William Henry Capes (1823 – 1897)

William Henry Capes (1823 – 1897), merchant’s clerk, shopkeeper, lay-reader, and schoolteacher was baptised on 2 February 1823 at St. Peter’s Church, Manchester, England.  He was the son of William Capes, a wealthy auctioneer of Manchester and his second wife Hannah Rachel, née Robberds, daughter of John Whitaker Robberds, previously Mayor of Norwich city.

William’s mother died when he was seven and his father died not long after he turned 18.  William’s older half-brother was successor of their father’s auction house however he was well provided for in his father’s will.  William apprenticed as a Merchant’s Clerk in Manchester and by 1851 he was working in London.

William was an intelligent and educated young man but on 2 June 1852, he, and his twin brother John, stole some Bibles and Prayer Books, the property of the formidable Reverend Hugh Stowell of Christ Church in Salford.  The circumstances seem less likely a prank but rather some sort of activism against the Reverend.  He was convicted of sacrilege and sentenced to three months imprisonment.

During his incarceration, Mr Edward William Binney, Gentleman, wrote to the RH Spencer Horatio Walpole HM Secretary of State, to intervene on behalf of William’s friends.  They were anxious for William and the path he was taking, though it is not stated if any other incidents took place to lead to such concern.  They decided Australia would be best for him, though this had been attempted previously without success as William did not want to go.  But according to the letter, his time in prison was enough of an impetus, as he was now keen to leave and put on the first available ship to Australia.

 He came on the Argo, arriving in Melbourne 19 January 1853.  William was a Merchant’s Clerk at the time of his marriage, to Ellen Elizabeth in 1856.  Daughter of James Milsham, of Melbourne, a saddlery commission agent, they were married at the house of Independent Minister Rev. William Burns Landells in Collingwood, William being a Wesleyan and Ellen a Methodist.

 William was a shopkeeper in the Geelong area for several years where the first three of his 10 children were born.  He supplemented his income with employment as a Clerk with a Forwarding Agent and clerical work for the Geelong Town Council.   By 1864 he moved the family to the Ballarat area working as a clerk but eventually, William found his way into teaching.  With the evolving and expanding education system of Victoria, there was a strong demand for well educated people to teach.

William’s official dates of employment with the recently formed Education Department were from 1 January 1865 to 6 August 1883.  However, as early as 1861, William was on the Board of Local Patrons for the Ashby National School and conducted the Annual Examination that year. 

He resigned mid-1868 to teach at the school attached to Rev. J. S. Chambers’ St John’s Free Church of England in Linton where he was also Lay-reader.  And when Rev. Chambers was away for three months, William substituted as Minister, giving him the opportunity to deliver a talk titled ‘The Life and Labors of William Wilberforce’ – the philanthropist, abolitionist and a champion of education.

In 1870, he was back with the Department at Cressy, passing his examination to become a licensed teacher in 1871.  There followed several appointments as Head Teacher, with his wife also employed by the department, working alongside him as the family moved around Victoria.  William struggled with small debts from 1873 to 1875 culminating in insolvency by October 1877 with his reason being an insufficient salary to maintain a large family.   It was discharged in early 1879.

School inspector’s comments on William’s teaching record note he was diligent, earnest, active and energetic.  He was well liked by the children and taught fairly with average ability.  His downfalls were management and keeping accounts.  It is clear where Williams’s strengths and preferences were.

William retired late in 1883 to his sons’ farm in Broughton; partly due to ill-health and being eligible for a retirement allowance after 14 years with the Education Department and two years with the Post Office – which he managed to fit into his long and varied working life.

While reading his newspaper fireside, a burning log rolled off, causing his clothing to catch alight.  As he was partially paralysed and unable to move quickly, he suffered third degree burns.  After several weeks in Nhill Hospital he died on 7 September 1897, aged 74 years, and was buried next day at Nhill Cemetery.

Select Bibliography

• Ballarat Star, Monday 11 January 1869, 2
• Ballarat Star, Saturday 13 March 1869,  2
• Home Office: Register of Criminal Petitions series HO19, 1852-1853, piece number 12
• Home Office: Register of Criminal Petitions series HO18, 1852-1852, piece number 343 – Letter from Mr Edward William Binney to the Right Honourable Spencer Horatio Walpole HM Secretary of State for the Home Department 27 August 1852
• Horsham Times, Tuesday 10 April 1883, 2
• Nhill Free Press, 10 September 1897
• Parliamentary Papers (Victoria), Education Department, 1884, Volume A9, 77
• PROV, William Capes #470 Teacher Record Books