Clare State Centenary Celebrations
THE EARLY HISTORY OF CLARE AND THE DISTRICT COUNCIL OF CLARE.
A WONDERFUL RECORD.
(By ‘Clarion.’)
The Clare State Centenary Celebrations are now only a fortnight away, and enthusiasm is gathering momentum to make the gala week the biggest function ever held in the district.
Reports that have reached us from all parts of the State and other States indicate that there will be an extremely large attendance, and the Mayor of Clare (Mr. Ohlmeyer) and the Centenary Committee expects that every person in the town and district will do their duty to hospitably entertain the visiting public in accordance with Clare’s best traditions.
Those who have any accommodation available are asked to make special efforts to acquaint the secretaries of any facilities they have available.
HISTORY OF THE CORPORATION OF CLARE AND THE DISTRICT COUNCIL OF CLARE.
This week we give a history of the Corporation of Clare, and of the District Council of Clare, which we feel, at this juncture, is apppropriate (sic) to place before the public, giving an indication of the fine work of the pioneers who have placed Clare on the map as one of the finest business, and secondary and primary producing districts in the State. We are indebted to Mr. George Martin, the clerk of the District Council of Clare for the illuminating particulars, in the two lists: —
CLARE IN 1843.
This picturesque mid-northern town dates from 1843, about which time aborigines were fairly numerous, their main camp being on what is now the cricket oval.
Clare is surrounded by fertile hills and valleys, and skirted by the River Hutt, and is noted throughout the State for its ideal and healthy climate.
The Hill and Wakefield Rivers also pass through the district, the latter being adjacent to Mintaro, a very old town in the history of the State, as it was here that the teamsters rested their mules in the early days, on their way to and from the Burra mines, on account of the fertility of the district.
The district was proclaimed a District Council area on 20th July, 1853, and it is interesting to note that it then included the township and district around Mintaro, which was proclaimed as a separate District Council area in 1868, but was again amalgamated with Clare on 24th. May, 1932.
The township of Clare was proclaimed a municipality in 1868, and is, the hub of a large and prosperous district. In the very early days communication with Adelaide was by road via Kapunda, which latter town was then the railhead. Various methods of mail and passenger service were tried until the railway constructed in 1918 from Riverton to Clare solved the problem of transport. The train service is now twice daily to and from Adelaide. Road transport is catered for by a bitumen road from Adelaide to Clare.
The capital value of ratable (sic) property over which the Corporation has control is £344,220, the assessment value of which is £17,211. The total rate which is struck is 2/3 in the £, producing annually £1,936. It is interesting to note the comparison between the Corporation and district, which latter has a capital value of £999,640, and assessment value of £49,982, whilst a rate of 1/5 in the £ yields £3,540 yearly.
Included in the municipality and district areas there is a population of approximately 5,800 persons, who are accommodated in 907 dwellings. The approximate area of the Corporation is 500 acres, and the District Council 162,000 acres.
Immediately adjoining the municipality are the settlements of Donnybrook on the South, Armagh on the north-west, Stanley Flat on the north, and White Hut on the north-east, all being closely settled, and the three latter places are noted for their fruit gardens and vineyards. Currants and other drying fruits are largely grown, also wine grapes, which supply the Stanley Wine Co. and Clarevale Co-operative Winery, which have extensive and up-to-date wine cellars in the municipality.
Other townships in the district are Mintaro, Penwortham, Sevenhills and Hilltown. Mintaro is particularly noted for the slate which comes from the Mintaro Slate and Flagstone quarries. Penwortham has the distinction of having James Ainsworth Horrocks, the noted explorer buried in the Church of England churchyard, while the Catholic Church and College at Sevenhills are among the oldest in the State.
Besides the industries quoted above, the district is particularly suitable for pasture land; stud sheep and cattle being extensively reared; and very good crops are grown on the farming land.
The towns and district are served in the matter of light and power by the Mid-North Electricity Co., Ltd., whose power house is situated in the Clare township.
