Richard Perkins

Story

February 6 1840 Richard William Perkins, born in London on Nov 13 1808, with his wife Sarah (nee Anstice) & their 2 children Richard Anstice & Mary Ann survived a horror trip to arrive at Holdfast Bay aboard the Java (The Coffin Ship). They went to live at Blackiston on a block now bordered by Blackiston Road & the main Adelaide Ð Melbourne railway. Richard farmed this property together with land at Newbough for a number of years.

1841 SA Almanac, Richard is listed as owning 6 head cattle his brand being P.S. His brother John joined him in 1843 & they became joint owners of the brand.

1844 Richard\’s farming assets had improved to 8 head of cattle, 1 pig & eight acres of potatoes. He also worked as a bootmaker, carrying the requirement for his trade from Adelaide to the farm on his back.

1855 Richard owned 4 blocks of land on the eastern slopes of Mt Charles, comprising of 36, 87, 32 & 82 acres lots. He also leased 4 blocks each of 80 acres from the South Australian Company; these blocks were leased in the name of Richard Perkins & Sons and were near Woodside. Richard called the property ‘Woodford Farm\’ and paid rates on May 7, 1871 of £4.18.3 for this land, he also worked 2 blocks at Kanmantoo from 1878 Ð 1881. He also held the title deeds for the Gumbowie Cemetery.

Richard & Sarah had seven more children after their arrival, 6 sons and 1 daughter. Mary Ann died as a child. Each son took up farming, the older ones leaving home as the younger ones grew up to take their place. The Perkins brothers pioneered mixed farming throughout SA and Vic making farming a little easier for others by their ingenious inventions, the most notable of these being the Perkins Bag-Loader which was used on wheat farms throughout Australia in the early 1900\’s. Richard farmed the ‘Woodford\’ property till his death on April 21 1886 at age 78.

SA Almanacs record the death of Ann Perkins widow ages 87 years at ‘Woodford\’ on Oct 3 1857 Ð most likely Richard\’s mother.

Sarah Perkins died Jan 21 1894 aged 83 years. Daughter Sarah managed the drapery shop in Woodside. George & John, youngest sons, worked Woodford farm till it was sold in 1897; this spanned nearly half a century of Perkins at Woodside.

Richard Perkins Obituary

‘Another old colonist has just passed away in the person of Richard Perkins J.P. whose death was chronicled on the 28th of last month. With his wife, who survives him, and one child he landed on our shores in the year 1840 when the country presented a very different appearance from what it does now. Before coming to the colony Mr. Perkins had been in the service of the East India company and with Mr. George Muller, formerly of Stepney, and the late Mr Shakes of Nairne, associates in business, he came to South Australia by the ‘Java\’ Ð an old East Indiaman. Mr Perkins was born in London, but his ancestors (people of good standing) had long been located in Hertfordshire, his father being a freeman of Hertford. On coming to the Colony, having brought out a little money and some land orders, Mr Perkins succeeded in obtaining a section of the land adjoining Captain Davison\’s at Blackiston, near Mt Barker. Though his original intention was to adopt sheep-farming as a means of livelihood he dismissed the idea, not thinking the country suitable, and devoted his attention to agriculture. After about 7 years residence at Blackiston he removed to the Eastern slopes of Mt Charles where he believed the soil of better quality. There her obtained several sections of land which he continued to occupy and cultivate successfully right up to the time of his death Ð nearly 33 years of continuous occupancy.

With the exception of a slight nervous derangement, from which he suffered about 2 years ago, Mr Perkins has an excellent constitution and his health all along was exceptionally good. A little over-exertion about three weeks before his death brought his ailment upon him in a more serious form, heart derangement, from which at his advanced stage of life he could not be expected to recover.

Few people have lived so long in a locality of whom less evil has been said, and few individuals have done more to promote the well-being of the district in which he lived than the deceased gentleman. No man more frequently occupied the chair at public meetings. He was one of the oldest Justices of the Peace, had been several years Chairman of the Onkaparinga Council and was one of the first members of the Board of Advice for he had always taken a great interest in the education of the young. It grieved him much to have to resign this latter position about a year ago.

Besides his widow, 7 sons and 1 daughter survive, the oldest of whom, Richard, was Manager of the Experimental Farm in the South-East and has since gone across

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