William Bundey (1826 - 1889)

Born 26 Jan 1826 in Beaulieu, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom

Husband of Elizabeth (Brandis) Bundey — married 12 Jun 1848 (to about Apr 1889) in London, England, United Kingdom

Died 2 Apr 1889 at age 63 in North Adelaide, South Australia.

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Biography

William Bundey was born at or about Beaulieu in Hampshire, England in January 1826. [1] and was a carpenter by trade.

William Bundey and his young wife Betsy (Elizabeth) emigrated to the South Australian Colony in 1848 on the Poictiers, one of 272 English emigrants in the steerage of this immigrant ship. the Adelaide Times of Monday 20 November 1848

From the Family History SA's Pioneer Families South Australia: Arrivals, marriages & births 1836 - 60 [2] we see the following list of children being born on the South Australian Colony:

BUNDEY William, Betsy BRANDIS, parents of child born 1849-10-13 named Fanny at Adelaide

BUNDEY William, Betsy BRANDIS, parents of child born 1851-05-01 named Fanny at Nth Adelaide

BUNDEY William, Betsy BRANDIS, parents of child born 1853-05-31 named Lucy at Nth Adelaide

BUNDEY William, Betsy BRANDIS, parents of child born 1855-08-17 named James at Nth Adelaide

BUNDEY William, Betsy BRANDIS, parents of child born 1857-11-19 named George at Nth Adelaide

BUNDEY William, Betsy BRANDIS, parents of child born 1859-09-24 named Lucy at Nth Adelaide

In February 1876 William Bundey lost his business premises at the back of the family home in North Adelaide to a fire. From the Adelaide Observer of Saturday 26 February 1876 we see:

FIRE AT NORTH ADELAIDE.

About half-past 6 on Wednesday evening, February 23, a fire broke out near the Lion Brewery, Lower North Adelaide, in a carpenter's shop belonging to Sir. W. Bundey, builder, and situate at the rear of his house on Mackinnon parade. At first dense smoke was seen rising from the building, and immediately afterwards large volumes of flame burst forth. The shop, which was about 30 yards from Mr. Bundey's house, and was divided from it by a wooden shed, was two-storied, and built of brick and limestone with a galvanized iron roof and wooden front. It was 40 feet long by 20 high, and contained, beside workmen's tools, prepared window frames, sashes, &c., besides a large quantity of timber. Nothing was saved...

Mr. William Bundey was the Mayor of Adelaide, South Australia from 1883 to 1886. Wikipedia For this period of his life we are thankful to his Obituary in the The Advertiser of Wednesday the 3rd of April, 1889 where we see:

Mr. Bundey entered the City Council in December, 1861, when he was elected Councillor for Robe ward. He was re-elected to this office in 1864, and again in 1866, retiring in December 1868. In 1881 he again entered the City Council, being elected to fill the office of alderman on December 2 of that year. This office he held until December, 1883, when he was elected mayor of the city, and was re-elected mayor in the following December for a second year of office. During the time he was connected with the City Council the Town Hall was erected, and other improvements effected. He was elected mayor for a third time is 1885, after which he retired from municipal activity.

From the South Australian Register of Wednesday 3 April 1889 we see:

DEATHS.

BUNDEY.— On the 2nd April, suddenly, of heart disease, William Bundey, of Mackinnon-parade, North Adelaide, aged 63 years.

Newspaper coverage of the event included the following from his Obituary in the The Advertiser of Wednesday the 3rd of April, 1889 :

DEATH AT A WEDDING FEAST.

SUDDEN END OF EX MAYOR BUNDEY.

Mr, William Bundey, an esteemed citizen of Adelaide, and three times mayor of the capital, died suddenly at a wedding supper on Tuesday evening at North Adelaide...

