Our Heritage
The Webber name comes from the wool industry of Devon, England — in Devonshire, the wool weavers were called Webbers. The family's roots lie in a cluster of villages in central Devon: Broadhempston, Staverton and Berry Pomeroy, all within six kilometres of one another. The Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul in Broadhempston has 20–25 gravestones bearing the Webber name, and two memorial tablets inside dated 1642 and 1647.
Jane Cole (1808–1884), born at Berry Pomeroy, was the key figure who brought the family to Australia. She married three times: first to Edward Webber (a sailor, lost at sea) in 1831 at Totnes; second to Thomas Webber (Edward's first cousin) in 1839 at Broadhempston; and third to John Holmes (14 years her junior) on Christmas Day 1843 at Newton Abbot.
In September 1852, Jane and John Holmes, their four children, plus Jane's children Nicholas Webber (18) and Elizabeth Webber (15) sailed from Plymouth on the Persian. Of the 593 passengers who set out, 39 died at sea. They arrived in Melbourne on 27 December 1852 and made their way to the Castlemaine goldfields.
Nicholas obtained his Miner's Right in 1857 and married Marion Murray that same year. Their first three children were born in a tent at Moonlight Flat. The family later moved to Ten Foot Hill, Chewton, where their remaining children were born. Nicholas became licensee of the Brighton Hotel in 1882; Marion ran it after his death in 1889 until their son Benjamin Arthur took over in 1904.
Devon Origins
The Webber family's roots in Broadhempston, Staverton and Berry Pomeroy, Devon — the wool-weaving villages from which the name itself derives.
Devon Farms & Places
The farms and properties associated with the Webber and Holmes families in Devon — photographed by Kay & Hilary Sutcliffe in 2018.
Elizabeth Webber & the Jolly Family
Elizabeth Webber (born 1836), sister of Nicholas, married into the Jolly family. Her only known portrait and her descendants.
Castlemaine & Moonlight Flat
Nicholas Webber worked the Castlemaine goldfields at Moonlight Flat from 1852. His 1857 Miner's Right is one of the few surviving examples. The family lived in a tent at Moonlight Flat for five years before moving to Chewton, then Ten Foot Hill.
Holmes Family Connections
Jane Cole's third marriage to John Holmes brought the Holmes family into the Webber story. Jane Holmes (née Cole) died in 1884; her memorial documents and descendants are preserved here.
Marion Webber — Portraits
Marion Webber (née Murray, 1834–1913) was photographed at multiple studios between 1881 and after 1889. These portraits document her life as hotel proprietress and family matriarch.
Portraits 1881
Portraits post-1889
The Brighton Hotel — Webbers Hotel — Northern Hotel
Harry Excell opened the Brighton Hotel at 359 Barker Street, Castlemaine in 1873. Nicholas Webber became licensee in 1882; Marion ran it after his death in 1889 until their son Benjamin Arthur (Acker) took over in 1904. The hotel was renamed Webbers Hotel in 1913 and the Northern Hotel in 1940. It closed in 2009.
Webber & Murray Children
Nicholas and Marion had eleven children, born between 1858 and 1877. This section documents the lives of those children and their descendants — from Jinny Bradbury's soprano granddaughter Winnie, to the Agel family of Maldon.
Child 2: Margaret Jane (Jinny) Webber & the Bradbury Family
Jinny Webber (1859–1940) married William Cyclone Bradbury in 1884. Their daughter Winifred (Winnie) Bradbury (1887–1920) became leading soprano at Scots Church Melbourne, performing Handel's Messiah and Elgar's The Kingdom at the Melbourne Town Hall before her sudden death from diphtheria aged 32.
Child 4: Isabella Elizabeth (Bella) Webber & the Agel Family
Isabella (Bella) Webber (1862–1925) married Robert Agel in 1887 at Maldon. They had eight children, all born in Maldon: Florence, Ernestine, Muriel, Minnie Isabel, Ada Kathleen, Robert Gladstone, Thelma, and Beryl. This section documents Bella's children and their descendants.
Benjamin Arthur (Acker) Webber's Children
Benjamin Arthur (Acker) Webber (1872–1940), licensee of Webbers Hotel from 1904 to 1922, had children who continued the Webber family story into the twentieth century.
Cemetery, Property & Family Bible
The Webber plot at Chewton Cemetery (Plot 92A), Marion's Westwood Place property auction in 1926, and the family bible that records generations of births.
Appendices: Letters, Documents & Family Data Sheets
The following appendices contain facsimiles of original letters, historical documents, cemetery records, and Genealogical Society of Victoria family data sheets that form the primary source material for this family history.
Letters from B.A. Webber to his sister Bella Agel (1914–1920)
Castlemaine Gold History Brochure
Historical Documents
Chewton Cemetery Documents (Section 14)
John Holmes Letter, Gowar 1897 (Section 15)
Genealogical Society of Victoria Family Data Sheets (Section 17)
Family at a Glance
Origins
Broadhempston, Staverton & Berry Pomeroy, Devon, England · Earliest record: John Webber, Staverton, 1716
Journey
Arrived Melbourne 27 December 1852 on the Persian from Plymouth · 100-day voyage · 593 passengers
Legacy
Name meaning: wool weaver (Devon dialect) · Jane Cole married 3 times before emigrating to Australia
Notable Family Members
Nicholas Webber
1829–1889
Gold miner, hotel licensee & patriarch
Born in Devon, Nicholas arrived in Australia in 1852 and worked the Moonlight Flat goldfields at Castlemaine. He obtained his Miner's Right in 1857, married Marion Murray that year, and became licensee of the Brighton Hotel on Barker St in 1882. He and Marion had 11 children, all born in the Castlemaine district.
Marion Murray Webber
1834–1913
Hotel proprietress & family matriarch
Born in Glasgow, Marion survived the Portland voyage of 1837 as a toddler and grew up in Castlemaine. After Nicholas died in 1889 she ran the Brighton Hotel for 15 years until her son Benjamin Arthur took over in 1904. She had 35 grandchildren. She died at her son William's home in South Yarra in 1913.
Winifred (Winnie) Bradbury
1887–1920
Leading soprano, Scots Church Melbourne
Granddaughter of Nicholas and Marion, Winnie was appointed leading soprano at Scots Church, Melbourne in 1910, beating 13 applicants. She performed Handel's Messiah and Elgar's The Kingdom at the Melbourne Town Hall, and sang for nine years until her sudden death from diphtheria on 9 April 1920, aged 32.
Benjamin Arthur (Acker) Webber
1872–1934
Hotel licensee & community figure
The tenth child of Nicholas and Marion, Benjamin Arthur became licensee of the Brighton Hotel (renamed Webber's Hotel in 1913) in 1904. He married Jessie Robertson in 1899 at 'Inverugie', uniting the Webber and Robertson families. He and Jessie had 9 children and left Castlemaine for Melbourne in 1927.
William Henry Webber
1877–1948
Union secretary & labour advocate
The eleventh and last child of Nicholas and Marion, William became Secretary of the Victorian Grocers Union and later the Shop Assistants' Federation, retiring in 1947 after 38 years service. His son Bill Murray Webber became the legendary Secretary of the United Firefighters Union for 25 years from 1950.
Wilma (Bill) O'Reilly
1906–2015
Last surviving grandchild of Nicholas & Marion
Daughter of Edward Nicholas Webber, Bill worked at Ball & Welsh's haberdashery in Castlemaine from 1921. She moved to Narrandera NSW in 1997 and had a memorable 100th birthday in 2006. She died on 1 June 2015 at age 108 — the last of Nicholas and Marion's 35 grandchildren.