"Bill" William Michael O'CALLAGHAN
Born 3 July 1901 in Albany, Western Australia [16]
Son of Patrick Joseph O'CALLAGHAN and Mary Agnes O'BRIEN [15]
At the time of his birth he was registered with the name of Michael William Joseph O'CALLAGAN [15]
Resided with his parents in Albany [P481]
His mother died in 1910 and his father in 1913, leaving he and his three siblings orphans [15] [P481]
The four of them were to be raised by relatives in Melbourne and were put on a train for Melbourne [P481]
He jumped off the train in Northam and returned to Albany, where he was taken in by other relatives, the KITSON family [P481]
After leaving school in Albany he worked for the MCBRIDE family in Broomehill, where he did a lot of clearing with an axe [P481]
At the age of 18 he went to the Eastern Goldfields and made a living out of playing football [P481]
Married Annie Rosalind O'DONOGHUE in 1930 [66]
His cousin Keith KITSON got him a job working with him on the Coorow gang of the Carnamah District Road Board [P481]
Initially he and his wife stayed at Mrs Mina BOTHE's Boarding House next to the store on Main Street in Coorow [P481]
They then camped on their own Lot 86 Bristol Street in Coorow while he built a house on the block [P481] [3]
Employee of the Carnamah District Road Board in Coorow for at least the years 1930-1943 [19] [215]
He looked after the Road Board's horses that were stabled in Coorow [P481]
He and his cousin Keith KITSON helped build the road to the natural freshwater pool at Gunyidi [P481]
Vermin Inspector for the Carnamah District Road Board 1932-1942 [4: 19-Dec-1931] [5: 20-Dec-1935, 24-Dec-1936] [34]
After leaving his position with the Road Board he worked in Coorow for the Midland Railway Company [P481]
Purchased the 1,000 acre Victoria Location 8047 on the west side of Touche Siding in Coorow in about 1942 [3]
He worked on clearing and seeding the property but abandoned it in 1945 after a fire went through [P481] [3]
Purchased the shop and bakery at Lots 93 & 94 Main Street in Coorow from the BLACKWELL family in 1950 [3] [P481]
He started a Massey machinery agency in about 1951 [P481] and by 1959 was the local agent for Dalgety & Co Ltd [391: 23-Apr-1959]
Also worked as the town carrier and was responsible for the mail run to Waddy Forest in 1950s [P481]
He established a T.A.B. betting shop in the most western room of his baker's buildings in Coorow [P8]
Member of the Coorow Football Club 1930-1934 [4: 6-Aug-1932, 25-May-1934] [86: 30-Aug-1930]
He was the club's Captain in 1930, Vice Captain in 1934 and in 1930 received the medal for "Best Player" [4] [86]
Also umpired football matches within the North Midlands Football Association [5: 9-Jun-1933]
Won 2nd prize for a Bowl of Stocks in the Flower section of the Coorow-Waddy Agricultural Show on 8 September 1932 [5: 16-Sep-1932]
Attended the Card Party held at the Coorow Hostel on Saturday 15 July 1933 and won one of the Bridge prizes [5: 21-Jul-1933]
Committee Member of the Coorow Football Club in 1934, 1935 and 1937 [5: 20-Apr-1934, 3-May-1935, 16-Apr-1937]
Member of the Coorow Cricket Club in 1934-35, 1936-37 and 1937-38 [4: 22-Dec-1934] [5: 16-Oct-1936, 24-Dec-1937]
Pallbearer at the funeral of James SIMPSON at the Winchester Cemetery in Carnamah on 11 July 1935 [1] [5: 19-Jul-1935]
Attended the funeral of Miss "May" Mary L. LANG of Carnamah at the Winchester Cemetery on 26 November 1935 [5: 29-Nov-1935]
Played for the Married Men who almost defeated the Single Men in a cricket match in Coorow on 6 December 1936 [5: 11-Dec-1936]
Played for the again defeated Married Men in a cricket match against Single Men in Coorow on Sunday 11 April 1937 [5: 16-Apr-1937]
The North Midlands Football Association requested he became a Central Umpire for the Association in 1937 [5: 30-Apr-1937]
Steward of the Vegetable section at the Coorow-Waddy Forest Districts Agricultural Society's Annual Show in 1937 [150]
Private in the local Volunteer Defence Corps during the Second World War [16]
In 1952 was the owner of a Fargo motor vehicle with licence plate CA-9 [22]
Retired Farmer and Businessman in Coorow in 1985 [24]
Passed away at the age of 83 years at Saint Anne's Hospital in the Perth suburb of Mount Lawley [24]
Father of Bill, Tom, Brian, Bevan, Gerard and Mary [P8]
Died 3 June 1985; buried at Three Springs General Cemetery in Three Springs (Roman Catholic, Row 4, Plot 125) [24]
| Reference: Carnamah Historical Society & Museum and North Midlands Project, 'William Michael O'Callaghan' in Biographical Dictionary of Coorow, Carnamah and Three Springs, retrieved 26 April 2024 from www.carnamah.com.au/bio/william-michael-ocallaghan [reference list] |
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