Sawmills
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PICKERING BROOK SAWMILL Researched, Compiled
& Written by GORDON FREEGARD March 2021 Sydney ASHMORE |
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R.M.S. OTWAY SAILING SCHEDULE 1911 #2 |
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THE SYD ASHMORE FAMILY c1921
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Gertrude Jolliffe was born in 1892 in England and came to Australia and married Sydney in 1913. They lived at 177
Sewell Street, Plympton in the Perth district of Fremantle, and had four children, Joe Harold, born 30th August 1915,
Mary born 1916, Lucy born 1917 and George born 1921. During the 1st World War his brother served as a Private in the 48th
Battalion and was killed in action on 6th August 1916 in Pozieres,
France. Sydney wrote to the A.I.F. on 9th December 1916 asking about
his brother, as he had not yet been informed of his death. Two years later he
received his late brother’s personal effects from France, which consisted of a
disc, knife, testament and tin. During the years 1915 and 1916, they lived in Narrogin where Syd worked
as an Engine Cleaner, before moving to Carmel where their address was Darling
Dance School up until 1921. On 6th June 1923 he purchased 940 acres of land in Winchester
from Charles B. Pearson. It was Location M1091 of Victoria Location 1938 and it
still had installments owing to the Midland Railway Company. Seven years later,
on 27th July 1930 he sold the property to Howard F. T. Cant and
George H. Cant of Greenough. During the time he owned the property it does not
appear that he resided on or farmed it.
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He worked as a contractor in Bickley in 1925 and obviously Syd had also
opened the City View & Suburban Fruit Case Factory in Bickley about the
same time. He was advertising three-quarter bushel flat fruit cases at 7 shillings
(70 cents) a dozen, dump fruit cases at 9 shillings (90 cents) a dozen delivered free
to your Railway Siding. In March 1926 he offered for sale a going concern Spot Mill Concession
or to exchange it for an English Motor Lorry. The Fruit Case Factory operated
until 1932 when a number of events happened that year. He disposed of his 100
acre property at Baker’s Hill to Mr. J. Robinson in May and then one month
later, on 4th
June of 1932, he moved his Fruit Case Factory to Canning Road, near the corner
of what is now Miletti Road, Lesmurdie. A year later in August 1933, the mill
was sold to David Tognella. Syd Ashmore then bought a farm property at Wadderin Hill in the Narembeen district which he named "Carmel". It was situated about 12 miles north of Narembeen on the Merredin/Narembeen Road. He farmed there for the years 1935-1950. Gertrude wrote in her diary about how hard the times were. She wrote about Joe putting in 20 to 30 acres of oats or wheat a day using horses. They cut jam posts to make a stable. Making chaff for the horses was a family affair, and they also made their own butter. Joe worked on the farm for many years without pay. The years were tough and money was scarce. Their neighbours were the Romalors, Tadors, Schillings and MacColls. They all helped one another when there was a need.
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SYD & GERTRUDE ASHMORE IN THE 1960's #4
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After he retired and he moved to 98 Great Eastern Highway, Victoria Park. Syd died on 13th February 1979 aged 92, Gertrude died on 9th July 1967 aged 74 and both are buried in the Guildford Cemetery Joe ASHMORE Two of the children married in 1943. Mary married Charles R. Hollingsworth and moved to reside in Kalgoorlie. In June 1943 Joseph Harold married Glenice Valma Jean Matthews in South Perth. Glenice was born 8th July 1915 at Wellington Mills. There was no honeymoon. It was just straight back to the farm for the seeding programme. Glenice learned to appreciate and love her in-laws, but longed for a home of her own. She and Joe eventually leased a property from a Paddy Dagg, some 20 miles east of Narembeen. The house was a rough three roomed building, made mostly of corrugated iron. Glenice raked, cleaned, scrubbed and threw out hundreds of beer bottles. She made wheat bag walls, white-washed them and put up curtains. Their first two children were born there - Merilyn Unice in 1944 and Rosalie in 1946. During the war there was a shortage of money and supplies, so extra money was made selling eggs, butter and vegetables to the local people on Friday shopping day in Narembeen. Between seeding and harvest, Joe went out digging dams for extra cash. It was hard, dirty work, from early in the morning until late at night. |
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Glenice was a young lady from the city and found the days very long and lonely with no-one around to talk to. But it had to be endured, as she told her children, "I loved my husband and the very humble home we started." Joe purchased his own farm from Sid Gardner around 1947 and the little family moved in. For Glenice there was more scrubbing and cleaning, for Joe, more clearing land. He purchased a General Grant Army Tank that sound like a jet plane. It bashed the bush and pushed the trees over as it went along. Then three more children were born - John in 1949, Lesley in 1951 and Terrence in 1952. Joe's well stocked workshop at "Welcome Downs" became the local "fix-it centre" for the farms around. Broken down trucks, utes and farm equipment turned up at all hours. "Just leave everything where you find it," was Joe's request to family and friends. Glenice said it was like Hay Street with all the comings and goings. |
