The start of it all

Ronald Winbury Adams (Toodyay Western Australia)

I remember my dad, Eddy Thomas Adams (second eldest grandson of Jane Adams (Glass)) telling me years ago of a story related to him by Granny when he was a boy.

It described the first night that the Adams’ arrived at the site that now is Mangowine.

To journey from Toodyay (then Newcastle) to Mangowine they used an ox cart drawn by oxen. This was loaded with all their worldly possessions including provisions such as salted meat packed in barrels.

They camped in a dry creek bed that my dad supposed was the one down from Mangowine Homestead across the road in the front paddock.

That night there was a tremendous thunderstorm and the creek was flooded.

Their camp was washed away.

They lost all of their goods including their barrels of salted meat washed away down the creek.

He didn’t know (not that I recall) what they did after that but one thing is for sure it didn’t deter them from settling there and establishing a sheep station among other industries such as the waystation inn during the gold rush.