Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), Tuesday 9 February 1954, page 4


Out Among the

People

Royal Staff Link With Famous Family In SA

By VOX

SEEING in this ? paper yesterday a photograph of Lady Alice Egerton seated

behind the Queen and the Duke of Edin burgh at Sydney's gala performance on Saturday night reminds us that that ancient Cheshire family has been auspiciously repre sented in South Australia for 100 years. Col. Peter EgertonWar burton, torn at Arley Hall, Northwick, Cheshire, en tered the Royal Navy in 1825, served in HMS Wind sor Castle. Navy, Then krmy In 1829 he . entered the Honorable East India Com pany's military college at Addiscombe. Two years later he went to India where in 1835 he was ap pointed adjutant of the Marine Battalion in Bom bay. Then he became acting Deputy Adjutant-General. Se retired in March, 1853, landed at Albany (WA) in July, at Port Adelaide in September. In December he became Commissioner of Police for four years. He was com mandant of the SA Volun teer Force from 1869 to 1877. Great Eiilsror Col. Warburton attained fame as a great Australian explorer when in 1873 he ed the Elder Expedition rom Alice Springs to Wes tern Australia, passing over country never traversed by white man. They survived when tragedy was lurking round. I think he lived latterly at Oodnadatta. His two nephews were in recent years well-known igures in Adelaide with their pointed beards. Had they walked down the streets of London, people might have turned and exclaimed, 'Hullo, here are Charles I. and Charles n. come back to life.' Our 1st. Postmasters ~That the Pioneers' As sociation of SA is on the move is proved by a re juest Mr. H. L. Dodson, of Swansea. Tasmania, has re ceived from an uncle in Rhodesia, South Africa, asking for a copy of a bro chure entitled John Cliffe Watts and Henry Watts and the Pioneer Post offices of South Austra lia.'

This: was edited by Mr. Travers Barrow and Mr. George C. Morphett, who says that the brochure has been sent to Mr. Dodson. Henry Watts by the way was Postmaster-General in Adelaide from 1838-1841, when he was succeeded by his brother, Capt. John Cliffe Watts (46th Regi ment), who previously had been ADC to the Governor of NSW. He designed Government House con structed at Parramatta in 1819. They lived here on the now Bank of NSW corner of King William street and North terrace. John Watts was an ori ginal trustee of the Sav ings Bank of SA. His daughter married Mr. Christopher Bagot. Their son John married Miss Lucy Ayers, daughter of Sir Henry Ayers. They were the parents of Mr. Walter Bagot, of Murney House, North Adelaide. More Apricots Mr. Walter Ledgard brought in to show me from his McLaren Flat orchard a 15-inch water shoot bearing 15 apricots. It is the first result of a successful experiment. Instead of following the usual procedure of pruning a watershoot down to about nine inches, he tied it down as a rod some three feet long, half moon shaped like a sickle. The flow of sap is thus checked and the shoot does not continue to grow. But fruit does not appear on it until the next year. Uafceksewsl 'This is something un beknown to anybody on apricot trees, although it has been tried on almonds,' Mr. Ledgard said.

'Last September we had a field day at home. Chaps from Waikerie and Mypo longa were very interested in it because they have such vigorous growth of water shoots up there. 'As soon as they had seen this they said, 'That is what we want.' 'It means extra produc tion. I tied down 400 of my 500 trees and the diggers were amazed to see laterals a yard long carrying beau tiful fruit. 'It is more outstanding on Trevatt variety, recom mended as the best canner, than on Moorpark. 'It will be a great thing for River Murray growers. I will go up there when the pruning matches are on.' Industry Howarded Mr. Ledgard 28 years ago bought 12 acres of virgin scrub at McLaren Flat. He cleared it himself, planted it and. reared a family of four through diffi cult times. Today the children are grown up and happily married. Enfleld's Teacher Following upon the ex-change of correspondence between the English and our Enfleld city, Alec Easom came in to tell me that his grandfather, David Francis Easom, was the first schoolmaster appointed in 1849 with the approval of the Governor (Sir Henry Fox Young). He has a photo copy of the original papers, lent him by Mr. Easom's daugh-ter, Mrs. Annie Gurner, of Willcox avenue, Prospect. An official brochure in-correctly says that William Easom was the first teacher. D. F. Easom was a mem-ber of Yatala district council for two years from July 12, 1869, was re-elected for 12 months and then did not contest. Several times he was chairman in the absence of Cr. T. W. M. Sudhols. Made Farm Machines Alec has a precious, cast iron name-plate off a win nower, engraved, 'Easom, Maker, Enfleld.' He was D. F. Easom, who became the biggest maker of farm machines at his steamworks more than 100 years ago. This name-plate was given to Alec by Mr. Ger-lich of Gawler Blocks, through Coles Bros. Ltd.