EDWARD KEANE’S CANNING MILLS

By David Mizen Precis

To set out the history of Canning Mills properly would require a new book. The previous orthodoxy with respect to Canning Mills can no longer stand. The history of Mason’s Mill, Victoria Reservoir, and Canning Mills also includes the satellite mills Newton’s No1, Newton’s No2 and the No 4 Mill. All are interrelated. Operations at Location 165 were conducted firstly, by E.V.H. Keane, then the Canning Jarrah Timber Company until the timber industry collapsed in 1901/02. After the industry restructure the site was operated by Millar’s. Millar’s managed the transition, supervised by the probable last manager at Location 165, John Alexander Barton, to operations at Pickering Brook adjacent to Carilla, after Barton’s death to the site of the No 4 Mill, and, ultimately to the mill site that bears his name.

When discussing the Canning Mill’s mill town site it needs to be remembered that the mill closed permanently in the early part of the 1900’s, probably 1910. After the mill closed there were residences and other facilities that remained in place. In 1924 the bulk of Location 165 was sold to Liebow. The block was further subdivided and a large portion of it was sold to Di Marco. The Tonnusso’s also had a residence on the block some time after Liebow subdivided it. The rock wall across the front of the site is the remnants of Tonnussos’s residence.

A New Start

The starting position for the history of Canning Mills Location 165 is set out in Pickering Brook History’s Mizen Saw Mill Study (Mizen 2021A) and the various chapters of that work. Particular emphasis needs to be give to the end stages of Mason’s Mill’s, starting with the improvements to the concession achieved by Joseph Shaw. In addition to that, Pickering Brook History’s Barber’s Swamp Mystery (Mizen, 2020) needs to be included in the construction of the history of Canning Mills. There is now a second part to that work which puts a tentative name to the individual after whom Barber’s Swamp was named, pit sawyer George Barber. Barber died at his camp in 1879 (Mizen 2022A). As a consequence of this, the time line of the site shifts backwards to at least the date of Barbers death. This is subject to the caveats in the paper referred to. Also someone, whether it was Shaw or some one with an eye to the prize put the Zigzag on the drawing board very much earlier than the accepted present orthodoxy. There is an oblique reference to the zigzag in the report prepared by Morrison for Shaw in October 1882 (Canning Timber Station, The West Australian, 29 September 1885, Pg.3). This material was presented as inducement at the 1885 Auction of Mason’s Mill following Joseph Shaws bankruptcy. There were a raft of other factors at play that had a hand in the final outcome.

The History of ‘Canning Mills’ is intrinsically linked to the policies of the Colonial Office at White Hall in London. Early Western Australian ‘State Government’ policy was limited by Whitehall. In addition to the Colonial Office policies that were in play, early ‘Canning Mills’ and consequently Kalamunda history was shaped by the ‘local’ politics of Perth and its surrounds. Particularly the politics of the ‘Eastern Railway’, this was coupled with the inability of the local government to raise funds for capital works. It was also shaped by the personalities that were in positions of power, including financial power, starting with Ben Mason, and political power starting with Wallace Bickely. The advent of responsible government in Western Australia in 1890 changed the playing field. Responsible government allowed the State Government to make decisions independent of Whitehall. It allowed the full development of the Eastern Railway, and, the subsequent railway boom. It allowed the development of Canning Mills at Location 165 by shaping the end phase of the construction of the MidlandWalkaway Railway project. This combined with the personal financial jockeying of those associated with the Midland Railway Company culminate in E.V.H. Keane and his proxies in the form of the Canning Jarrah Timber Company. The advent of the Eastern Railway allowed the derelict Mason’s Mill to be moved and re-purposed. Keane built the blue print put in place by Shaw as set out in the 1885 auction material. Hiding in the back ground is the shadowy figure of “Mr Howard” the reported purchaser following the auction (News of the Day, Daily News, 1885,Pg.3). A master of smoke and mirrors who was never heard from again. In any event, the blue print for Canning Mills can be seen as early as 1882.

