[[People/index.html|
]]
Henry Blinco
Henry Blinco, 1832-1907, was Chief Warder at the Prison. The house called Lenaville, at 186 High St (at the corner of Ord Street), was built for him. He died at 'Blinco Cottage', 8 Swanbourne Street, possibly murdered. Blinco Street is named after him. He was interred in Fremantle Cemetery at Anglican MON A464.
Death of an Old Colonist
Another old Western Australian pioneer passed away in the person of Henry Blinco, last Thursday at Swanbourne-street, Fremantle, at the age of 75. The deceased, who had served in Her Majesty's 96th Regiment, arrived here with his wife in the ship Merchantman, in 1864. It was his intention to join his brother in Queensland, and take up farming, but owing to the poor passenger service in those days between the colonies, he decided to remain in Western Australia. For a number of years he was engaged as one of the principal officers in the gaol, and retired on a pension in 1898. During the time he was in the army he formed part of a contingent sent to North India to take part in a threatening engagement, but after marching 1,400 miles, the trouble was found to have been settled. The late Mr. Blinco was twice married, his first wife predeceasing him some 33 years ago. He leaves five sons and one daughter, besides several grandsons and his widow to mourn their loss. The funeral took place yesterday afternoon at the Fremantle Cemetery, the remains being interred in the Church of England portion. The chief mourners were Mrs. Blinco (widow), Messrs. Thomas, Edward, and John Blinco (sons), Miss Blinco (daughter), and Messrs. Thomas, Frank, and Ivan Blinco (grandchildren). The pall-bearers were Messrs. W. Dawson, J. Hossick, W. Boyle, and Howson. Numerous wreaths and floral tributes were sent. The Rev. F. G. O'Halloran conducted the service at the graveside after which, in a short address, he said that Mr. Blinco belonged to that sturdy band of pioneers who had made Australia what it was to-day. He was a man who had a stern sense of the responsibilities of life. He was unlike many of the younger generation in that his mind was always fixed on the realities and difficulties of life rather than its pleasures and amusements. The funeral arrangements were carried out by Messrs. Arthur E. Davies and Co., of Fremantle. The West Australian, Saturday 7 December 1907, page 11, News and Notes.
The sarcophagus of Henry Blinco in Fremantle Cemetery. His first wife Eliza is also remembered on the monument.
Eliza Blinco, Henry's first wife (he married again; and his widow Martha was alive at his death) predeceased her husband by many years, having died in 1874. That was before the present cemetery opened in 1899, so if her remains are here, they must have been reinterred here from the Skinner St Cemetery. Perhaps the tomb was brought here also. The brown stone looks older than that usually used in the Carrington St cemetery. Martha had the grant of the gravesite from 1907 to 23 October 2007.
References and Links
Davidson, Ron 2007, Fremantle Impressions, FACP: 209.
Seddon, George, 2000, Looking at an Old Suburb: A Walking Guide to Four Blocks of Fremantle, UWAP. George Seddon was the owner of Lenaville for many years until his death in 2007.
Blencowe Families Newsletter, 2009.
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 31 December, 2014 and hosted at freotopia.org/people/blinco.html (it was last updated on 15 January, 2024), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.