Walkinshaw Cowan (25 December 180822 January 1888) was private secretary to Western Australian Governors John Hutt, Andrew Clarke and Frederick Irwin, then in 1848 he became Guardian of Aborigines and a justice of the peace, and then resident magistrate at York from 1863 to 1887.
Early years
Walkinshaw Cowan was born on 25 December 1808 in Borrowstounness in Scotland. His father, Thomas Cowan, wanted him to become a merchant. He was indentured to Adam White & Co of Leith, served out four years and established his own business, possibly as a corn merchant, but this failed.
Arrival in Western Australia
Following an offer to Cowan by John Hutt, who had been appointed Western Australian Governor, to become his private secretary, Cowan emigrated to the Swan River Colony on the same ship as Hutt, Brothers, arriving on 1 January 1839, the trip costing him £320. Two days later, he and two fellow passengers borrowed some horses in Fremantle and rode to Perth. He saw "a sort of herbage which reminded me strongly of the mountain scenery of Scotland".
Appointments
As private secretary to Hutt, Cowan had been told by Hutt that he could live at Government House. In April 1836, he was also appointed clerk of the councils, that is, the Legislative Council and the Executive Council, but Hutt asked him to find his own residence. The relationship between Cowan and Governor Hutt was not cordial, with Hutt being aloof and Cowan finding it difficult to be subservient.
From 1846 to 1848, he would also serve as private secretary to Governors Andrew Clarke and Frederick Irwin.
Marriage
During this period, he lived with and then married Elizabeth Dyer (on 14 June 1842) with whom he would eventually have 11 children. He purchased land at the foot of Mount Eliza and borrowed £300 to build a house. The property was well stocked with vines, bananas and other fruit trees. He contracted the painful eye disease ophthalmia and was concerned that he would become blind. Consequently he took leave of absence from October 1842 until December 1844.
Steam milling adventure
In 1843, he was the main promoter of the Guildford Steam Saw and Flour Mills, a business which intended to run a steam-driven sawmill and flour mill at Guildford. In this venture, he was given technical sawmilling assistance from engineer John Henry Monger Snr, who was also one of the partners in the venture. However the venture failed, Walkinshaw blaming (in his diary) "the misconduct and ignorance of an Engineer". By late 1844 Cowan owed his bankers (George Leake and W B Andrews) a total of £1,238 and he assigned all his property to them, his house and land were sold, and Cowan returned to his duties as clerk of the Council and private secretary to the Governor. A writ of fi fa was issued against him in June 1845. A meeting of creditors was called on 11 August 1849, and then a later meeting for a deed of composition.
Appointment to York
In July 1847, Cowan was appointed as Resident for King George Sound, however Cowan declined to accept the office because of "smallness of salary". Then after Charles Fitzgerald became governor, on 6 February 1848, he appointed Rivett Henry Bland, who had been Resident Magistrate in York and Beverley, as personal secretary and Clerk of the Council, and on 4 September 1848, Cowan was appointed Guardian of Aborigines for York. He was also appointed as a Justice of the Peace, in addition to also being in charge of the police.
Cowan saw this appointment as a demotion. He was at one time disputing a directive from Government House and reminded the person with whom he was corresponding that he had "served immediately under the Governor of this Colony in a higher station than that of Guardian of Aborigines". Cowan set off for York in a cart drawn by a team of bullocks. He was cautious of Aboriginals on his trip to York:
Cowan’s later recollection of York at that time was as follows:
Guardian of Aborigines
As Guardian of Aborigines, Cowan’s area of responsibility was large, stretching from Gingin in the north to Williams in the south. He had to make a trip on horseback in remote parts of the territory to discharge his duties. The position of Guardian of Aborigines consumed most of his energies. Cowan recollected about this work:
It was dangerous work and several of the Aboriginals working with Cowan were murdered.