John Stephen Maley (5 April 1839 – 28 December 1910) was a pioneering settler of the

Mid West The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. He was known for his engineering prowess.

Life

Maley was born in

Albany, Western Australia Albany ( ; nys, Kinjarling) is a port city in the Great Southern region in the Australian state of Western Australia, southeast of Perth, the state capital. The city centre is at the northern edge of Princess Royal Harbour, which is a ...

, to Martha Mary (née Goodchild) and Kennedy Maley. His parents were both immigrants, his father from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and his mother from

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, England. After leaving school, Maley moved to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and became an apprentice to Solomon Cook, an American-born engineer. He helped Cook on a number of projects, including several bridge-building projects, and also worked on Cook's primitive steam ferries on the Swan River. Maley also assisted

Richard Jewell Richard Allensworth Jewell (born Richard White; December 17, 1962 – August 29, 2007) was an American security guard and law enforcement officer who alerted police during the Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlant ...

with his rebuilding of

The Causeway The Causeway is an arterial traffic crossing in Perth, Western Australia, linking the inner-city suburbs of East Perth and Victoria Park. It is carried over the Swan River at the eastern end of Perth Water by two bridges on either side of He ...

, which was the main river crossing in Perth at the time. He caused a stir at the official opening ceremony in 1867, interrupting the speech of the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

John Hampton John Stephen Hampton (c. 1806 – 1 December 1869) was Governor of Western Australia from 1862 to 1868. Early life Little is known of John Hampton's early life. His death certificate states that he was born in 1810, but other evidence suggest ...

, and galloping over the bridge on horseback in order to be the first across. Earlier in the 1860s, Maley had been granted land at Greenough, the centre of Western Australia's burgeoning wheat-growing district. He moved to Greenough permanently later in the decade, and had a large two-storey homestead built with the aids of convict labour. Maley engineered the first bridge over the

Greenough River The Greenough River is a river in the Mid West region of Western Australia. Course Greenough River has its headwaters near Woojalong Hills on the Yilgarn Plateau. It runs in a south-westerly direction through deep valleys for approximately ...

, and on the river built a flour mill that supplied Greenough,

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, and

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

, as well as exporting to England. He was a long-serving member of the

Greenough Road Board The Greenough Road District was an early form of local government area in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It was based in the town of Greenough. It was established on 24 January 1871, and was originally a much larger district, including ...

, and served several terms as chairman. Maley died in Greenough in December 1910, aged 71. He had married Elizabeth Kniest Waldeck in 1862, with whom he had nine sons and five daughters. Two of his sons,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

and

Henry Maley Henry Kennedy Maley (17 June 1878 – 26 February 1956) was an Australian politician who was a Country Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1917 to 1924 and again from 1929 to 1930. He was the state leader of the ...

, became members of parliament. His daughter Mary Martha Maley (became Farrelly) was a leading figure and a noted advocate for wholemeal wheat.

References

*
"MR. J. S. MALEY"
''Western Mail'', 7 January 1911
"THE LATE MR. J. S. MALEY"
''Geraldton Express'', 9 January 1911 {{DEFAULTSORT:Maley, John 1839 births 1910 deaths Australian civil engineers Australian people of English descent Australian people of Irish descent Mayors of places in Western Australia People from Albany, Western Australia People from the Mid West (Western Australia) Western Australian local councillors Colony of Western Australia people