Laurence and Ellen Sinclair

Laurence Sinclair was the youngest of the three Sinclair brothers who came to Western Australia from Shetland. He was born in Skelberry, Dunrossness, on the 30th of January 1831.

It’s not known precisely when he arrived but it must have been in the early 1850s on one of the sailing ships that brought new settlers to the colony. He would have been a young man in his twenties when he arrived and in 1857 he got a job as a tidewaiter¹. in the Customs Department. He went on to become a coxswain with the water police, a position he held until 1888. It’s possible that he was instrumental in getting a job with the water police for his brother John, who arrived after him in 1860.² He later became a committee member of the Fremantle Working Man’s Association.

Laurence married Ellen Hogan, a young woman who came on the Sabrina in 1853 with a sponsored group of girls from Ireland and England, part of the State’s push to remedy the gender imbalance in the new colony. They were married in St. Patrick’s church, Fremantle, on the 25th of April 1857.

Laurence died in 1900 at his home, 126 Beaufort Street, Perth. He is buried in the Roman Catholic portion of Fremantle Cemetery. Ellen was to die thirteen years later in a tragic accident. A newspaper report of the time said

Mrs. Ellen Sinclair, aged 70 years, was the victim of a shocking burning accident at the residence of her daughter, in Harley Street, Highgate Hill, on Saturday night. By some means the unfortunate lady’s clothes caught fire , and before the flames could be extinguished serious and painful injuries were sustained. Mrs. Sinclair was hurried to the Perth Public Hospital by the ambulance, but despite medical aid she succumbed to her injuries at five minutes after one o’clock yesterday morning. An inquest will be opened this morning.³

Ellen Sinclair was buried with her husband in Fremantle Cemetery and the funeral was attended by a large group of mourners.⁴

1. A tidewaiter inspects incoming ships and enforces customs regulations
2. Erickson, Rica (ed.) The Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australians – pre-1829-1888.
3. The West Australian, 1 September 1913, p.6.
4. The West Australian, 6 September 1913, p.7.