Places/samsonspaddock.html
< Places
[[Places/index.html|
]]
Samson's Paddock
Pascoe:
Swan Location 83, the area immediately south [of Swan Location 83, Peppermint Grove], had been granted to George Williams, but sold to Captain Walter Pace for ten pounds, the latter receiving its title in 1841. Lionel Samson held the power of attorney for this property, so when wheat was grown on this land it became known as Samson’s Paddock. The paddock was cultivated until 1912 and not subdivided until 1920. The Samsons retained an old stone cottage, adorned with fig and mulberry trees, on this property; the caretaker was one Mad Bob, who lived in the cottage:
Downey:
He was the terror of picnickers and campers, or anybody else walking across the property to the river, as he was known to ride his horse at trespassers or across their meal spread out for a picnic. On one of these occasions he was pulled off his horse, dragged into the river and half-drowned by four women in reprisal. [Downey, Mosman Park: 16-17]
Pascoe:
The ownership and control of this tract of land was never in doubt ... (17)
Despite this professional historian's lack of doubt, there is a restaurant called Samson's Paddock in Glyde Street Mosman Park which suggests on its webpage that Lionel Samson was the owner, rather than merely holding power of attorney: 'Ten years after the Swan Location 83 (where we are located today) was first allocated to new settlers in 1831, Lionel Samson purchased the title for the grand sum of 10 pounds. Samson began farming the land and it wasn’t long before people started calling it “Samson’s Paddock”.
With the land being perfectly positioned and Samson being quite the entrepreneur, Samson’s Paddock soon became a popular watering hole for both horseman and horse. Whilst their horses rested and took in some water, the men would pop in for a drink before continuing their journey.'
References and Links
Bolton, Geoffrey & Jenny Gregory 1999, Claremont: A History, UWAP.
Downey, H.S.G. c. 1971, Mosman Park, UWAP.
James, Ruth Marchant 1977, Heritage of Pines: A History of Cottesloe, Town of Cottesloe Council, © Ruth Marchant James.
James, Ruth Marchant 2007, Cottesloe: A Town of Distinction, Town of Cottesloe, © Ruth Marchant James 2007.
Pascoe, Robert 1983, Peppermint Grove: Western Australia's Capital Suburb, OUP.
Tuckfield, Trevor 1971, 'Early colonial inns and taverns', Part 1, Early Days: Journal and proceedings of the Royal Western Australian Historical Society, 7, 3: 65-82; Part 2, 7, 7: 98-106.
Samson's Paddock restaurant website.
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 29 May, 2021 and hosted at freotopia.org/places/samsonspaddock.html (it was last updated on 17 April, 2024). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.