An energetic parks committee attends to the planting and reservation of ornamental trees within the township viz:—Burton street reserve, the Old Scholars’ Memorial Plots, and avenues of trees which help to enhance the natural beauty of Clare, also, Christison Park (26 acres) a natural beauty spot two miles South of the town, available for picnics and campers. Clare is also widely known throughout the State for its beautifully situated and picturesque Bowling Greens, Croquet Lawn and Tennis Lawns, which are all together at the northern end of the town.
Centrally situated is the oval, or recreation ground, dedicated as a Soldiers’ Memorial Park, consisting of approximately 10 or 12 acres. The oval is controlled and managed by a trust. At the entrance to the ground an imposing memorial arch has been erected in memory of fallen soldiers.
A soldiers’ Memorial Hall has also been built at Stanley Flat, and it is here that the fine racecourse of the Clare Racing Club is situated.
Besides the amalgamation of territory above mentioned the District Council of Clare also absorbed the Hundred of Milne from the District Council of Hutt and Hill Rivers on 1st May, 1935.
The following is a list, as far as can be ascertained, of the past and present members of the Corporation, the District Council of Clare, and the District Council of Stanley.
Corporation of Clare, proclaimed 1868.
First Council. — Edward Burton Gleeson, Mayor. Councillors Edward Beckmann, Le Feuvre, William Roscrow, Andrew Young, Thomas Bowley, Edward Smith. Town clerk, William Lennon.
Edward Burton Gleeson, Mayor 1868-69; Edward Beckmann, Councillor 1868-69; Le Feuvre, 1868-69; William Roscrow, 1868-69; Andrew Young, 1868-69, Mayor 1870-71, 1883-84; Thomas Bowley, councillor, 1868-70, 1888-90; Edward Smith 1868-70; William Paterson, 1869-70; Dr. Charles Houton Webb, Mayor, 1869-1870; Joseph Fels, Councillor, 1869-71; Thomas William Powell, 1869-71; Walter Treleaven, 1869-75; William Kelly, Councillor, 1870-87, 1892-94; Mayor 1887-92, 1894-96, 1900-06; Henry Crabb, Councillor, 1870-72, Mayor, 1876-78; Robert George Harmer, councillor, 1870-74; 1884-86; Charles Kimber, Mayor, 1871-73, 1879-80; Isaac Roach, councillor, 1871-72; John McDougall, 1871-73; Hermann Weinreich, 1872-73; John Peter Christian Harder, 1872-74; Thomas Hosier, Mayor, 1873-76; John Milne Smith, councillor, 1873-75; William Edward Lunn, 1873-76; Louis Victorsen, 1874-76, 1889-91; Frederick Cooper Gray, Councillor, 1874-76, Mayor, 1880-82; James Work, councillor, 1875-83; Alfred Tilbrook, 1875-79, 1886-94; Charles Shane, 1876-77; Edward Cecil Rix, 1876-78, 1880-84, 1889-90; Stephen Trestrail, 1876-80; Alexander McDonald, 1877-78; Alfred Palmer, Mayor, 1878-79; Frederick Harm, councillor, 1878-80; Thomas Shepherd Stacy, 1878-82, Mayor, 1898-1900; Thomas Ninnes, councillor, 1879-88 ; Benjamin Jacobs, 1879-83; Thomas Robert Bright, Mayor, 1882-83; John Treleaven, councillor, 1882-84; John Christison, 1883-84, Mayor, 1884-87; Blakeney Carter, councillor, 1883-89; Robert Graham, 1884-88; Frederick Lane, 1885-87; George Lloyd, 1887-89; Peter