GENERAL GRANT ARMY TANK SIMILIAR TO WHAT JOE USED ON THE FARM #5 |
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Around this time the East Narembeen Seventh-day Adventist Church was established. The Ashmore Family raised funds for the church assisting with cleaning, picking stumps and cropping projects. Glenice ran special programs at the church, known as "Sunshine Hours". Meanwhile Syd and Gertrude had built a new brick house on the Narembeen farm, which in still standing today. When they retired to Perth, George, their youngest son, took over the farm with his wife Esther and their children - Kerry, Susan, Graham, Sidney and Linley. The farm in time was sold and George and Esther moved away, leaving young Sidney and his family, living and working around the Narembeen district. Their eldest daughter, Merilyn married John Philip Findley at Merredin in 1965. At "Welcome Downs", Joe and Glenice had taken on the care of another child, David. Then on the 28th January 1973 At Joe's funeral, Lloyd Dunn, a former worker at Ashmore's Case Mill, did not think he would know anybody. He stood well back and then saw a little old man slowly walking up with the aid of a walking stick. He didn't recognise him immediately until he saw his hands. He knew instantly from the pattern of missing fingers that this was Syd Ashmore. It was then that the memories started flooding back. He went over an introduced himself. The old man leaned on his walking stick and looked hard at him. "I'm Lloyd Dunn. I used to work for you on your fruit case mill at Lesmurdie and used to live near the mill at the back of McClure's shed in Walliston. I remember you cutting fifty dozen cases a day. His face lit up and he said, "You remember that do you?" In the clear voice Lloyd had known so well so long ago. "So |
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SYDNEY
& GERTRUDE ASHMORE WITH GRAND-DAUGHTER MERILYN 1952
#6 |
The farm again became a lonely place for Glenice. Terry married Rhonda Harders and David left to find a job. So she returned to Perth, living first with her daughter Lesley and son-in-law Darryl Collett. She then moved to a retirement village where she spent many happy hours, busy with her many handcraft activities and involvement with her children and grandchildren. In July 2009. a day before her 94th birthday, Glenice passed away. Her children still live and work in the Narembeen district.
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David TOGNELLA David bought
the Mill from Syd Ashmore in August 1933. D. W. SCHERINI The Mill was sold to D. W. Scherini in 1940. Antonio BRESCACIN
& Pietro TOGNELLA Antonio (Tony) Brescacin was born at San Fiore, Province
of Treviso, on 20th November 1911. His parents, Luigi and Maria (nee Pagotto), had six
children and supported them on leased land. San Fiore had a population of about
6,000 when Tony lived there but two wars and mass migration has reduced the
population considerably, as it has done throughout the province. Tony had only four years of school to begin with, as his
parents were too poor to pay the required school fees for all their children.
However, when Mussolini took control of Italy, he decreed that all children
should sit their fourth year school certificate. Any parent refusing to allow
their child to remain at school or return for the certificate, was fined 50
lire. Tony liked school so he was pleased that his mother could not pay the
fine – he returned to school instead. Mussolini also allowed the eldest sons to
attend college free and but Tony did not progress to this level as he was
needed to work on the land. In 1931, Tony entered the army to serve nine months of
national service, then as the first son of a widow, he was allowed home in
1936, when Italy invaded Abyssinia, Tony was conscripted into the army. He was
sent to Africa as a telephone engineer in military communications. After his
release he returned to work on his family farm and later found work in a brush
factory about 6 kilometres from San Fiore. Internal Spanish politics were then causing tensions
throughout Europe. When civil war began in Spain, Tony was the first person to
emigrate from San Fiore. He realised the great step he had taken when he stood
on the dock at Fremantle and saw no one he knew – a great difference from his
home village. Tony’s relations, the Pagottos from Castello Roganzuolo, were already in
Western Australia. And they gave him a job at their orchard in Lesmurdie. One
of the things he did there was to alter the course of the creek, which ran
through the property, and stone walled it for its entire length
through the orchard. Later he worked at St. Brigid’s Convent and at weekends
worked for Mr. R. Sampson. At 8 o’clock one morning, shortly after the Second World War began, the
police came to find Tony. He was offered the choice of fighting for Australia
or internment. He said he would not fight his brothers and chose internment.
