Millar Buzzard

9.1
Midland Railways of Western Australia

An agreement was signed on 27th February 1886, between the Midland Railway Company and the Western Australian State Government whereby, in exchange for the company building a railway from Perth to Walkaway, near Geraldton, the company was granted 12,000 acres of freehold land for every mile of railway built. Work was commenced within a few days of the signing of the agreement.

Map of the land the company acquired and re-sold

To pay for the construction of the railway, the Midland Railways sold land to the State Government. The Government then sold the land to interested parties. Although the first newspaper advertisement, for the private sale of the land appeared on 1st March 1901, it wasn’t until 22nd June 1906 that a meeting was held at the Queens Hall, in William Street Perth, and the sale of the land commenced. [102]

Successive land releases were held over the years and the properties changed ownership many times.

Proposed Midland Railways Land Auction 1901

After the First World War, thousands of returning servicemen required jobs and the Government bought many working farms and designated them as Soldiers’ Settler land. The farm Millar was eventually to own had several owners before the W.A Government, through the Agricultural Bank, bought the land under the Soldier Settlement Act of 1918.

On 27th February 1920 Millar acquired the title to 307 acres and 2 roods of land, being Lot 8, Melbourne Location 908, on plan 2837.

It is interesting to note that the certificate was only in Millar’s name. This would have devastating consequences a few months later for Margaret Mary Buzzard.

Certificate of Title Melbourne Location 908 Lot 8

The farm he purchased was under crop. A local committee of the Repatriation Department received an application from Millar, on 10th December 1919, for 4 weeks Sustenance Allowance to tide his family through the period until it became productive and was able to sell the crops growing. He must have bought the property prior to the Title being issued on 27th February 1920.

Transcript of Moora Repatriation Committee Letter to Perth Head Office [103]

His application was granted, starting on 29th March 1920, and he was to be paid £1/17s/6d per week for 6 months. This was stopped when Millar died in July 1920. In the application for Sustenance, Millar called his farm, “Barambah” (after the ship he sailed back to Australia on, after his war service).

Margaret Mary Buzzard (nee Sheridan) and (Front L to R) John, Alice Margaret, Brian
(photo may have been taken on their property Location 908 Lot 8)

------------------------------
[102] West Australian (Perth, WA: 1879 - 1954), Saturday 23 June 1906
[103] The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Saturday 17 July 1920, page 6