The Family of
ALEXANDER (Alex) EDWARD FERNIE

Last updated 2011

Alex (Alexander) Edward FERNIE
Born: 2nd July 1888

Married on the 12th May 1912

Margaret Jane THOMPSON
Born: 7th August 1888

They first lived in Kathleen Street, in what was then known as Osborne, that was later changed to the suburb of Swanbourne.

ALEX (Alexander) EDWARD FERNIE

MARGARET JANE THOMPSON

Alex joined the Army and left for England on 14th September, 1916. As part of the 51st Battalion, he served in France where he was wounded in the knee by shrapnel and was repatriated to England to recover. Alex was to return home in December 1918, with knee problems.

WATERING HORSES,  DELHI, INDIA ,1937

BOANS BROTHERS STORE, PERTH

Before and on his return from the War, Alex worked in the "smallgoods" section of Boans Ltd. In 1919 he left his job, sold his house and bought a shop with house attached on the corner of Napoleon and Railway Streets, Cottesloe. Alex had a horse and cart for deliveries and a sulky for outings. The horse was an ex-trotter and was very frisky. Alex would take the horse and sulky for a run around the block before anyone of the family could get into the sulky.

While living in Cottesloe they had 3 children. Les was born in 1913, Alan was born in 1914, and Ada was born in 1920. Les and Alan both went to Cottesloe Primary School.

Around 1919 or 1920 Fred Fernie (Alex's brother) bought a property through the Soldier's Settlement Scheme in Patterson Road, Pickering Brook (which was "Bechelli's Orchard"). Alex would visit some weekends and he would travel from Cottesloe by horse and sulky to Pickering Brook. His journey would take over two hours.
Alex, wanting to be near his brother at the time, put his  name down for a place in Pickering Brook.

They did a course together on agriculture studies with the "Ugly Men's School" (a service provided to assist and help returned soldiers and their dependants to settle after the war). Unfortunately their studies focused more on wheat and sheep than on the orchard.

UGLY MEN'S INSTRUCTIONAL SCHOOL GROUP PHOTO
 It  is believed that ALEX FERNIE is in the centre of the back row, in long sleeve white shirt, arms crossed with the brimmed hat.

In 1922 Alex received a virgin bush block of 23 acres under the "Soldiers Settlement Scheme".Leaving Cottesloe in January, they arrived by horse and sulky with their furniture at their new property. Some trees had been removed by the Government tree puller. The big trees would have to be dug out by hand with a mattock and shovel, then the roots cut through with an axe. It could take one man three days or more to remove one large tree.
When they moved to Pickering Brook, all the children walked about 3 miles to go to the Carmel school.

ORIGINAL HOMESTEAD BUILT  ON THE SOLDIERS SETTLEMENT BLOCK

They lived in a tent for the first eighteen months. Then they made a shed from bush timber and the bark from trees. Margaret cooked in the open for six months while Alex and Fred built the house. The timber for the house was cut by Millar's Timber Co.
They had a bricklayer build their chimney for the house and on the night that it was finished, a very bad wind storm came through the area and the chimney began to tilt. Unfortunately the chimney had to be pulled down brick by brick and rebuilt. It was winter before they were in their house.

RUINS OF THE ORIGINAL HOMESTEAD 2009

RUINS OF THE ORIGINAL HOMESTEAD 2009

There were many hardships to be faced in the early days;

The first orange trees to bear fruit got brown rot because they were not aware they needed early spraying.
     The first cow got tuberculosis and had to be shot.
     Bad hail storms ruined vegetable and tomato crops.
     Mud and water swept down the hillside and through the house.
     They bought two more cows which needed drenching. While his wife, Margaret held the cows mouth open Alex poured in the medicine into the cow's throat only      to find it went into its lungs. The cow dropped dead.
     A cat went in amongst the day old chicks and killed seventy of them. Foxes and hawks were always a constant threat.

In true pioneering spirit they didn't loose heart and the property is being worked to this day by the third and fourth generation of the Fernie family

Alex retired and handed the orchard over to his son Alan in 1950. After retiring from the orchard Alex worked as a Barman at the Pickering Brook Sports Club. He passed away in 1963 of a heart attack while cleaning the floors of the Club

ALAN EDWARD FERNIE

Alan Edward FERNIE
Born. 22nd October 1914

Married. 21st January 1939

Bernice Victor LOWER
Born. 27th December 1915

Alan, from a very young age, experienced many of those early struggles of clearing the land, planting vegetables, growing flowers and raising chickens so they had some form of income while the fruit trees grew old enough to bear fruit.
Early produce consisted of veggies, eggs, flowers and anything else they could sell. The produce was loaded onto a one ton truck and Alex would take it to the markets at Mount Lawley, He would stay the night at Maylands and then travel home the next day.

Standing L -R; ALEX FERNIE WITH SON ALAN
 Seated: ELIZA THOMPSON (Alex's Mother-in-law)
 Baby: CLIFTON, son of Alan & Bernice

Standing L -R; MARGARET JANE FERNIE  (nee THOMPSON) wife of Alex
 BERNICE wife of ALAN FERNIE 
 Seated: ELIZA THOMPSON (Alex's Mother-in-law)
 Baby: CLIFTON, son of Alan & Bernice

Alan remembers a time when his mother did not go to Perth for a period of 12 months. Margaret would walk twice a week about 2 miles to the Carmel Station to get their meat and other supplies which were wrapped up in hessian. To supplement the orchard income Alan was to work at Illawarra Orchards, Karragullen for 10 years.

