William Henry Timperley (1833-1909)
William Timperley was the Resident Magistrate at Bunbury from 1890 to 1904. Although the following biography is long, it does not entirely cover his accomplishments. William loved Bunbury and dedicated his life to the town. Sir Newton Moore, whilst proposing a toast to William, pointed out that he "had figured prominently in the early history of Bunbury (reference)."
Early Life
William, the eldest son of the Reverend William Thomas Postles Timperley and his first wife Elizabeth (née Bradney), was born in 1833 at Solihull, Warwickshire, England. He was descended from a family of landed gentry in Suffolk. Before he came to Australia, William enrolled at the University of Berne in Switzerland to study Philosophy in 1850. However, his time at university was cut short the following year when William, at the age of eighteen, immigrated to Australia with his father and brother, Frank (reference; reference).
Western Australia
After arriving in the colony, William worked as a farm labourer for a few years before joining the Western Australian police force. As he served around the state, he quickly rose from Constable in 1856 to Sergeant in 1857 to Sub-Inspector in 1860. Ten years later, in 1870, William was promoted to Inspector and became second in charge of the State police force (reference). He was the favourite to get the Superintendent's job in 1871. However, there were some complaints when he did not get the position (reference; reference). William left the police force in 1884.
After a long trip back to England, he became the Superintendent of the Aboriginal prison on Rottnest Island in 1886. William was on Rottnest for four years. According to his biography written for the Australian Dictionary of Biography, he tried to improve conditions for the prisoners by building underground water tanks to boost the inadequate water supply. He also planted an experimental pine grove on the island and was host to the Governor who holidayed there (reference).
First Posting
William was first posted to Bunbury as Officer in Charge from 1857 to 1860. During this first visit in 1858, he married Bunbury girl Rebecca Properjohn (reference; reference).
In 1860, he was transferred to Fremantle then Champion Bay before returning to Bunbury in 1865 to serve there until 1869 (reference). He and his wife sailed to Bunbury on the Wild Wave accompanied by their eldest four children (reference).
Second Posting
During his second posting to Bunbury, William was involved in the community. In 1867, at a meeting to initiate a Mechanics Institute in Bunbury, he gave a lecture on "Life in China", which those attending appreciated (reference). Later that year, William spoke at the first anniversary celebrations of the Congregational Church, commenting how well his minister, Reverend Joseph Withers and the congregational minister, Reverend Buchanan, worked together. He also said he sympathised with them over the progress of temperance and religion in the town (reference). He also sang at the opening of the Mechanics Institute in 1868 (reference).
The Escape of John Boyle O'Reilly
When the Irish political prisoner, John Boyle O'Reilly, made his famous escape to America in 1869, Sub Inspector Timperley was very involved in the investigation. William was regularly reporting to Inspector Hare regarding the escape. He communicated: "that O'Reilly has friends I can have no doubt, having had constant and frequent opportunity of communicating with different persons while travelling about as Constable and I am equally certain that many would assist a Fenian who would not give hand or foot for an ordinary prisoner of the Crown". William also added that the case was more mysterious than any other case he had been involved in (reference). After communicating to Inspector Hare that the captain of the American whaling ship, the Vantage, had probably stowed O'Reilly, William received a reprimand of sorts from the Irish protestant Inspector: "It is of no use folding your arms and saying you are satisfied he got on board and was stowed away - Is any horse missing in the neighbourhood, for O'Reilly was a cavalry soldier? Could he swim? I expect the utmost vigilance and if you want help you must have somebody sent down who will undertake the necessary inquiries" (reference). However, William was correct in his assumptions that O'Reilly had escaped.
Third Posting
In 1890, William returned to Bunbury as the Resident Magistrate and held this position until 1904 (reference). On his return, William quickly became involved with the community. In 1890, soon after he arrived, he was on the Proclamation Day committee and in 1891, he was chairman of the committee raising building funds for the Mechanics Institute (reference; reference). He was also appointed a churchwarden for St Paul's Church in 1891 (reference).
