"RENOWN" - THE UNTOLD STORY  NEW

Researched and compiled by Gordon Freegard from information gathered from many sources including details from Jeff Austin and David Mizen

This is the story about a very small locomotive called the “RENOWN”. It was a particular type of loco which incorporated a built in steam operated crane that could lift up to 7 tons.

It was manufactured in 1887 by the firm Hawthorn Leslie & Co., Ltd., at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. They were a very large firm manufacturing Ships and Locomotives. The RENOWN was shipped to Adelaide for display in the Jubilee International Exhibition to promote the expert workmanship of this company.

    IMAGE OF CRANE LOCOMOTIVE SIMILAR IN SIZE, TYPE & SHAPE OF THE "RENOWN"       #1
THERE HAS BEEN NO IMAGES FOUND OF "RENOWN" WITH CRANE ATTACHED
 

  R. & W. HAWTHORN LESLIE & CO., LTD         #2
 

It arrived in Adelaide on 7^th June 1887 just four days before the exhibition opened. It was displayed in the Machinery Hall by Maurice Coleman Davies agent for R. & W. Hawthorn and Leslie & Co, (Limited). Maurice Davies was already heavily involved in the Western Australia timber industry with his main sawmill at Karridale. He was connected with the building jetties at Fremantle, Eucla, Carnarvon as well as structures like the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, Alexandra Bridge and of course the development of other timber mills at Boranup (1891), Jarrahdene (1895), and Coodarup (1882). 

R. & W. HAWTHORN LESLIE & CO., LTD ADVERTISEMENT         #2a
 

The Adelaide International Jubilee Exhibition of 1887 was a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Queen Victoia's accession to the throne on 20th June 1837, held in Adeliade, South Australia in 1887. It was also a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Proclamation of South Australia which occurred around six months earlier, on 28th December 1886.  

The exhibition, which covered 18 acres, housed 2,200 exhibitions from 26 different countries, opened on 21st June 1887 and ran until 7th January 1888, during which 753,000 visitors attended. The catalogue contained 218 pages of exhibitors.
 

ADELAIDE JUBILEE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION BUILDING           #3
 

     ADELAIDE JUBILEE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION CATALOGUE      #4
 

   ADELAIDE JUBILEE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION PLAN        #5
 

In the advertising material for the Exhibition the crane locomotive was described as such:

“Is described as a patented combined locomotive and crane, a new and useful invention, perfect for hauling purposes as a locomotive, and discharging from its own carriages promptly. The engine is so designed that the crane does not interfere or hamper it in any way. With five loaded wagons attached it will proceed up an incline of 1 in 33, or with 15 wagons up an incline of 1 in 100. The crane swings around in a complete circle, and the jib can be lowered or raised as desired. Two hooks are placed on the jib, giving a larger radius from which to lift a small weight when necessary. The crane is entirely manipulated by steam gear. These crane are extensively used in steel works, ship-yards, manufactories in general, among others by Sir W. G. Armstrong, Mitchell, & Co. (Limited), and the Italian Government at Spezia. For military operations where rapid transit is necessary The cranes have been found well suited, and to railway contractors they may be recommended as of great service. The locomotive crane will be giving working demonstration at the Exhibition.”

The Exhibition finished on the 7th January 1888 and the unsold "RENOWN" was put into storage awaiting further instructions from the manufacturer.
 

Meanwhile in Western Australia a lot of activities were in full swing. Mason & Bird’s sawmill had got into financial difficulties and after a number of sales and take-overs resulted in Stevens and Atkins leasing the mill. Certificate of title shows Edward Keane took possession in March 1887. However Stevens and Atkins partnership ended in December 1887 and was formally dissolved on 7th February 1888. Edward Keane then took control of the mill but initially did nothing with the mill but with the termination of the Stevens & Atkins partnership it opened the door for him to finally put his plan into action.

