| A genealogical presentation of the life and times of the ancestors and descendants of William Henry Mathews (1880 – 1964) and his wife Sara Louisa Florence Mitchell (1889 – 1972). |
| THE MITCHELL FAMILY LINEAGE – the children of John and Susannah (Sarah) – |
| William Mitchell (1837 – 1927) William was born on the 17th of August 1837 at Curtain Road, Hoxton in the London parish of St Leonards, Shoreditch. |
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William was exposed to building and construction from infancy, as his father and paternal grandfather were carpenters, and his maternal grandfather, Robert ANDERSON, a bricklayer. During his upbringing, London's East End was a vibrant centre of manufacturing and a focal point for artisans of various trades. The living conditions were modest, verging on inadequate, with William and his increasing number of siblings frequently relocating within the Hackney Borough. William was 14 when he was informed that his family would emigrate to the antipodes. He, his father, and his 9-year-old brother Henry would go first to set up a family foothold and wait for his mother and his four other siblings. Their destination, Melbourne, was awash with mining prospectors keen to get to the gold diggings. William's father, however, was more interested in property speculation, and shortly after their arrival entered a three-way indenture [1] for six allotments on Arthur Street, South Yarra Eighteen months later, with William his keen apprentice, a 5 roomed brick cottage was ready for occupancy in Arthur Street. During this period, William was also working as a brick worker in Punt Road, South Yarra. |
March 1854 saw the Mitchell family reunited in Melbourne, but not under the same roof. William, Henry and their father had been leasing a modest residence in Caroline Street, South Yarra and now that Arthur Street was ready, Sarah and his newly arrived siblings moved in. This situation remained until 1860 when Sarah had the indenture settled [1] in the Supreme Court. Paying out all the shareholders, including her husband, William’s mother now had ownership and effective control of six properties in Arthur Street, albeit that five were still vacant lots. Whilst his mother was keen to develop the newly acquired vacant land, his father had other plans deciding that greater opportunities lay across the Tasman Sea in New Zealand. William sided with his mother in opting to remain in Melbourne thus creating a never-to-be resolved rift with his father. Once again William’s family was split two ways, his father and brother Henry headed for New Zealand, whilst he, his mother and sister Emma remained in Melbourne with the youngsters. An agreement had been reached however that when some of the Arthur Street developments had been completed, the whole family would reunite in New Zealand. With his mother’s financial backing the young bricklayer gathered the necessary resources and began developing his mother’s estate. Brick dwellings were constructed on allotments 4, 6 and 8 (now numbered 10, 12 and 14) which provided the family with financial security and some rental income. Correspondence from New Zealand in 1862 contained the news that his father had settled in Dunedin and that several developed and undeveloped allotments in a prime location were available, but he needed money to secure them. His mother was keen to invest, so William was dispatched with the wherewithal and the power to approve or deny the family purchase. Later the same year leaseholds were obtained for three properties in the Anderson Bay / Peninsular district of Dunedin. Returning to Melbourne with a positive report for his mother, the Arthur Street properties were handed to an agent for rental and by the end of 1863 the Mitchell family departed Melbourne for Dunedin. William had acquired ten-year lease on a quarter acre plot of land with a dwelling in the Tainui area of Anderson Bay. His parents (or perhaps more appropriately his mother) had taken up a twenty-year lease on a larger plot in the same area. His brother Henry had the third in nearby Caversham. The family’s plan was to establish an inn-keeping cartel. William's parents successfully applied for a licence on Andersons Bay Road which became known as the Bay View Inn, William was licenced [2] to run the Taieri Village Inn and Henry the Parkside Hotel on Mornington Road, Caversham. In addition to his roles as a builder, construction contractor, and inn-keeping licensee, the 1870 New Zealand Electoral Roll indicates that William held a lease on 20 acres of vacant land in Anderson Bay. His fortunes changed however when he was declared bankrupt in same year. |
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At the age of 33 William was at a loose end and it was his mother who had the solution. With her financial support, William and his younger bricklaying apprentice brother Marshall were charged to return to Melbourne and begin development of the remaining plot in Arthur Street. The work was completed in 1873 and the brothers then started construction on two allotments in Tyrone Street, Prahran. William and Marshall continued to run their construction business from Arthur Street, but things changed for William when Marshall married in 1877. Their last combined venture was the remodelling of 4 Cecil Place, Prahran, which upon its completion, Marshall occupied with his new bride. |
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When his parents returned to Melbourne in the early 1880’s, William set off back to New Zealand, the 1882-84 New Zealand Electoral Roll listing him as a building contractor in the Peninsula District of South Dunedin. William’s whereabouts from this point are uncertain but the mention of his name in his father’s will, written on the 21st of April 1893, William proves he was still alive at this time. In said will, William was gifted £10, unlike his siblings who inherited property titles. Given that William was the first-born son, such an ungenerous offering suggests a significant family dispute. William’s final years were spent in his adopted homeland, New Zealand, where upon his death he was regarded as an “early settler”. |
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