• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Christmas Island Archives Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) - Ruins, relics, stories and other interesting things

Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) - Ruins, relics, stories and other interesting things

  • Home
  • Latest updates
  • Ruins, relics, old and lost sites
  • Historic newspaper articles
  • Stories, articles and videos
  • Documents
  • World War 2
  • Recommended reading
  • Early maps & views
  • Website image gallery
  • About and Contact

William Henry Rusholme – a concrete link to the past

Trawling through many historical Christmas Island photographs in early 2021, one particular man’s face appeared several times in various photos. Fortunately, in a couple of the group photos in which he appeared his name was labelled; William Rusholme. I wondered what job he had on the Island but as I was preparing an exhibition for Territory Week all my time was taken up. So I put William Rusholme and any future research about him on the backburner. Some of the photos in which he appeared are below.

William Rusholme sitting on steps with friends
From top: Ellen ‘Dolly’ Murray, wife of John Davis Murray (Island Manager), Mrs Faulkner, wife of Dr Faulkner, W.B. Jackson, William Rusholme c1911. Dolly Beach is named after Ellen. She died in 1983 aged 101 years!
National Archives of Australia NAA: N29, 1
William Rusholme in a shooting party
Left to right: Chuan Sing, Mr Rusholme, W.B. Jackson (sitting), Roddy (dog), Mr Kay, W.Y. Jackson and Usef/Yusop.
W.Y. Jackson died suddenly from influenza in 1922 aged 31. He is buried in the old European cemetery.
National Archives of Australia NAA: N29, 1
William Rusholme with friends
“Hydraulic rain at the lower plantation, Ross Hill.”
From left to right: William Rusholme, Ellen ‘Dolly’ Murray, W.B. Jackson, Mrs Faulkner 7th September 1911
National Archives of Australia NAA: N29, 1
Rusholme in group photo
William Rusholme 4th standing man from the right.
National Archives of Australia NAA: N29, 1 

I went to Christmas Island for the exhibition in October 2021 and whilst there visited South Point. I was standing at the base of a ruined building and just happened to look up. I saw an inscription high on the wall. It had been inscribed in the wet concrete during the construction of the building.

Aug. 1928 W.H.R.
Aug. 1928 W.H.R.

The initials W.H.R. intrigued me. Who did they belong to? It seems obvious now but it wasn’t until I returned home, and saw William’s photos again, that the penny dropped. They were his initials! He had left his mark at South Point on a building that was being constructed possibly under his supervision.

Inscription location on the ruin
Inscription location on the ruin
Top view of the ruin
Top view of the ruin. Thanks to Russell Payne who explained the following: “The building was the part of the train loading facility. There was a suspended shute above the rail fed by a mini rail system from the adjoining mining fields. That engine block probably ran a pulley system used in the loading operation.”

So who was William Rusholme and why was he on Christmas Island? He was born in Selby Yorkshire in 1878 and he followed his father’s profession as an “iron work erector”. He went on to marry Elizabeth (Bessie) Jones on the 23rd December 1902 and had two daughters.

Over the years, on various records his occupation/position was shown as:

1901 Iron Worker
1907 Iron Work Erector
1919 Erector
1925 Foreman Erector
1935 Erector
1942 Engineering staff

His connection to Christmas Island started in its early mining days. The first shipping record I find of William was in a Singporean newspaper. He had arrived on the 3rd July 1908 as a passenger on the Sanuki Maru. It is likely he was heading to the Island.

John Hunt confirmed to me that William was a construction engineer and also sometime assistant pilot and told me that William worked on the construction of the Islander pier from 1912 to 1914.

William’s link to Christmas Island was a very long one. Amazingly, it would appear he was travelling between Christmas Island back to the UK to see his family from between 1908 to at least 1935 and likely beyond as he was on the island in 1942 when the Japanese arrived. (He was one of the Europeans left behind after the final evacuation.) This means his working link with Christmas Island covered a period of approximately 34 years! Shipping lists bear witness to his travel. These were some I found but there may be more.