The wedding which was being honored when the tragic event occurred was that of a daughter of Mr. F. H. Wood to the Rev. W. H. Hodge, a young Wesleyan minister who is being trans-ferred from the Burra to Port Lincoln. Mr. Bundey, who seemed particularly cheerful during Tuesday, was present at the marriage ceremony, which was celebrated in the Archer street Wesleyan Church by the Rev. J. H. Trevorrow. The wedding entertainment took piece in the evening, and was attended by over 100 friends of the bride and bridegroom, among them the deceased gentleman. The place was the North Adelaide Institute, which was brilliantly lighted, and the guests were animated by the cheerfulness and good feeling natural to the auspicious occasion. Mr. Tre-vorrow had proposed the health of the bride and bridegroom, and after this had been duly acknowledged the Rev. Thos. Lloyd went on to the toast of the parents. Mr. Bundey was a very old acquaintance of Mr. Wood, and they were united by many friendly associations, so that the duty naturally fell to him of sup-porting the sentiment. He spoke with great warmth and feeling, and the universal impres-sion when Mr. Bundey resumed his seat near the bride was that an excellent and appro-priate speech had been made. Those who heard it little thought that it was the last he was ever destined to make. Mr. Wood had scarcely risen to reply, when Mr, Bundey was seen to be seriously ill, and about to sink into his chair. A number of friends rushed forward to support him, and he was borne out into the vestibule, where in a few minutes he breathed his last in the presence of his daughter, who supported his head and fanned his face, while others brought water and restoratives. Dr. Verco, who was passing at the time, was called in before life was extinct, but was unable to retain it. The cause of death was doubtless heart disease, from which Mr Bundey had suffered for some years, and no inquest is considered neces-sary.

William Bundey is buried at the Walkerville Wesleyan Cemetery in Walkerville South Australia with his beloved Elizabeth.

Many photographs exist of His Worship Mr Bundey including one on the State Library of South Australia online collection where we see the following eulogy:

William Bundey - Mayor of Adelaide from 1883-1886. He was born in Hampshire and emigrated to South Australia arriving in 1848. His funeral cortege was over 80 vehicles long showing his popularity. He left behind the best legacy - a good example.

Sources

• SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. in the Adelaide Times (SA : 1848 - 1858) of Monday 20 November 1848, Page 2. first accessed online on the 18th of April, 2020 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/206980015?

• Poictiers from Diane Cummings' Bound For South Australia website. first accessed online on the 18th of April, 2020 at: https://bound-for-south-australia.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/1848Poictiers.htm

• Passengers for 1848 from the Passengers in History website, An initiative of the South Australian Maritime Museum. first accessed online on the 18th of April, 2020 at: http://passengersinhistory.sa.gov.au/voyage-passengers-all/942008/1848?title=&page=1

• Family History SA's Pioneer Families South Australia: Arrivals, marriages & births 1836 - 60 searchable database at https://www.familyhistorysa.org/colonists.html

• William Bundey (mayor) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. first accessed online on the 18th of April, 2020 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bundey_(mayor)

• FIRE AT NORTH ADELAIDE. from the Adelaide Observer (SA : 1843 - 1904) of Saturday 26 February 1876, Page 6. first accessed online on the 18th of April, 2020 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/159486081?

• South Australian Births, Deaths & Marriages: Death Registration no. 177/498 1889.

• DEATH AT A WEDDING FEAST. from The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931) of Wednesday 3 April 1889, Page 5. first accessed online on the 18th of April, 2020 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/24473248

• Family Notices from the South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) of Wednesday 3 April 1889, Page 4. first accessed online on the 18th of April, 2020 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47063153?

• Inscription 16030302 - William Bundey from the Australian Cemeteries index. first accessed online on the 18th of April, 2020 at: https://austcemindex.com/inscription?id=16030302

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/144627992/william-bundey : accessed 18 April 2020), memorial page for William Bundey (1826–1889), Find a Grave Memorial no. 144627992, citing Walkerville Wesleyan Cemetery, Walkerville, South Australia, Australia ; Maintained by Susanna Parrish (contributor 46929622).

• Grave site information of William Bundey (Died: 2 Apr 1889) at Walkerville Wesleyan Methodist Cemetery in Walkerville, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia from Billion Graves. first accessed online on the 18th of April, 2020 at: https://billiongraves.com/grave/William-Bundey/32572332

• 1884, English, Photograph edition: William Bundey from TROVE. first accessed online on the 18th of April, 2020 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/208454195?q=%22William+Bundey%22+1889&c=picture&versionId=228746554

• William Bundey [B 6985] • Photograph from the State Library of South Australia online collection. first accessed online on the 18th of April, 2020 at: https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+6985

• Loyau, George E., 1885, Notable South Australians : or, colonists - past and present, pages 251 & 252, self published, South Australia.