Paul Gillen, 1887-93; Charles Holder, 1888-89; Jonathan Durrant, 1889-95; William Hosking, 1890-98; Alfred James Davey, 1890-94; Magnus Badger, 1891-92, Mayor 1892-94; James Bentley, councillor, 1893-95; Andrew Thomas Walsh, 1894-1900; Thomas Reed, 1894-96; Mayor, 1896-1898; Thomas Donoghue, councillor, 1894-97; James Bunnett, 1895-1897; George Spratt, 1895-97; Reginald Henry Tilbrook, 1896-1906, Mayor, 1906-1909; Solomon Williams, councillor, 1897-01; William Henry Blight, 1897-01, 1907-09; Thomas Francis Fitzsimmons, 1897-99; Thomas Francis Pink, 1898-1908; Thomas Phillip Gillen, 1899-05, Mayor, 1909-1912; Peter McDougall, councillor, 1900-04, 1914-15; George Henry Bryant, 1901-07; George John Harmer, 1901-05: Mayor, 1917-18; William George Bernard Lewcock. councillor, 1904-08; Mayor, 1912-14; William Thomas Taylor, councillor, 1905-11; James Scales, 1905-13; James Drennan Gilchrist, 1906-08; Mayor, 1915-17; Edward John Scott, councillor, 1908-15; John Henry Bowley, 1908-13; Charles Henry Ballinger, 1908-10, 1923-25; Henry Arthur French 1909-13; Florence McCarthy, 1910-14; John Henry William Ohlmeyer, 1911-13; Mayor, 1914-15; 1936-37; Llewelyn Albert Davies, councillor, 1913-15; Mayor 1918-21, 1932-36; Francis Pink, councillor, 1913-17; William James Kelly, 1913-19; Joseph Hermann Knappstein, 1913-15; John Bails, 1914-16; Mayor, 1927-29; Alfred James Pearce, councillor, 1915-17; Arthur Leonard Stacy, 1915-18; Alfred John Bowley, 1915-21; Mayor, 1929-32; Thomas Henry Symons, councillor, 1916-22; William Gladstone Harold Paterson, 1917-18, 1919-22; Julius Victorsen, 1917-19; Arhur (sic) John Thompson, 1918-19; Duncan Menzies, 1918-20, 1921-22; Mayor, 1823-25; Harold Ryan Smith, councillor, 1919-21; Ira Stanley Scott, 1919-25; Mayor, 1925-27; Dr. Otto Wien-Smith, councillor, 1920-21; Mayor, 1921-23; Henry August Paetke, councillor, 1921-23: Walter John Sharpen. 1921-23; Alfred Chenalls Jeffrey, 1922-30; Ernest Havelock Kelly, 1922-26; Thomas William Coward, 1922-26; Herman Phillip Knappstein, 1923-27; Percy Tobias Brebner, 1925-32; Frederick William Knappstein, 1925-31; Frank Leveson Sanders, 1926-33; Albert Edward Smith, 1926-28; Frederick William Forsaith, 1927-31; Godfrey Vincent Tilbrook, 1928-32; Reginald Edward Masters, 1930-33; Leslie William Butler, 1931-33; Edward Campbell Deland, 1931-36; William Paul Ness, 1932 to date; Charles Pink, 1932 to date; Frederick James Barrett, 1933 to date; Keith Alexander Laught, 1933-36; Alexander Loudon Knappstein, 1933-36; Gordon Bails, 1936, Alexander George Coombs, 1936.
William Lennon, Town Clerk, 1868-1894; John Luckhurst Smith, 1894-1918; John Henry William Ohlmeyer, 1918-19; Arthur John Thompson, 1919-24; Arthur Whiteman, 1924 to date.
The Present Corporation in 1936 is Mayor — Mr. J. W. Ohlmeyer, Councillors E. C. Deland, C. Pink, F. J. Barrett, A. G. Coombs, W. P. Ness and G. Bails.
DISTRICT COUNCIL OF CLARE.
District Council of Clare, Proclaimed 20th July, 1853.
First Council: — Edward Burton Gleeson, William Slater, Dr. Charles Houlten Webb, Anton Sotolowsky, Patrick Butler, William Lennon, clerk.
