William Conrad Wallis
| First name | William Conrad |
|---|---|
| Last name | Wallis |
| Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
| Date of Birth | 1824 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1852 |
| Submitted by | John Campbell |
Story
WILLIAM CONRAD WALLIS was born in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom, in 1824 and was a stone mason. He married JANE JORDAN (born 1825) on 19th January, 1851 at Stoke Demerel, Devon, U.K. They soon after migrated to New Zealand, leaving to join the gold rush to Victoria, Australia about 1852.
Journeying over rough roads they made their way to the diggings at Daisy Hill (between Clunes and Maryborough) where Jane gave birth to their first child, JOHN THOMAS in 1853.
By 1857 they had moved to the rapidly expanding mining town of Clunes where, at that time, a population of about 1500 lived, many in tents and bush huts. Surface gold was soon exhausted, leaving the remaining gold deeply embedded in quartz. William was one of the original 100 miners who, in 1864, each paid fifteen pounds to establish a company to mine the deep quartz. It proved to be the fourth most productive gold mine in Victoria, with a main shaft 1400 feet deep. William worked in the mine almost continuously for 30 years, partly as a mine forman. Peter Lalor of Eureka Stockade fame was a fellow shareholder in the mine.
William was a founder of St.Paul’s Church of England in Clunes and a vestryman for many years. He died in 1908 aged 84. Held in high regard, he and Jane reared four children, one of whom, John Thomas, was overseer of the “Clunes Guardian and Gazette”.
(Contributed by JOHN H. CAMPBELL, O.A.M. – a great-great grandson of William).