Greetings fellow Foxies,
I recently visited a couple of ruined dwellings on a farm south-west of Williams that has a relatively long history.
George and Ted isbister were first settlers in this area in about 1902 and developed their holding before dissolving the partnership. Ted remained and married (Edna?) who had a daughter Jessie, who married (?) Smith and had two daughters, Pam who never married, and Maxine.The farm was passed down to Maxine and her husband Ted Spragg, who enlarged the holding until it was sold. Ted Spragg was a well respected farmer, and long serving councillor at the Williams shire. He was an elected member of the Shire from 1969 to 1990 and President from 1972 to 1987.
I recently visited a couple of ruined dwellings on a farm south-west of Williams that has a relatively long history.
George and Ted isbister were first settlers in this area in about 1902 and developed their holding before dissolving the partnership. Ted remained and married (Edna?) who had a daughter Jessie, who married (?) Smith and had two daughters, Pam who never married, and Maxine.The farm was passed down to Maxine and her husband Ted Spragg, who enlarged the holding until it was sold. Ted Spragg was a well respected farmer, and long serving councillor at the Williams shire. He was an elected member of the Shire from 1969 to 1990 and President from 1972 to 1987.
I was shown two abandoned houses.The first house was on a spot called Stockers Block.This was the Stocker family home that was later used by the local pony club. Like many early houses it has a higgly piggly design, probably due to additions as more children arrived in the family.
The centre of the house is a single room with rammed earth walls on a local granite foundation. The wooden board formwork for the walls can still be seen on one side. This may have been the original cottage The rest of the house is constructed of sawn beams clad with corrugated iron and jarrah slats for the ceiling. The house must have been searingly hot in summer days, but cooling down quickly in the evening, and freezing in winter. Judging by the refrigerator the house was occupied until the 1950s-1960’s. Of particular interest is a ceiling mounted gas or kerosene light.
A couple of vehicle shells remain further downslope; an FX Holdenand half a truck. The truck is a Thames Trader. These were manufactured by the British arm of the Ford Motor Company between 1957 and 1965.
The centre of the house is a single room with rammed earth walls on a local granite foundation. The wooden board formwork for the walls can still be seen on one side. This may have been the original cottage The rest of the house is constructed of sawn beams clad with corrugated iron and jarrah slats for the ceiling. The house must have been searingly hot in summer days, but cooling down quickly in the evening, and freezing in winter. Judging by the refrigerator the house was occupied until the 1950s-1960’s. Of particular interest is a ceiling mounted gas or kerosene light.
A couple of vehicle shells remain further downslope; an FX Holdenand half a truck. The truck is a Thames Trader. These were manufactured by the British arm of the Ford Motor Company between 1957 and 1965.
 |  |  |
A block that Ted Spragg bought from George (?) Moore has an old house with walls of granite blocks and mud mortar. The beautiful and precise construction indicates it had been built by a professional builder in the early 1900s. The intact galvanised iron roof erected when the house was converted to a shearing shed has protected the mud mortar from weather damage.
For a visual tour of these houses, click this Google photos link
For a visual tour of these houses, click this Google photos link
 |  |  |