Bussell family
The Bussell family was a prominent family of early settlers in colonial Western Australia, associated with the founding and development of the Vasse and Busselton districts.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Bussell family was a family of English settlers who played a significant role in the early colonial history of Western Australia. Four brothers—John, Joseph Vernon, Alfred and Charles Bussell—left England aboard the Warrior and arrived at Fremantle on 12 March 1830. Other members of the family followed in separate voyages: Lenox, Frances and Elizabeth arrived on the Cygnet in January 1833, while Frances Louisa and Mary arrived at Albany in June 1834. The family reached Western Australia at a time when the most productive land around Perth and Fremantle had already been allocated. Governor James Stirling encouraged them to establish a new agricultural settlement near Cape Leeuwin. Their first attempt, in the Augusta district, produced limited results. After further exploration, John Bussell identified more promising agricultural country near the Vasse in December 1831. By 1834 the family had established a property known as Cattle Chosen, helping create a permanent settler presence in the district. The settlement that developed around the Vasse was later surveyed as Busselton in 1837. The town and the Bussell Highway were named in recognition of the family, giving the Bussells a lasting place in Western Australian geographic and civic history. Their activities included farming, exploration, local administration and participation in the security practices of the colonial frontier. The family’s historical reputation is deeply contested. During the early decades of settlement, members of the family were involved in violent conflict with Wardandi Noongar people whose country was being occupied by settlers. Contemporary diaries and later historical research describe killings, shootings, hostage-taking and punitive expeditions in the Vasse region, including the 1837 Vasse massacres and the 1841 Wonnerup massacre. Charles Bussell was also prosecuted after killing a Noongar child, Cumangoot, in 1842; he was convicted of manslaughter and fined one shilling. These events are central to modern assessments of the family and the colonial history of the southwest. The Bussells left an unusually substantial documentary record. Several family members wrote extensively, and their letters and diaries preserve details about settler life, agricultural challenges, family relationships and interactions with Aboriginal communities. These materials have been used by historians to examine both the social history of early settlers and the violence of frontier colonisation. In 2007, the J. S. Battye Library acquired Vernon Bussell’s personal diaries at auction for a reported Western Australian record price, further highlighting the archival importance of the family’s papers.
History
The Bussell family became associated with the establishment of a major settler centre in the southwest of Western Australia during the first decade of British colonisation. Four brothers—John, Joseph Vernon, Alfred and Charles—arrived at Fremantle from England aboard the Warrior on 12 March 1830. Further relatives arrived over the following four years, including Lenox, Frances, Elizabeth, Frances Louisa and Mary Bussell. Because agricultural land near Perth and Fremantle had largely been granted already, Governor James Stirling encouraged the family to form a new settlement near Cape Leeuwin. The Bussells initially settled near Augusta in May 1830, but the location did not provide the success they expected. John Bussell subsequently explored farther east and identified productive land near the Vasse in December 1831. By 1834, the family had established the Cattle Chosen property, creating an important base for pastoral and agricultural activity. The settlement developed in country belonging to the Wardandi Noongar people. Relations between settlers and Wardandi communities became increasingly violent as colonial occupation expanded. Accounts of the period record that members of the Bussell family participated in armed searches, reprisals, shootings and the taking of Aboriginal people as hostages. In June and July 1837, two major episodes in the Vasse area resulted in the deaths of numerous Wardandi people, including women and children. Family diaries and correspondence provide important evidence about these events, although they also reflect the assumptions and justifications of the settlers who produced them. Further violence occurred in the following years. In August 1837, members of the settler party shot an elderly Noongar man and retained the child he was carrying as a hostage. In 1839, a firearm trap arranged by the Bussells killed a Noongar man who had entered the family’s stores. In February 1841, after the killing of the settler George Layman by the Wardandi warrior Gayware, John and Charles Bussell joined a settler group led by Captain John Molloy in the Wonnerup massacre. Later historical accounts describe dozens of Noongar people being killed. Lenox Bussell may also have been involved, though the evidence is less certain. John Bussell had spent part of the early period in England seeking a wife and returned to Western Australia before the 1841 violence. Charles Bussell remained involved in frontier relations and, in 1842, shot and killed a Noongar child named Cumangoot while questioning her about missing flour. He was charged with manslaughter and fined one shilling. The case illustrates the radically unequal legal treatment that often characterised colonial justice in frontier conflicts. The town surveyed in 1837 was named Busselton in honour of the family, and the Bussell Highway later preserved the name in Western Australian transport infrastructure. The family therefore became part of the region’s public commemorative landscape, while modern historical scholarship has increasingly emphasised the Aboriginal dispossession and violence associated with the same settlement process. The Bussells were prolific correspondents. Their diaries and letters provide unusually detailed evidence about the experiences of an early settler family, including migration, farming, local exploration, family life and encounters with Wardandi people. The J. S. Battye Library’s reported 2007 acquisition of Vernon Bussell’s diaries reinforced the significance of these materials as historical sources. Today, the family is best understood not as a commercial brand but as a historically prominent settler lineage whose legacy includes both the development and naming of Busselton and documented participation in frontier violence.
- 2007
Vernon Bussell diaries acquired by Battye Library
[1]The J. S. Battye Library reportedly purchased Vernon Bussell’s diaries at auction for A$91,000, preserving a major body of family documentation.
- 1842
Manslaughter case involving Charles Bussell
[1]Charles Bussell was charged with manslaughter after killing the Noongar child Cumangoot and was fined one shilling.
- 1841
Wonnerup massacre
[1]John and Charles Bussell participated in a settler reprisal group associated with the killing of dozens of Wardandi Noongar people after George Layman was killed.
- 1837
Busselton surveyed
[1]The town later known as Busselton was surveyed and named in recognition of the Bussell family.
- 1834
Cattle Chosen established
[1]The family had established the Cattle Chosen property in the Vasse district by this year.
- 1831
John Bussell identifies land near the Vasse
[1]John Bussell discovered productive agricultural land near the Vasse in December after several exploratory journeys.
- 1830
Arrival of the first Bussell brothers
[1]John, Joseph Vernon, Alfred and Charles Bussell arrived at Fremantle aboard the Warrior on 12 March 1830.
- 1830
Initial settlement near Augusta
[1]The family established its first Western Australian settlement in the Augusta area in May, following advice to develop a new sub-colony near Cape Leeuwin.
Products and positioning
Not a commercial brand. The Bussell family is primarily a historical family and settler lineage associated with early colonial agriculture, exploration and place-naming in southwestern Western Australia.
Controversies
1842
Killing of Cumangoot
Charles Bussell shot and killed a young Noongar girl while questioning her about flour allegedly taken from the family’s stores. He was charged with manslaughter and fined one shilling.
1841
Wonnerup massacre
John and Charles Bussell joined a settler party led by Captain John Molloy after the killing of George Layman. Later accounts describe a massacre in which dozens of Wardandi Noongar people were killed.
1837
Vasse massacres and shootings
Historical accounts describe the participation of Alfred, Charles and Lenox Bussell, alongside other settlers, in armed actions against Wardandi Noongar people in the Vasse area. Incidents in June and July resulted in the deaths of at least several groups of Noongar people, including women and children, and were followed by hostage-taking and further shootings.
Recent events
- 2007
Battye Library acquires Vernon Bussell diaries at auction[1]
Other
The West Australian reported that the J. S. Battye Library had purchased the personal diaries of Vernon Bussell for a reported A$91,000. The diaries form part of the family correspondence and archival material used to study early settler life in Western Australia.
Sources1 sources
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