The following year, William was on the Wellington Agricultural and Pastoral Society committee and also won a prize that year in the poultry section for his ducks and drake (reference; reference). The same year, he was President of the Bunbury Cricket Club and later, in 1895, he was Secretary of the Bunbury Football Club (reference; reference).
In January 1893, William submitted a plan to the council for a Bathing House that he had designed and stated, "it was the desire of all our best wishes to transform Bunbury into the Brighton of Western Australia (reference; reference)". He was also the president of the Mechanics Institute - a position he held for three years (reference; reference).
William was an enthusiastic Freemason and had been a District Grand Senior Warden. He participated in laying the foundation stone ceremony of the new masonic lodge in Bunbury in 1883 (reference). Five years earlier, he had been the Worshipful Master of the Geraldton Freemasons when they had laid their foundation stone (reference).
In 1900, William was one of several Bunbury people who met together to form the Bunbury Orchestral Society, of which he became the inaugural president (reference). By the following year, the orchestra had gained new members and purchased new instruments, and in March 1901, the Orchestral society held a concert on the grounds of the Timperleys' home, "Treverton" on White Road. This was reported to have had a large audience and was very successful (reference).
In 1901, William suggested that Bunbury form a Tourist Association where visitors could go to get information. He felt that Bunbury had a lot to offer and should be a "thriving populous seaside resort for three or four months in the year (reference; reference)." This was deemed a good idea, so a public meeting was called to discuss it. Less than a month after the suggestion was raised, the Tourist Association was formed (reference).
The Boer War
William was involved in selecting horses and men from the district to participate in the Boer War as part of the 5th Contingent. First, accompanied by Mr John Mckiernan, William chose ten suitable horses from forty submitted to the government for around ₤15 each. After this, William was joined by Dr Williams (Government Medical Officer), Captain Woodrow and Sergeant Mitchell to select ten volunteers out of the thirty men that presented themselves to serve. After seven hours of tests, ten were chosen and went to Perth for further training (reference; reference).
Temperance
William was a supporter of the local temperance movement (reference). In 1892, when chairing an evening for visiting speaker Miss Ackerman of the Women's Christian Temperance Movement, William told the audience he had never heard a lady give a lecture before. In reply, Miss Ackerman assured him "she had no intention to take the place of men (reference)."
In 1899 William found himself in opposition to some of the leading people in the temperance movement when he was invited to chair a meeting for a united temperance demonstration. In his introductory speech, he was upfront about not being a total abstainer but could see the merits of such. William took issue when the Salvation Army Captain cited several instances of women alcoholics during the meeting and then claimed: "that Bunbury was the worst place she had yet been in so far as the drink question was concerned, in comparison to its size and population". In refuting this, William said he had been in a place that had half the population of Bunbury and four times the amount of drunkenness. He also added that this was not the case for the women of Bunbury, stating that in his nine years as Resident Magistrate, only two women had appeared before him on account of drunkenness (reference). This resulted in a flurry of letters to the local papers from both sides of the disagreement (reference; reference; reference). At the next meeting, figures had been obtained to show that eighteen women had appeared before the court regarding drunkenness and, in his absence, great emphasis was put on the Magistrate's dishonesty. The next day William replied that he was only referring to the two cases that involved local women (reference; reference).
Church in Crisis
William was a very active member of St Paul's Church and appeared to have a good relationship with Reverend Joseph Withers. In the early years of Bunbury, many of the town's churches worked together. In 1864 The Herald noted that Bunbury was a fine example of "the harmonious reunions of the various Protestant denominations for social and evangelical objects (reference)."
