William ChidlowPrint Page

The well commemorates pioneer, William Chidlow. The plaque was erected on the well during the town's Commonwealth jubilee celebrations in 1951. 

The Chidlow townsite was originally named Chidlow's Well after a small waterhole near the old Northam road. The watering place had been known to travellers for many years and was named after a pioneer family of Northam. Settlement began in 1883 when it became known that Chidlow's Well was to be the terminus of the second section of the Eastern Railway. The railway station and townsite were changed from Chidlow's well to Chidlow in 1920.

As part of Chidlow's celebration of the Commonwealth jubilee, a wishing well, erected in the grounds of the local school to commemorate the founding of Chidlows Wells, was unveiled by the Minister for Lands (Mr. Thorn) on Saturday. A large crowd, including several former residents of the district, was present. Mr. H. A. Leslie, M.H.R., gave an address on Federation. A jubilee ball was held in the evening.
West Australian (Perth, WA), 19 June 1951.

The association of the Darling Range community at Chidlow (formerly Chidlow's Wells) with the pioneer family of Chidlow was marked last Saturday by unveiling a plaque attached to a wishing well in the town. The Chidlow family were among the early settlers of Western Australia and the three brothers-Henry, William and Peter-used what was later known as the old Northam road when transporting supplies between the Swan River Settlement the Avon Valley farms of York and Northam. The two-day journey of more than 60 miles demanded a camping place at night where stock could be watered. The Chidlow area provided water readily, as the brothers discovered when they dug their first well on the present Harbord property known as Pendower. Other wells were dug too, and so the district got its name.
The West Australian (Perth), 23rd June 1951.

Location

Details

Dedication