his time working on building the Port Samson bridge in the Northwest earlier.

When Will and Ellen arrived in Capel it was more a settlement than a town. In September 1912, Will and his father-in-law made application for two blocks in the Stirling Estate (suburban) and this was granted. Will’s lot was 500 yards north of the Capel River where it flowed westward under the Capel Bridge and they named it ‘Peach Grove’. The lots were west of Bunbury Road and south of Layman Road. The Merritt family at this time consisted of Will and Ellen, Freda 5 years, Jack 3 years, and Vida 1 year. They first occupied the new lot, living in a tent. Will and Nellie immediately fenced and started hand clearing their new property. Will Merritt improved the land and worked the farm between casual government and Road Board jobs, including fencing, road works and construction. Knowing well the nature and husbandry of cattle, he started establishing a small cowherd. Fencing material came from timber felled on the property. Dressed wood boards and sawn planks were left to ‘season’ for the building of their home. After there was sufficient seasoned timber, Will commenced building a ‘hut’. The original structure grew to accommodate nine children. With additions, it was sufficient for the large Merritt family for 20 years.

William Merritt, Will or Billy, as he was known and called around Capel, quickly gained a reputation in the district as an excellent bushman with a detailed knowledge of the native flora and fauna. He was a favourite with the children as he was able to teach bush skills to them because of his knowledge of the bush and flora and fauna. The Merritt family at Capel grew together where they occupied the jarrah slab and corrugated iron roof hut adding additions as the family grew. Will and Ellen settled into Capel life and started adding to their family that arrived very soon after settling in Capel and at regular intervals. Their first child born after moving to Capel, was Leslie Norman (Norman). He was born at home with the assistance of a midwife on 7 July 1913. Six further children were born to Will and Ellen. Alfred Winston born 20 May 1915, Hurtle Hubert born 4 May 1917, Edward Collin born 24 March 1919, Kenneth Albert born 17 August 1920, Dulcie May born 31 March 1922 at Bunbury Hospital and Audrey Francis born 23 September 1925 at home completing the family of 10 children. Sadly though, Norman was to lose his life on 15 June 1923, due to complications with him getting mumps. He was 9 years and 11 months of age. A large crowd of mourners attended his funeral including many of his school mates.

War was on everyone’s mind and Capel was not immune. Although following Armistice Day 11 November 1918, the fledging town of Capel started to grow again. There was a call for West Australian timber again to help repair damage in Europe and the demand for fresh fruit returned. Will Merritt continued to take on any work that was available in the district. He finished clearing ‘Peach Grove’ farm and got together a few cattle to start a dairy farm, but he knew that the farm would never be capable of providing a decent living for the family. By this time the Government had put together what was to be known as the Group Settlement Scheme. Its principal purpose was to provide a labour force to open up the large tracts of potential agricultural land to ultimately reduce dependence on food imports from interstate. These small holdings where settlers took up holdings were supervised by experienced landowners to become self-sufficient by learning agricultural methods. The Group Settlement office recruited some local farmers to show the settlers how to clear the land, construct buildings and farm the land. At the start of the scheme in Busselton in 1922, a few Capel farmers became Group foremen, including Will Merritt who was appointed to the Sabina River Group, about six miles southeast of Busselton. Under Will’s guidance, Group 36 settlers learnt farming and quickly developed a strong sense of community. Not much is known of Will’s time at Group Settlement 36. However a plaque honouring his time as foreman hangs in the Yoongarillup Hall. In late 1925 early 1926, Will was made overseer of the Group Settlement Scheme and left Group 36. As overseer he rode his horse ‘Doll’ to work daily and went home to Capel on weekends. His new job was inspecting and advising Groups as far south as Rosa Brook. Upon leaving Yoongarillup, group settlers at Group Settlement Number 36 Sabina Vale, presented him with a certificate of appreciation and signed by members. The certificate includes the names of settlers who arrived in 1925,

In 1929, the Government granted approval for a plan to manage the Jarrahwood Forest District, including provision to create the position of overseer to be based at Cundinup, 10 miles from Jarrahwood. Will knew the Cundinup area well from his sleeper cutting days at nearby Maryvale. He was appointed to the new position of overseer in the Forests Department, Cundinup Forestry Station. The Merritt family moved into the Cundinup hilltop house as soon as the house was passed for occupation. The Merritt’s small Capel farm was leased. There were still four school-aged Merritt children living at home at that point, (the older children had already left home) and when the family arrived at the small one-room Cundinup State School, attendees swelled to a little over twenty children. Moving to Cundinup was a big change for the Merritt family and especially having a house supplied with the job. The house had two bedrooms, a kitchen, a sitting room and a back veranda that had a bathroom at one end and a washhouse at the other. Part of the veranda was made into a sleep-out where Hurtle, Collin and Ken slept. Dulcie and Audrey shared one bedroom and Will and Ellen had the other. The house was a big improvement from the hut Will had built for the family in Capel. The forestry house was on a high hill and in summer, part of Will’s job was to keep a look out for forest fires from the veranda.

By 1930, the depression severely affected the family. The Forestry Department changed Will’s job to a shared position and he was only allowed to work for one week, then the following week he was to take off. The effect was that his wages were halved. However they were able to retain the government forestry house. Will was a keen hunter, and with some help from his kids, always managed to shoot sufficient quokkas, which were abundant, as well as the odd brush and an occasional kangaroo. This was the principal meat supply, and with plenty of home vegetables, they always had sufficient food.

At the end of 1932, Will was seriously affected with a bad heart and had to stop working for the Forestry Department. Eldest son Jack who was now a forester overseer at, East Kirup, transferred to replace his father as forest overseer at Cundinup. Fortunately the family were able to continue to live at the Forestry Department house. Jack was able to support the family during this time. As a consequence of Will’s worsening heart condition, the children still living at home went to live with their older siblings. Will continued to suffer with heart attacks.

Sadly, on Tuesday 31 January 1933, aged 55 years, Will died at home at the Forestry house in Cundinup. He was to live long enough to see his first grandchild William Clifton (Bill) Scott, born to his daughter Vida at Busselton, 9 January 1933. His funeral took place at the Capel Cemetery, Capel, Western Australia on Wednesday 1 February 1933, conducted by Reverend R H Featherston of Busselton, where a large group of mourners were present.

Will Merritt was a gentle man, a real nature lover, and taught his children to look after all living things. Plants as well as creatures. They learnt the values of respecting the outdoor world, the bush and its trees, rocks, flowers, pools, streams and all the fascinating things that lived on, in and around them. The love of nature that Will had taught his children was a legacy that continued throughout their lives and future generations.

Death notice William John Merritt

Obituary notice William John Merritt

Story compiled by Jennifer Scott CDCP member. Will was my great grandfather, father of my grandmother Vida Ellen Scott nee Merritt.

This story has been compiled by my recollections of stories told to me by my grandmother Vida and my father William Clifton (Bill) Scott. Much of this story however should be attributed to Lance Merritt who has written a detailed family history titled ‘Merritt Family at Capel. Settlement in the South West Western Australia’.

Further research, information and photos can be viewed at the Ron Maidment Archives Room, Capel from Lance’s work titled ‘Merritt, Moore and Forrest Families Settlement in South West Western Australia.

Images used for this story are from Jennifer Scott photo collection and Lance Merritt photo collection.

Links to other websites with additional information included in story.

If you are visiting this page and have further information that pertains to William John Merritt that you would like to add, can you please contact the Capel District Cemeteries Project via the CONTACT US section at the bottom of the main page.

© Capel District Cemeteries Project 14/12/2024