The Prologue: Thomas Farren was born in 1857 in Seascale in the west of England where the Sellafield nuclear power station is today. Mary Elizabeth ‘Polly’ Farren nee Saunders, was born in Birmingham in 1863. They were married in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1879, at which time Mary could not read or write. They lived near Mary’s family for three years and then moved around the eastern states for three more. In 1887 Mary and Thomas arrived in Bunbury WA with a young family.
In 1888 Thomas purchased the Nugget Hotel near Bulfinch where gold had been discovered the year before. In the last stages of pregnancy, Mary travelled by buggy the long journey to Fremantle to have her baby while Tom stayed behind to run the hotel. On the stroke of midnight on the 21st of October 1890, my grandmother Beatrice was born. By 1892 Mary and Tom were running the Club Hotel at Southern Cross. The family’s whereabouts are not known from then till 1899 when daughter Phyllis was born in a tent in Menzies, then on to Niagara.
Thomas and Mary ‘Polly’ Farren with baby Emily born c 1880 – Emily died soon after the photograph was taken – Photo Jill Peady.
In 1899 Polly and Thomas Farren purchased the Niagara hotel from John Clifford having made their way from Southern Cross where they had owned first the Farren’s Hotel in 1893 and then the Exchange Hotel in 1894. By 1904 Polly had taken over the licence of the Niagara Hotel while Thomas devoted his time to prospecting. At this time all the hotels in the main intersection of Waterfall St and Challenge St in Niagara were licenced by women. She ran the hotel with the help of her seven little girls and a Chinese cook who introduced the girls and the patrons to ping pong for the first time.
Four of the Farren girls L-R: Ethel ‘Dolly’, Clara, Beatrice ‘Beat’ and bertha in front – photo Jill Peady.
My grandmother Beatrice, Polly’s daughter, loved her life in Niagara when home on the holidays. Later on in her teenage years there were many picnic concerts, dances, horse races, athletic meetings, card nights, cricket and football games. In October 1903 when Niagara football club became the premiers the Farren’s put on a dinner for over 50 people to celebrate the occasion. To mark the event a song was published in the Kookynie Advocate.
Niagara State School – 22nd May 1903
Niagara State School – 22nd May 1903 –
Back row: Doll Farren – Nell H – May Grace – Beat Farren – Bill Compton – Teacher Mt Johnson – H Manuel.
Second Row: Connie Hartley – C H – Phyllis Farren – Edie C – Steve G – Jim R
Front Row: jack Cameron – Bill Bright – Jasper Bright – Ted R – Jim G – Albert Comp – Bertha Farren
Photo Mr Barry Taylor.
Cycling was also very popular in 1904 with many races on the track through Kookynie. My grandmother loved cycle around the breakaways to her favourite picnic spot at Niagara dam, it was here that she dared her sister Claire to cycle over the narrow top wall which she did, not bad in long skirts and petticoats. Beatrice remembered the first time she was aware that years had numbers, was when her mother woke her from bed to celebrate the New Year’s Eve of 1900, the turn of the century.
Mary Farren’s Falls Hotel, Jessop’s Well – Photo Jill Peady
In 1906 Polly took on the licence of the falls hotel at Jessop’s Well, and her daughters went to work in other jobs to support the family. They kept in touch with postcards which told of socials, camel buggy excursions, balls, skating and railway and church picnics and tennis parties. Street brawls, homemade ice cream and gossip. In 1910 the town gazed in amazement at Hayley’s comet when travelling photographers passed through to record it. Grandmother sister Dolly played the piano for all the silent movie films. Despite all the hardships they had many happy times, the last of the carefree days by 1911 when Polly sold the Falls Hotel, which had virtually become an old man’s home. The old prospectors would come in and put a bag of gold on the counter and say look after this for me till it runs out, of course they never turned the old men out, so the hotel ran at a loss. The hotel was finally sold for the price of the tin on the roof. Polly Farren was to die of cancer in 1913 aged 50yrs and is buried in the Kalgoorlie cemetery.
Beatrice received many postcards from her friends as they went away to the 1914-18 war, not many of them however returned. They all had more than their share of tragedy and hardship throughout the wars and in the depression losing children and husbands, however, they also retained their sense of fun they were a hard working family of women who lived good lives and helped their friends and family out when they could. A pot of tea could always be produced at the drop of a hat, I have lovely memories of them all, it seems a shame that they only live on in a few of our hearts and minds today.
Ref: Niagara – Kookynie’ How it Was’ by Margaret E Pusey
Moya Sharp
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