Walter Cope: His Life and Times

Well its time to try and put to use all my years of study and reading and inquiry. I have decided to try and write a series of books about my family and their place in the history of Western Australia. Its very niche but I feel the need to write it down so that it may keep their memory and deeds alive. I come from a long line of people who were never great movers and shakers, but that's what most lives consist of. We are born, we love and are loved, we try, we succeed and fail, then we die. And barely 25 years later no one remembers. I would like to try and bring to life the experiences of my ancestors and their contribution to this great state. I doubt if more than a handful of people will ever care about their, and my, endeavours, but life is all about howling at the void. My first subject will be Walter Cope. Expect to hear a lot more about Walter Cope over the next couple of years. A paternal Great Great Grandfather of mine, he came out to Australia in the late 1880s and found work in Geraldton with the Wittenoom brothers. He was an auctioneer and accountant. He was a gifted all round sportsman who was a runner, convert to Aussie Rules and, at one time, was considered the finest batsman in the Geraldton district. He married a Birch, quite a well known family in both Geraldton, Australind and Perth. He was briefly in Kalgoorlie, where he was one of the early organizers for cricket and wrote the first rules. Back in Geraldton he was accused of embezzlement but was found innocent. His close relationship with the legal hierarchy may have proved useful. He was a major organizer of athletic meets in Geraldton and a well known handicapper. He moved to Bunbury in the early 1900s to work for the major timber firm, Millers. He stayed active in footy, serving on the appeals committee for years and becoming a Life Member of the league. In 1913 he became Secretary of the Bunbury Harbour Trust and stayed as such for two decades. His family, especially his daughters, were deeply involved with the Sailors Rest, and this is probably how his daughter met and fell in love with Robert Strachan Smith, son of the main organiser in the State for this institution. Walter was very much into philanthropy, helping children from the Goldfields have holidays on the coast. He was a close friend of the Anglican Bishop of Bunbury. So hopefully I will give his life some flesh as I research deeper and write the first of four books I have planned on my ancestors. Any help would be greatly appreciated.