Mother’s dream dashed by Cossack setback

RETIRED medico Alan Wilson, 73, says all there is of Cossack is its history.
“There are not too many places in Australia where you have nothing but the history of a town,” Dr Wilson said of the heritage-listed townsite 1500km north of Perth. “Making something of it is the challenge.”
The great great grandson of William Shakespeare Hall who established Cossack after arriving in the North West on the 1861 Gregory expedition says his mother Helen wanted the townsite developed as a tourism precinct back in the 1980s.
“She always hoped because of its unique heritage that Cossack would become a thriving tourist area,” he told StreetWise. “I guess after 40 years, I’m pessimistic.”
Mr Wilson’s family holds the titles on four blocks owned between seven descendants, making it the oldest rate paying family in WA. They have held Williams’ deeds since 1884.
Dr Wilson’s great uncle also lived in the family home at Cossack until 1941. William’s wife remained in Cossack until 1952 when she moved to England. The family grave where William was buried is still at Cossack.
Images Dr Wilson provided StreetWise include a strip photo of buildings at Cossack and the Hall’s cottage where his mother, then a child, and her family lived for a short time in the late 1910s. William lived at the back of his block below existing Tank Hill and his office was on the waterfront.
Dr Wilson said he had mixed intentions about continuing to lobby for private landowners to be able to develop their blocks, “It comes back to who among us has the interest, time and money to pursue this”. He said he was prepared to sell two of his waterfront blocks for the right price and as part of any revitalisation of the historic town.
“The shire seems to have done a good job doing what the the State Government wanted it to do, reports, scheme amendments, visioning studies,” he said. “It all looked good and ready to go, but they became protracted over sea levels and flood risk zones, which seemed a bit excessive.
“Now after three to four years work by the council, the State Government has knocked back the whole thing and we are back at square one.”
Dr Wilson, who worked as a GP in Karratha in 1974 when he visited his Cossack blocks regularly, said his desire is to get Cossack recognised for what it was and the role it played in the development of WA’s North-West.
“Hundreds of people of many nationalities lived and worked at Cossack,” he said. “It took a couple of days on a horse and buggy to get to town. Life was tough, living in stations, it was a different world.
“We obviously would like to get a return on holding the land for the past 120 years. But what we would like to do and what is practical is another matter.”