Cartmeticup Well

Statement of Significance

The site is significant in the development of farming in the district and for its association with
pioneers.

Physical Description

Located on the upper reaches of a creek which flows to the SW. The well is left of the centre of the 40
acre Location 148. This was one of three blocks totalling 257 acres held by HH Brown (jnr). One
block was surrounding the 40 acre selection on the east and north and the other joined these two on the
south. (The Cartmeticup Road was surveyed between the blocks about which Brown protested
vigorously but to no avail). He had expanded his holding to 257 acres and cleared portion of it to
grow crop for grain and hay to feed the two horses he kept.

A line of remnant fruit trees are along the Cartmeticup Road fence (almond & fig) near where Brown's
humpy was situated. The well has been excavated to allow stock access for oMnking.

History

The name of the well is derived from the Aboriginal word 'Eart' (head) and 'Mendick' (sick). The
district of Cartmeticup takes its name from this well.
Henry Harrison Brown (jnr) was the original selector of the land near the well about 1875. The eldest
son of the renowned doctor of the same name at the Beaufort, he had been urged to study chemistry,
but instead chose a life in the bush. The Brown family had moved to Mt Brown, west of Arthur River
around 1875 and it was here, according to family legend, that Henry had an argument with his brothers
over the siting of a fence line. Packing a few belongings and his rifle, Henry saddled his horse and
rode to the Cartmeticup Well. This site would have been known to him during their lengthy sojourn at
the Beaufort. It was certainly isolated as he was not to have any other neighbours in the area until
1893 when the brothers Andrew and William George Patterson arrived from South Australia.
The needs of Henry Brown were miriimal, however, and much of his time would have been spent
dealing with the boodie rats which ate his crop and the ring-necked parrots which harassed his small
orchard. His later activities seemed to revolve around his fine vegetable garden in which he grew
excellent watermelons. These he sold to neighbours when they called and with a piece each to the
kids. There were many older folk who had their first introduction to watermelons at Henry Brown's.

His house was remarkable. Just a flat roof supported with bush poles, with no walls except for a few
sheets of iron behind his bed. The bed itself was built onto a huge old yorkgum stump in one corner of
the building. This stump was a great termite mound and it was said that his whole bed and mattress
were bound onto the stump by the termites. The floor of the building was earth incorporated with ash
from the fire compacted into a solid base. Henry didn't share his neighbour's concern for his
'primitive' living conditions. When William Haddleton built him a small room with a door, he never
used it. Ned Haddleton remembers as a child seeing the horse often in the 'new house'. Later he
expressed the wish to be buried on the property, but being told that this was not possible, his final
resting place is in the Woodanilling Cemetery after his death on 26 December, 1917 at the age of 71 \
years.

Oliver Crane bought Brown's property and, as part of 'Craneford', has passed down through the Crane
generations via Arthur (Oliver's youngest son) to Kevin (Arthur's youngest son.)

Integrity/Authenticity

original materials: little

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

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This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.