Edward Burton Gleeson, chairman 1853-57; William Slater, councillor, 1853; Dr. Charles Houlten Webb, 1853-57; 1859-62; Chairman, 1857-59; 1865-67; Anton Sotolowsky, councillor, 1853; Patrick Butler, 1853-59; 1867-69, 1870-71; Chairman, 1859-61; Archibald McDiarmid, 1857; Jacob, 1858; March, 1858; John Hope, 1858; James Wright, 1858; John Ninnes, 1859; August Beckmann, 1859-61; Peter Brady, 1859-61; Frederick Hannaford, 1861-64; Thomas Ninnes, 1872-75; Chairman, 1861-65, 1868; William Moyses, councillor, 1862-64; William Ashby, 1862, 1865-66; John W Gleeson 1862-64; chairman, 1868-70; Paul Roach, councillor, 1863-64; Arthur Brady, 1964-65; Thompson Priest, 1864-65, 1866-68; Thomas Roberts, 1864-67, 1878-79; Patrick Howley, 1865-66; John Chapman, 1865-67, chairman 1867-68; Thomas Pascoe, 1866-67; Charles Kimber, 1867-68, chairman 1868; Albert Trilling, 1867-69; Edward Hunter, 1868-70; William Hitchcox, 1869-70; Samuel Bray, 1869-70; Ernest Bradtke, 1869-72; John Emery, 1872-77, chairman 1870-72-77; Joseph Ninnes, 1870-71-85-87-90-92; Francis Trezize, 1870-72, chairman 1872-73; John Trestrail, 1871-72-92; John Eiffe, 1871-73; Frederick Cooper Gray, 1872-73; Michael Ruciak, 1873-77, 1880-83, 1887-89, chairman 1877-80,, 1883-85; Thomas William Powell, chairman 1873-77; William Chapman, 1873-74; Thomas Ashby, 1874-78, 1881-82, chairman 1878-81; Albert Jacobi, 1875-76; Carl Kozlowski, 1876-84, 1900-05; Robert Elliott, 1877-78; William Thomas 1877-81, chairman 1881-83; John Prest, 1878-80; Pharoh Robert Rogers Pike, 1879-81; Henry Longmire, 1881-82; John Carter, 1882-89; chairman 1886; Richard Buzacott, 1882-92; Thomas Nicholson Grierson. 1883-85, chairman 1885-86; Emil Hoffman, 1884-85; Alfred Ragless, 1885-87; George Llayd, 1886, chairman 1886-1906; Martin Kenny, 1887-90; James Hill, 1889-91, 1892-1901; Thomas James Jenner, 1889-90; Martin Mahon, 1890-1900; John Christison, 1891-92; William Pattullo, 1892-1906, 1912-13, chairman 1906-12, 1913-15, 1919-23; Edward Penna, councillor, 1892-1907; Francis Caley Brinkworth, 1901-12, 1913-15; Chairman, 1912-13, 1915-19; Jesse Humphrys, 1905-06; Robert Edward Herbert Hope, 1906-08; Charles James McCarthy, 1906-10; Charles Henry Beaumont, 1907; Aloysius William Ahle, 1907-10, 1921-27; Chairman, 1927; Hubert Bowman, councillor, 1908-11, 1913-14; Joseph Hermann Knappstein, 1910-19; Frank Waymen, 1910-13; Donald Forbes, 1911-12; Tom M. Chambers, 1912-13; Samuel Christopher 1914-18; Alfred Thomas Duke, 1914-21; Thomas Robinson, 1915-19; Thomas Patrick Donnellan, 1918-23; Chairman, 1923-26; Robert Otto Knappstein, 1919-26; James Scales, 1919-26; Chairman, 1926-27; Charles Neate, councillor, 1923-27; Chairman, 1927 to date; Dudley Thyer Angas, councillor, 1926-28; Sydney Samuel Lloyd, 1926-28; Alan Hugh Tilbrook, 1927-32; Frederick Harold Neate, 1927-29; Samuel Pink, 1928 to date; James Havelock Richardson, 1928 to date; Cassimir Stanislaus Wyman, 1929-32; Alexander John Melrose, 1932 to date (from D.C. of Stanley); Albert Edward Crossing 1932 to date (from D.C. of Stanley); Daniel Horgan, 1932-33 (from D.C. Stanley) ); Sidney Hurtle Ayers, 1933-35; Percival Coombe Jacka, 1933, to date; Leonard John Harvey, 1935 to date (from D.C. of Hutt and Hill Rivers); Thomas Edward Richardson, 1935 to date (from D.C. of Hutt and Hill Rivers); George John Harmer, 1936 to date.