After Reverend Joseph Withers retired, he was replaced by the Reverend William F. Marshall, who arrived in Bunbury in June 1893 (reference). William welcomed the new Reverend, telling him, "It would be a very difficult thing for him to please everyone and no matter how he acted he would run the risk of offending someone." However, it was not long before the Rev. Marshall had offended many, many people, including William. Although many controversies were surrounding the new priest, including the use of the church bell, the first one that William spoke against was the rituals introduced into the service saying, "The ritualistic practices which he followed were an abomination to the people. He would say this, that if there was another place of worship of the Church of England here where the clergyman was not promenading about and making the sign of the cross and other practices he would never put his foot in the Church again (reference; reference)." The next objection was on the matter of how the way church elections and meetings were held were illegal (reference). Reverend Marshall then reprimanded William for his "reprehensible conduct" of helping an "alien" church when William chaired the Congregational Church concert during Lent (reference). Finally, things came to a head with Reverend Marshall, who resigned from the Bunbury Parish in 1897. However, in later years, William moved to South Perth, where Reverend Marshall was then stationed. There did not seem to be as much animosity there, and Marshall and the Bishop of Bunbury officiated at William's burial (reference; reference).
Magisterial Duties
As well as his diverse community involvement, William was also busy with magisterial duties. In 1983, it was evident the government wanted to extend those duties to other southwest areas, a letter from a protesting Vasse resident stated: "It appears to me from the increase of work in Bunbury in the shape of fatal road accidents, cutting throats, and committal of a parson for trial that the R.M. will soon be entitled to an assistant instead of throwing more work upon his shoulders (reference)." For the most part, these duties were carried out diligently and without much comment from the press. In 1895, however, William was criticised in the Southern Times for threatening a jury. He had apparently become impatient when a jury was taking a long time to reach a verdict and told them "that if they failed to quickly arrive at a decision, he could 'lock them up, and keep them-without food, firing, and lighting.'" In response to this the Southern Times declared that: "This conduct of the Bunbury magistrate in endeavouring - and successfully endeavouring, as the sequel proved - to frighten the jury into returning a verdict, is reprehensible in the extreme (reference)."
In 1896, he was also wrongly accused of putting a young offender into solitary confinement when in fact, he explained: "His sentence had been entirely influenced by consideration for the boy's welfare, and he had instructed the police to keep the prisoner apart from the other prisoners as much as possible in order to avoid contamination by intercourse with them (reference)."
In William's last years in Bunbury, The Truth, a Perth newspaper, criticised him for building an extravagant Magistrate's residence, asking "If money was not available for the erection of a much-needed court of justice, how comes it that £1,200 is available for the erection of a mansion which is not at all necessary? (reference)." The house, The Residency at 55 Stirling Street, housed Bunbury's resident magistrates up until the 1960s. It was used as an Art Centre in the 1980s then became a YHA youth hostel. It is now a private residence and a part of Bunbury's heritage (reference).
That William was not a big supporter of the use of counsel (lawyers) became apparent when Mr Money, a counsel for the plaintiff in a case, applied for costs. William refused, saying counsel was not necessary for such a case. Mr Money argued to the effect that counsel facilitated justice and William replied "that his experience had proved that Counsel needlessly prolonged cases. In the case which bad just been tried counsel was not required and he would not allow costs (reference)."
Extra work often came with the job of resident Magistrate. One example was when there was an outbreak of smallpox in the colony in 1893. Because there was no official Board of Health in Bunbury, the responsibility fell on William and the Health Officer, Dr Lovegrove, to take the necessary steps to protect the town. William acted quickly to ask that passengers on ships to Bunbury be inspected before boarding to ensure they were not infected, but he also urged the council to elect a Local Board of Health "as it would relieve him of this tremendous responsibility (reference)."
In 1897, William was instructed by the Aborigine Protection Board to "supply the natives with two days' rations and other presents in connection with the celebration of Her Majesty's Jubilee in Bunbury." According to the Southern Times, the gifts were received with much enthusiasm (reference, reference).
In 1899, after some difficulties with shipping, it was discovered that, in the event of no harbour master being employed, the Resident Magistrate was responsible for controlling shipping at the port (reference).
