The Members of the Sons of Australia Benefit Society 1837 – 1897
Complete membership lists exist for only two out of the sixty years this weird little Western Australian institution existed, and they only record the members on the books for that particular year. Twenty-six names are listed on the inaugural member list sent to the government in 1837, and eighty-four different names are recorded on the return sent to the Western Australian government in August 1895 listing those entitled to a share of assets of their society at it’s impending dissolution.
That’s 110 authenticated names. There are 171 names on the list below. The difference has been made up by mentions in the local newspapers for those who joined, resigned, or died, between the two years mentioned above. These additions also includes some names who have confirmed associations with the society, who could (in theory) be members, but probably never were. These include members of the Stone family and some of the caters for the anniversary dinners over the years.
I’m sure there are between 40-100 actual paid up members that are now missing from the historical record. If you know your ancestor was a member of the Sons of Australia Benefit Society please let me know so I can add them to the list
Family Name | Personal Name | Birth Year | Birth Place | Death Year | Death Place | Join Year | Leave Year | Leave cause |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abbett | Walter William | 1847 | Hampton, Middlesex, England | 1913 | Perth, Western Australia | 1885 | 1897 | dissolution |
Allpike | Stephen | 1818 | 1885 | Fremantle, Western Australia | 1840 | 1885 | death | |
Ayres | John | 1860 | Swansea, Wales | 1932 | Leederville, Western Australia | 1886 | 1897 | dissolution |
Backshall | Ruben | 1821 | England | 1860 | Greenough, Western Australia | 1845 | 1860 | death |
Backshall (Beckshell) | Frederick William | 1823 | England | 1881 | East Perth, Western Australia | 1844 | 1881 | death SOA funeral |
Backshall (Beckshell) | John | 1835 | England | 1917 | Highgate Hill, Western Australia | 1855 | 1870 | dropped out. |
Baker | Henry (Harry) | 1864 | Perth, Western Australia | 1948 | Maylands, Western Australia | 1885 | 1897 | dissolution |
Bell | Henry Thomas | 1848 | Fremantle, Western Australia | 1924 | Cottesloe, Western Australia | caterer | ||
Bell | Robert | 1837 | 1853 | left colony or died | ||||
Bicknell | William Henry (Henry) | 1856 | Perth, Western Australia | 1924 | Subiaco, Western Australia | 1884 | 1897 | dissolution |
Bingham | William | 1819 | Huntingdon, England | 1899 | Williams, Western Australia | 1851 | 1874 | dropped out |
Bobin | Joseph | 1805 | Deptford, England | 1869 | Fremantle, Western Australia | 1837 | 1869 | death |
Bond | Henry Rice | 1795 | Bridgwater, Somerset, England | 1863 | Perth, Western Australia | 1837 | 1863 | death |
Brittain | Benjamin | 1849 | Newton, Cambridgeshire, England | 1927 | Highgate, Western Australia | 1882 | 1897 | dissolution |
Brittain | Frederick William | 1846 | Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England | 1917 | North Perth, Western Australia | 1875 | 1897 | dissolution |
Bryant | James | 1824 | England | 1867 | Perth, Western Australia | 1848 | 1867 | death SOA funeral |
Buckingham | John | 1848 | 1922 | North Perth, Western Australia | 1868 | 1897 | dissolution | |
Burgess | Henry | 1804 | England | 1859 | Perth, Western Australia | 1848 | 1859 | death |