     NEIL McNEIL      #6
 

  EDWARD VIVIANNE KEANE           #7

The Perth Water Works project was being mooted. The proposal moved forward following a visit which deemed Munday Brook as a suitable site for a reservior.Keane became involved in the project and a contract to build the dam was finalised with Neil McNeil. By December 1889 work had commenced on the Victoria Reservior for the Perth Water Supply. The Perth Water Works site and Mason & Bird’s Mill site were proximate to each other.

Edward Keane’s forward thinking saw the potentual for use for a crane loco and started to put a plan into action. Knowing the "RENOWN" was in storage in Adeliade awaiting a sale, possibly to him, he started searching for an experienced driver for the crane loco.

This led him to negociate with John Hampson, a tunnelling engineer working with crane locos building railways and tunnels for the coal industry in England. John agreed to join Keane and arrived at King George Sound aboard the "Austral" in 1890 with his wife Elizabeth, and their then three children, landed at Albany. On reaching Midland Junction they were first housed in a railway "V" van in the Midland Railway Company Yard on land where the Centrepoint Shopping Centre stands today. This was temporary until the erection of suitable tents and whilst houses were being built in Woodbridge Terrace.

John was born in April 1855, in Gornel Wood, Dudley, Staffordshire. He was the son of John Hampson (railway mining contractor). John's wife Elizabeth, was a Midwife and eventually became listed on the Register of Midwives in Western Australia. On arrival in Australia their then youngest son Harry was a toddler of 10 months old. John and Elizabeth arrived in Albany with their first three children  and then onto Midland where the rest of their were born in Midland. Harry and Fred both worked at the Railway. 
 

  JOHN HAMPSON         #8
 

   ELIZABETH HAMPSON        #9
 

Their children were Louisa (1880), Florrie (1884), Harry (1890), John (1892), Ivy (Dot) (1895) (Mrs. M. Taylor), James (1897), Frederick (1900) and Olive (1911) (Mrs. W. Dawson). Sadly Elizabeth died aged 60 on 13^th April 1923, however John lived till he was 98 and died on 2^nd July 1949.

     JOHN HAMPSON WITH HIS SON, HARRY    c1940s      #10
 

Having secured an experienced driver, Keane then purchased "RENOWN". The locomotive left Adelaide aboard the “S.S. Albany” on 6^th December 1890, and was described as “ 1 Crane Locomotive”. The consignee was M. C. Davies obviously acting on behalf of Hawthorn Leslie. It arrived at Fremantle on 13^th December 1890, and was taken to Keane’s construction depot at Midland Junction. Its driver John Hampson and family had already arrived and settled in Midland Junction a month earlier.

At the time "RENOWN" arrived in WA, the company engineer Charles Cooper was demonstrating his patented locomotive spark arrestor. A trial was held on 10th December 1890 with a locomotive fitted with this device and later photographs of RENOWN show it also fitted with this spark arrestor. How long 'RENOWN' was fitted with the crane jib at Midland Junction is not known but fitting the spark arrestor likely required its removal.
 

           #

    CRANE LOCOMOTIVE "RENOWN" AT KARRIDALE WITH CRANE REMOVED       #11
 

Work was progressing on the building of Victoria Reservior.

“The reservoir is just one mile from the Canning saw mill, known as  ´Mason's Station´.  The tramway from the Canning landing has been extended to the reservoir, and the whole line is now undergoing general repairs and will be utilized for the conveyance of all portable material required for the works. Horse-power in this instance will be dispensed with, being substituted by a locomotive engine which will for the first time in the history of the Canning rattle over its wooden rail road”.

This reference suggests that maybe the "RENOWN" was going to be driven up the repaired wooden tramway to work on the reservior. In 1872 Mason& Bird constructed a wooden tramway 9 miles (14.5 Kilometres) long from “Mason’s Landing” on the Canning River at Cannington up the ranges to their sawmill at Bickley. Newspaper articles from 1872 report that some steel rails were used possibly on the corners or bends to support the stress placed on these sections. There is a theory that steel rails were installed on some other sections of the wooden tramway to allow a small lightweight steam locomotive to transverse it.