  • 28th December 1910 Passengers for the Straits Mr W. Rusholm per N.Y.K. Miyazaki Maru.
  • 15th August 1919 departed London U.K. per Khiva to Singapore.
  • 16th September 1919 Mr W.H. Rusholm – passengers arrived per Khiva.
  • 11th September 1922 W.H. Rusholme by S.S. Charon from Fremantle to the north.
  • 22nd September 1924 Mr H. Rusholme – Passengers arrived per S.S. Islander
  • 15th August 1925 William Henry Rusholme departed Liverpool U.K. to Singapore
  • 30th May 1929 W.H. Rusholme Outward Passengers – The China Express and Telegraph
  • 12th April 1935 – On the passenger list for the Dempo leaving South Hampton U.K.  William Rusholme’s destination is shown as Singapore. He travelled via the Netherlands and India. His country of future permanent residence was the Straits Settlements.

His name also appears in Singaporean newspapers with regards to donations. For example:

  • 30th August 1924 Mr W.H. Rusholme Royal National Lifeboat institution from Christmas Island Staff $10 each
  • 1940 Mr W.H. Rusholme sent a wreath for the funeral of Mr George Farr in Singapore.

Why did he travel so far from home to work on such a remote island? The allure of Christmas Island and its lifestyle must have been strong for him. It could not have been about money alone. After all, he was a married man and would have seen little of his wife and daughters Violet and Gwladys over those years. Others fond of the Island were unable to stay so long even with cash incentives. Dr Allan, a single man, wrote in 1909 that the “moth, rust, and mental decay” outweighed a generous offer of an additional 500 pounds to stay longer. This was after a period of only 18 months. These two men would have known each other.

The following is the front and back of a postcard dating prior to WW1 sent by William from Christmas Island to his wife’s family’s in Llandudno, Wales. The postcard is now located in Ohio U.S.A. William had two nephews (brothers) who were sent to Halifax, Canada as part of a re-settlement for poor young British boys in the middle of WW1. Before the boys left the U.K. they were given some family photos including this postcard. Chad Kirk, a descendant, very kindly gave me this back story of the postcard and permission to display it with this article.

Front of postcard
William Rusholme seated. Thanks to Teresa Barlow for helping to transcribe some tricky faint words.
“Christmas Island Indian Ocean Aug 6th. This was taken at back of my house thoroughly the young ? Will”
Back of postcard
“Dear sister. Just a line which I hope will find you all well at home as I am pleased to ? ? at ? ? My kindest regards to Mother and Father and ? yourself. Your loving bro. WR”
List of remaining Europeans on the Island prior to invasion
“List from Mrs Paris – See letter to naval intelligence”
William Rusholme was one of the 13 essential Europeans left behind on the Island after the final evacuation. “Capt. Williams + 4 other ranks” would later be murdered in their beds by mutinous Indian army soldiers prior to the Japanese invasion.
National Archives of Australia NAA: MP1174/1, 724

In 1942 with the ominous knowledge that the Japanese would eventually reach the Island, evacuees being the non-essential Europeans, a few Chinese and Indian policemen with their wives and children sailed for Fremantle in Western Australia. William was not amongst them. He remained on the Island. What thoughts must have been going through his mind knowing that the enemy was at hand and his fate very uncertain.

As it turned out he survived the occupation on the Island and later internment. William returned to the UK. He was on a list of embarkees on the Dominion Monarch that arrived in Southampton on 15 November 1945. The port of origin was Sydney, Australia. He was aged 68 and listed as an Engineer. The list is headed, “Hong Kong and Malayan internees embarked at Sydney for the United Kingdom”. The ports of call for the voyage were: Fremantle, Aden, Suez and Port Said. He would never return to Christmas Island retiring to a very different life back in England.

William lived to the good age of 87 and died in 1965 in Chard, Somerset. His wife had passed away in 1955 also having lived in Chard. Despite being separated for very long periods it appears they were together in their final years.

William Henry Rusholme lived an adventurous life compared to many. Traversing backwards and forwards across the globe, away from family for long stretches, living on a tropical Island and being part of its amazing history and surviving WW2 at the hands of the Japanese. There must be so much more to his story but for now, the above is what can be told.

