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Cleikum Inn
The Cleikum Inn (named after the one in Walter Scott's novel St Ronan’s Well) was on the western bank of the Swan River opposite the township of Guildford, and therefore in West Guildford (Bassendean). It was established by James and Jane Dodds, and was actually their home. It was on the south side of the Perth road, at the point where there would later be - and is now - a bridge over the river. (There is now something like an aged care facility on the site.)
Paul Hasluck:
... Jones’s Inn was not the oldest in the district. The first inn was the Cleikum Inn at West Guildford. It has been stated that this inn was situated on the site of the building formerly owned by Mr. J. T. Short, that is on the bank of the river between the traffic bridge and the railway bridge. Contemporary maps and the evidence of old residents, who did not see the complete building but remember its ruins clearly, establish the fact that it was situated on the opposite side of the road, on the site now occupied by “Abbotsford,” the residence of Mr. Wicks. This inn was the first meeting place of the Agricultural Society in Guildford. Hasluck 1927: 7-8.
Jennie Carter:
Although small and sparsely populated, West Guildford did boast a very important establishment which became the centre of the small community at Guildford in the early years of the colony. The Cleikum Inn was the site of meetings of the Agricultural Society, the Guildford Kangaroo Hunt and the yearly auction for tenders for the horse ferry which plied between the Guildford township and Dodd’s landing. The capable host of the Cleikum Inn was James Dodds, who with his wife Jane and their five children arrived on the Rockingham in May 1830. Although designating himself a “gardener”, James had enough capital to bring himself and his family to the colony and also enable him to select 2,040 acres. He chose an allotment of 20 acres in West Guildford and it was here that he later built his inn which he named the Cleikum after the one featured in Sir Walter Scott's novel St Ronan’s Well.
The first home James Dodds built for his family was at a point just above the ferry landing, but the floods of that winter inundated the cottage and destroyed most of the possessions James and Jane had so carefully selected and brought with them to the Swan River. There was nothing for it but to rebuild - this time on higher ground - and start all over again. Despite the early setbacks, the Dodds were, by 1832, well established in their new home and had employed a servant girl, Ann Dewar, the eldest daughter of John Dewar, J. Turner’s indentured servant. In July of that year, Dodds added to his grant another 20 acre lot adjoining the house site. On this piece of ground he planted a garden, cultivated fruit trees and kept his stock and, with a shrewd eye to the needs of their fellow colonists, James and his wife converted their home into an inn.
The Dodds' venture soon became a success and the Cleikum Inn established a name for itself through the excellence of the fare and the hospitality of the host. In January, 1834 the Agricultural Society published its minutes in the Perth Gazette and added:
“The ample provision made by Mr. Dodds, the proprietor of the Cleikum Inn, for the comfort and convenience of the members, gave general satisfaction; the meeting [of the Agricultural Society] will consequently be held at his house”
The meetings had been held at George Williams’ inn, possibly situated close to where the Woodbridge Hotel is now, but at the beginning of 1834, Williams moved to Perth and opened the Perth Hotel.
Previous to this, the Cleikum was the gathering point for the grandly styled Guildford Kangaroo Hunt whose members, most of them also in the Agricultural Society, boasted many of the colony’s leading gentlemen - among them George Fletcher Moore, William Locke Brockman, who was its secretary, and Peter Broun. (Carter: 43-44)
Trevor Tuckfield:
... in March 1831 the doctor [Cowcher] wrote to the Colonial Secretary asking to be granted the lease of a ferry to be used at Guildford near his river land, which was nearly opposite where the Cleikum Inn was later. The following months he repeated his request and submitted a plan for a proposed hotel. The government approved of his ferry request, but there was no mention of a hotel. In 1833, the doctor again applied for a liquor licence, intimating that he would build his hotel, to be called the Guildford Hotel, and that, having a large family, he thought he might be relieved of the licence fee. However nothing came of it, and besides, by this time James Dodd's Cleikum Inn was already established on the opposite side of the river. (Tuckfield 1971: 70) ...
Nine months later [that is, in 1840] Smithers announced that he was taking over the Cleikum Inn at Guildford. In January 1843 he left for London on the Houghton-le-Skerne. (Tuckfield 1971: 81)
References and Links
Bourke, Michael J. 1987, On the Swan: a History of Swan District, Western Australia, UWAP for the Swan Shire Council.
Carter, Jennie 1986, Bassendean: A Social History 1829-1979, Bassendean Town Council.
Hasluck, Paul 1927, 'Guildford: 1827-1842', Early Days, vol. 1, part 2: 1-19.
Tuckfield, Trevor 1971, 'Early colonial inns and taverns', Part 1, Early Days: Journal and proceedings of the Royal Western Australian Historical Society, 7, 3: 65-82; Part 2, Early Days, 7, 7: 98-106.
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 23 November, 2016 and hosted at freotopia.org/hotels/cleikum.html (it was last updated on 25 November, 2023), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.