"Bill" William Henry JOHNS
Born 7 May 1906 in Crusoe, Victoria, Australia [P361]
Son of Percy JOHNS and Marion Elizabeth TARR [54]
His grandfather Zacharias JOHNS had left America after the end of its gold rush and migrated to Ballarat, Victoria, Australia [P361]
Resided with his parents at Kangaroo Flat in Victoria and then at Kalgoorlie in Western Australia [P361]
In 1916 his father was working as a Boiler Maker and they were living at 2261 Balfour Street in South Kalgoorlie [50]
When his parents left Kalgoorlie to shift back to Kangaroo Flat in about 1922 he decided to stay in Western Australia [P361]
Farmhand in Narembeen, Bruce Rock and Mount Walker [P361]
He purchased his first truck while working in Narembeen in about 1926 and began contract carting from Perth to Narembeen [P361]
Married "Dorrie" Dorothy Alice Grace CANDY in Perth on 22 March 1927 [P361]
Immediately after their marriage they went straight to Coorow [P361]
Farmhand for Reginald CROMMELIN on Morningdale Farm in Coorow 1927-1932 [P361]
Travelled to Round Hill to play football prior to the formation of the Coorow Football Club [P361]
Others to do so were Harry F. C. KAU of Coorow and John F. THOMAS and Peter W. THOMSON of Marchagee [P361]
Member of the Coorow Football Club in 1929 and 1930 [39: 26-Aug-1929] [86: 10-May-1930]
In 1929 he won the medal for most consistent player of the Coorow Football Club [39: 26-Aug-1929]
Won the £5 Sheffield Handicap running race at the very successful Sports Day in Coorow during November 1929 [86: 30-Nov-1929]
He was a very strong man and then worked in Coorow as a Wheat Lumper before operating as a Cartage Contractor [P361]
Lived in a tent near the town oval with his wife and children while building a small house for his family in the Coorow townsite [P361]
In 1933 was working for the Carnamah District Road Board - received £7/5/9 sick compensation pay on 31 October 1933 [300: page 16]
Sanitary Contractor and Hall Caretaker in Coorow for the Carnamah District Road Board 1934-1947 [5: 18-May-1934, 6-Jul-1934, 15-Jul-1948]
Assistant Traffic Inspector for the Carnamah District Road Board in 1935 [5: 21-Jun-1935, 29-Nov-1935]
He was one of 98 people from the Coorow district who signed a petition in 1929 for a local hotel license to be granted [39: 6-Feb-1929]
Steward of the Sheaf Tossing at the Coorow-Waddy Forest Districts Agricultural Society's Annual Show in 1935 [5: 28-Jun-1935]
Tied for 3rd place in the Sheffield Handicap at the Athletic Sports Meeting in Coorow on New Year's Day 1 January 1936 [5: 3-Jan-1936]
In 1937 he was the Coorow distributor of the Carnamah District Road, Health & Vermin Board's vermin poison [5: 22-Jan-1937]
Won 1st prize for Peas and 2nd for Turnips in the Vegetable section at the Coorow-Waddy Agricultural Show in 1937 [5: 10-Sep-1937]
Attended the meeting in Coorow to discuss constructing a direct road from Coorow to the coast on 11 September 1937 [5: 17-Sep-1937]
Himself, John S. READ and Thomas I. READ rode on horseback through virgin bush from Coorow to Green Head in the 1930s [P361]
The three of them made the trek to establish a track from Coorow to the coast [P361]
At that time wild horses traversed the country and drank at three freshwater springs just before the rocky limestone hill [P361]
During the Second World War he was given special petrol rationing tickets as his cartage services were considered essential [P361]
He also supplemented fuel supplies during the war by using gas producers for which he burnt his own coke in trenches [P361]
Financial Member of the Carnamah District Agricultural Society in 1946 [13]
In the 1940s he and his family holidayed at the coast by driving over the rough track and taking all supplies including water [P8]
Resided in Coorow until his death in 1995 [2]
Passed away at the age of 89 years at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in the Perth suburb of Nedlands [P361]
Father of Marion, Shirley, Frances, William, Darren, Valerie, Robin, Marjorie, Neil, Carol, Kenneth, Glenise [P361]
Died 31 December 1995; cremated Karrakatta Cemetery, Perth WA [2]
He and his wife are memorialised where their ashes are interred at Lot 7 Main Street in the Coorow townsite [P361]
| Reference: Carnamah Historical Society & Museum and North Midlands Project, 'William Henry Johns' in Biographical Dictionary of Coorow, Carnamah and Three Springs, retrieved 20 April 2024 from www.carnamah.com.au/bio/william-henry-johns [reference list] |
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