"HERALD" Saturday 3rd Feb 1872
 

 INQUIRER & COMMERCIAL NEWS Wednesday 7th Feb 1872
 

WOODEN TRAMWAY SIMILAR TO ONE BUILT BY MASON, BIRD & COMPANY  #12
 

In March 1891 it was reported in a newspaper article;

          “A powerful locomotive crane is being imported which is to be run on a tram to be constructed on the embankment at the back of the wall, which will pick up the concrete in “skiffs” and bear it off, and deposit it where required. Effecting the saving of a large amount of manual labor.”

There is a line of thought that a larger crane locomotive was used on the Victoria Reservior but no proof has been discovered. The "RENOWN" weighed about 8 tons so a heavier crane locomotive would have had great difficulty negociating the fragile repaired wooden tramway.

     MORE  RECENT  PICTURE OF THE REMAINS OF THE ORIGINAL TRAMWAY           #13
 

The water works project also gave Keane the opportunity to move Mason’s Mill. Production at the mill was stepped up to produce sleepers for a new rail line out to Canning Mills. The "RENOWN" being used to bring steel rails up from Cannington and to help construct the new line. Once the line was completed then all the machinery and equipment at Mason’s Mill could be transported to the new site. 

The WA Record notes:

“Mr. S. White manager of Mr. Keane's new mill is having all the machinery and many of the buildings situated at the Mason & Bird sawmill removed to the site of the new mill”. The relocated mill was reported as operational on the 9^th April 1891. It was stated ¨Messrs. Keane and White's mill on the Canning is turning out sleepers at the rate of 800 a day¨. It appears likely that the mill was operational before the report. The Mills reported operational date is nearly 4 months before the Zigzag is reported complete.

   VERY EARLY VIEW OF CANNING MILLS SHOWING TWO MILLS AND THE LOCO "RENOWN" ON THE TURNING TRIANGLE  1891-1982c    #14
 

VICTORIA RESERVOIR AT THE END OF SUMMER   #15
 

The reported completion date for the Upper Darling Range Railway (UDRR) is the 25^th July 1891. The only way this can have occurred is that Keane moved a substantial part of the material for the Upper Darling Range Railway up the Mason Mill tramway. This could have been achieved by manual handling, however, it would have been facilitated and expedited by a locomotive crane. To that end in May 1891 the WA Record notes:

“The locomotive crane is now placed in position on the summit of the retaining wall, and works from place to place on a small tram-line”.

The only way to get a locomotive crane onto site was up the tramway as flagged in the WA Record report of 7th June 1890. In addition Lands Department Map Swan 6 shows a spur line from Location 75 (Mason & Bird’s sawmill site)to the 'main line' at Monument Hill. The most likely scenario is that Keane used Mason's Mill to cut sufficient sleepers to construct the railway to Canning Mills. This is borne out by latter reporting. The existing tram line was used to move rail up to Mason's Mill and the railway was constructed from the Mill to Location 165 at Canning Mill. Mason's Mill was dismantled, put onto the tram rolling stock and moved to Canning Mills where it was reassembled and put into operation. The remainder of the railway was then built from Monument Hill down, and from Keanes base at Midland coming up. After its completion Edward Keane’s timber line from Midland Junction to Canning Mills opened on 25th July 1891 and photographs show "RENOWN" working on this line.
 

On 20^th November 1891 a clearance auction was held at Cannington of all plant & equipment used for the Perth Water Supply contract by Neil McNeil. Interestingly it included over 30 tons of steel railway line which supports the argument that this product was used in the building of the Victoria Reservior. Also listed was a Locomotive Steam Crane (RENOWN?) which was not sold.

Obviously Edward Keane put the "RENOWN" back to work on the Upper Darling Range Railway. On 26th April 1893 it was involved in a collision with locomotive "GUILDFORD" on the zig zag railway. "RENOWN' was derailed and rolled down the embankment and at first it was thought to be badly damaged. On being recovered, the damage was only minor and it soon returned to work.
 

