MOFFETT John NEW

     JOHN MOFFETT          #1
 

JOHN MOFFETT was born in Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland on 17 October 1882, the son of Benjamin Moffitt, Coachman, of Derryloran and Margaret Moffitt (nee Gilchrist) of Derryloran.
BENJAMIN MOFFAT, son of John Moffat, and Margaret Gilchrist, daughter of Robert Gilchrist, were married on 20 February 1882. At the time of their marriage Margaret was residing at Cramagful, Parish Derryloran and Benjamin was residing at Tirnaskea, Parish Pomeroy. MARGARET MOFFAT (nee Gilchrist) was residing at Stuart Hall Gate House, Stewartstown at the time of her death on 28 October 1930 and was buried at Desertcreat Parish Church on 30 October, 1930.
John was the eldest of six children:-
John born 17 October 1882
Benjamin born 1884
Elizabeth born 7 November 1886; Died 17 November 1886
Isabella born 1887
William born 1904
Edith born 1909
JOHN MOFFETT was baptised into the Church of Ireland on 14 December 1882. His abode at the time was Derryloran, Glebe. John remained in Northern Ireland working as a Coachman and Servant until his migration to Western Australia on the ‘BELGIE’ from Liverpool to Fremantle, arriving on 12 November 1911. He was 29 years of age.
 

JOHN MOFFETT'S FIRST HUT           #2
 

Upon arrival in Western Australia, John lived with his Uncle John (Jack) Gilchrist who resided in Edward Road, Walliston. John worked on the local Darling Range Roads Board, building roads and cutting and laying timber sleepers on the Zig Zag Railway in Gooseberry Hill. John left home at 4.00 am each day to walk to Gooseberry Hill (a distance of approximately 7 km). It was paramount for him to arrive by 6am to commence work, otherwise another man would be waiting to take his job. There was no dole in those days.
During this time he resided in a small hut built of timber and whitewashed bags, eventually in 1925 building a four-roomed timber and iron clad home.
 

On 22 November 1916 John purchased 25 acres of land at Lot 283 Francis Road, Walliston (now 75 Moffett Road, Carmel). The property was virgin bush and John gradually cleared the land, building a small hut of timber and white washed bags to live in and planting a Citrus and Stone Fruit orchard whilst working for the Darling Range Roads Board. Clearing of the land was arduous, entailing as it did the removal of trees and many rocks.
There were no bulldozers or chain saws and John cleared the land using an axe, mattock and kangaroo jack. The soil around the base of the trees was removed by mattock and spade, the roots cut by axe. The main trunk was felled and cut for firewood while the base, roots etc, either burnt or removed with a kangaroo jack. Sleepers were cut and delivered by horse and dray to a mill, we believe at the bottom of Kalamunda hill. A large log was dragged behind the dray to act as a braking system.

Rocks were also removed by hand, firstly gouging a hole in the rock. One person would then hold the jumper (or steel chisel) while the other person used a 10 lb sledge hammer. Water was poured onto the rock to create sludge to remove the dust, by then scooping out the sludge. The jumper was put through a bag to prevent the sludge wetting the operator. After each strike the jumper/chisel was then moved half a turn,eventually creating a hole in the rock for blasting. This procedure would continue all day. John’s son William told of his experience working on the hammer with his Father. He said he daren’t miss the strike! A huge rock was removed by Archie Anderson, using a Steam Traction Engine, gradually pulling/pushing the rock up the hill and off the property. The rock is still there today and I doubt if it will ever be moved. Its estimated weight is 20 ton.
 

 THE HUGE ROCK          #3
 

John also grew strawberries to supplement his income, carrying the strawberries on his shoulders to the local railway siding at Walliston (known as Wallis Landing) for delivery to local markets. When the load became too heavy, he delivered the strawberries by wheelbarrow to the siding, a distance of approximately 3 miles. At this stage Moffett Road did not exist and entrance to Lot 283 Francis Road was via Francis Road, thus the Moffett homestead was built facing Francis Road. In later years Moffett Road was created by the then Darling Range Road Board and the entrance came to the sheds and rear of the house. Several roads in the district are named after the early pioneers of in recognition of their contribution to the development of the orchard and timber industries.
On 26th May 1942, John Moffett purchased an additional 52 acres, Lot 1102 Tanner Road, Carmel, initially to make room for horses and cows. Around 1960, their son William (Bill) developed a Stone Fruit and Orange orchard on the property and also grew Potatoes, Passionfruit and Tomatoes in partnership with an Italian family. William also ran a retail business selling irrigation equipment to augment the income for his Mother Mary and his family, wife Maureen and daughters Sandra and Karen.
During the course of creating the orchard, one of John’s remarkable feats was the building of the dam and a series of drains that fed into the dam. He dug the dam sized 30ft x 30ft and fully lined it with cement. During the construction of the dam, a platform was placed over the hole where one man (Bert Ley) stood while John Moffett filled buckets with clay which were hauled to the top and carted away in a wheelbarrow.
 

