Biography of William Henry Loosemore

WH Loosemore c1880s

Harry, the youngest brother

William Henry (Harry) Loosemore was born at Tiverton, Devon, England. Tiverton is about thirteen miles up river from Exeter (on the Exe River). William Henry attended the exclusive private school 'Blundells' with his two older brothers, John Wellington Loosemore and Robert Francis Loosemore. In 1861, William Henry's eldest brother John was listed as a Mauritian merchant in the 1861 census. In March 1865, William Henry visited Mauritius, presumably on behalf of his brother John. He kept photographs of friends he met there, so he probably had a good visit!

On 3 January 1866, William Henry's father died and his brother John became enmeshed in financial problems that would be embarressing for William Henry. A few months later, William Henry decided to emigrate to Queensland, Australia. As the youngest of three sons, he might have decided that he had better prospects in the colonies.

These are photographs taken in London in the 1860s kept by William Henry that are likely to be of his brothers John and Robert.

Harry, the gold miner

In July 1866, aged 24, he paid 18 pounds for a ticket to Brisbane, Queensland, boarding the "Queen of the Colonies" (1346 tonnes), a clipper built in the US. There is some interesting information available on the internet compiled by Peter Collins about the "Queen of the Colonies" including a photograph of the ship and a mention of William Henry. William Henry was one of the people elected by the other passengers to be on the passenger committee to represent them during the voyage. They had a relatively fast and safe voyage to Brisbane, so William Henry as part of the committee joined in thanking the captain and crew for the good trip with a newspaper notice and gift. William Henry was entitled to a thirty pound land voucher from the Queensland Government.

When William Henry arrived in Queensland the colony was near bankruptcy. Luckily gold was then discovered in Gympie in 1867 and the wealth from this sustained the colony and allowed it to grow in prosperity. William Henry was heavily involved in this turning point in the history of Queensland as he joined in the Gympie gold rush. He arrived soon after gold was discovered and here is an early photograph with "Harry Loosemore and friends" written on its back, taken at the Gympie gold fields. There is a slab hut and they are cooking around an open campfire. They were probably digging up the alluvial gold along the river beds at the time but in the 1870s the alluvial gold ran out and mining companies were formed to dig deeper mines. Photographs of Gympie at this time appear rare, but unfortunately the photograph is not in good condition.

"Harry Loosemore and friends" at the Gympie gold fields

Harry, the husband and father

Ann Duncan Auchterlonie had also arrived early in Gympie with her family. William Henry married Ann who lived nearby at Inglewood Hill on the Gympie goldfields on 21 November 1873. He was 31 and she was 17. They ended up having fourteen children. His place on the family tree can be seen at the following link to my family tree.

By the 1880s, Gympie actually had its own stock exchange and William Henry must have speculated in some shares or bought shares in the company mine where he was a miner. In a booklet published in Gympie's jubilee in 1917 (later reprinted in similar publications in 1927 and 1967), W.H. Loosemore and A. Auchterlonie are mentioned in a list of the largest shareholders who received a huge dividend in 1884, when their gold mining company "Wilmot Extended" struck a rich patch of gold with so much visible gold in the rock it was called 'a jeweller's shop' (see photocopy). 'A. Auchterlonie' is probably Ann's brother Archibald who also lived with his family at Inglewood Hill, Gympie. The mine was located at Monkland near the present day Gympie Gold Museum. His dividend for March 1884 alone amounted to £1300 (£1 per share was declared). It is not known when he bought his shares, but if he held them for the twelve months ending September 1884 his total dividend would have been about £3300, a huge sum in 1884, probably equivalent to about $600,000 at present (2003) prices.

But the family was not wealthy by the time of William Henry's death in 1915. He might have speculated in other gold mining companies that failed and/or it was a large family with unmarried daughters to provide for. In 1912, William Henry was listed as a battery hand. Desley recalls that her father said that William Henry found a gold nugget when he was working as a miner for a company and his fellow workers suggested that he keep it but he did the right thing and handed the nugget into the company that owned the mine.

William Henry Loosemore died on 7 July 1915, aged 73 years, of chronic bronchitis, and syncope, and he was buried in the Gympie Cemetery. At the time, this was during the First World War, and his sons were travelling to Gallipoli and the Western Front. As part of William's estate, the John Oxley Library (the State historical library of Queensland) has William's personal papers available for viewing including a couple of promissory notes, a "miner's right" from the Gympie goldfields and his passenger ticket on the Queen of the Colonies.

From Barclay’s Complete and Universal Dictionary:

"TIVERTON, a borough of Devonshire, with a market on Tuesday. It is seated on the river Ex, over which is a handsome stone bridge. It has suffered greatly by fire, having been almost burnt down several times, particularly in June 1713, when 200 of the best houses were destroyed. It is now built in a more elegant taste, and they have a new church erected by subscription. It has been noted for its great woollen manufacture, and is 14 miles N.N.E. of Exeter, and 164 W. by S. of London."

Sources:
(1) Marriage Certificate William - Anne Loosemore Queensland 1873
(2) Death Certificate William Loosemore Queensland 1915
(3) Personal papers of William Henry Loosemore; John Oxley Library, Brisbane, Queensland
(4) Gympie Jubilee Publication 1917: Gympie's Jubilee, 1867-1917
(5) Victor Loosemore - UK family researcher
(6) Ronald Loosemore - UK family researcher
(7) Desley Huth - cousin of my father
(8) Birth Certificate Douglas Loosemore Queensland 1900
(9) Walter Savige : 1912 Electoral Roll
(10) James Barclay, Curate of Edmonton, Barclay’s Complete and Universal Dictionary, 1810 edition, Liverpool
(http://members.austarmetro.com.au/~rjoram/laceintr)

Homepage for David Loosemore