John and Thomas West senior who came to New South Wales in 1821, acting on the advice of Lieutenant Lawson, applied for grants of land at Bathurst with the following result. John West, 700 acres, adjoining Dockaine. The whole property was known as Macquarie Plains. Thomas West had 700 acres adjoining, which he called Westham. At one time West Bros owned 13,400 acres of Macquarie Plains, extending from the top of the Four Mile Hill and including the river flats to O’Connell. Major West also owned a cattle station on the Lachlan, called Yowale, and another on the Paroo in Queensland. John West’s original homestead is still standing on the banks of Macquarie River. He had 5 sons, William, Joseph, James, John, and Major amongst whom his land was divided. The houses were built of mud, with shingled roofs, and were warm and comfortable. They raised cattle and sheep and bred good horses. Wheat and oats were cultivated, besides orchards containing a variety of fruit trees. Charles James West, who still lives at Macquarie Plains, is a son of Major West Junior, and a grandson of John West Senior. He was born at the old homestead in 1848, and in his day was a noted cricketer, one of his most noted achievements being that he bowled W. G. Grace out on two different occasions. He was educated at the Hermitage, Bowenfels and was a foundation scholar of Newington College, Parramatta River. His son, Arthur Thompson West was born at Euarra, and was elected a member of the Australasian Pioneers’ Club, Sydney in 1927.
In 1850 before the gold rush at Forbes, the three sons of Major West Senior owned cattle stations on the Lachlan viz, Binda, Nanima and Omar, Major West Junior survived his brothers Joseph and John, and was a wealthy man at the time of his death.
OTHER EARLY BATHURST FAMILIES
There were the Lawsons at Macquarie House, the Streets at Woodlands, the Mackenzies, at Dockairne and Milbank, the Lords, at Littlebourne, the Cox family at Hereford, the Hawkins, at Blackdown, the Pipers at Alloway Bank, and Westbourne, the Rankens at Saltram, the Suttors at Brucedale the Stewarts at the Mount the Lees at Claremont, and the Kites and Cousins at Kelso. When these families visited each other, they were obliged to ride or drive. Mrs. Major West, Junior, was an expert horsewoman, and both before and after her marriage, broke in her own horses, and would ride the most obstinate buck-jumper. The original name of the railway station, Macquarie Plains was changed to Brewongle on May 29, 1880 and the view from there is one of the most beautiful between O’Connell and the lovely City of the Plains.
THE FIRST CLERGYMAN
There were not many ministers of religion at Bathurst at that time. The Rev. Thomas Hassall was much beloved by the people of the plains, O’Connell, and Macquarie, and when he was removed to Camden in 1827, the principal settlers, and others in the district signed a testimonial which was presented to him, showing their high appreciation of his work amongst them and particularly his influence with rising generation. Amongst others signing are to be found the names of John West Senior, John West Junior. Joseph West Senior and Joseph West Junior, Thomas West Senior.
Holy Trinity Church was later built at Kelso, 6 miles distant from Macquarie Plain. The names of several of the Wests, amongst them John Senior and Thomas Senior appear on the first Church Council there.
(Signed), BATHURST
The article above indicated that Major West returned to Londonderry in 1822 and died there. However, there is a Major West who married Sarah Keeling/Keiling in 1825 (record 143/1825 V1825143 127). Also in the 1828 census, Major West, shown as a surgeon who arrived on board the Fr & Eliza in 1815, is married to a Sarah Jane; Sarah is shown as arriving in 1820 on board the Janus, a convict transported for 7 years. She was assigned as a housekeeper for Major West; her age is shown as 23, giving her year of birth as 1805. Major’s age is shown as 36, suggesting his year of birth to have been 1792. He died, aged 55, in 1832 (record 1525/1832 V18321525 16)
Dr Major West’s trip to Australia in 1815 was eventful. The following is an excerpt from
Free Settler or Felon: Convict Ship Francis and Eliza 1815:
… On 4th January 1815 off the Coast of Madeira the Francis and Eliza having parted from the convoy in a storm, was taken by the Warrior privateer. She was plundered before being given up and allowed to continue on the journey.
In correspondence written from Santa Cruz dated 13th January 1815, and printed in the Caledonia Mercury on 27 February 1815 some of the details were revealed…..The case of the convict ship Francis and Eliza affords a new proof of the total disregard in which the Americans hold the rights and usages of civilized nations, while in a state of hostility with one another. Their conduct towards the above mentioned vessel would disgrace a Barbary corsair, and violates every principle of international faith, generosity, and forbearance which their magnanimous President so clamorously affects to advocate. The Francis and Eliza was captured on the 4th instant off Madeira, by the American privateer Warrior, of New York, Captain Champlin, and instantly stripped of all her arms, rigging, provisions, medicines, charts, stores, and in short of everything necessary for pursuing her voyage to NSW.
These marauders even plundered the Captain and passengers of their clothes. They then put on board the master and crew of the brig Hope, Robert Pringle, from Greenock to Buenos Ayres, and, after setting the convicts at liberty, and throwing their irons into the sea, left the Francis and Eliza to her fate. The scenes of horror that ensued, it would be impossible to describe. They were everything that depravity, desperation and inebriety could produce. The Captain’s life was repeatedly attempted, and conspiracies to scuttle and blow up the ship and to set her on fire, were happily discovered and frustrated.
The Sydney Gazette later reported – Captain Harrison was removed on board the privateer, and detained many hours but was afterwards liberated and restored to his own ship. His private losses were very severe,
as are those also of Mr. West, the ship’s Surgeon, from whom an investment of a thousand pounds value was wholly taken, together with most of his wearing apparel, surgical instruments, and the ship’s medicine chest, which latter loss, but for the favour of Providence, might have been followed by the most fatal consequences to the numerous persons on board. Having also taken out all the arms and ammunition, they left her to her fate. The prisoners no longer submitted to the restraints, but nevertheless conducted themselves with the most exemplary propriety, dividing themselves into watches, and performing the duty of the vessel at a time when we are sorry to say the ship’;s company themselves had to an alarming number become refractory and insubordinate.
The spirits and other liquors were treated as common plunder, and the most dreadful scene of riot and intemperance prevailed, until their arrival at Santa Cruz, in the island of Teneriffe, on the 10th of January and the ship having been several times set on fire. Here the Captain received every friendly attention from Mr. Duplex, Chief consul, who thought it prudent to impose a ten days quarantine upon the vessel, but took the necessary means to restore good order, which was the better accomplished by the transfer of the most disorderly of the crew to a King’s ship then lying there. At Teneriffe she rejoined the Canada, which had had the better fortune to escape the vigilance of the American cruisers and under convoy of the Ulysses frigate went with her to Senegal next to Goree and afterwards to Sierra Leone. [1]
It was reported later that the surgeon of the Warrior had deprived Major West of a valuable electrifying machine as well as his other medical supplies. The above version was refuted in the American newspapers. The Nile Weekly Register printed the following article….
An article, copied from a London paper of February 27, is running