Luckily, the priest at the convent, Father Pace, was allowed to take
responsibility for him and he could stay at Lesmurdie. Permits were required to
leave the district for shopping but Tony does not think the priest ever
remembered to get them for him. Tony could also work for the local case mill
during their busy times but he was not allowed to buy property. Therefore, when
he and Pietro Tognella were offered the case mill the sale could not go through
as he had been in the country for only three years, not long enough to be
naturalised. |
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THE OLD DESERTED CASE MILL FACTORY ON CANNING ROAD #7 |
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However in 1941 they were again offered to purchase the
mill and this time they were in the position, by law, to do so. The mill badly
needed updating and could only support one person at this stage, so it was
decided to end the partnership. This was done in a very novel way – with a pack
of cards – the first to draw a king put a price on the mill, the second to draw
a king decided if he wanted the mill or the money. Tony drew the first king and
Tognella the second. Tognella took the money. Tony began updating the mill and
bought a second truck. It often needed repairs and as Tony spoke little English
he had to take the required piece from the truck to the mechanic to show what
he needed. Later, Andy McWhirtter of Bickley, serviced his trucks. Tony thought
Andy was an excellent mechanic. After the war Tony returned to Italy where he met his
wife, Antonietta Brescacin (no relation). Her family ran a grocery cooperative
at San Fiore. She did not decide to come to Western Australia straight away. It
took many letters before Tony could persuade her to come. They were married in
1950. Tony has been guarantor for many Fiorese, who in turn called their
families and friends, thus becoming the largest “chain migration” in the hills
area. All came to work at the mill although not all stayed there as the mill
usually employed only 7 to 10 men at a time. When cardboard cartons were
introduced into the fruit trade in 1958/9 the mill branched out into building
timber, sleepers and bridge timber. Among those who were sponsored by Tony are; Antonia Di
Nardi, Luigi Brescasin, Ottorio Brescacin, Ottavio Tonon, Paulo Bottega, Tino
Bottega, Francesco Zambon, Guarrino Marcon, Franco Marcon, Gildo Bontempo, Rino
Brescasin, Vittorio Fullin, Nilo Brescacin and Gino Brescacin. There is a
strong San Fiore Association in the area to keep alive their memories of home. Tony and Antonietta had three children; Danny, Mary and Steven. Danny
married Michelle Alnes, Mary married Oreste Collodel. Sadly Oreste passed away in 2021. And Steven married
Kathie Cveyic. |
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TONY & ANTONIETTA BRESCACIN WITH THEIR CHILDREN: DANNY, MARY &
STEVEN #8 |
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The timber for fruit cases was cut into slats and ends and
tops and formed into bundles, secured with wire and called "shooks".
The fruit cases were cut in size to 1 bushel and 1/2 bushel dumps and 3/4
bushel flats. The dump cases were used for citrus, apples and pears, 1/2 dumps
for large plums, and the flat cases for stone fruit. The reason for using
different cases was that stone fruit bruised easily so pressure and weight had
to be avoided and there was a division in the centre of the flat. The fruit
was able to be displayed in the markets when 2 or 3 of the slats were removed
and the case laid flat - thus the name "flat". |
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REMAINS
OF UN-USED SHOOKS #9 |
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REMAINS
OF UN-USED SHOOKS #10 |
REMAINS
OF UN-USED SHOOKS #11 |
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During the 1950s wooden fruit cases were no longer in use to conserve timber,
they were replaced by cardboard cartons and plastic containers. So that the mainstay of the Lesmurdie Saw Mills, as it
was now called, was rapidly being phased out. The mill underwent two major
changes. Firstly in 1962 it was re-located to Illawarra Road, (now Carinyah
Road) Pickering Brook. Leo Vinci and his cousin Frank Stervaggi had purchased
land there in the early 1950s and established the saw mill and it was to this
site that they moved to. Where it still remains today (2021). |
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PICKERING
BROOK SAWMILL #112 |
PICKERING
BROOK SAWMILL #13 |
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PICKERING
BROOK SAWMILL #14 |
PICKERING
BROOK SAWMILL #15 |
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Secondly, after a time it diversified its production, branching out into timber for building. It
was a good time to move for another reason: as Kalamunda’s population grew and
the need for new housing developed, the land in Canning Road Lesmurdie was in
demand for encroaching urbanisation. (NB It was not until 1954 that Kalamunda
finally had a piped water supply laid on to each house, and rapid development
occurred soon after.) LESMURDIE AGRICULTURAL
CLUB |
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LESMURDIE AGRICULTURAL CLUB
BUILDING #15 |