   CRANE LOCOMOTIVE "RENOWN" ON THE ZIG ZAG        #16
 

   CRANE LOCOMOTIVE "RENOWN" ON THE ZIG ZAG WITH SPECIAL SPARK ARRESTOR     1891 - 1892c    #17
 

In July 1895 Keane had completed the Midland Railway and sold most of his locomotives, including "RENOWN". It was sent to Karridale, near Augusta for hauling logs and timber on the forest railways of M.C. Davies Co. Ltd.
The mills run by Davies were quite progressive. The wages earned by employees were low in comparison to other businesses but Davies provided rent free housing, a doctor, clergyman and built a school, a town hall, a hospital, a racecourse and even a library. The company store provided for all the needs of the workforce and there was an agreement that prices would be only 10% above those in Perth to allow for the extra cost of freight.
In 1882 the M.C. Davies Company constructed a jetty 1,800 feet long (550 m.) at Hamelin Bay to service their new Karridale mill, which had rails along its entire length, a storehouse in the middle, two large steam cranes and a number of smaller stationery cranes for loading timber and supplies, and telephone wires connecting the store to the main office on shore. The following year a further mill was established inland at Kudardup employing 30 to 40 men, from which timber was exported over summer from the Hamelin Bay jetty and in winter from the more sheltered Flinders Bay to the south.now be tru. As the business expanded,he brought in his four sons, each taking control of certain aspects of the business.

     MAURICE COLEMAN DAVIES      #18
 

  MAURICE COLEMAN DAVIES KARRIDALE ESTATE          #19

 HAMELIN BAY JETTY          #20
 

     HAMELIN BAY JETTY        #21
 

      HAMELIN BAY JETTY       #22
 

   REMAINS OF HAMELIN BAY JETTY          #23
 

By 1891 Davies found it necessary to construct a much larger mill at Boranup, three miles north. A sizeable population had already established itself there to farm and supply provisions to the general store and stables in the growing mill town at Karridale, including fresh vegetables, potatoes, poultry and pork (Watson, 1968). Throughout this period supply of bread, beef and working bullocks was being sourced from further afield, including especially the Margaret River district further north again. In 1893 Davies traveled to London seeking further capital to aid the expansion of his business and following his return, in 1894, he restructured the company to incorporate his six sons into the business. It was renamed the M.C. Davies Timber Company Limited, carrying a capital value of £6,000 (about $1.2 million). Following this restructuring further portable mills were opened at Slabbyford and Boodjidup, with some 40 miles of narrow gauge railway, 20 miles of Government gauge railway, rolling stock with two engines operating, with two further engines brought out from England in 1898 and 1899.
 

     MAURICE COLEMAN DAVIES & HIS SIX SONS      #24
 

Davies had introduced locomotive haulage to his mill lines in January 1895 and "RENOWN" was a timely acquisition. By this time, the Cooper spark arrestor was no longer fitted to the locomotive.

By 1898 the company had two locomotives, "RENOWN" and "KATE" which was a similar size small locomotive. But the business was expanding and more locomotives were required. Additional funds from England led to this expansion and the arrival of larger and more powerful locomotives.

  CRANE LOCOMOTIVE "RENOWN"  AT KARRIDALE         #25
 

CRANE LOCOMOTIVE "RENOWN"  AT KARRIDALE         #26
 

In 1902 most of the sawmilling companies in WA were merged into ‘Millars Karri & Jarrah Co., including M.C. Davies. The Combine went about rationalizing their Western Australian timber assets and closing older mills. Karridale was one of those operations and "RENOWN" was out of use by late 1904. It was stored at Karridale and cut up for scrap in January 1910.

This little Crane Locomotive "RENOWN" played a major part in the building and development of not only the Victoria Reservior but also the creation of Canning Mills sawmills and the establishment of the Upper Darling Range Railway. It can now be truly remembered for the vital role it played in the development of this district. 
 

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:     Gordon Freegard
                                    Jeff Austin
                                    David Mizen

                     Images:   Internet               1, 2, 2a, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11,18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
                                   Gordon Freegard    7. 12, 13, 15, 24, 25, 26
                                   Tanya Hampson    8, 9, 10
                                   Ray Simpson        14, 16, 17

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