Robert WOOD

Story

Reason for leaving homeland – Adventure and a better life

About the Journey – Sailed on a 3 masted ship arrived Port Pirie Adelaide which did not actually exist as such and was a founding father of Adelaide. He was a bootmaker and had a shop eventually in Rundle Street. He made a fortune from his humble beginnings after the Victorian gold rush in 1839. His grandson a descendant was Captain John Wood (my grandad). He was born in Woodside South Australia on 21st of June 1851. That ancestor John Wood led a more interesting life than his ancestor Robert and he was the foreman on the overland telegraph line as a young bloke. He helped build the line for Todd, the engineer and Sturt, the explorer surveyor. The job entailed walking with camels and horses from Adelaide to Palmerston Bay Darwin (which also did not exist then except as a camp site around c1869/70.)

He bought a pearling lugger and went fishing along the entire northwest coast (our little known Maritime history). He worked out of Broome up until 1930. He married Catherine McKay in Fremantle in 1891. The pearling industry went into decline in 1930 due to a massive cyclone that wiped out most of the fleet. He retired to Fremantle prior to this and was a member of the North Fremantle City Council. He died on 4th 8th 1926 in Swanbourne. His wife having passed on earlier on 21/3/1911 at Fremantle.

I am writing a semi fictional story about Robert’s life and that of his family’s as it was basic migrant’s tale that became a very multicultural maritime story later on. This stage of the family story was set in a Broome that had 3000 Asian peoles living – mainly Japanese and Chinese and Torres Straight Islanders, Malays etc. The boats were subject to enormous storms, piracy and mutiny. There was blackbirding (slave trading from out of Malaysia ).

I was bought up at the Captain’s table so to speak with these stories as a wide-eyed kid by my dad Ronald Gordan Wood – his father being such a remarkable man (perhaps a lovable rogue or pirate himself due to the nature of that industry ). He was also responsible for saving the life of the First Premier (John Forrest’s brother (Alexander Forrest). An untold story that the Forrest family keep from our history due to the fact that our granddad knew the Territory and the land really well. Though he did receive a reward of 30 crowns for rescuing the stupid bugger from the desert regions near the source of the De Grey River region. His descendants are rather well off today (Fortescue Mining Group)

There are other stories too numerous to tell other than this piece of history (a real pearler). Unfortunately history is always written by the victors and Captain Wood was too outspoken to be considered of that “noble political family aspect” of some of our more written-about pioneer families -Duracks, Forrests etc. Pearlers were always considered to be almost pirates and respectability and honour is something that bucanneers are never granted. He had a River and an Island named after him. (Now known as Kingfisher Island) .We have tried to have this place made into a sanctuary and keep it away from the miners and gas cartels. It is a losing battle as money speaks louder than the ordinary folk when it comes to our great North-west. Perhaps someone over Canberra’s way is willing to help get this story taken to the next level. We are still in the fishing business with my eldest daughter Mia Wood having fished those north-western shores as a teenager. Myself, I’m just a story teller and artist.

Robert Wood Perth Western Australia

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