 MOFFETT'S PUMP SHED          #4
 

A pump shed was ultimately built nearby, housing a diesel motor for irrigation of the orchard and water supply to a cement tank at the house where the water was then fed to the house via gravity. The diesel motor was started each time for irrigation of the orchard and when house tank needed to be filled. Steel pipes and sprinklers were used and moved from row- to- row on a daily basis to cover the entire orchard. Aluminium pipes and later trickle irrigation were a vast improvement on the heavy and difficult to handle steel pipes. Drains the entire length of the property were also dug by hand by John and his workmen to a depth of 6 feet x 6 feet wide. Wooden sleepers cut from the property formed the base and sides and top of the drains. It was some 50 years later that the drain began to collapse and his son William replaced the sleepers with large cement pipes, another huge project.

Survival was hard for John and he lived off the land and was known to say that if the local baker had not handed him a loaf of bread occasionally, he would have starved. He washed himself and his clothes in the dam and a well- told story is that of the crows stealing his soap from the dam. He set a trap for the crows, attached gelignite to their body and sent them on their way! During this time, John built two large sheds, one for packing fruit and the other for storage of machinery.
A four-roomed timber and iron clad home with interior walls of pressed metal and veranda all around was built around 1925. The home initially had no bathroom or laundry and these were added at a later stage.

 OTHER SHEDS OF THE MOFFETT PROPERTY          #5
 

  JOHN MOFFETT'S NEW HOUSE 1925         #6
 

  CHRIS MOFFETT (Wife of John's brother) WASHING AT THE DAM        #7
 

The family bathed in a tub in the kitchen in front of the wood stove and the laundry was carried out down by the dam (approximately 1 km from the house) where a copper had been installed.
As the house had only 2 bedrooms, William (Bill) slept on the veranda, wheeling his bed around the veranda according to the weather conditions. Initially lighting was supplied with lamps and later a diesel motor installed behind the packing shed to supply 12 volt power to the house for the use of lights, ironing and a washing machine. Each time power was required the diesel motor had to be started and then, at the end of the day, had to be turned off at the sheds. The home has since been added to the Municipal Inventory of Buildings by the then Shire of Kalamunda because of the pressed metal interior walls. The Moreton Bay Fig Tree and Carob Tree are also on the ‘Significant Trees’ register in the Shire of Kalamunda.
 During the Second World War (on 18 June 1942, aged 55 years) John Moffett enlisted in the Australia Army Home Guard Unit, Fremantle Battalion. His discharge papers show he was Private John Moffett, number W68212. His posting at discharge was the 2nd Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps. John was a member of the Darling Range Roads Board and the Kalamunda Horticultural Society; his photograph is exhibited in the Orchard Shed in the Kalamunda History Village. He was also a member of the Grand Lodge of Masons, Darling Range Branch, joining on 1st May 1937.

John was the proud owner of one of the first cars in the area, a Dodge, pictured below with Mary, Margaret & Evelyn. Prior to this, transport was via horse and sulky.

The family tells the story of when approaching the Moffett Road corner a little too fast in his new car, John was heard to say as he gripped the steering wheel, “Whoo Boy, Whoo”! John was a terrible driver and would travel down Hay Street, Perth, passing the trams on the wrong side!

JOHN, MARGARET & CHRIS WITH HORDE & SULKY           #8
 

   MARGARET, MARY & EVELYN IN NEW CAR        #9
 

John returned to Ireland, departing Western Australia February, 1925 and returning on the ‘Orsova’ , departing London on the 24 July 1925. He was 43 years of age. It was during this time that he met MARGARET FARR, who became his first wife and mother to their daughters Margaret and Evelyn. Margaret Farr arrived in Fremantle on the ‘Jervis Bay’ on 23 December, 1926. Margaret was 23 years of age. John Moffett and Margaret Farr were married on 13 April 1927 in Melbourne with John’s brother William and his wife Chris as witnesses. It is believed they travelled to Melbourne via rail for their marriage.

Maggie, as she was fondly known, settled into life with John at Moffett Road, giving birth to their two daughters, Margaret born 11 February 1928 and Evelyn born 23 August 1929. Tragically Maggie passed away on 1st September, 1929, ten days after the birth of Evelyn. We believe John travelled in his horse and cart to collect Maggie and Evelyn, only to be told that Maggie had passed away. In shock, John returned home on foot, leaving his horse and cart at King Edward Memorial Hospital. Evelyn remained at King Edward for several months whilst Margaret was cared for by friends and neighbours of John.
 

