Charles Frederick Adams (c.1846–1895)

Charles Frederick Adams was a pioneer settler of the central Wheatbelt of Western Australia, best known as the builder of Mangowine Homestead — an historic homestead in Nungarin — and as the husband of Jane Swain Adams, a pioneer in the district who went on to achieve more renown than Charles.

Marriage

Charles Frederick Adams married Jane Swain Glass at Toodyay on 6 November 1868.

Establishment at Yarragin

A cobbler by trade, he was working as a shepherd in arid country at Yarragin – more than 160 kilometres to the east of Toodyay – when he and Jane’s first child was born in April 1869.

Move to Mangowine

In 1875, Charles took over the grazing lease at Mangowine, and moved there with Jane and their two young daughters. This placed them at the furthermost east of any settler at that time. They established a friendly relationship with local aborigines while at Mangowine.

Water was a constant challenge. Charles put down numerous wells on his grazing leases throughout the district. There are three wells remaining close to the Mangowine Homestead, and another across Karomin Road.

The Goldfields Era

After the discovery of gold and the subsequent declaration of the Yilgarn Goldfield in 1888, prospecting teams passed through Mangowine. In order to cater for this passing trade, a wayside inn was built alongside the homestead, and a licence was granted in 1889. Life became hectic for Jane, providing meals and lodging for the hopefuls heading east.

The completion of the railway through Merredin in 1893 diverted the gold-rush traffic away from Mangowine.

Career

While at Mangowine Charles fulfilled a role as Special Constable – a position also held by his father Thomas Adams (1807-1887).

 Charles’s father, Thomas Adams, was appointed as a special constable in the far-eastern settlements in 1877, whose main duty was to control aborigines who were killing sheep and pilfering settlers’ goods, and the next year Thomas took on the job of inspecting sheep flocks for scab in addition to his regular police patrols. The family thus had deep roots in the frontier districts east of Toodyay.

Death

In 1895 while away from home on one of these trips, he died of a heart attack at Nukarni, south of Nungarin. His body was returned to Mangowine for burial on the property.

Legacy

Charles Frederick Adams was a founding figure of European settlement in the central Wheatbelt, a builder, well-sinker, pastoralist, innkeeper and early police constable. whose practical skills shaped the oldest surviving building in the region.

 

Go to Adam’s Report

Go to The Parry Track

 

 

© Kim Epton and Gary Arcus 2026
454 words.

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