William Shenton
SHENTON, William Kernot (1801-1842)
W K Shenton was born in 1801 in Winchester, England, the son of John Shenton and Sarah Shenton, née Kernot. He arrived on the ship Lotus in October 1829, as part of Colonel Lautour’s scheme, with equipment for a horse drawn sawmill. He modified the equipment to build the first flour mill in Western Australia in Elder Street, Fremantle. In February 1831 he was a partner in publishing a handwritten newspaper that would become the precursor to the "West Australian". The Fremantle mill was converted to wind power in 1832.
In April 1833 Shenton was granted 4½ acres of land at Point Belches for which he designed a timber clad wind powered mill. It was completed in August 1833 by builders Lockyer & Son and named the Winchester Mill. It was not very secure and, in April 1834, an Aboriginal party was able to remove 982 pounds of flour, having overpowered the only person at the mill, William's cousin, George Shenton. The timber clad mill burned down later in 1834.
In 1835, Shenton designed a much more secure mill with thick limestone block walls, once again built by Lockyer & Son, around 180 metres north of the first mill. It stands today, being one of the earliest surviving buildings in Perth. William Shenton became the first permanent resident of South Perth.
In 1837 Shenton undertook an exploration of the Collie and Brunswick Rivers with Richard Wells.
W K Shenton was both an architect and engineer, designing a house and offices for Lionel Sampson that were built in 1838.
In July 1840 he mortgaged the mill to Edward Hamersley. In early 1841 he moved to Australind and opened up a store in Bunbury near the current grain silos.
On November 24, 1841 he married Jessica Sarah Cameron in Perth.
On May 29, 1842 he was one of six persons drowned when the schooner Devonshire sank on a voyage between Fremantle and Australind. The vessel is supposed to have foundered in the southern passage out of Gage Roads in boisterous weather.
References:
Perth Gazette and West Australian Journal, 23.12.1837, p 1029
West Australian 18.4.1936, p5
Heritage Council, "Inherit, W K Shenton’s House and Store", Place 06600
Bunbury Herald and Blackwood Express, 3.9.19, p4
F K Crowley, "History of South Perth", Rigby Limited, Perth, 1962