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The old case mill was rented to the Lesmurdie Agricultural Club to use as headquarters. The Lesmurdie Agricultural Club had its beginnings in the late 1950s when a dedicated group of mainly Italian orchardists and timber industry people used to gather at the old vacated Lesmurdie Sawmill in Canning Road to play bocce, socialise and maintain close ties with their fellow countrymen. A bocce court had been constructed from old railway sleepers. The sawmilling operations transferred to Pickering Brook in 1962 and it was decided to form a club and lease the vacated Lesmurdie Sawmill and surrounding orchard lease. A meeting was called and a steering committee formed. The original name was the Lesmurdie Agricultural Club. It was felt this name reflected the nature of the Club as a place to meet and socialise for the whole community. The Club traded at this site for the next 14 years but experienced financial difficulties for most of this time. In 1975 it was decided to purchase the current site in Boronia Road. It was felt that a new Club was a better option than continuing in rented premises which were in dire need of repair. They ultimately moved and the club was renamed the Lesmurdie Club. The site subsequently
developed in 1976, by the Shire of Kalamunda and opened on 29th October
as a Youth and Recreation Centre. Later still, the Church of Christ took it
over and it became their main church building, and so it remains today. |
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THE YOUTH & RECREATION
CENTRE #16 |
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THE YOUTH & RECREATION
CENTRE #17 |
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Long-term local orchardist, Ross Annetts, who bought many fruit boxes from both the Lesmurdie Case Mill and from Pickering Brook, documents that his last record of case sales from A. Brescasin was May 1961, probably from the Pickering Brook site by then. He also states that the Jarrah wooden fruit cases were not re-cycled; once used they were burnt as fire wood. This may horrify the modern conservationist but Ross states that all the boxes were stencilled quite specifically with the grower’s name, fruit variety, size of fruit and the numbers. Hence, recycling may have been seen as too difficult. Leo VINCI & Frank
STERVAGGI Meanwhile, according to
information from the current owner, Leo Vinci and his cousin Frank Stervaggi
had purchased land in the early 1950s and built the saw mill on Illawarra Road
(now Carinyah Road) which is still standing today in Pickering Brook. They
milled timber to supply jarrah fruit boxes for local orchardists. Around 1958 timber
for the mill became very hard to get and that was when Mac Beard and Neil
Weston came to the rescue. They negotiated a deal to cut trees on Alan Fernie’s
private property. Neil felled and Mac carted the timber to the mill, paying
Alan for each load. This meant the mill survived through a tight situation. BIAGGONIS FAMILY Leo Vinci then sold it to
the Biaggonis family who worked with Tony Brescasin and also Alec Guimelli. It
was to this saw mill that Tony Brescasin moved in 1960. Initially, according to
Ernie Bechelli, this mill was still just a case mill using poor quality timber
to make cases. In fact, he was one of the people felling timber for this
Pickering Brook Mill. It was for him only a part-time job because it was a
small mill and it didn’t have a very big intake of logs. Ernie describes the fruit
boxes which were still being made then. There
was a Dump Box which was one bushel The next one down was a Flat which was 3/4 of
a bushel, mainly for stone fruit. Then there was a Half Dump which was 1/2 bushel
for export plums. At that time Pickering Brook produced a lot of stone fruit
and apples. NB. A bushel is a measurement of capacity being 8 gallons or
36.4 litres. In 1963 Tony Brescasin sold
the Case Mill to a group whose names were once again all Italian (Biaggonis,
Menimi and others, including Mr Mori). Soon after this the Pickering Brook Saw
Mill got a licence to produce scantling and thus a new era was ushered in. Scantling is the better
quality timber used to produce building materials such as flooring, rafters,
joinery of all sorts. These were the new and substantial products of the Saw
Mill. Ernie Bechelli was the main feller for the mill, providing the scantling. The selection of trees felled was largely
done by Forestry Department (later CALM and later again Forest Products. They
had tree markers. They came out and told us which trees were to be removed and
we had to produce the saw logs out of those trees. The trees were nearly
all Jarrah and 100% of what Ernie felled, using chain saws, went to
Pickering Brook Saw Mill. When CALM
got stricter….the timber fellers had to be more accurate and had to produce
more products out of the logs….the timber wasn’t wasted like it was in earlier
years. It was during this time, the
1960s onwards, that many of the general public were becoming increasingly
concerned at the logging in old growth forests, a precious resource in a very
limited area of the state of Western Australia. This gradually developed into a
major political issue in the late 1990s. Ernie’s Brother Leslie became involved with the saw mill circa the mid 1980’s. The sawmill’s bush log loader had a major engine failure and the mills regular repairer was not available for several weeks to repair the loader. Leslie is a qualified heavy duty diesel mechanic, via Ernie - Leslie was asked if he would help and carry out mechanical repairs on the loader engine as the loader was required to finish the seasons logging operations. In the following years Leslie’s services were frequently called upon for mechanical repairs as well as assistance in bush log extraction and road haulage to the saw mill. The sawmill Owners then purchasing replacement or additional equipment for road or bush operations, Leslie was then used as a purchasing consultant. When ownership of the mill changed to the Mori Brothers, Leslie’s services were retained by the mill. Tony Brescasin died on 3rd
September 2000 aged 89 and is buried at the Guildford Cemetery.
