Maher Family Graves, Yarawindah

Values

• The place is representative of ‘lonely graves’ in the State, particularly in regional areas where it was preferred that family members were buried at home, or unable to be transported to formal cemeteries.
• The place is valued by the local community for its association with convict William Boxhall who was contracted to Bishop Salvado at New Norcia and was one of few convicts who prospered rapidly following his conditional pardon.
• The place has some potential, through the use of archaeological techniques, to provide information about conditions in the Colony of mid to late nineteenth-century, burial practices and health and disease in children in regional farming areas.

Physical Description

The place comprises an archaeological site including what is believed to be five historic burials (four children from the Boxhall family and another of a ‘stockman’) dating from 1868 to 1892 located approximately 50m east of Great Northern Highway in Yarawindah (9 km south of New Norcia).

History

The place is situated within the traditional land of the Noongar Yued people which is bounded by Leeman, Dalwallinu, Wongan Hills, Coondle, Chittering, and Two Rocks. The Yued first had contact with Europeans in the 17th century at the mouth of Moore River. From 1829 their culture was heavily disrupted by the eventual settlement and expansion of the Swan River Colony by the British. There are ethnographic and archaeological sites in the general area surrounding Maher Family Graves, however, the land comprising the place is not considered to hold ethnographic significance and archaeological surveys have not identified any potential sites.
Within the first twelve months of the formation of the Swan River Colony, limited success and emerging discontent by settlers toward the Colonial government encouraged exploration and settlement of regional areas. The Victoria Plains region – at that time referred to as ‘Avon Valley’ – was explored and settled by British settlers by the mid-1830s.
A shortage of labour hindered rapid progress more broadly in the colony, and discussions about the introduction of convict labour began as early as 1831. However, multiple attempts to convince the colonial government were unsuccessful.

Creation Date

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This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.