Another position held by William was that of mining warden. In this capacity, he visited the sites of discoveries and ascertained their authenticity (reference; reference).
William, along with others selected for the Bench, was also responsible for distributing Liquor Licences. In 1899, he said this was done with indulgence considering no applicants up to that point had been denied (reference).
Sub-collector of customs was another role William took on when the customs officer wasn't available (reference).
Over the years of William's service, the role of the magistrates in Western Australia changed and was slowly downgraded as the Southern Times noted in 1902: "In the earlier days of the colony they had extended powers, and in conservative parts these powers are still remembered. Now, of course, all this has been changed, and outside their respective Court Houses these officials simply rank as private citizens—nothing more." The newspaper was, on that basis, calling out William for interfering when the people of Upper Preston wanted their own roads board and saying that he expected "the people to meet him at a conference he had convened (reference)".
The following month, the editorial of the Southern Times argued that with the rising speculation of William's retirement, "the residents of Bunbury, the Wellington District, and the South-West generally should take steps to ensure the appointment of a gentleman who has had a legal training to fill the vacancy when it arises. We are not casting any reflections upon anything that has been done in the past, but we feel that any officer holding such responsible positions as Resident Magistrate for the Wellington District and Chairman of the South West Quarter Sessions, should be a solicitor of the Supreme Court of this State (reference)."
William did not immediately retire. In 1903, his magisterial jurisdiction was expanded to include the Nelson and Sussex areas (reference). At the end of 1904, he retired and left Bunbury to settle in South Perth, but he did say: "He considered himself a Bunbury man, for his family records were interwoven with the place (reference, reference)."
A year after his retirement, William was made a Companion of the Imperial Service Order (I.S.O) "in consideration of his past services to the State (reference)."
Entertainer
In between postings to Bunbury, William had developed his entertaining skills in several ways. While posted in Perth, he participated in several concerts for charitable purposes (reference; reference; reference). In April 1872, several amateur musicians met together. They formed a musical group called The Minstrels of the West to give several concerts to raise money for a piano for the Perth Town Hall. William was the secretary of the group. They gave a series of five shows over the next year, and William performed in each of them and received good reviews (reference; reference; reference; reference; reference; reference). While in Geraldton, William expanded his repertoire by learning the violin (reference). William and his son Fred were also active in the Geraldton Amateur Dramatic Society (reference; reference). Perhaps because of his own experience, William actively encouraged boys to participate in music when presenting certificates for music to the children of Bunbury (reference).
Author
In 1883, when the newly arrived Governor Broome and Lady Broome travelled to Geraldton, Inspector Timperley accompanied them on their return trip overland to Perth and then stayed with them at Government House for several days (reference; reference). This was the beginning of a productive friendship between William and Lady Broome, who later described him as "a genial man of imposing appearance' six feet (183 cm) high, broad-shouldered and straight as a life guardsman, blue-eyed … with white hair and a beard which looked almost ridiculous on such a young fresh merry face (reference)". After hearing some of William's stories of his experiences since arriving in Western Australia, Lady Broome, a published author herself, encouraged him to write a book. The resulting book was Harry Treverton which was largely autobiographical. (The transcript of the book is located here). William followed up with another book entitled "Bush Luck". Both books were serials in the Boy's Own Paper and then published in London in book form (reference). In an interview, William said his reason for writing his first book was to "let English people see what their sons might expect if they allowed them to come to the colonies with neither friends nor money. Unfortunately, this is too often the case (reference)".
The books seemed to be popular children's books at the time. Tasmanian Professor Edmund Morris Miller, a well known academic author of the 1940s and 1950s, recalled his first reading of Australian prose "was probably W.H. Timperley's Harry Treverton (1889), which I received as a primary school prize in 1894 (reference)."