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MORI Luciano & His
Brother In 1991 new tenders were called for logging
operations (Contract of Supply) as well sawmilling operations (Contract of
Sale) by department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM). Pickering Brook Sawmills (Mori Brothers)
were successful with both tenders. The devil of detail in the contracts meant
the Sawmill logging operations could only supply the Sawmill with around 20 to
30 percent of logs produced by the logging contract with the remaining log
production having to be delivered to other saw mills. This would be a difficult situation for the
Sawmill. |
PICKERING BROOK SAWMILL BUSINESS CARD #21
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A proposition was put to Leslie who discussed it with his brother Ernie both agreed to accept the proposition with CALM’s approval to purchase the logging operations contract from the Sawmill. The Bechelli Brothers operated the 1991 logging contract which expired in early 1996. Bechelli Brothers successfully won the new 5x2 year (7 years in total) 1996 contract and operated the contract until mid 2002. By the year 2000, the Pickering Brook Saw Mill was fully owned by the Mori brothers In February 2001 a new
government was elected, the Gallop Government. One of the key election issues
had been the logging of old growth forests. Gallop moved quickly and Western
Australia became the first state in Australia to cease the logging of old growth
forests, amidst much vocal opposition. The comprehensive Forest Management Plan
permanently prohibited the harvesting of forest products from more than 1.4
million hectares of reserves. This had major ramifications for the little
Pickering Brook Saw Mill, though none of it was unexpected. Ernie Bechelli, who
with his brother, by then had had their own logging contract since 1991, took
the opportunity to forfeit the contract and retire. The government bought the
contract back at what Ernie thought was a reasonably fair price. Both Pickering Brook Sawmill and Bechelli Brothers ceased
operations around mid 2002.
Phillip & Rosetta
VINCI The Pickering Brook Saw Mill
closed down in 2002. Phillip and Rosetta Vinci then purchased the Saw Mill in 2002
and built up a business with special projects. |
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PICKERING
BROOK SAWMILL #19 |
Frank PINNER &
Margaret THOMAS In
2006 the Pickering Brook Saw Mill was sold to Frank Pinner and Margaret Thomas.
Frank continued to mill timber for the Mandurah Jetties until it became
unviable. They continued with a firewood business until 2018. It was a business
that required a lot of labour and machinery and getting dry timber from
Forestry Products became almost impossible. The
Pickering Brook Saw Mill is now used as a truss and framing plant and building
business, however, all the old machinery has been retained and the old house
has been refurbished.
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PICKERING
BROOK SAWMILL #20 |
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Of all the timber mills in
the area from Mason’s Mill at Carmel in the early 1860s, to the hey-day of
Canning Mills (c.1891-1914), Barton’s Mill near Pickering Brook and the
proliferation of smaller mills (Guppy, Smailes, Patterson, McKenzies, Elson,
Wright, Oma, Port & Honey and others), it would appear that the Pickering
Brook Mill is the last still operating. Drive by some time and have
a look. Maybe the gates will be open. You will still see the remains of much
old machinery indicating some of the sheer hard work and human endeavour that
went into Kalamunda’s timber industry.
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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 click here to email us at flortona@iinet.net.au We appreciate your involvement in recording the history of our area.
References: Article:
Gordon Freegard
Images: 1, 2, 5 Internet
Copyright 2008 - 2022 Gordon Freegard |
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