Campbell | Thomas | 1846 | Gibraltar | 1926 | Perth, Western Australia | 1868 | 1897 | dissolution |
Caporn | Frederick | 1827 | Perth, Scotland | 1915 | Claremont, Western Australia | 1848 | 1860 | dropped out |
Chipper | George Frederick Whidby | 1843 | Perth, Western Australia | 1878 | Western Australia | 1864 | 1878 | death, SOA funeral |
Chipper | Henry Charles | 1859 | Albany, Western Australia | 1894 | Katanning, Western Australia | 1880 | 1895 | death |
Chipper | Henry Richard | 1866 | 1892 | 1885 | 1892 | death, SOA funeral | ||
Chipper | John Charles | 1847 | Perth, Western Australia | 1906 | 1868 | 1897 | dissolution | |
Clinton | Henry | 1848 | 1921 | Perth, Western Australia | 1886 | 1897 | dissolution | |
Cole | Henry Laroche | 1809 | England | 1866 | Albany, Western Australia | 1840 | 1866 | death |
Cole | Joshua | 1850 | Perth, Western Australia | 1908 | Perth, Western Australia | 1884 | 1897 | dissolution |
Cook | Benjamin | 1807 | Lympne, Kent, England | 1870 | Western Australia | 1837 | 1870 | death |
Cook | Launcelot Taylor | 1810 | Highgate, London, England | 1878 | Mount Eliza, Perth, Western Australia | 1837 | 1878 | death |
Cousins | Isaac | 1825 | England | 1905 | Western Australia | 1845 | 1858 | dropped out before dissolution |
Cousins | William Australis | 1830 | Clarence, Western Australia | 1914 | Prahan, Victoria, Australia | 1848 | left colony | |
Crane | John (Joshua) | 1795 | England | 1881 | Perth, Western Australia | 1837 | 1881 | death, SOA funeral |
Dobbins | James | 1802 | England | 1837 | 1845 | left colony | ||
Downes | William | 1801 | 1874 | Fremantle, Western Australia | 1837 | 1874 | death | |
Dudley | John | 1808 | 1862 | Toodyay, Western Australia | 1837 | 1862 | death | |
Duffy | Bernard James (Barney) | 1851 | Ireland | 1918 | 1872 | 1897 | dissolution | |
Dyson | James | 1810 | Saddleworth, Yorkshire, England | 1888 | Perth, Western Australia | 1848 | 1888 | death, SOA funeral |
Dyson | Joseph | 1845 | Perth, Western Australia | 1912 | North Perth, Western Australia | 1866 | 1897 | dissolution |
Elsegood | Frederick Austin | 1863 | Perth, Western Australia | 1933 | West Perth, Western Australia | 1883 | 1897 | dissolution |
Eversden | Edward | 1824 | Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, England | 1860 | Greenough, Western Australia | 1853 | 1860 | death |
Eves | Henry | 1830 | 1881 | Greenough, Western Australia | 1851 | 1881 | death SOA Funeral | |
Farmaner | Joseph Charles | 1820 | Catford Hill, Lewisham, Kent, England | 1899 | London, England | 1848 | 1866 | left colony |
Farmer | Charles | 1799 | England | 1845 | Perth, Western Australia | 1837 | 1845 | death |
Farmer | Thomas | 1827 | Dover, Kent, England | 1891 | Perth, Western Australia | 1848 | 1891 | death |
Ferres (Ferris) | Robert | 1808 | 1881 | Kadina, South Australia | 1837 | 1863 | left colony | |
Finlay | John Robert | 1844 | Ireland | 1903 | Leederville, Western Australia | 1875 | 1897 | dissolution |
Fishwick | Francis Edward | 1861 | 1912 | Johannesburg, South Africa | 1882 | 1897 | dissolution | |
Flaherty | Edward John | 1791 | Cork, Ireland | 1862 | Vasse district, Western Australia | 1837 | 1862 | death |
Flaherty | John | 1815 | Chatham, Kent, England | 1897 | Bunbury, Western Australia | 1837 | dropped out before 1894 | |
