William Schofield Randall – Evangelist of the Goldfields

This wonderful story and photographs have been shared with the kind permission of Brian Randall-

William Schofield Randall
The evangelist on the Goldfields of Western Australia
Appointed in 1895 to the opening of the Salvation Army Corps
in Kalgoorlie and the Great Boulder

With a journey of 140 miles before him, Lieutenant William Schofield Randall stepped from the train at Southern Cross, Western Australia in 1895.  It was hot and dusty and the flies were relentless, but William was prepared for the hardships of the desert and keen to begin his work.  The newly commissioned Salvation Army Officer was embarking on a mission to convert the gold diggers to the Word of God.  With fellow officer, Captain Albert McGill by his side, he continued his journey by coach, over the rough track that passed for a road to the epicenter of the gold rush in Kalgoorlie-Boulder. What he saw when he arrived would challenge the most committed soldier of the Army.  His introduction to the Goldfields of W.A. was reported 42 years later in the pages of the War Cry February 13^th, 1937:

The most primitive conditions prevailed in those days.  The town of Kalgoorlie had not been surveyed.  Lines of tents gave it the appearance of a canvas town.  The Post Office was a hessian humpy, and big trees were dotted about the streets in this almost virgin country.  Water was at a premium – eight gallons of it costing a gold sovereign. All the meetings were open-air campaigns, and nightly crowds of men gathered around the Army of two.  Close by in the street were many gamblers gathered around the two-up schools.  “From the start”, says Major Randall, recalling those days,

“we had the sympathy of the people.”

William Randall was just 25 when he headed west to the goldfields for his first appointment.  The gold rush to W.A. was starting to peak after a new discovery in 1893 by Patrick [Paddy] Hannan in an area known as Kalgoorlie-Boulder.  For the next four years, William worked hard establishing a Salvation Army Corps.  In April 1899 he was cheerfully farewelled by the Kalgoorlie and Great Boulder citizens, before heading north to the most remote settlements on the Eastern goldfields.  With the able support of his assistant Major Seaton, the two men covered thousands of miles by bicycle.  The tracks they travelled were notoriously treacherous and punctures were numerous.  Following the well-trodden path of the teamsters’ wagons pulled by camels, ensured that they wouldn’t lose their way.  These narrow roads[1] also provided a smoother and faster ride for the cyclist because of the camel’s broad hoof which flattened the sandy soil in this dry country.  In these remote areas, the bicycle[2] proved to be more reliable and faster than horses and camels as long as large loads did not need to be carried.

Being promoted to captain William was appointed to Wagin, then to Southern Cross, back for a second term at Kalgoorlie-Boulder, then Norseman and Broad Arrow.  After this, he was sent to pioneer the country further north from Menzies.  The places which were opened while there, were Niagara, Kookynie, Britannia, Mount Malcolm, Mount Leonora, Gwalia, King of the Hills, Mount Morgans, and Laverton.

All this work was done over a period of just two years.  The settlements visited were populated by gold seekers living rough in tents and hessian-lined shanties made from corrugated iron.  Many had just a swag laid out on the ground, with a tin cup for coffee and a pannikin for their meals.  When not looking for gold they drank and gambled and sometimes shot their guns into the air at night for their own amusement.  The sound of gunfire late in the evening was an unsettling experience for the newly arrived.

William’s job wasn’t easy – God’s message was not necessarily the miner’s favorite topic – but he was a Salvo[3] driven by a passion and a desire to promote the glory of his faith to as many souls as possible.  He would never look upon his work as onerous.  William woke to each new day with excitement and couldn’t wait to meet his flock.  This was his calling and what he lived for.  “We will never forget the thrill of breaking new ground by pioneering many outback districts” he proudly recalled.

He started work with the Salvation Army at the age of 23, after he had served seven years apprenticeship as an engineer.  He was married to Margaret Sangster in Adelaide on the 16^th April 1907 and together they saw service in all states.  According to the War Cry, Mrs. Randall was from a well-known Army family living in Broken Hill.

William was born in Golden Square, Bendigo November 20^th, 1871 and was the 3^rd child of Henry Randall and Maria Randall [nee Lees].  Much of his work during his early years in the Army was pioneering – a philosophy of the Salvo’s which endeavored to reach out to potential converts in remote locations.

