Archibald J Fowler The Rooster of Williamstown

By Kerry Janet Fowler

Archibald J Fowler The Rooster of Williamstown by Kerry J Fowler traces Archibald’s family heritage from the reign of King Charles I of England, Ireland and Scotland to the arrival of his four grandparents in Williamstown, Victoria, Australia in the 1850s.

Archibald was nick named ‘Chook’ as invariably were all Fowler men

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kerry Fowler
• Release date: Aug 20, 2019
• ISBN: 9780648121114

Kerry Janet Fowler

Dr. Kerry Fowler Grad Dip Ed MSc PhD is a fifth generation Fowler living in Williamstown, and a Homegrown author with the City of Hobson's Bay, Victoria, Australia. Archibald J Fowler The Rooster of Williamstown is her second book. Kerry has worked for 40 years in medical research and is an All Breeds Cat Judge. Her scientific training and cat judging experience throughout Australia and New Zealand equipped her to write her first book entitled, Meow A Genetic Concert for Cats, and to be a founding Trustee of the Feline Health Research Fund.

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Archibald J Fowler

The Rooster of Williamstown

Archibald J Fowler

The Rooster of Williamstown

Kerry J Fowler MSc PhD

Melbourne

Australia

All rights reserved

© Kerry J Fowler 2019

© Estate Archibald J Fowler

ISBN 978-0-6481211-0-7 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-0-6481211-1-4 (EPUB)

Fowler, Kerry J

Archibald J Fowler The Rooster of Williamstown

First edition, 2019

Reprinted, 2019

Published by: KJ Fowler; PO Box 555, Williamstown, Victoria, Australia

Edited by: M Burbidge; Newport, Victoria, Australia

Cover design and illustration by: G Haby and L Jennison; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Fowler crest colour illustration by: Armorial Reproductions; Blackburn, Victoria, Australia

Paperback printed by: Documents on Call; Footscray, Victoria, Australia

EPUB design by: Thorpe-Bowker; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Disclaimer: This book is for educational and informational purposes based on the author’s views and interpretation of publications, memoirs and interviews with family members. Any errors are unintended. Every attempt has been made to locate holders for material quoted in this book. Any person or organisation that may have been inadvertently overlooked or misattributed may contact the author directly.

Contents

Copyright

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 Introduction

Lawyer in ‘Town for 50 years by John Dixon, 1980

Chapter 2 Ancestors

Fowler ancestry

Part 1: England, pre-1850 by Archibald Fowler

Fowlers Farm, 1600s

John Fowler (b.1770-d.1864)

John Wyke Fowler (b.1797-d.1853)

Alfred Fowler (b.1812-d.1872)

Martha Bartholomew, nee Fowler (b.1815-d.1900)

Fowler family coat of arms and crest, 1857

Part 2: Australia, post-1850 by Archibald Fowler

John Fowler (b.1829-d.1895)

Mary Fowler, nee Orton (b.1831-d.1927)

Alfred Fowler (b.1830-d.1858)

Ballast man’s corner (1854-1864)

Oddfellows Hotel (1866-1927)

27 (formerly 22) The Strand, 1884

Passing of John Fowler in 1895

Daughters of John and Mary Fowler, nee Orton, pre-1950

Chapter 3 My Williamstown

My Williamstown by Arch Fowler, 1984

Commentary by The Mail, 1984

Chapter 4 Growing up and old in Williamstown

World War 1, 1914-1918

Blockheads, post-1914

Courting days, 1920s

Human relationships, 1930s

Domestic life, 1930s

World War 2, 1939-1945

Child-bearing days, 1930s-1940s

Loss of parents, 1940s

Widowhood, 1963

Reflections, 1991

Chapter 5 Remembrance

Archibald’s cousins

Sons of Alfred and Jane Fowler, nee Doull

John Fowler (b.1890-d.1970)

Alfred Fowler (b.1892-d.1972)

Ronald Fowler (b.1894-d.1959)

Daughter of Alfred and Jane Fowler, nee Doull

Blanche Mary Fowler (b.1884-d.1958)

Sons of Robert and Emily Fowler, nee Booley

John Orton Fowler (b.1890-d.1916)

Stanley Fowler (b.1895-d.1961)

Tuna explorer extraordinaire, 1930s-1940s

Sons of Charles and Mary Murrell, nee Fowler

William Lee Murrell (b.1893-d.1970)

Charles Fowler Murrell (b.1895-d.1915)

The cause being such a noble one, 1917-1918

Chapter 6 Sport players and local leaders

Part 1 Sports players

Archibald John Fowler (b.1906-d.1991)

Williamstown Bowling Club est 1880

Jessica Mary Fowler, nee Cameron (b.1876-d.1944)

Patricia Verna Ennis (b.1908-d.1984)

Patricia Anne Benton, nee Fowler (b.1934)

Williamstown Swimming and Life Saving Club est 1922

John Fowler (b.1862-d.1943)

Alexander White Cameron (b.1838-d.1909)

Brian Ennis Fowler (b.1935)

Hobson’s Bay Yacht Club est 1888

John Fowler (b.1829-d.1895) and sons

A sound mind in a sound body, 1920

Archibald Big Archie Cameron (b.1831-d.1909)

