In 1868 the citizens of Dongara petitioned the Governor for a port, hotel and cemetery, but cemetery land was not granted. The Dongara Cemetery began as three town lots, in c1880, each one being purchased by and designated for a denomination, Catholic, Anglican and Wesleyan. Along with a fourth block designated Independent the lots were combined in 1934 to form the Dongara Cemetery. The oldest burial is Titus Russ, dated 28th March 1874. Dongara Cemetery contains the graves of many of the district’s pioneers. Of special interest are the graves of Police Constable Watson, and Sophia Mitchell, nee Dent, believed to be the first white female born in WA. The central pathway of the cemetery is still a gazette road – Scutt Street. Mr Scutt was a bank manager in Dongara about 1908. In Dongara the day of reckoning also includes a reminder of one’s financial obligations. Also buried in this cemetery in unmarked graves are paupers and Aboriginal people.
Entrance Gate and Niche Wall
The entry and memorial wall were built on behalf of the Country Women’s Association of WA Inc, Dongara Branch, to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the formation of the branch 4 July 1992. The tree planting, reinstatement of the original style picket fence and the construction of the arbor was a project of the Dongara Townscape Committee in conjunction with the Shire of Irwin.
The First Cemetery
In 1875 Father leCaille built a small bat brick church with a thatched roof and small cemetery on Gum Tree Hill at the east end of Dongara (Loc 1867 Reserves 1871, 896). The only known burial in this cemetery is that of Robert Fitzgerald of Strawberry, died 30 July 1883. The first church later became home to the Ventura family, and the place became known as Ventura’s Hill. The cemetery was used until 1885 when the small stone presbytery was built in Waldeck St. The cemetery was inadvertently excavated during the building of the Eneabba railway line in 1975. The pioneers were subsequently re-interred in the Dongara Cemetery with an appropriate memorial.
Early Cremations
There were four recorded Sikh cremations in the Irwin districts. The first occurred in 1909 at the Back Beach after Sikh hawker Easa Sing was run over by a cart. Businessman Sojan Singh was first buried, then exhumed and cremated, still in the coffin, on cemetery grounds. The last cremation was Pola Singh in 1934, being cremated near Seven Mile Beach.
The Hearse
In the early part of the last century, Mrs F. Waldeck decided that the town needed a hearse to take the deceased on their final journey. She set about raising funds and a horse drawn hearse was purchased and kept in a shed at the cemetery. Being little used it fell into disrepair, white ants attacking the timber of the wheels. The remains of the hearse were taken to Irwin House where it was used as a pigeon loft. Later parts of the hearse were used to fix a windmill, proving that little is wasted in the farming community.
Historic Graves and Sites
Watson Family
Born at Guildford in 1932, Joseph Watson became a police officer in the 1850s and was sent to establish a police station at Strawberry in 1863, with his wife Anne and four young children. He built a small pug cottage with a thatched roof on the right bank of the Irwin River, near Strawberry Island. In 1872 the river flooded and swept away the Watson cottage, his wife and family escaping with difficulty to Irwin House. His district covered a vast area, and he spent most of his time in the saddle on patrol, and distinguished himself by his expert dealing with troublesome aboriginals on the Murchison. His unique success in capturing ‘aboriginal delinquents’ made his name a household word, earning him the nickname of ‘Immortal Joe’. Watson died of old age in 1897, having lived in the Victoria District for 40 years. Joseph’s son Charles died of typhoid fever and is buried near his parents.
Clarkson Family
A family of three brothers arrived at the Swan Colony in 1830 from Yorkshire, England. Edward W Clarkson, a son of one of the brothers, came to Dongara in 1888 and set up a business as blacksmith, wheelwright and coachbuilder. He also assembled furniture crated from England and then sold it to settlers. He purchased ‘Spring Farm’ of 700 acres, now the subdivision of Springfield, and also farmed Tyford, building accommodation for his growing family. Tyford became one of the most profitable farms in the district. Two Clarkson brothers were speared by Aboriginals in the Murchison and their bodies were brought to Greenough Cemetery for burial.
Rowland Family
The family arrived in 1830 aboard the Tranby and leased land in the Irwin district in the 1860s. Richard (snr) qualified as a juror having £150 of real estate and was a juryman at the Coroner’s Inquest into the deaths of Brandis, Bagshaw, Jackson and Rogan. Richard (jnr) was a farmer/grazier and leased land with his brother Michael in the Irwin District in the 1860s. John (Jack) Rowland was an assistant to the police and mail contractor. He accompanied the police to the site of the Clarkson Brothers and brought their remains to be buried at the Greenough Cemetery.
Charlotte Downes 1858-1900
Charlotte was the daughter of Edward and Amelia Downes and was believed to be the first European child to be born in the Dongara area. Her father was a farmer and was appointed by the Cattle Company to look out for ships, raising a signal requesting to call into Port Irwin. Charlotte, who did not marry, was a dressmaker for most of her adult life and lived in a small cottage near Six Chimneys at the east end of Dongara.