Flindell | James George | 1835 | Edgbaston, Warwickshire, England | 1892 | Pier Hotel, Cliff-street, Fremantle, Western Australia | 1858 | 1892 | death |
Foster | William Henry | 1802 | 1874 | Narrogin Inn, Armadale, Western Australia | 1842 | 1875 | death (murdered) | |
Foster | William Henry | 1839 | Perth, Western Australia | 1923 | Subiaco, Western Australia | 1869 | 1897 | dissolution |
Foulkes | Charles | 1796 | England | 1857 | Moorabool street, Geelong, Victoria | 1837 | 1845 | left colony |
Galbraith | Neil | 1853 | Hobart, Tasmania | 1899 | Fremantle, Western Australia | 1875 | dropped out | |
Gee | Thomas | 1828 | Cambridgeshire, England | 1872 | Guildford, Western Australia | 1849 | 1872 | death |
Gee | William Thomas | 1866 | Perth, Western Australia | 1919 | Wooroloo, Western Australia | 1886 | 1897 | dissolution |
Gibbs | William John | 1808 | 1895 | Darkan, Western Australia | 1842 | 1895 | death | |
Gilbert | William Henry | 1830 | 1884 | Perth, Western Australia | 1851 | 1884 | death, SOA funeral | |
Glaskin | Frederick Litchfield | 1847 | England | 1920 | West Leederville, Western Australia | 1868 | 1897 | dissolution |
Glaskin | John Joseph | 1855 | Perth, Western Australia | 1925 | Perth, Western Australia | 1875 | 1897 | dissolution |
Glover | Richard Alfred | 1849 | Perth, Western Australia | 1930 | Perth, Western Australia | 1884 | 1897 | dissolution |
Glover | William | 1798 | Barnes, Surrey, England | 1880 | Perth, Western Australia | 1837 | 1880 | death, SOA funeral |
Golding | William | 1866 | Perth, Western Australia | 1910 | Perth, Western Australia | 1887 | 1897 | dissolution |
Graves | William | 1825 | England | 1903 | Perth, Western Australia | 1848 | 1897 | dissolution |
Greaves | Frederick | 1839 | London, England | 1918 | Sydney, New South Wales | 1872 | 1878 | left colony |
Gregg | Nesbit | 1848 | Perth, Western Australia | 1915 | Perth, Western Australia | 1868 | 1897 | dissoluton |
Grigson | Thomas | 1819 | England | 1890 | Perth, Western Australia | 1850 | 1890 | death, SOA funeral |
Guthrie | David | 1858 | Perth, Western Australia | 1942 | Perth, Western Australia | 1883 | 1897 | before dissolution |
Hall | John | 1824 | 1910 | Claremont, Western Australia | 1863 | 1897 | dissolution | |
Harris | Joseph | 1810 | England | 1896 | Maddington, Western Australia | 1848 | 1896 | dissolution, death |
Harris | Joseph | 1832 | Chester, Cheshire, England | 1912 | Binley, Cannington, Western Australia | 1850 | 1897 | dissolution |
Haynes | Richard Septimus | 1857 | Picton, New South Wales | 1922 | Mt Lawley, Western Australia | guest | ||
Haysom | George | 1822 | Swanage, Dorset, England | 1868 | Perth, Western Australia | 1843 | 1868 | death SOA funeral |
Healey | Dennis | 1865 | Perth, Western Australia | 1890 | Perth, Western Australia | 1886 | 1890 | death, SOA funeral |
Healy | Daniel Matthew | 1861 | Cork, Ireland | 1951 | West Perth, Western Australia | 1875 | 1897 | dissolution |
Heard | William | 1793 | 1837 | 1849 | left colony ? | |||
Hokin | Thomas | 1821 | Plymouth, Devon, England | 1903 | Maldon, Victoria, Australia | 1842 | 1948 | left colony |
Holmes | William | 1795 | Ireland | 1850 | Perth, Western Australia | 1837 | 1845 | prob dropped out before death |
Hoskin | George | 1811 | 1867 | Western Australia | 1842 | 1867 | death | |
Howard | Frederick James | 1859 | Perth, Western Australia | 1937 | Wooroloo, Western Australia | 1885 | 1897 | dissolution |