The end phase of Mason’s Mill was the beginning of the new ‘Canning Mills’. Joseph Shaw was scrambling to save himself financially. Shaw was consistently trying to sell the mill from 1882, but there was no visibly interested buyer. ‘He’ sought help from his friends in government and obtained significantly improved terms for Mason’s timber concession with the hope this would induce a buyer. Mason’s concession was converted to a 42 year lease and extended to cover 100,000 acres of forest. In addition Shaw upgraded the mill equipment. Further, the new concession’s terms gave the leasee the right to select areas of the lease to be converted to free hold ownership. It also included the right to install further new ‘tram ways’. Shaw put the new package up for sale by tender on 11 November 1882 (To Capitalists or Public Companies, The Herald, 11 November 1882, Pg 3). There was no interest so Shaw exercised his right as Leasee and selected a number of lots for himself at Barbers Swamp.

The Locations at Barbers Swamp were surveyed some time in 1883. The Certificates of Title were issued to Shaw on 20 September 1884 (Mizen, 2021A). These were Locations 159 through 166 upon which Canning Mills was built, Location 167 lapsed. Barbers Swamp appears to have been named after a sawyer called George Barber who worked at Masons Mill before his death in 1879 (Mizen, 2022 A). It appears probable that the alleged pit sawing site on the western edge of Location 167 is associated with him. At the time the 42 year lease was granted, Shaw also obtained permission to construct a new mill at Barbers Swamp – now known as Location 165 – Canning Mills (Mizen, 2020).This also has significant implications for the history of the Zigzag, the Waldeck Smith Barbers Swamp material prepared by Morrison lays out that the Zigzag was in play in 1882. Construction of the Eastern Railway was started in 1879, the Guildford - Childlow section was complete in 1884. The Eastern Railway makes the Zigzag possible. In turn it is the Zigzag that makes Canning Mills possible. The Zigzag makes every thing that follows on its route possible.

The Zigzag was the brain child of E.V. H. Keane and members of the White family. The Zigzag links Canning Mills with Keanes Midland Railway construction camp, it links the labour with the sleepers required for construction of the Midland Walkaway Railway. The W.A. Record states:

“Correspondence from this quarter being conspicuous, by its absence from the pages of the Record, perhaps a little information concerning the Midland Railway would be of interest to some of your readers. The work is progressing at rather a slow pace at present. Nothing has been done yet except ballasting the old work as far as the Swan, but as the rails are expected to arrive daily, things will shortly brighten up, and work commence in earnest.

Engineers are engaged just now in laying out the route of a line from the vicinity of the main camp to a spot convenient to the old mill known as Mason’s Hill. Here, I understand, a new mill is to be erected for the purpose of cutting sleepers. The formation and plate laying of this line will give close on three months work to the men now camped on the Midland Railway Line” (Midland Railway Works, W.A. Record, 9 October 1890, Pg. 7) (emphasis added).

Buried in the W.A. Record story is the formation of the W.A. Railway and Public Works Employees Union. The remainder of the article paints a very unflattering picture of Keane’s Midland Railway Camp. It appears Keane’s finances were becoming a problem. Completion of the Midland - Walk Away railway contract was becoming critical.

A shipment of rail was unloaded at Fremantle on the 15th November 1890 (News of the Week, Western Mail, 15 November 1890, Pg.18). From this point on Keane had a need for sleepers for the Midland Railway construction teams. Transporting Keane’s material, particularly rail from Fremantle to his work base at Midland Junction caused significant logistical issues (The Eastern Railway, Daily News, 18 November 1890, Pg.3). Keane now needed his timber mill operational. The mills were established at Location 165 between October 1890 and July 1891 by Keane, supervised by one of the White family. The original mill, formerly known as Mason’s Mill, was relocated to Canning Location 165 (Perth Waterworks Canning, W.A. Record, 9 October 1890, Pg.7). Keane having purchased Mason’s Mill some time prior to March 1887 (Mizen, 2021). It appears he also made arrangements for Shaw’s license to cut timber to be transfered to him in 1885. There is a State Records Office file requesting a licence which appears to be after the 1885 auction date (SRO, AU WA S211- cons541 1885/2994). The behind the scenes maneuvers regarding the sale are beyond the scope of this paper. It appears that part of Keane’s plan was to lease the mill to Stevens to keep the mill working until he was ready to relocate. However, the plan collapsed when Stevens lost his financial backer resulting in Supreme Court litigation. As a result, the mill sat in abeyance until Keane was in a position to move to trigger the relocation to the new site. The ‘new’ mill at Location 165 was reported as operational on the 9th April 1891 (Local and General, W.A. Record, 9 April 1891, Pg.7). There is a three month gap until the railway was reported as complete. The railway was functionally complete on the 25th July 1891 and immediately a train with a load of timber was sent down to Midland (News and Notes, West Australian, 29 July 1891, Pg.4). Three days after the first train ran down the Zigzag the Certificates of Title to the Canning Mills properties were transfered with Keane’s authority (the mechanism that was used to achieve this end is beyond this paper, suffice to say Keane owned all of the Canning Mills properties) to the Canning Jarrah Timber Company. The order for sleepers for the Midland Railway, and, for South Australia were confirmed on 27 July 1891 (News and Notes, West Australian, 29 July 1891, Pg 4). A report from October 1891 indicates that there were three mills operating at the site at the date of the report (The Canning Jarrah Saw Mills, The Daily News, 5 October 1891, Pg.3) The report regarding the first train on the Zigzag indicates that the mill was short staffed.

