Wilkinson's Orchard (fmr)

Child Places

• 13817 John Okey Davis Park (including grave)
• 13809 Arum Lilies, John Okey Davis Park

Statement of Significance

John Okey Davis Group comprises several significant places. Wilkinson Homestead (fmr) and orchard is a representative of rural development in Gosnells, particularly citrus orchards, and has historic links to the first settler in the Gosnells area, John Okey Davis. The museum function provides social significance as many people visit to experience a way of life that no longer operates today. The graves of John Davis and his wife Frances have considerable historic significance as representative of the struggle by the early pioneers of the Swan River Colony.

Physical Description

The citrus orchard extended from the area near the homestead to the Canning River. Through the years the number of trees declined. Due to lack of water, fruit fly infestation, and poor condition, most of the remaining orchard trees were removed in 1997.

History

The Wilkinson Homestead is situated on a 27 acre property, on a portion of the land allocated to John Okey Davis in 1829. Associated with the Homestead are the remains of the Wilkinson Orchard (fmr), the grave of Frances Harriet & John Okey Davis, and the archaeological site of the original Davis mud brick house. The Davis property, Location 16, was sold in 1862 to Charles Gosnell, director of a London perfume company, who purchased it for speculative purposes. Subsequently, after subdivision, the name Gosnells was adopted for the district. In 1905 John Wilkinson, with his wife Emma, bought the property. John Wilkinson was a tailor from Ballarat. He got a job as a cutter in Fremantle in 1896 and later, in partnership with W.W. Middleton, an old associate from Victoria, became the proprietor. He returned briefly to Ballarat in 1901, to marry Emma Tippett. His business flourished and he bought into a Perth tailoring firm as well. In 1905, he and Emma purchased Gosnells Lots 1130 and 1134 on the river’s edge. John built a small temporary structure on the place for his family and commuted to his Perth tailoring business. Wilkinson Homestead was built in 1912 by Mr Pope. The Homestead was associated with a successful citrus orchard and remained in Wilkinson family ownership until 1963. Citrus orchards, particularly oranges and lemons, once dominated the district and the produce was renowned for its excellent quality. Some of the trees have been transplanted to a location nearer the Wilkinson Homestead. Near the orchard are some almond trees thought to have been planted by the Davis family on the site of their mud brick home of the 1830s. In the current park is a very old Jarrah tree (thought to be 500 years old). In the 1980s the agricultural shed was constructed utilising the roof trusses from the old Maddington Centenary Hall and windows from the 1928 Gosnells Road Board offices. In 2002, the Homestead became known as City of Gosnells Museum – Wilkinson Homestead. It is well known for its education programs and activities representing lifestyles of the past. Several plaques are attached to the Museum, noting its development: City of Gosnells Wilkinson Homestead Renovated under a joint project between the City of Gosnells and the Apex Club of Gosnells as a community resource centre opened by Mayor R D Harris, on Sunday 9 Nov 1980. and: City of Gosnells Museum. This building was officially opened by Mayor Lyal Richardson, JP, Freeman of the City of Gosnells on Sunday 17 April 1988 as part of the Bicentennial Year Celebrations. In 1829, John Okey Davis was granted the 7026 acre Canning Loc 16, where he settled with his wife Frances and their seven children. The property was called 'Chenies'. The Davis' struggled to clear and develop their land, but amidst hardship and deprivation they managed to build a mud brick home and plant a vegetable garden. Frances Davis died on 14 March 1835, aged about 52, and a year later, on 5 March 1836, John Davis died, aged 59 years. There is some doubt about the location of John Okey Davis' actual burial site as there is supposed to be another grave in the East Perth Cemetery with the name John Okey Davis. Whether it is simply a record in the Cemetery Register or not, has not been made clear, but a death recorded in the Register in the early years of the Colony did not necessarily mean a burial there, and it is considered unlikely that a body would have been transported to East Perth from the Canning district for burial in the heat of March. This is definitely the site of Frances Davis' grave and it is considered more than likely that John Okey was buried here as well. A search in the Perth Gazette failed to find a notice of death and burial, placing more evidence on this site. The gravesite was first officially secured in 1927. The force behind the gazetting of the site was Chief Inspector of Fisheries, C. F. Gale, who had earlier discovered that the grave was that of his greatgrandparents. The gravesite had earlier been used as a poignant site of interest during the marketing of the area by the Gosnells Estate Company in 1903. In 1962 the Council created the John Okey Davis Park to protect the site against the encroachment of new housing development. A plaque marked the site during Foundation Day celebrations on 6 June 1983. Sponsored by the City of Gosnells Historical Society, City of Gosnells and Readymix Group (WA). The plaque reads: This memorial near the site of their original home honours the districts first settlers John Okey Davis, his wife Frances Harriet and their seven children who on the 14th Nov 1829 were granted 7026 acres being Canning Loc 16.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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