DEEP within the bushland of the Perth Hills, the descendants of one of the region’s earliest pioneering families gathered on Sunday to honour a life that lasted only two days, but created a legacy spanning 150 years.

On January 18, more than 40 family members assembled at the Weston grave in Carmel to commemorate the anniversary of young Francis Weston’s passing.

The gathering served as a reflection on a lineage that has remained connected to the gravesite for more than 15 decades.

The first child of Richard and Mary Weston, Francis was born on  January 17, 1876 at the Mason and Bird Timber Mill where his father worked as a carpenter and wheelwright.

The infant survived only two days before passing away on January 19, leading to his father – an Irish convict who arrived in 1864 – to hand craft a coffin, jarrah headstone, and picket fence for a burial site in the forest.

A descendant of the original Weston family, Marilyn Rollings said the 150th anniversary marked a significant milestone for the family.

“We usually hold small ceremonies every few years, but this one was a particularly important occasion,” she said.

“More than 40 people attended, including local residents, family members from the Perth metro area, family from Busselton, and one relative who travelled from Victoria especially for the gathering.”

The grave has been looked after by the family since the infant’s death, with Richard Weston tending to the grave until 1922, after which his son Gregory maintained the site for the next 40 years.

This tradition was continued by Gregory’s son Neil, whose daughters Jill Della-Franca, and Marilyn Rollings have now assumed the responsibility of looking after the gravesite.

“My grandfather looked after the grave, then it was my father, and now it has passed to my generation,” Ms Rollings said.

While the site was placed on the state heritage register in 2009, Ms Rollings credited the family’s ongoing devotion for its continued preservation.

“Nothing really changed after 2009, but the family has made sure to look after it, to keep it maintained and safe,” she said.

“We ended up building an outer fence around it to protect it, and we regularly clean it and repair any damage.”

The ceremony included a display of historical items relating to the Weston family and early settlement of the Perth Hills.

Attendees also shared a reading from a book containing a poem written in 1982 by a Walliston school student, which commemorated baby Francis and his brief life.

According to the heritage council of Western Australia the gravesite is a lasting example of an earlier time in Perth’s history.

“Weston Grave is one of the few remaining pieces of physical evidence of the Mason and Bird Timber Mill’s existence,” the heritage report said.

“Richard and Mary Weston were one of a few handful of pioneering families to settle in the area, and descendants still remain in the Darling Ranges today.”