Mr Cowan, a reporter from the West Australian who visited Bunbury to report on the Fruit and Vine Industry in 1893, noted, "Mr. Timperley is an author of some repute, and unlike many authors I have met of greater and less repute, a most genial spirit (reference)".
Lecturer
William was a very entertaining lecturer and was in demand for his services (reference). A lecture (which he described as a 'talkification' rather than a lecture) in Bunbury in 1901 for the Wesley Literary Guild is an excellent example of why he was so popular. The lecture was about his holiday in the Eastern States and Tasmania. He was reported as entertaining, with many of his tales being described as "exceedingly funny, and they were told with a delightful humour which was keenly relished by the audience." He was an eloquent speaker with one section designated as "a splendid piece of oratory which thoroughly deserved the applause bestowed on it", and he provided his own hand-drawn pictures of the places he visited. He also touched on a wide variety of subjects covering the buildings in the cities, the concerts, and the fruit production of Tasmania. Then at the end, he gave the ladies handouts in the form of postcards of Hobart (reference; reference)
In 1937, the Western Australian Historical Society compiled and presented a paper from William's notes on his recollections of early colonial Aboriginal life in Western Australia (reference)
Family
In 1909, William suffered a stroke and died not long after at his South Perth Residence (reference). At William's funeral, a troop of thirty mounted and foot police greeted the procession as it arrived at Karrakatta. In Bunbury, flags were flown at half-mast for several days as a mark of respect (reference; reference). William's wife Rebecca died suddenly the following year (reference).
Rebecca and William Timperley had ten children, eight of whom survived until adulthood. They were:
Maude Elizabeth (1858-1861). Maude married Edward Butcher of Thurulgoona Station, Queensland in 1882 (reference).
Frederick Henry "Fred" (1863-). Fred married Miss Josie Cummins in London in 1895 (reference). Fred was one of the pioneers in the Murchison goldfields and then became a real estate agent in Bunbury for many years (reference). He then went to Kalgoorlie and was appointed as Justice of the Peace. He predeceased his parents after suffering a long illness (reference). Frederick's son, Harold John Timperley, was a key witness of the Nanjing Massacre in China and was the author of several works. The most well known is "What War Means: The Japanese Terror in China", which documents Japanese war crimes in China (reference).
Edith Ada (1865-) Edith married bank manager George Cummins (brother of her brother Fred's wife Josie) at St Paul's Cathedral in 1894 and moved to Victoria. She died in 1936 (reference; reference).
Aughton (or Oughton) Percy "Percy" Timperley (1866-). Percy married Edith Bailey in 1889 (reference). Like his father, he served in the Western Australian Police Force before venturing into farming at Kukerin.
Alice Mary Timperley (1868-). Alice was well known in Bunbury as a singer (reference). She married Harry Eastman, a farmer from Kojonup, in 1908 (reference).
Forrest Burgess (1877-). Forrest married Zoe Spencer from Bunbury in 1903 who died in childbirth in 1905 (reference; reference). In 1910, he married Elizabeth Tucker from Northam (reference). Forrest was an officer in the Western Australian Commonwealth Contingent that took part in the opening of the Federal Parliament (reference) and the 2nd Lieutenant of the Volunteer Forces - Bunbury Rifles (reference). Unfortunately, Forrest could not serve in the regular forces as he lost an eye from injuries sustained in a local Bunbury football match in 1897 (reference).
Lewis Clayton "Clayton" (1879-). Lewis married Elsie Cooke, a New Zealand military nurse serving at Number 14 Australian General Hospital, Abbassia. They became engaged in 1917 when Clayton was receiving care after being wounded (reference; reference). Lewis attained the rank of Major and was second in command of the 10th Light Horse Regiment in World War One (reference). His son Richard was a journalist who wrote a column for The Daily News in the late 1940s. Richard also wrote a book, Heroes Galore, about the Timperley family (reference; reference). Richard also served in World War Two and as a Major in the regular army (reference).
Written by Gaye Englund for the Streets of Bunbury project.