Wilgermar Estate. Wilgermar Estate. Wilgermar Estate. Wilgermar Estate.
Author
Lynne Coleman nee Wilson (great grand daughter of William & Bridget)
WILGERMAR ESTATE, situated west of Katanning, is part of the original property INDINUP, or as it was originally named, SPRINGFIELD (INDINUP bc no 8947, and secondary to that WILGERMAR bc no 8946 and PERLEMINUP bc .no 8948).
INDINUP, or SPRINGFIELD as it was originally known, was settled in 1865/66 by Trooper William Grover and his wife Bridget (nee Noonan). The Katanning Museum has the original lease documents.
Constable Grover was originally based in Kojonup and was moved to the Police Pools at Twonkwillingup, Katanning’s first police station, around 1867. He was the second policeman to serve there and his daughter Alice was born there several days after they first arrived in 1867. She was the first white child born in the district. There were to be 11 children born to the couple in time.
Constable Grover retired from the police force in 1869 to devote time to clearing his land. William died in 1920 and Bridget in 1924. The property was left to their sons William, John and Martin (dec. 1926) and daughter Gertrude (dec. 1958).
William and John both died in the late 1940’s and the property was sold to the Soldier Land Settlement Agency in 1948 because of family inheritance problems. It was perpetually leased back to three direct grandsons who had served overseas in the war. Thus keeping it in the family.
INDINUP was taken on by Alan Wilson. His mother, Marian, was the youngest daughter of William and Bridget. Alan later married Theodora Glen however they had no children. Alan passed away in 1986 and Theodora passed away in 1995.
WILGERMAR, on the western end of original property, was taken by Ernest O’Donnell Grover, son of Ernest senior, who died when Ernest junior was I3 months old. Ernie, as he was mostly known, was to be raised by his grandparents and his aunt Gertrude on Indinup. The name “Wilgermar “is derived from the first three letters of his Uncle William, Aunt Gertrude and Uncle Martin’s names.
Ernie never married and had no children and, in 1968, asked Lynne and Bill Coleman (Lynne is a daughter of his cousin Tom Wilson; brother to Alan and Archie) to come down and run the farm with him. He passed away in 1986 leaving Lynne and Bill to run Wilgermar in partnership with their son Ian and his wife Carolyn (nee Darwood). Ian and Carolyn have two sons. Lynne and Bill had four children, Ian, Elizabeth, Natalie and Michael.
PERLEMINUP, on the south east of the main home farm, was taken up by Archibald Wilson, Alan’s younger brother. Archie, as he was known, married Mary Neill in 1952. They were blessed with six children; Debra, Jane, Catherine, Beverley, Alan and Richard. Both the boys run Indinup and Perleminup today.
Archie passed away in 1980. Alan married Tracy Macmanus and they have three daughters; Richard married Tanya Kowald and they have one daughter. Mary retired into Katanning.
HOMESTEAD. The construction of the second homestead on Indinup (after the first burnt down) was of wood and brick with an iron roof. The present owner, Alan Wilson, pulled part of the original home down in the early 2000’s. The first part, made of wood and fibro, was riddled with wood rot and white ants while the mud bricks (made on property) were crumbling making it unsafe to live in. A new section was built in its place of brick. The front part, built circa 1910, is still in very good order.
The two homesteads built on Ernie and Archie’s properties were typical Soldier Settlement designs. Two bedrooms, lounge kitchen, front and back verandahs (made into sleep-out’s) and constructed from fibro and wood with a brick chimney.
Indinup has an original mud brick barn circa 1870’s. Wilgermar has natural soaks which today are still the families’ water supply. There is still evidence of the Chinamen’s gardens circa 1890 to 1949 where there were two different Chinamen growing vegetables on the property; growing for the family and town. Both Chinamen went back to China to die but in their time caused many a tale around the district
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT. INDINUP and the GROVER family and their descendants have played a significant part in the history of the Katanning District and, although the actual GROVER name has died out, the descendants of William and Bridget are still very active in the district today. They are involved in all facets of the community and the three properties are still owned by these families, Coleman and Wilson. In 1989, these families received centenary plaques from the Shire of Katanning along with the Quartermaine and Haddleton families
Rick Wilson on one of the family farms.
Photo: The Countryman – 27/09/2018
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