He went to many outback districts and found the people eager to listen to his message.  William spent over 5 years on the W.A. goldfields and then received orders for Broken Hill Central, South Broken Hill, Petersburgh[4], Hope Valley, Mount Barker, and Clarendon, making 15 corps over eight years.

In 1909 William [38] and Margaret [30] were appointed to Eaglehawk on the goldfields in Victoria.  Two years later they were on the move again, this time across Bass Strait to Devonport in Northern Tasmania, where their daughter, Dulcie May was born on the 30^th March 1911.  Burnie was their next appointment in 1912 but other issues soon intervened.  Due to Margaret’s poor health, the family moved to the town of Junee in New South Wales.  It was thought that the dry warm air of this outback town would improve her condition.

Life for a Salvation Army Officer was one of selfless duty.  They were true believers in what they were doing and were not at all concerned with the constant upheaval in their lives.  Wherever Command saw the need to assign them they dutifully accepted.  They thrived upon their calling to the glory of God.  During the war years 1914-1917, William and Margaret were assigned to inner suburban Melbourne before returning to Tasmania where they served in Hobart.  They were there for less than a year when William was seriously injured while riding his bicycle.  The fork suddenly broke, sending him crashing face-first onto the roadway.

He was admitted in a serious condition to the Hobart General Hospital on Friday 12^th October 1917.  William had suffered a compound fracture of the lower jaw, part of which was missing.  Four teeth had been knocked out and his lower lip was badly cut.  His jaw was wired and his lip was stitched.

Days later when he was discharged from the hospital, doctors were skeptical that he would make a full recovery.  However, when he returned a few months later for the surgeon to assess what further medical treatment was required for his badly fractured jaw, the news could not have been better.  William’s injury had healed remarkably well, beyond the surgeon’s expectations, and more surgery was unnecessary.  To his great relief, he was free to resume his work.

William, now 46 was Captain of the Hobart Branch of the Salvation Army, and also served his flock as a People’s Palace[5] Officer.  His next appointment in 1928 was to Rockhampton on the central coast of Queensland.  In 1932 at the age of 60 he was sent to Bathurst in New South Wales and in 1933 he was posted to Sydney in the role of chancellor of the Sydney West Division.  Next stop was Brisbane where he was appointed to the Brisbane People’s Palace as sub-manager in 1934.  Two years later he returned to Sydney to serve in the suburb of Campsie.

Both joy and sadness would impact the lives of the family while resident in Campsie.  In 1938 William and Margaret’s daughter Dulcie May married John William Bunnage in a ceremony at the Salvation Army Citadel, Campsie.  In 1939 William lost his life partner when Margaret died at the age of 60.  Five years after his wife’s passing William died, at the age of 73.

On the 5^th June 1945, the pioneering service of Captain Albert McGill and Lieutenant William Randall was celebrated by the Salvation Army on the goldfields in Kalgoorlie.  The Daily News in Perth W.A. reported:

‘It was in 1895 that two Salvation Army Officers came from the Eastern States to establish corps in the eastern goldfields.  They were Captain Albert McGill, who now lives in Melbourne, and Lieutenant William Randall, who died a Salvation Army Officer in Sydney last year.

Shortly after the Salvation Army had been established on the goldfields one of its women officers – Hannah Miles went there to help with nursing when the fever [6] broke out.  She died some years ago and was buried in Boulder.

William worked for the Salvation Army dutifully for 49 years and travelled thousands of miles across Australia.  With his wife and daughter, they formed a team devoted to helping those in need and gathering respect and friendship wherever they served.

Notes:

[1] The camel tracks provided a narrow pathway for the bicycle rider.  Either side of the path were the deep and dangerous tracks of the wagon wheels weighed down by a heavy load.

[2] Bicycles remained in common use in the outback for decades after motor vehicles arrived.  Up to the 1930s distances of 200 km in a day were not uncommon for fit travellers and workers, including prospectors, postal workers, rabbit-proof fence and pipeline inspectors, cycle ambulance services, and kangaroo shooters.  Shearers and the clergy both tended far-flung flocks on two wheels, carrying little more than their swag and a water bag.  Ref: W.A. Historical Cycle Club

[3] Salvation Army member

[4] Now called Peterborough –  it was one of 69 places in South Australia renamed in 1918 due to anti-German sentiments during World War I.

[5] The Salvation Army People’s Palace serves meals and provides accommodation and support for homeless people.

[6] During the 1890s Typhoid Fever reached epidemic proportions on the W.A. goldfields.