Winter and summer sports, 1900s

Williamstown Cricket Club est 1852

John Cameron Fowler (b.1931-d.1994)

Part 2 Local leaders

Archibald John Fowler (b.1906-d.1991)

Lawyer (1930-1980)

Williamstown Historical Society, 1956

Art, Antiques, Stamps and Photography, 1900s

Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows, circa 1863

Alfred Nicky Fowler (b.1859-d.1920)

Labour of love, late 1800s

Wonderful Williamstown as seen by Arch Fowler, 1991

Hail and farewell Archibald, 1991

Appendix 1

1a. Dr. Walter Fowler (b.1857-d.1917)

1b. Stanley Fowler (b.1838-d.1876)

1c. Henry Fowler (b.1841-d.1911)

1d. Other beneficiaries of Martha Bartholomew, nee Fowler (b.1815-d.1900)

1e. Thomas Square, 1854

References

About the Author

List of Tables

Table 1 Fowler ancestry of Archibald John

Table 2 Archibald’s paternal uncles, aunts and cousins

List of Images of Archibald J Fowler

1a. Archibald, full of purpose and in full stride

1b. Archibald at play

1c. Archibald and Mollie with their young children, John, Anne and Brian

1d. Archibald and Mollie enjoying each other’s company

Illustration of Fowler family coat-of-arms and crest

Preface

Archibald John Fowler’s funeral was a male-dominated, solemn affair held at the St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Cecil Street, Williamstown during winter, 1991. As the pallbearers carried Archibald’s mahogany casket from the Church, it was realised that he was taking none of his highly-prized material possessions with him. Archibald was only taking his worn-out body to his grave and his formidable soul to the afterlife.

Nonetheless, Archibald was leaving a lot behind. Archibald left a legacy of a multifaceted life that was well-lived being full of vigour, ambition, awareness, enquiry, purpose and leadership. Perhaps most importantly he left an example of what a person can achieve in life. But who was he and what drove him to seek solutions and live every day as if it was his last?

This book has been dedicated to the essence of Archibald John Fowler and his immigrant forebearers who shaped Archibald’s sense of family pride, his work ethic, his active participation in community life and sports, his art-appreciation and his unwavering loyalty to the seaport of Williamstown. All of these attributes were quietly under-pinned in his adulthood by his loving wife Mollie who understood the demands that Archibald faced as a solicitor and his will to succeed. Mollie was in turn supported by her two noble sisters, Pat and Isla Ennis who lived close by.

Later in life, Archibald’s support team was further enhanced when his talented son, Brian joined his legal practice, Fowler & Hick Solicitors, with legal secretarial assistance from Archibald’s dependable daughter Anne.

Chapter 1 introduces Archibald along with his many skills and achievements. This brief Chapter encompasses a tribute, Lawyer in ‘town for 50 years, written by Mr. John Dixon, a journalist from the local Williamstown (Star-) Advertiser newspaper when Archibald was approaching retirement from his legal practice.(1) It also includes family trees for ease of reference.

Chapter 2 entitled, Ancestors, describes Archibald’s unfinished research into his paternal family history dating back to the reign of King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland. Remarkably, the majority of the content in this Chapter was written by Archibald pre-internet in 1960.

Furthermore, this Chapter reflects Archibald’s expertise as a historian. To his credit, Archibald was apt at preserving and studying old hand-written letters and images from his Fowler ancestors. Additional research, by the author (Archibald’s granddaughter, Kerry) over the past decades, has been included to compliment Archibald’s knowledge and to answer his unsolved questions. For continuity of readership of Chapter 2, some of Archibald’s biographical and dwelling descriptions and have been included in Appendix 1.

Archibald was retired in 1984 when he wrote his short story, My Williamstown, that was first published in the local newspaper known as The Mail.(2) This story has been republished in Chapter 3 to allow readers to share Archibald’s insight, pride and passion for living in Williamstown. A decade earlier, Archibald’s combined his enthusiasm for Williamstown with his great interest in law and history for a published review article aptly named, The Lawyers of Williamstown By A.J. Fowler (*Ad. 1930).(3) *Ad…signifies year of admission to practice law in Victoria.

Following on, Chapter 4 contains a short story written by the author. It features Archibald’s sister Mrs. (Dorothy) Grace Cameron, nee Fowler and her best friend Mrs. Miriam (Miri) Daw, nee Price who cheerfully participated in an academic Women and History project with the author in 1991. In doing so, they granted the author permission to write about their lives as girls growing up in the shadow of their very bright brothers in the early 1900s; and as capable women growing old in the heart of Williamstown in the late 1900s.

Chapter 5 named, Remembrance, pays tribute to the many members of the Fowler family who served their country in World War 1. Several of these young men and women were older cousins of Archibald and Grace who were too young at the time to join up. The sacrifices of these gallant Fowler family members have been revisited in this Chapter as a hope that their past selflessness will not be forgotten.

The sixth and final Chapter called, Sport players and local leaders, revisits many of Archibald’s achievements. Also, it describes his parents and his children, as well as some of his descendants and other relatives