There is a fundamental question – why would E.V.H. Keane want to be involved with the Victoria Reservoir when he was already up to his neck in problems with the Midland Railway? A partial answer is that Keane would ‘inherit’ some or all of the labour force at the Victoria Reservoir, that job was finishing as Keane was gearing up to finish his Midland – Walkaway Railway contract. There is a longer more complex answer but it will not fit in this paper. Keane’s workforce in all probability simply up and moved all their worldly goods together with their ‘house’ to the site of the new mill, this became the ‘town’. The ‘town site’ was never gazetted, there was no formal layout for the residences. The residences were scattered along the eastern side of Location 165 and extending into the northern end of Location 164 (Historical Landmarks and Incidents, Kalamunda and District News, 23 July 1953, Pg.3). Apart from the Lands Department map Canning 155 there does not appear to have been a formal survey of the site. The best record of the site is the photographs from the Simpson Album (Mizen, 2022B). In order to make a proper study of the ‘town site’ a faithful copy of that album is required. Any other period photographs would assist in constructing a narrative for the town. It should also be borne in mind that Western Australian Government Railways surveyors surveyed the site at various times. Those surveys record details that were proximate to the railway at the time of the survey. The caveat to this is that many of the important early structures had gone by that time. The site was dynamic, it changed substantially over time.

Surveyed Sites

The location of Barbers Swamp was surveyed as a result of a request from Joseph Shaw late 1882 or early 1883. This survey resulted in the creation of Locations that became ‘Canning Mills’. The Locations were then drawn into the Lands Department Map Canning 155. The site then evolved over many years. After Shaws lots were added the map was updated and new features were added. There were a further three formally surveyed sites at Canning Mills. The surveyed sites are:

1. The 2nd Forest Inn (marked on map Canning 155, note relationship to creek). The authors has separate papers on the history of the Inn. But note that Location 165 was surveyed and divided up to allow the government takeover of the railway. The author is of the view that the Inn was drawn in freehand, the other features also appear to be sketched in, the accuracy appears to be reasonably good.

2. The Post Office (on left of Location 165 on reserve 6853?)

3. The Anglican Church (on left of Location 165 on reserve 6837).

4. The dam reserve - this was surveyed after the mill had closed, approx 1920.

As noted above the buildings and other features appear to be drawn in free hand. There were buildings that straddled the boundary or were wholly in the bush adjacent to Location 165 (see map section below). The Anglican Church history at Canning Mills is relatively straight forward.

The Anglican Church

The details of the opening of the church was recorded in the Western Mail:

“On Saturday Bishop Riley, accompanied by the Rev. C. E. C. Lefroy, who is in charge of the Canning district, and Mr. Woedroff, proceeded to Canning to open the new church there. The building has been erected on land given by the Government, with the consent of the Canning Jarrah Company, who also gave the wood of which the building is constructed. It is a pretty church, and will be known as St..Hilda’s. The dedication services were conducted by the Bishop, who also officiated subsequently at the evening service, and preached an impressive sermon on consistency. After the services a child was baptised, the first, in the new church. During his stay at Canning the Bishop was the guest of Dr Elliott” (Church News, Western Mail, 14 July 1899, Pg.57).