ALAN FERNIE PACKING APPLES AT ILLAWARRA ORCHARD (Second on the right)

Alan joined the Air Force in 1942, as an aircraft mechanic. He was stationed at Melbourne, Adelaide, Geraldton and Cunderdin. Alan on his return spent another 3 years working at Illawarra Orchard. Alan was respected as a "gun packer" at Illawarra and his position at the grading machine was marked by a plaque bearing his name. This item is still in position at Illawarra today as seen in the following photographs taken in 2011.

ALAN FERNIE PLAQUE AT ILLAWARRA

ALAN FERNIE PLAQUE AT ILLAWARRA

Alan and Bernice were to build their home on the orchard, using handmade cement bricks. They did not get married until their home of 3 rooms (kitchen, bedroom and bathroom) was completed. Further rooms were added to the dwelling during the 1940's as required, it was finally completed in its present state in 1947.

While Alan was in the Air Force, Bernice raised ducks, which she would kill and dress them and Alex would sell them in the Markets on Fridays. The money was used to buy cement which she and the children used to make more bricks. When Alan returned from Cunderdin there was nearly enough to finish building the home.

THE ORIGINAL HOMESTEAD BUILT BY ALAN AND BERNICE FERNIE

They carried on with the vegetables, flowers, cows and chickens while more land was cleared for planting fruit trees. They lived in this home for 65 years. Alan and Bernice had four children, Clifton, Jeanette, Beven and Victor.
They all went to the Pickering Brook Primary School which was a walk of approximately two miles for the children.

CLIFTON AND JEANETTE                                                                                                                                    BEVEN AND VICTOR

Following their death, and after repairs and maintenance, the home has now been re-occupied by Michael ((Grandson), his partner Lea and their children Jessi and Casey.

BERNICE VICTOR LOWER

Bernice was born in Kellerberrin on 27th December 1915.

She was the third child in a family of twelve.

She was to start work at an early age, the day after her 14th birthday.

Bernice began work as a cleaner working for the McCallan's in Kellerberrin. Then for the Mitchell's in Doodlakine. (Mrs. Mitchell was Mrs. Roberts daughter who lived in Carmel). Bernice later began working for Mrs. Roberts.

It was while Bernice was working for Mrs. Roberts in Carmel and attending the various social functions, she met her future husband Alan.

Her next job was with Kit Thompson, who owned a shop in South Perth. There she was to do the cooking and cleaning. As there was no room in the house for Bernice to stay, she had to live in a little flat down the road. Kit Thompson was Margaret Fernie's (Thompson) brother. Alan would go down Tuesday and Saturday to visit Bernice on his motorbike.

"Loarings" in Bickley was to be Bernice's next place of employment  where she stayed until she married Alan

BERNICE VICTOR FERNIE (nee LOWER)

BERNICE AND ALAN FERNIE ON THEIR WEDDING DAY 21st JANUARY !939

BERNICE FERNIE

ALAN FERNIE, BERNICE FERNIE, VIN SALA TENNA & DAPHNE SPRIGGS

BEVEN & BEVERLEY FERNIE

In 1959, having left school, Beven Fernie, second son of Alan and Bernice, began working with his father on the orchard.

Beven married Beverley and they had three children.

Alan retired in 1981 and Bevan took over the running of the orchard with his wife Beverley.

BEVERLEY, BEVEN, MICHAEL, NICOLE AND LEANNE FERNIE

VIEW OF THE HOMESTEAD AND ORCHARD FROM PICKERING BROOK THROUGH TO THE BICKLEY VALLEY

In 1987 Beven's son, Michael joined Beven and Beverley in working the orchard. Although Beven and Beverley still actively worked the orchard, in 2005 Michael took over the general management of the orchard with Beven and Beverley's help.This is the fourth generation of the Fernies that have worked this land which was taken up by Alexander Edward Fernie in the early 1920's.

When Alan joined Alex in 1930, the partnership name of A. E. FERNIE & SON was established. This name is still used today as the trading name.

CANVAS PACKING BINS

Many orchards have now replaced these bins with modern rotary bins

At the back of this photo shows the grader, which carries fruit up a roller conveyer.

1.  A person would stand by the grader and check the fruit traveling up the rollers, removing any damaged fruit as they moved past this point.

2.  When the fruit left these rollers they rolled onto a flat conveyor belt (far left hand side). The fruit would roll along this conveyor belt, passing various sized openings.

3.  These openings ranged from smallest to largest which ran the full length of the conveyor belt.

4.   When the fruit reached its "correct Size" opening, it would roll into a canvas packing bin.

5.   These canvas bins had springs at the end and would drop down as the weight of the fruit filled the bins.

6.   A person would then pack fruit from these bins into packing boxes for various markets.

PHOTOGRAPH OF OLD FRUIT GRADER

A front view of the canvas bins where the packers would stand to pack their fruit.

On completion they would place the full box of fruit, on the steel roller stands, shown at the front of this photo.

NOTE:    Beverley Fernie, in her wisdom chose to take photos of the bins before they were removed, to preserve this part of their heritage for future generations.

FRONT VIEW OF THE CANVAS FRUIT BINS ON THE OLD FRUIT GRADER

THE FERNIE PACKING SHED AND HOMESTEAD

THE FERNIE PACKING SHED

MICHAEL AND CLIFF FERNIE PACKING FRUIT 2001

MICHAEL  FERNIE PREPARING FRUIT FOR MARKET

MICHAEL  ON THE TRACTOR WITH BEVEN WATCHING

THE OLD FERNIE HOMESTEAD

Michael now runs the orchard with his father. Michael and his partner Lea have two children, Jessi and Casey.
They now live in the original homestead which was originally built by his grandfather.

Copyright : Pickering Brook Heritage Group 2008 - 2012