David and Susan Brand
David and Susan Brand married in 1869 at Greenough and farmed at Mount Pleasant near Dongara. Records show David Brand delivered 38 bags of wheat and 20 bags of barley to Irwin Steam Mill in early 1877 to be ground for the family’s use. The Brands were the grandparents of Sir David Brand, Premier of WA 1959-1971.
Nairn Family
James Nairn, born in 1816 in England arrived in the Colony with his parents in 1829. He and his wife Sarah (nee Pettit) had 11 children, moving to Irwin in the 1860s and farming near Obawara at Claremont. He became active in community affairs, serving as Chairman of Irwin Road Board in 1874. It is believed Nairn was a signatory to the nine-point petition to be presented to the Governor setting out the needs of the fledgling district and town. All were granted within a year, except a ‘form of entertainment’ and the establishment of a church and cemetery.
Criddle Family
The Criddles, originally spelt Crittal, were among the first families to settle at Dongara. William, born 1943 at Toodyay, became a farm labourer at Greenough before applying for a licence as Victualler of Dongara Hotel, later Priory Lodge, 1884-1886. He also held licences for the wayside house and to run billiard and bagatelle tables at the Dongara Hotel. Williams was hit by a train at Guildford in 1912 and his body brought home to Dongara for burial.
Sophie Mitchell (nee Dent)
Sophie is believed to be the first white girl born in the Swan River Colony – on the beach at Fremantle. She came to Dongara late in life to be near her daughters, both of whom had married into the Oliver family and Sophie became the postmistress at Irwinn. Sophie first married William C Ellery, an American sailor who jumped ship at Fremantle. He died after being scalded on a steam boat on the Swan River. She then married William Mitchell in 1861 and had a second family.
Pell Family
The Pells were a pioneering family who arrived in the colony in 1850. After working for SP Phillips at Toodyay, John Pell moved to the Irwin, living in a small cottage on the river at Pell’s Crossing. It was here that Robert Cousins built the bridge across the Irwin in 1873, now named Pell Bridge. John Pell took up a pastoral lease, now known as Cadji Cadji, east of Morawa then built a stone house, naming it Wimpole, after the names of the village in Cambridgeshire, England, from where the family came. Wimpole is situated at Bonniefield a few kilometres north of Dongara.
Russ Family
Titus Russ arrived in WA as a 12-year-old in 1853, the family taking up tillage leases. By 1868 Titus owned two blocks at Dongara and built a small cottage on the banks of the Irwin River just east of Smith’s Mill, on land owned by his employer Edward Hamersley. Limestone was carted, probably by wheelbarrow, from a quarry on the riverbank near the flour mill and in 1870 the cottage was completed. This same cottage is now a museum administered by IDHS. Titus died as a result of an accident at the young age of 33, inn 1874, possible from a fall off a horse, leaving a wife and four young children.
Francis Sojan Singh
Francis Sojan Singh
Sojan was born in 1868 in India to a non-commissioned officer in the Indian Army. He was a prominent businessman and storekeeper in Dongara. His headstone is in the Catholic portion of the cemetery, but it is aligned north-south, unlike the east-west alignment of all other graves in the cemetery, for reasons unknown.
Carroll Family
Michael Joseph Carroll was born at Mingenew, farmed in the Irwin District, and died at a relatively young age. His family consisted of three daughters and two sons, both whom were killed at Gallipoli, World War I, their names listed on the town War Memorial.
Pioneer Memorial
After accidental excavation of the first Catholic Cemetery at the East End of Dongara in 1972, the remains of the pioneers were re-interred at this site.
Dominican Nun’s Memorial
The Dominican nuns arrived in 1899 from New Zealand in 1902 William Criddle sold his hotel to them. The nuns soon transformed the old hotel into a school and within a few years they had established an almost self-sufficient community – school, boarding house, garden, dairy. There were also a chapel and cemetery where the nuns would be laid to rest after their earthly tasks were complete. In 1971 a cyclone crossed the coast north of Dongara bringing heavy rain to the source of the Irwin River, causing it to flood. It inundated the Priory and destroyed the gardens and tennis court. The building was sold and the nuns moved to Perth. Eventually the building dried out and was returned to its original life as a hotel, now the Priory Lodge. After the building was sold, the remains of the sisters were exhumed from the cemetery nearby and re-interred at Karrakatta Cemetery in Perth. Past pupils and friends built the Memorial in the Dongara Cemetery in 1999, with the original headstones places on the wall. Also commemorated is the Rev Constantine O’Hare who collapsed ad died during a service in the chapel at the Priory. Clare Punch, aged 17, was a student as the school and sister to one of the nuns. Clare’s family chose that she be buried with the nuns at Dongara and hence her mortal remains were transferred to Karrakatta with the remains of the sisters.