This building appears to have been present in 1902 (Canning Jarrah Mills, Sunday Times, 23 March 1902, Pg.12). Freegard has information which states this building was relocated to become St Hilda’s North Perth in the early 1900’s. Freegard’s article appears to be built around Carol Mansfield’s original work. The citation given in both online versions (Pickering Brook History and Pickering Brook Heritage) does not correspond with the article in the West Australian of the same date now contained in the TROVE archive. The Heritage Council site in relation to St Hilda’s North Perth recounts the same information but provides no citation at all. It may be the case that this information is a circular reference that has no foundation. The source of this information needs to be verified. There is a State Records Office file regarding the survey and lease of the land to the church.

McCaskill’s Grave

Assuming the above information is correct, at the time of the McCaskill burial the Anglican Church would have been in place. Standing on Canning Road, looking west from the site of the church, the grave is behind and to the left of the church. Extracting the death certificate may assist with determining the circumstances of the death. It should show whether or not the child died at the mill hospital (and therefore verify the mill hospital existed) and the cause of death. It should also show who certified the death. This will assist in determining whether or not there was a local Doctor on hand. It may be the case the child died at the Guildford hospital and was brought home for burial.

It should be noted that the grave in its current state is the result of a restoration by Ernie Bechelli and the late Neil Weston in the late in the 1970’s (Refer to E Bechelli).

Post Office

There is a State Records Office file on this site. The site was surveyed and allocated to the Post Master General. It is not clear whether a building was constructed. In the early years of the Mill the Post office operated out of one of the Mill buildings. In 1897 the Post Office was described as a “cow shed” (Postal Accommodation at Canning Mills, West Australian, 1 June 1897, Pg.6). It was not present in the 1902 report of the Sunday Times (Canning Jarrah Mills, Sunday Times, 23 March 1902, Pg.12). In 1908 it is recorded that the Post Office was operating out of the Forest Inn (Post Office Destroyed by Fire, Daily News, 2 January 1908, Pg.4).

School

The school moved a number of times over the years. While the mill was operating it appears that the school was conducted in a building provided by the CJTCo (A Visit to the Canning Jarrah Saw Mills, West Australian, 5 December 1893, Pg.7). The exact location is not stated. The last iteration appears to have been on the west side of Canning Road about 50 to 100 meters towards Di Marcos from the corner of Mills Road. However this was substantially after the mill closed. There is at least one State Records Office file on this site. Gordon Freegard also has a substantial amount of information relating to the Canning Mills School (Freegard 2020).

Other Amenities

There were a number of other important features associated with the Location 165:

1. Doctor’s residence (on the left boundary of Location 165) (Memoirs of Canning Mills, Kalamunda and District News, 23 July 1953, Pg.3). The resident doctor, Dr Elliott left for Donnybrook in 1899 (News and Notes , Southern Times, 17 October 1899, Pg.3).

2. The infamous slaughter house (near left hand (western) boundary to Location 165). A report from the 5th May 1893 puts the slaughter house on the eastern side of the creek less than 50 meters from the creek (Visit of the Health Committee to the Water Works, The Inquirer and Commercial News, 5 May 1893, Pg15). There is a crude building at the back of the present house on what appears to be a block sub-divided from location 166. This building could be the building referred to in the report. The building consists of what appears to be a ‘concrete’ floor and a low wall made from low fire hand made bricks. The uprights are railway line. The roof is galvanised iron. It is possible this building is the first slaughter house referred to above, or one of the equally infamous pig sties referred to in the various pollution reports. The building is a potentially all that is left of the CJTCo buildings, it needs further investigation. There is a later report that states that the slaughter house was now the legally required distance from the brook (Perth Local Board of Health, The West Australian, 4 December 1893, Pg.7). This suggests the slaughter house was moved away from the brook. There is a further report dated 20 June 1894 that states the slaughter house was about fifty yards from the brook (The pollution of Victoria Reservoir, The West Australian, 20 June 1894, Pg.6). None of the reports give a detailed description of the location. However it is shown on map Canning 155 (see section below), it is on the western side of Canning road. The interesting feature is that the creek shown on the map comes almost to the hotel in ox bow fashion. The present creek is more or less straight.

