Obituaries Australia

Mr. R. [Robert Henry] Webber, who died recently at Goolwa in his 82nd year, was born at North Adelaide. He was the son of Mr. T. Webber, of Mount Barker. In the eighties of last century he was one of the partners of T. Webber & Sons, afterwards T. & R. Webber, masons and builders. In 1892 this partnership was dissolved, and the business was then carried on by Mr. R. Webber, who, at the age of nine years, started work on the railway from Gawler to Kapunda, while his father was engaged on the Kapunda bridge over the River Light. As a boy of 10 he worked on additions to the old Customs House in Commercial-road, Port Adelaide, which building was used later as the shipping office. After this job was completed Mr. Webber and his family removed to the Wheal Ellen mine, near Woodchester. Captain Prisk engaged Mr. Webber to work at the building of the carpenters' and black smiths' shops there. In the following year he worked with his father building Captain Barker's house and the engine-house at the Callington mine. His father then deciding to take up land, Mr. Webber, in 1872, built the school at Nairne and placed the main front to the residence of Mr. J. Johnson, of Oakbank. Mr. Webber, after working till midday on a Saturday erecting a store and ferry-house at Swanport, would walk to Callington, about 16 miles on a bush track, and another 8 miles to his holding at 'Jubilee,' Long Gully. Many landmarks south of Adelaide were built and worked on by Mr. Webber. In 1877 Mr. Webber married Miss Louisa Jane Underwood of Sydney. She died in Goolwa in 1923. The surviving children are:—Messrs. A. H. Webber ( Mount Gambier), H. T. Webber (Goolwa). Mesdames E. Mills (Amyton), C. Galpin (Goolwa), R. Galpin (Strathalbyn) and Miss C. Webber (Goolwa). Mr Webbers remains were interred at Mount Barker.