District Clerks.—William Lennon, 1853-60; Charles H. Webb, 1860; H. March,B 1860-61; Thomas Ownsworth, acting, 1861; Isaac Roach, 1861-67; J. A. Goodfellow, 1867-68; John Luckhurst Smith, 1868-1911; James Berridge, 1911-26; Robert. R. Carmichael, 1926-29; George Borwick Martin, 1929 to date.
DISTRICT COUNCIL OF STANLEY.
District Council of Stanley amalgamated with Clare, 24th May, 1932. Hundred of Milne absorbed by Clare from the District Council of Hutt and Hill Rivers, 1st May, 1935.
District Concil (sic) of Stanley, First Councillors.
Melville, J.P., Chairman; George Faulkner, Daniel Brady, Henry Jolly, Patrick Dowd, W. E. Giles, Clerk.
A Melville, Chairman, 1868-69; George Faulkner, councillor, 1868, 1870-1901; Daniel Brady, 1868; Henry Jolly, 1868, 1870-72; Patrick Dowd, 1868-70; Michael J. Meany, 1868-70; James Brown, 1868-70, 1873-75; Thompson Priest, 1868-69; Chairman, 1869-73, 1874-1888; William Bowman, councillor, 1869-73; Chairman, 1873-74; Peter Smith, councillor, 1870-71, 1872-73; Garrett Smith, 1871-72; Michael Brown, 1872-74; Thomas Horgan (Horigan) 1873-98; Thomas Niemitz, 1874-75; John Nykiel, 1875-80, 1882-98, 1900-07; chairman, 1898-1900; Edward Tralaggan councillor, 1875-88; chairman, 1888-98; Lukas Malycha, councillor, 1880-82; George McLeish, 1888-94 William Scott Gordon (from Black Springs D.C.) 1888-90; William Carter, (from Black Springs D.C.) 1888-90; John Jackett, 1894-95; Edmund Girdlestone Priest, 1895-96; James Henry Brown, 1896-01; Frederick Henry Weston, 1898-99; Michael McMahon, 1898-1900; Arthur Percy Brown, 1899-1900, 1902-04; 1909-12; Chairman, 1900-02; Jeremiah Joseph Kelly, 1900-02; 1905-06; Chairman, 1902-05; Arthur Crush, councillor, 1901-03: Sydney Torr, 1901-05; 1909-13; Chairman, 1905-09; Philip Smith, 1903-11; Joseph Nathaniel Tickle, 1904-09; Michael Aloysius Kelly, 1906-09, 1914-16; Chairman, 1909-14; John Thomas, councillor, 1907-13, 1918-19; Eugene Patrick Faulkner, 1906-1911-15; Michael Leo Giles 1912-14; Chairman, 1914-16; Ivor Blyth Roberts, 1913-16; chairman, 1916-20; John Tickle, councillor, 1913-17; Thomas Dunn, 1915-29; Ivern Anthony Jacobs, 1916-18; John Primrose Malcom, elected 1916, but did not sit; Charles Joseph Harvey Wright, 1916-20; Frederick Walter Jacka, 1917; Richard Honey Hall, 1917-25; Alexander John Melrose, 1919-20; Chairman, 1920-32; Daniel Horgan, councillor, 1920-32; Oscar Esselbach, 1920-24; Albert Edward Crossing, 1924-27; 1929-32; Walter Ernest Blatchford, 1925-32; Leslie Arthur Gill, 1927-32.
District Clerks—W. E. Giles, 1868-1908; Archibald Hay, 1908-17; Frederick Walter Jacka, 1917-31; Norman Cook, acting clerk, 1931-32.
First meeting, 5th May, 1868.
District Council of Black Springs ab sorbed 23rd January, 1888. District Council of Black Springs severed and annexed to Waterloo, June 1890. District Council of Stanley amalgamated with Clare, 24th May, 1932.