3. “Hospital” (between the Dr’s residence and the now Di Marco property). Very little is known about this facility. It appears to be known by repute only.

4. Bakers house and oven, little known, it appears it was operating in 1902 (Canning Jarrah Mills, Sunday Times, 23 March 1902, Pg.12), evidently it had a cellar that was problematic for health inspectors in 1911 (Our Water Supply, West Australian, 2 May 1911, Pg.5). There is a feature near the mill site that is probably the remains of the bake house oven.

5. Cricket Club, it was reported in September 1891 that a cricket club had been formed at the mill (Cricket at the Canning, The Inquirer and Commercial News, 18 September 1891, Pg.3). There was a concrete pitch in from the main gate.

6. There was also a Workers Union office (Canning Jarrah Mills, Sunday Times, 23 March 1902, Pg.12), this is probably the Australian Workers Union, but there are reports that indicate other unions were active on the site.

7. Water supply – the water supply is located on Shaw’s Location 167 (Mizen 2020). It consists of 3 very small dams and a wood lined ‘well’ . Until recently the ‘well’ was substantially intact, however it has since suffered significant fire damage. It is not listed in the history inventory but should be. The dams and well supplied water for the ‘town’, the school and the railway. There is at least one State Records Office file on the reserve the dams are situated on. The reserve was created to stop Syd Smailes using the dam for his own purposes. The water supply is a significant site in its own right. However the writer is of the view it should be listed as part of the Town Precinct. The site is not easily accessible from the eastern (Canning Road) side. Access is via Canning Mills Road. The site is close to what is alleged to be a pit saw site. These two sites need to be considered together, pit sawing would have required a water source for the sawyers.

The CJTCo owned what was left of Location 165 until 1924. Location 165 was broken up as a result of the government acquiring the rights to the railway. In 1924 what was left was sold to Liebow. At this point the Inn had closed and the Inn site belonged to the Water Department . Liebow sold of portions of the remainder to Di Marco in the mid thirties. The Anglican Church building was transitory, it lasts from 1899 to the early 1900’s. Land was allocated for a post office it is not clear at the time of writing if a building was ever constructed.

The best guides to the ‘town’ are the Simpson photographs. The photographs compliment the map section below. From these it is possible to create a reasonably accurate layout of the structures that existed. The roads show on the map are Canning Mills Road and Springdale Road. Canning Road did come into being until much later.

Lands Department Canning 155 sourced from Landgate, Canning Mills.

Below are a number of photographs from the Simpson collection. Each shows a view from Location 165. The map and photographs form probably the best method to interpret the site.

Below: Photographs from the Simpson Collection, Photographer unknown, taken about 1891. Colourisation by Gordon Freegard.

Conclusion

The town site is composed of one major lot, Location 165 which contained the mills, the bulk of the residences, the second and third Forest Inn. Location 164 also contained residences. There are a number of related sites, Location 166 which contains the managers residence and probable remnant sports infrastructure. The lapsed Location 167 which contains the water source. The Anglican Church and Post Office sites are separate lots which form part of the ‘town site’. It appears to the author that the McCaskill grave may be related to the church, the grave is orientated approximately east west which suggests the burial was properly conducted. Against this is its distance from the Church. Also forming part of the town infrastructure is the water supply pipe work. All of the issues canvassed above need to be brought together and consolidated.