Iles | Robert | 1831 | 1915 | Guildford, Western Australia | 1862 | 1897 | dissolution | |
Inkpen | James | 1829 | 1878 | Perth, Western Australia | 1850 | 1878 | death | |
Inkpen | William | 1824 | London, England | 1889 | Perth, Western Australia | 1839 | 1889 | death, SOA funeral |
Jacoby | Frederick William | 1870 | Adelaide, South Australia | 1954 | Subiaco, Western Australia | caterer | ||
James | Frank Barrett Carl | 1861 | Perth, Western Australia | 1929 | Kenwick, Western Australia | 1882 | 1897 | dissolution |
James | Walter Hobden | 1856 | Walworth, Surrey, England | 1929 | Unley, South Australia | 1889 | 1897 | dissolution |
Jones | John | 1838 | Llanvihangeloreth, Carmarthenshire, Wales | 1900 | Perth, Western Australia | 1875 | 1897 | dissolution |
Jones | William | 1870 | Wales | 1929 | Perth, Western Australia | 1888 | 1897 | dissolution |
Joyce | James William | 1852 | Perth, Western Australia | 1916 | Perth, Western Australia | 1860 | 1897 | dissolution |
Joyce | Joseph | 1820 | Essex, England | 1869 | Digby, Victoria, Australia | 1837 | 1848 | left colony |
Joyce | William Jolley | 1856 | Perth, Western Australia | 1908 | Fremantle, Western Australia | 1886 | 1897 | dissolution |
King | Charles | 1818 | England | 1871 | Perth, Western Australia | 1860 | 1874 | death |
King | Ruben | 1825 | Lewknoe, Oxfordshire, England | 1887 | Port Adelaide, South Australia | 1845 | 1852 | left colony |
Laker | William Alford | 1860 | Burmiston, Yorkshire, England | 1944 | Mt Lawley, Western Australia | 1886 | 1897 | dissolution |
Langridge | William John | 1861 | Guildford, Western Australia | 1903 | Perth, Western Australia | 1880 | 1897 | dissolution |
Lawrence | Samuel | 1853 | Perth, Western Australia | 1943 | Subiaco, Western Australia | 1873 | 1897 | dissolution |
Lawrence | Walter | 1866 | 1926 | Fremantle, Western Australia | 1886 | 1997 | dissolution | |
Leonard (Lennard) | Richard | 1812 | England | 1853 | Perth, Western Australia | 1842 | 1853 | death |
Liddelow | Frederick John | 1853 | Perth, Western Australia | 1892 | Perth, Western Australia, Australia | 1875 | 1892 | death, SOA funeral |
Liddelow | John | 1826 | Norfolk, England | 1893 | Perth, Western Australia | 1850 | 1893 | death, SOA funeral |
Liddelow | John Augustus | 1837 | Marlyebone, London, England | 1917 | West Perth, Western Australia | 1868 | 1897 | dissolution |
Lousada | Harry Burningham | 1844 | Brighton, England | 1901 | Fremantle, Western Australia | 1865 | left colony | |
Martin | William | 1806 | England | 1895 | Northam, Western Australia | 1838 | 1895 | death, SOA funeral |
Mason | John | 1855 | Western Australia | 1894 | Honey’s Mills, Canning, Western Australia | 1872 | 1894 | death, SOA funeral |
Mawhinney | David Edward | 1857 | Ballarat East, Victoria | 1923 | Warwick, Queensland | 1886 | 1897 | dissolution |
Mellows | John Alexander | 1866 | Gillingham, Kent, England | 1928 | Subiaco, Western Australia | 1888 | 1897 | dissolution |
Mews | James Robert | 1833 | Perth, Western Australia | 1918 | Perth, Western Australia | 1854 | 1897 | sold shares before dissolution |
Minson | Robert Michael | 1796 | Yorkshire, England | 1868 | Perth, Western Australia | 1837 | 1868 | death |
Moore | James | 1820 | Kent, England | 1901 | Perth, Western Australia | 1850 | 1897 | dissolution |
Moore | Robert Patten | 1809 | Ireland | 1837 | left colony? | |||
Moore | Thomas | 1863 | Greenough flats, Western Australia | 1932 | Perth, Western Australia | 1889 | 1897 | dissolution |