How wonderful then that he left a personal physical mark on Christmas Island. The mark is a date and his initials, but it is really saying “I was here”; literally a concrete link to this colonial engineer.

Share this page.

Primary Sidebar

Christmas Island Archives was selected for preservation by the State Library of Western Australia. It is now listed in perpetuity on PANDORA, Australia’s website archive established by the National Library of Australia.

Grant acknowledgement

Follow on Instagram

Follow Christmas Island Archives on Instagram for cool images and videos of ruins, relics, temples and more.

An ammunition cave used by the Japanese during the An ammunition cave used by the Japanese during their occupation of Christmas Island in WW2. The circular opening in the wall is where I believe a ventilation pipe was inserted. Its purpose was to keep a stable temperature and extract noxious fumes. Its use as an ammunition cave may have predated WW2. To find out more about this cave read Helena van der Riet's excellent thesis "The Archaeology of the Japanese World War II Occupation of Christmas Island". It can be found on my website (see link in my bio) under the "Documents" section. 
#christmasisland #cave #ammunition #ww2 #ww2history #worldwar2 #worldwar2history #japaneseoccupation #ww2japanese #christmasislandarchives
I love Victor Purcell's observations of human beha I love Victor Purcell's observations of human behaviour on Christmas Island in 1926. The European community caused him the most angst.
#christmasisland #christmasislandhistory #history #islandlife #colonial #straitssettlements #christmasislandarchives
An old water tank near South Point located along t An old water tank near South Point located along the old railway track. I understand that a couple of years ago it was totally overgrown by the jungle and was invisible until it was cleared.
#christmasisland #ruin #relic #industrialrelic #watertank #colonial #christmasislandarchives
Back in 2020 as we were leaving the Old European C Back in 2020 as we were leaving the Old European Cemetery my sis-in-law @mily_barrett spotted this now 72 year old engraving in the concrete path. A nice little reminder from a long gone workman that he was once doing a job there.
"1.7.1951
Pipe Repar" ... 
The last seen letter is partially obscured. The word repair has likely been misspelt?
#christmasisland #history #christmasislandhistory #relic #cemetery #path #oldpath #christmasislandarchives
A sad end for Norman Howard. His gravesite lies in A sad end for Norman Howard. His gravesite lies in the Old European Cemetery on Christmas Island. His story and the mystery loss of his headstone lead to a surprising misidentification of his gravesite. Read about it now on my website. See bio for link. Look under “latest updates” for “Norman Howard - turning in his grave”.
"In memory of Norman Howard
European Overseer
Aged 32
Died 6.3.24"
#christmasisland #straitssettlements #christmasislandhistory #cemetery #headstone #gravesite #grave #colonialhistory #christmasislandarchives
Straits settlement 1 cent coins that I found parti Straits settlement 1 cent coins that I found partially buried. The verdigris colour of one of them caught my eye. How I came to be in that specific spot to find them is another whole story LOL. I donated them to the Island's Tai Jin House museum.
Left top to bottom:
Tails side “Straits Settlements 1936”.
Head side “George V King and Emperor of India” 
Right top to bottom:
Tails side “Commissioners of Currency Malaya 1939”
Head side “George VI King Emperor”
There was another 1 cent coin found along with these as well and was dated 1943. 
I am not sure if such a small denomination would have been used for gambling? However, it has been told that on the Island when Straits Settlement coins were no longer a viable currency they would be saved and then scattered/given as offerings to the good brothers during the Hungry Ghost month. I found these coins during that very month in an area that metal detectorists had been over previously. Perhaps the coins were revealed to me 🙂
#christmasisland #christmasislandhistory #christmasislandrelic #relic #relichunting #indianoceanislands #ghostmonth #straitssettlementscoins #straitssettlements #oldcoins #christmasislandarchives
Load More Follow on Instagram

Follow on Facebook

Follow Christmas Island Archives on Facebook for website updates and other news.

Authentic stories reflecting the experiences of past and present Christmas Islanders.

Copyright © 2023 · Fran Yeoh. All rights reserved.