Thomas Watson (surveyor)
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Thomas Watson was a surveyor and early settler of the Swan River Colony in what is now Western Australia.
Little is known of his early life, but he was trained as a surveyor before arriving at the Swan River Colony as part of Thomas Peel's settlement scheme, on board Gilmore in December 1829. He brought surveying instruments with him, but at first he did not seek surveying work, preferring to establish himself as a farmer upon his grant.[1] He was independently wealthy and had brought servants with him to work his land grant. But in February 1830 his camp was burnt out in a bushfire and he lost £600 worth of goods, including most of his surveying tools. He used his remaining capital to support himself and his servants for the next year, but in 1831 he had no money left and had to release his employees from their agreements. In April 1831 he married Ann Smythe.[2]
Watson was granted 1000 acres of land at the southern end of Thomsons Lake, which he used to source timber. It corresponded roughly with today's Wattleup.[3] In May 1833 he was advertising his timber for sale as "30 tons of very superior mahogany, in the log, well seasoned".[4] The timber was tuart.[2] He obtained an order for 50 tons of timber, but could not find the men to cut it and by the time he had enlisted a labour force the men who had placed the order had already left the colony. He attempted to obtain a government contract for his timber, and in the meantime transported planks to Thomas Peel's Clarence settlement to be exported. The export ships never arrived, and Watson gave up his attempts to work his timber grant.[5] In 1839, his entire grant was bought for £60 by George Leake, a Fremantle solicitor.[6]