William Mitchell (missionary) - Parish Life

Parish Life

The Mission house in Middle Swan which had been built for Rev. Giustaniani was built on a narrow strip of land which was known as the Mission Grant was purchased for £150. The 866 acre (350 ha) grant was originally given to settler John Wade in September 1829. It ran for about 10 miles (16 km) from the river to the Darling Range but was only 10 chains (220 yards/200 m) wide. The house was made of mud bricks with a thatched roof and is believed to have stood where Huddelston House now stands at Swanleigh, a short distance from St. Mary's.

Immediately after arrival, a school was established, with Anne Breeze assisting.

A church for which construction had been initiated by Rev. Giustiani in East Guildford was completed in 1839. It was consecrated as St. Matthew's.

On 5 August 1839 the foundation stone for St. Mary's Church in Middle Swan was laid, and opened fifteen months later by Governor John Hutt on 29 November 1840. It was built in memory of Lucy Yule, the wife of Magistrate T.N. Yule who died and was the first person buried on the site in 1838. The church was built with an octagonal layout and could hold about 100 people. It was consecrated in 1848 and remained in use until 1869 when it was replaced by a new rectangular church immediately adjacent.

Prior to the arrival of Rev. Mitchell, church services in Upper Swan were conducted at Henley Park by lay-preachers, either by Major Frederick Irwin who was the joint owner of that property with Judge William Mackie, or by George Fletcher Moore who had a land grant on the opposite (eastern) side of the river. Moore would often swim across the river to conduct the service. Part of the Henley Park estate included the site at which James Stirling had camped in his 1827 exploratory journey up the river. Accordingly, an area of land within Henley Park was donated by the owners for the construction of a church which was named All Saints Church. The foundation stone was laid on 31 October 1839 with the church consecrated on 21 November 1848. That church is the oldest still-standing church in the State.

Within three years of his arrival, Mitchell had overseen the opening of three permanent church buildings in his parish where Perth and Fremantle were yet to have one.

In December 1840, Mitchell officiated at the marriage of Anne Breeze and Henry Camfield, the Post Master General at St Mary's.

In 1842, he was reclassified by the Governor from a Missionary to a Chaplain and first Rector of the Swan Parish.

Three additional children were born in the Mission House in 1841, 1843 and 1846, which meant a family of seven children spanning 20 years.

In 1858, after 20 years in the Swan Parish, Mitchell was transferred to Perth where he and his family lived at the Deanery. His position was Chaplain of the Perth Gaol as well as chaplaincy duties at various hospitals in Perth.

After returning from a brief trip to visit his son Samuel in Albany in 1870, his youngest son Andrew died suddenly on 31 May. Mitchell became ill and died in Perth, Western Australia at the age of 66 on 3 August 1870. He was buried at Middle Swan. His wife Frances died in Perth on 1 July 1879. They are both buried, along with Andrew at St. Mary's graveyard.