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   MARGARET "Maggie" WITH DAUGHTER MARGARET        #10
 

At this time, John wrote to Maggie’s sister Mary Farr in Ireland, asking her to come to Australia with a view to returning to Ireland with Margaret and Evelyn. Mary Farr arrived in W.A. on the 'Otranto' on 19 August, 1930.

Mary never returned to Ireland and subsequently married John Moffett in 1931 at the Methodist Church in Carmel. John was aged 49 years and Mary 26 years. Witnesses were Annie Burns (Mary’s sister who resided in Melbourne) and Sydney Ashmore. A reception for family and friends was held at the Moffett Road home.

Their son, William John Moffett, was born on 28 December 1933.

   JOHN & MARY MOFFETT ON THEIR WEDDING DAY        #11
 

 MARY & JOHN MOFFETT WITH THEIR CHILDREN:  EVELYN, WILLIAM & MARGARET          #12
 

John and Mary were members of the Walliston Methodist Church, John having contributed to the construction of the Church. Margaret and Mary Farr were daughters of Henry Farr and Emma Jamison, the second wife of Henry Farr, also residents of Pomeroy, Northern Ireland. Four children were born to Henry Farr during his first marriage to Annie Wilkinson :-
William born 1879 married Mary Sterling
Alexander born 1880
Thomas born 1882 married Fanny Wright
Eliza Jane born 1885
At the death of Emma Wilkinson, Henry Farr married Emma Jamison and ten children were born to that marriage:-
Annie born 1889
Sarah born 1891
Samuel John born 1893
Robert born 1895 married Hanna Boyle
Emily born 1896 married James Mitchell
Joseph born 1899
Henry born 1901
Margaret born 1903 married John Moffett
Mary born 1906 married John Moffett
David born 1908

 FLORENCE & BERT LEY WITH WILLIAM MOFFETT          #13
 

John and Mary worked side-by-side on the orchard, assisted by Margaret, Evelyn and William (Bill) and employees Bert Ley and

Frank Yarnold. Florence Ashcroft assisted Mary in the house and Bert and Florrie married during their years at Moffett Road. Mary and John decorated one of the sheds for their reception; they moved the piano into the shed for the occasion with Mary providing the catering. John assisted Bert and Florence Ley to purchase their orchard at Carmel.

The Moffett Family had a reputation for producing high quality fruit, well sought after at the markets. In October 1939 John was awarded a Certificate of Special Merit for Washington Navel Oranges exhibited at The Royal Agricultural Society, one of several awards received for his quality fruit. In September 1928 John was paid Eight Pounds, Ten Shillings and Sixpence for 18 boxes of Oranges and Mandarins sent to Berryman & Langley Limited at the markets in James Street, Perth.

Mary was well known for her culinary skills, winning many prizes at the Kalamunda Horticultural Show and the Canning Agricultural & Horticultural Show where in November 1942, she was awarded First Prize for her Cream Puffs.

PRODUCE DOCKETS           #14
 

CERTIFICATE OF SPECIAL MERIT, ROYAL SHOW 1939           #15
 

John and Mary entertained friends every Sunday, Mary serving her delicious cakes. Their friends including the Baldwins and Percies would take a bus from Perth to the corner of Lesmurdie Road and Welshpool Road (known as Champions Corner) where John would collect them. They would enjoy the hospitality of Mary and John and John would return them to the bus stop to catch the bus back to their homes in the suburbs of Perth.

John Moffett was recognised as a hard, but honest man and was held in high esteem in the district. Many stories have been told and one is that William (Bill) built a go-cart and one day, much to Mary's fright, the children took her up the hill on Moffett Road, letting poor Mary have the ride of her lifetime. She was petrified!
 

WILLIAM & JOHN MOFFETT IN THE ORCHARD           #16
 

Bill was taught to shoot by his Father John throwing a penny into the air and was ultimately credited with extreme skills whilst serving with the National Service Group in Northam, being escorted around the area in a jeep. He was also well known for his spin bowling skills when on the cricket field.

Margaret Moffett (nee Farr) passed away 1st September 1929.
John Moffett passed away 22nd August, 1958.
Mary Moffett (nee Farr) passed away 20th October 1977.
Margaret Woods (nee Moffett) passed away 13th July 2009

Every endeavour has been made to accurately record the details however if you would like to provide additional images and/or newer information we are pleased to update the details on this site. Please use CONTACT at the top of this page to email us. We appreciate your involvement in recording the history of our area.

References:                 Article:         Kalamunda & Districts Historical Society

                                  Images:      Kalamunda & Districts Historical Society    1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
                                                  
                                                 
                                                 

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