Morris | Richard | 1806 | England | 1837 | 1855 | left colony for SA | ||
Morris | Thomas | 1805 | England | 1837 | 1855 | left colony for SA | ||
Nairn | James | 1817 | London, Middlesex, England | 1897 | Dongara, Western Australia | 1838 | 1897 | dissolution |
Nairn | William | 1790 | Stepney, England | 1855 | Perth, Western Australia | 1837 | 1855 | death |
Ogbourne | James Harry | 1856 | Guildford, Western Australia | 1932 | Perth, Western Australia | 1877 | 1897 | dissolution |
Parker | Edward | 1845 | Perth, Western Australia | 1917 | Subiaco, Western Australia | 1875 | 1890 | dropped out |
Parker | Richard | 1857 | Perth, Western Australia | 1931 | Mt Lawley, Western Australia | 1875 | 1897 | dissolution |
Passmore | Henry | 1840 | England | 1920 | Fremantle, Western Australia | 1866 | 1897 | dissolution |
Pegden | Harry | 1860 | England | 1914 | Broome, Western Australia | 1878 | 1897 | dissolution |
Poland | Thomas | 1854 | Perth, Western Australia | 1912 | Perth, Western Australia | 1875 | 1897 | dissolution |
Poland | Thomas Henry Strang | 1821 | Devon, England | 1896 | Mt Eliza, Perth, Western Australia | 1842 | 1896 | death, SOA funeral |
Rann | George William | 1857 | England | 1923 | Perth, Western Australia | 1889 | 1897 | dissolution |
Reeve | Charles Jeffery | 1862 | Perth, Western Australia | 1937 | Claremont, Western Australia | 1886 | 1897 | dissolution |
Roach | Thomas | 1823 | Horsleydown, Southwark, England | 1909 | Midland, Western Australia | 1849 | 1853 | dropped out |
Rogers | William | 1810 | England | 1837 | 1867 | death | ||
Roper (Ropper) | John James | 1807 | Rattery, Devon, England | 1875 | Perth, Western Australia | 1840 | 1876 | death |
Rowe | Samuel John | 1860 | England | 1924 | Claremont, Western Australia | 1880 | 1897 | dissolution |
Rowe | Thomas John | 1838 | Tiverton, Devon, England | 1904 | Perth, Western Australia | 1870 | 1897 | dissolution |
Salkilld | John | 1819 | England | 1905 | Perth, Western Australia | 1842 | 1897 | dissolution |
Salkilld | Thomas | 1805 | England | 1880 | Perth, Western Australia | 1848 | 1880 | death |
Salkilld | Thomas William | 1840 | Perth, Western Australia | 1929 | Perth, Western Australia | 1865 | 1897 | dissolution |
Schryver | Sylvester Francis (Frank) | 1862 | New York, USA | 1916 | Mt Lawley, Western Australia | 1880 | 1897 | dissolution |
Sherwood | Frederick | 1841 | Dorset, England | 1919 | Maylands, Western Australia | 1865 | 1897 | dissolution |
Simpson | John | 1856 | Perth, Western Australia | 1933 | Bayswater, Western Australia | 1872 | 1897 | dissolution |
Smith | John Thomas | 1849 | Western Australia | 1934 | Perth, Western Australia | 1869 | 1897 | dissolution |
Smith | Robert | 1856 | Scotland | 1902 | Swan River, Western Australia | 1882 | 1897 | dissolution |
Spencer | John | 1819 | Bilper, Derbyshire, England | 1851 | Maitland, New South Wales | 1838 | 1841 | left colony |
Stirling | Baldwin Knight | 1859 | Perth, Western Australia | 1910 | England? | 1875 | 1897 | dissolution |
Stirling | Frederick Robert | 1847 | Perth, Western Australia | 1907 | Perth, Western Australia | 1883 | 1897 | dissolution |
Stirling | Horace George | 1855 | Perth, Western Australia | 1927 | South Australia | 1875 | 1894 | dissolution |
Stokes | John | 1818 | Somerset, England | 1877 | Greenough, Western Australia | 1838 | 1877 | death |
