Warrnambool Family History Group

me standing in front of the recently restored Warrnambool Pioneers Board. My three-times great-grandfather William Wall is the first portrait, top row LHS. Next to him is Jacob Wood, owner of Shipley Farm which went to produce multiple Melbourne Cup winners

Had a wonderful visit with the WFHG on 10 February 2026, when I gave a talk about William Wall. William’s portrait is the first one in the top left-hand corner of the Warrnambool Pioneers Board. The portrait next to him is of Jacob Wood, William’s friend and neighbour. William’s son and Jacob’s daughter married - a match that would have made the Walls very happy. Even though I’ve been researching the Walls for a few years now and even written a book about them, it wasn’t until this trip back to Warrnambool that it hit me just how much of an impression William left in the district. There’s at least six hotels or pubs he built, owned or leased, not to mention two farms, possibly a race track built. It astounds me.

And visiting Victoria, I’m mindful of the geography of memory when researching ancestors or people who leave a trail in their wake. And when all said and done, William lies in an unmarked grave, we think next to his second wife Eliza. Only recently I learned about an incredible headstone, monument really, built for William Wall Jnr in the Jeparit cemetary. William Wall Jnr was much loved by his family and highly respected.

David Turland, President of the WFHG with me on the eve of my talk