Recommendations

1. Town Site listing

1.1 The present listing be updated to include the new information.

1.2 The present listing be amended to include:

1.2.1 The water supply dams that are not presently listed;

1.2.2 The Doctors residence;

1.2.3 The Slaughter House;

1.2.3 The Schools;

1.2.3.1 The CJTCo school;

1.3.2.2 The later State School(s);

1.2.4 The Churches.

1.2.4.1 The Anglican Church;

1.2.4.2 The Wesleyan Church (CJTCo building);

1.2.5 The Managers house;

1.2.6 The sporting infrastructure;

1.2.7 Union Office

1.2.8 The pollution mitigation related to the slaughter house and the Forest Inn.

1.3 Consideration be give to amalgamate the listings of :

1.3.1 McCaskill’s grave (death certificate should be extracted and information verified and updated);

1.3.2 The cobbled road (there is documentation for this road it needs to be extracted);

1.3.3 The Forest Inn (the author has two further papers on this topic)

All of the above are related sites, they are all facets of the town. It is the writers view that the sites should be included in a historic precinct. The complicating factor is the pollution mitigation for the slaughter house and Forest Inn extends beyond Location 165. There is a small dam just north of Location 166 that is part of this project. On present information it predates the major Perth Water Works diversion project. In this respect the later Munday Brook Diversion works for the Victoria Reservoir are linked to the ‘town site’. The whole area is of historic significance, all of the ‘pieces’ are inter-related. Much of the above incorporates wooden structures, they need to be listed with the relevant department of the fire authority. It is a significant place as an informal town that grew up around an industrial work site. Each of the sites are important, as they make up the whole, the mill was an important work and industrial site, the Inn - a leisure site and meeting place, the post office for its communication functions, the slaughter house for the supply to the butcher, the butcher to the residents, likewise the baker. The water supply for the town residents, the mill and the locos.

Reference List

A Visit to the Canning Jarrah Saw Mills, West Australian, 5 December 1893, Pg 7.

Canning Notes, Inquirer and Commercial News, 5th August 1891, pg 5.

Canning Timber Station, The West Australian, 29 September 1885, Pg 3

Canning Jarrah Mills, Sunday Times, 23 March 1902, Pg 12.

Church News, Western Mail, 14 July 1899, Pg 57.

Cricket at the Canning, The Inquirer and Commercial News, 18 September 1891, Pg 3.

Freegard, G., 2020, Canning Mills Schools, URL http://pickeringbrookhistory.com/school2.html accessed 1/1/2023.

Lands Department Map Canning 155 sourced from Landgate.

Local and General, W.A. Record, 9 April 1891, Pg 7

Midland Railway Works, W.A. Record, 9 October 1890, Pg 7.

Memoirs of Canning Mills, Kalamunda and District News, 23 July 1953, Pg 3

Mizen, D., (2020), Barbers Swamp Mystery URL http://pickeringbrookhistory.com/timber%2021.html

Accessed 3/1/2023.

Mizen, D. (2021A) Mizen Saw Mill Study, URL http://pickeringbrookhistory.com/timber%206.html

Accessed 6/1/2023.

Mizen, D., (2021B), Joseph Shaw 1882-1888 URL http://pickeringbrookhistory.com/timber%2010.html

Accessed 3/1/2023.

Mizen, D., (2022 A), Barbers Swamp Mystery Part II Who Was Barber, NP (submitted).

Mizen, D., (2022 B), A Historic Game of Spot the Difference, NP. (Submitted).

Mizen, D., (2021) E.V.H. Keane 1887-1891, http://pickeringbrookhistory.com/timber%2015.html

Accessed 3/1/2023.

News and Notes , Southern Times, 17 October 1899, Pg 3.

News and Notes, West Australian, 29 July 1891, Pg 4.

News of the Day, Daily News, 1885, Pg 3

News of the Week, Western Mail, 15 November 1890, Pg 18.

Our Water Supply, West Australian, 2 May 1911, Pg 5.

Perth Local Board of Health, The West Australian, 4 December 1893, Pg 7.

Perth Waterworks Canning, W.A. Record, 9 October 1890, Pg 7.

Post Office Destroyed by Fire, Daily News, 2 January 1908, Pg 4.

Postal Accommodation at Canning Mills, West Australian, 1 June 1897, Pg 6. SRO, (Nd.), State Records Office File AU WA S211- cons541 1885/2994.

The Canning Jarrah Saw Mills, The Daily News, 5 October 1891, Pg 3

The pollution of Victoria Reservoir, The West Australian, 20 June 1894, Pg 6

To Capitalists or Public Companies, The Herald, 11 November 1882, Pg 3.

To Those seeking Sound Investments in Western Australian, The West Australian, 10 January 1884, Pg 2.

Visit of the Health Committee to the Water Works, The Inquirer and Commercial News, 5 May 1893, Pg 15.