Weston Grave

Author

Shire of Kalamunda

Place Number

10486

Location

20 Masonmill Rd Carmel

Location Details

On the WAWA access road to the Victoria Reservoir, sth of mason's mill. GPS co-ordinates are noted as 41247E, 6455716N but no datum was supplied.

Local Government

Kalamunda

Region

Metropolitan

Construction Date

Constructed from 1896

Demolition Year

N/A

Statutory Heritage Listings

Type Status Date Documents
State Register Registered 09 Oct 2009 HCWebsite.Listing+ListingDocument, HCWebsite.Listing+ListingDocument

Heritage Council Decisions and Deliberations

Type Status Date Documents
(no listings)

Other Heritage Listings and Surveys

Type Status Date Grading/Management
Category
Municipal Inventory Adopted 01 Aug 2013 Category 1

Physical Description

Well maintained gravestone and surroundings off Masonmill Road on the approach to Victoria Dam. The headstone is surrounded by timber fencing around the extent of the gravesite with the grave being further enclosed by bush timber fencing. The wider extent of the gravesite is enclosed by wire mesh fencing, enclosing native and introduced planting. A firebreak extends around the site separating it from the remainder the bushland.

History

Settlements, timber 19/1/1896

Integrity/Authenticity

Level of Integrity - High; Level of Authenticity - High

Condition

Good Two day old Francis Weston died on 19th January 1876 and was buried at this site by parents Mary and Richard Weston. Richard Philip and Mary Christina Weston were the first of the Weston family to settle in this district in 1875. They lived at Carmel near Mason and Bird's Mill for two years. Richard was a wheelwright carpenter. He later became the first land holder of Pickering Brook taking up 250 acres below the present golf course, and established the "Springdale" orchard. He was a pioneer orchardist and mill owner and mill-worker in this area. Francis was the first born of eleven children, 8 of whom survived. As a carpenter, Richard Weston made the coffin, carved the headboard for the gravesite and the railings around the grave and thereafter regularly cleared around the gravesite to prevent it being destroyed by bushfire. When he moved to Pickering Brook, he rode there regularly to keep it in order and safe from fire, until he died in 1922. For the next forty years Gregory Weston, the seventh son of Richard and Mary's eleven children, also rode on horseback to maintain it. This tradition was continued by his son, Neil. Neil's two daughters Marilyn (Rollings) and Jill (Della Franca) and their children and grand-children are looking after it now [2013]. The outer railings of bush timber were installed in the 1960s by family members as a further preventative measure. The grave was included in the State Register of Heritage Places in 2009.

References

Ref ID No Ref Name Ref Source Ref Date
LSC No.s 289, 290, 361, 1011 Photographs
McNamara, F; "Kalamunda of the Dreamtime", Perth 1961
CHF, Perth, 1979

Place Type

Historic site

Uses

Epoch General Specific
Present Use MONUMENT\CEMETERY Grave
Original Use MONUMENT\CEMETERY Grave

Architectural Styles

Style
Other Style

Construction Materials

Type General Specific
Other TIMBER Other Timber

Historic Themes

General Specific
DEMOGRAPHIC SETTLEMENT & MOBILITY Workers {incl. Aboriginal, convict}
DEMOGRAPHIC SETTLEMENT & MOBILITY Settlements

Creation Date

29 Jan 1998

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Approved

Last Update

04 Jan 2017

Disclaimer

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.