Stokes | Moses | 1815 | Somerset, England | 1910 | Perth, Western Australia | 1837 | 1897 | dissolution |
Stokes | William | 1827 | Somerset, England | 1915 | Western Australia | 1838 | 1897 | dissolution |
Stone | Frank Mends | 1857 | Perth, Western Australia | 1942 | Quairading, Western Australia | guest | ||
Stone | George Frederick | 1812 | Kent, England | 1875 | Perth, Western Australia | drafted constitution | ||
Strickland | Henry Robert | 1819 | London, England | 1907 | Perth, Western Australia | 1850 | 1857 | dropped out |
Swan | Henry Curtis | 1855 | Mutford, Suffolk, England | 1934 | Perth, Western Australia | 1888 | 1897 | dissolution |
Tapper | Frederick | 1826 | Childe Okeford, Dorset, England | 1907 | Hindmarsh, South Australia | 1849 | 1868 | dropped out |
Tapping | William | 1846 | Perth, Western Australia | 1935 | Perth, Western Australia | 1881 | 1897 | dissolution |
Tichbon | Henry | 1826 | Cranbrook, Kent, England | 1921 | East Perth, Western Australia | 1849 | 1897 | dissolution |
Tichbon | Henry | 1850 | Perth, Western Australia | 1930 | Geraldton, Western Australia | 1872 | 1897 | dissolution |
Tichbon | John | 1792 | England | 1874 | Perth, Western Australia | 1837 | 1874 | death |
Tompson | Henry James | 1864 | Perth, Western Australia | 1941 | Gainsborough, Victoria, Australia | 1878 | 1897 | dissolution |
Tompson | John Robert | 1804 | Bramford, Middlesex, England | 1877 | Perth, Western Australia | 1837 | 1877 | death |
Towton | Henry Alexander | 1826 | Bitterne, Hampshire, England | 1870 | Perth, Western Australia | 1848 | 1877 | death |
Tredrea | John Trevithick | 1861 | Redruth, Cornwall, England | 1942 | Bassendean, Western Australia | 1881 | 1897 | dissolution |
Trigg | Henry Stirling | 1860 | Perth, Western Australia | 1919 | Springton, South Australia | 1884 | 1894 | dropped out before dissolution |
Truslove | Charles Thomas | 1858 | Guildford, Western Australia | 1938 | Midland, Western Australia | 1872 | 1897 | dissolution |
Truslove | John Gibbs | 1827 | Ashtow, Wiltshire, England | 1908 | Midland, Western Australia | 1848 | 1897 | dissolution |
Veryard | John Besley | 1820 | Wiveliscombe, Somerset, England | 1898 | Perth, Western Australia | 1840 | 1897 | dissolution |
Walker | Thomas | 1859 | Yorkshire, England | 1930 | Leederville, Western Australia | 1879 | 1897 | dissolution |
Ward | William | 1784 | England | 1851 | Perth, Western Australia, Australia | 1837 | 1851 | death |
Watson | John | 1810 | Portsmouth, England | 1899 | Perth, Western Australia | 1848 | 1897 | dissolution |
Watson | John James | 1846 | Western Australia | 1838 | Claremont, Western Australia | 1867 | 1897 | dissolution |
Webb | William | 1826 | London, England | 1877 | Beechworth, Victoria, Australia | 1847 | 1858 | left colony |
Wells | Edward | 1863 | Perth, Western Australia | 1886 | Perth, Western Australia | 1884 | 1886 | death, SOA funeral |
Wells | Walter | 1854 | Western Australia | 1925 | Leederville, Western Australia | 1877 | 1897 | dissolution |
Wimbridge | William Thomas | 1845 | Manchester, Lancashire, England | 1888 | Perth, Western Australia | 1866 | 1888 | death, SOA funeral |
Woodbridge | Albert James | 1863 | Marlyebone, London, England | 1942 | Cottesloe, Western Australia | 1886 | 1897 | dissolution |
Woods | Samuel | 1865 | Victoria Plains, Western Australia | 1923 | Palmyra, Western Australia | 1886 | 1897 | dissolution |