Wellesley, Ontario that much of the land had been "Queen's Rush, crown land, where fifty acre lots were given away to actual settlers". The Population of the entire township in 1841, was only 254. The area now the village of Wellesley on the Nith River was first settled in 1847, by John Smith and was originally called "Schmidtsville". The post office opened in 1851 and the village was renamed "Wellesley" after Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, the eldest brother of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. The community quickly grew to be the largest economic centre in rural Waterloo County, with a
Arthur Wellesley Bayley Arthur Wellesley Bayley Arthur Bayley (28 March 1865 – 29 October 1896) was a gold prospector who discovered gold at Fly Flat, Western Australia on 17 September 1892, around which the town of Coolgardie grew. Bayley was born in Newbridge, Victoria, son of John Bayley, a butcher, and his wife Rosanna. When only 16 years of age he went to North Queensland and did prospecting and mining work at Charters Towers, Hughenden, Normanton, Croydon and Palmer. He then went to Western Australia and landed at Fremantle with about thirty shillings in his pocket. Bayley walked to Southern Cross, and while