Major Clews
Hugh Powel Gough Clews “The Major”
By Noel Gough
The
Major was born in England on December 25, 1890 at Rotherham, South Yorkshire,
England, the son of William Henry Clews, restaurateur, and his wife
Helen Powell, (nee Gough).
After
a basic education, Hugh, aged 18, undertook a two-year surveyors apprenticeship.
He was articled, at a cost to his parents of thirty pounds, to John
Bourne, an elderly and somewhat conservative surveyor in Parkgate near
Rotherham.
After
two years and, with hindsight, considered his master a poor choice.
Except for a bit of dumpy levelling and chain survey of proposed road
alterations, using a Gunter chain and tape measures, he had little experience
of survey, but considerable insight into road maintenance, control of
house building, etc..
Late
in his articles he joined the English Survey Association as a pupil
but after leaving, lost touch with them during the next few years. He
stayed on a few months after completing his articles but doesn’t recollect
receiving any payment for his services.
At 5ft 6¼in. (168.3cm),the Major was considered too short for the Royal
Engineers, so he enlisted in the 2nd Battalion, Sherwood Foresters on
7th July 1909.
Leaving
the British Army on 27th October 1911, he migrated to Western Australia
joining a German ship the “Konigen Louise” in Amsterdam, arriving in
Fremantle in December 1911.Seeing a Perth newspaper advertisement for
men with military and survey experience to join the army, the Major
applied and was accepted. This meant travelling by boat to Adelaide
where on 1st August 1912 he formally enlisted in the Royal Australian
Engineers with the rank of Sergeant. He was employed as a mapmaker in
Adelaide, Ballarat and then Melbourne.
On
10 January 1918 The Major married Alice May Reeves with Anglican Rites
at the Holy Trinity Church, Balaclava, Melbourne, before embarking for
England on 2nd February 1918 on the “Wiltshire” sailed for Australia
on 8th May 1919 aboard the “Devanha” disembarking in Sydney on 23rd
June 1919.
He
was discharged from the AIF on 16th July 1919 and was re-engaged the
following day into the Australian Survey Company. Survey work took The
Major to many different locations throughout Australia including Strathfield,
Katoomba, Newnes Junction, Wollemi, Newcastle, Kyogle, Childers, Ingham,
Fraser Island, Chatswood and Kosciuszko.
In
June 1944 he reluctantly gave up fieldwork for staff duties in Sydney.
He first visited the Snowy Mountains area in 1948 surveying for the
original Technical Investigation Committee. Placed on the Retired List
on 29 July 1949 as an honorary Lieutenant Colonel, he established a
home in the bush at Bell in the Blue Mountains NSW.
Then,
aged 60, he accepted a very attractive offer of a five-year contract
to work for the Snowy Mountains Authority as Senior Surveyor. This offer
was made by his old army colleague Bert Eggeling, Chief Surveyor, Snowy
Mountains Authority.
The Major was to achieve legendary status not only
with his former colleagues but also with highly skilled refugees and
displaced persons. Intent on creating in the Australian bush a new world
achievement to offset and salve the horrors of war-torn Europe many
of these German, Czech, Latvian, Polish, Yugoslav and Hungarian surveyors,
chainmen and foresters were to have unique, often startling, assimilation
experiences as they matched themselves against this wiry old man and
real leader whom some said “Was of the mountains”.
A
man of action, white-haired under a battered ex-Army hat, his walking
feats and reconnaissance surveys anticipated roads, hydrologists, surveyors,
blasting teams and death defying tunnellers. Clewsie wished only for
a simple life but for eight strenuous years he was always one of the
first men in, always miles from anywhere.
Guthega,
Geehi, Lobbs Hole, Dry Dam, Kings Cross, Kennys Knob, Three Mile, Tumut
Pond, Indi, Scammel’s Spur and Cowombat Flat have become familiar to
Australians because of The Major. His love of this type of work and
his remarkable bushmanship, Clewsie, right hand upon the Scammels Lookout
signpost amongst the eucalypts says it all.
To
The Major belongs, uniquely, eight years of investigatory work that
established him staunchly and affectionately in the hearts of the staff
of the Snowy Mountains Authority.
The Major retired on 11th February 1958, aged 67 to a forty-acre (16.2
Ha) tree covered lease at Indi between Corryong and Khancoban under
the shadow of Kosciuszko. Clewsie built himself a small cottage, a two
roomed cottage of rammed earth pise, planted ornamental trees; cultivated
prize geraniums, pelargoniums, dahlias and roses and encouraged tame
birds and kangaroos to share his retreat. Eccentric but not reclusive
he knew Kipling almost by heart, loved Sibelius, read his “Illustrated
London News” and quietly drank his Lowndes Rum and Schweppes Dry.
He followed with particular interest debates on Strzelecki and Kosciuszko
and contributed a carefully written Strzelecki’s Ascent of Mount
Kosciusko 1840 (1970) published by The Australia Felix Literary
Club, Melbourne. His close friends included the esteemed Paddy Pallin.
It was during this second retirement that Clewsie became a regular
visitor to the Army School of Survey at nearby Bonegilla attending many
functions there - a living legend to the younger members of the Corps.
The “Clews Bowl” a magnificent Indonesian silver punch bowl donated
to the Army by the Major is a prime piece of mess silver at the School
of Military Engineering, Moorebank.
By 1978 arthritis in the knees forced The Major into a caravan at Khancoban
where friends kept a watchful eye on him until, eventually, his son
Harold transferred him to Frankston.
He died quietly on 22 August 1980. His ashes were spread around the
memorial cairn adjacent to his cottage.
© Noel Gough 2002
