Gardeners in My Family

It was the Afternoons program on 774 ABC Melbourne that got me thinking about my gardening pedigree.  Presenter Richard Stubbs asked listeners how they came to take up gardening.  Was it passed on from someone else?

I grew up in a gardener’s house and remember constant talk of  Spring and Autumn annuals, Marigolds, Petunias, Camellias, Dahlias, the constant moving of sprinklers and manure.

When Nana came to live with us in the late 1970s, the garden talk doubled and if my Great Auntie Rosie came to visit, well.  Auntie Rosie was Nana’s sister and they had other siblings that were keen gardeners too.

One was my great-uncle Bill Hadden.  Visiting his garden was special.  I remember fish ponds, orchids and a large television antenna tower that I had an urge to climb every time I went there.

This is a lovely photo of Uncle Bill as young man in his parent’s backyard at 78 Coleraine Road, Hamilton, planting seed in neat rows with help from his niece, Margaret.  It was about 1934.

I too lived at 78 Coleraine Road.  Mum and Dad lived there when they first arrived in Hamilton after their marriage in 1967.  I came along in March 1968 and we lived there for about a year after my birth.  I wish I had have been older to remember the house, which was later pulled down, as that was the family home of my great grandparents, Thomas Hadden and Sarah Harman and where Nana and her brothers and sisters grew up.  Four generations lived in that house.

I showed Mum the photo of the backyard at 78 Coleraine Road and she was able to tell me more about it.  She said there was still a fence across the backyard when we there but it is was then made from  chook wire.   Auntie Rosie had lived there before us and she kept chooks.  After the photo, cherry plum and blood plum trees were planted and an apple tree, seen in the photo, was still there 33 years later.

Uncle Bill had his own home built after returning from WW2.  It was at 80 Coleraine Road, next door to his parents.

The photo above, shows Mum and Nana, on the left, and Mum’s cousin Norma, right, in the front yard of Uncle Bill and Auntie Bess.  Although a reasonably new house, Uncle Bill already had an established garden and neat concrete and lawn driveway.  He later added a garage and sheds at the end of the driveway.

Alma, another of Nana’s sisters was also a green thumb.  When I visited her a few years ago, when she was in her late 90s, I was amazed at her beautiful potted cyclamen on her back porch. Despite almost no vision, she tended them with care.  She was often found pottering around the garden that she knew so well and was able to move around nimbly.

Advertising. (1876, July 21). Portland Guardian (Vic. : 1876 – 1953), p. 3 Edition: EVENINGS.. Retrieved March 12, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63316883

 

Before Nana came to live with us, she and my grandfather, Bill Gamble lived in Ballarat and I have great memories of visiting their house.  The backyard was small but  the space was well used .  Bill grew espalier apples, among other things, and had a shed with three sections lining the back fence.  From my memory, the left section was a fernery, the middle a utility shed that held grain to feed the occupants in the third section, the chooks.  I did like to admire the maiden hair ferns and their cool, soft foliage,  and the feed shed where I dipped my hands into oats in a large wooden barrel. But I did not go in the chook shed.

Advertising. (1936, July 30). Portland Guardian (Vic. : 1876 – 1953), p. 1 Edition: EVENING.. Retrieved March 12, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article64273334

When I checked my memory against mum’s she told me the left side of the shed was interchangeable, depending on her father’s interest at the time.  He used to have budgies too and I can now remember budgie boxes in that part of the shed and attached to the fence.  She couldn’t remember the maiden hair ferns, but her father did grow Pelargoniums at one point.  That must have run in the family, as the following is a photo of one of Mum’s Pelargoniums.

The next photo was taken looking across the Gamble backyard.  We have several photos taken from this angle.  It must have been the “photo spot”.  Nana (centre) is  flanked by Bill’s aunt, Jane Diwell and a friend of Jane’s from Geelong.  In the front is my Uncle Peter.  Hopefully the photo shoot did not go on too long as there may have been an accident.

Of interest here is the espalier apple tree on the fence, the concrete garden edging my grandfather put in himself, the sack of oats and the Bergenia or “Elephant’s Ears” along the toilet wall.  Mum  used to call them “toilet flowers”.

Auntie Shirley, Bill’s sister is also a keen gardener.  We visited her in the past year and her garden was beautiful, a result of much hard work on her part.  She is now in her 80s.

My grandfather, Auntie Shirl and Auntie Jane were descended from a keen gardener, Richard Diwell, Jane’s father.  Richard was a member of the Hamilton Horticulture Society. His specialty was chrysanthemums.  The society often attended shows in nearby towns and the following  item is from 1896 when the Hamilton growers headed to Portland to show of their blooms.  Richard won three prizes in his class.

Portland Horticultural Society. (1896, May 1). Portland Guardian (Vic. : 1876 – 1953), p. 3 Edition: EVENING. Retrieved March 12, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63635528

The chrysanthemums exhibited by the Hamilton growers were impressive, some a little too impressive for an amateur show.

Portland Horticultural Society. (1896, May 1). Portland Guardian (Vic. : 1876 – 1953), p. 3 Edition: EVENING. Retrieved March 12, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63635528

Richard also liked ferns and apparently had a fernery.  He was a keen photographer too, and this is one of the photos we have that he “staged” and took himself with a camera timer.  A selection of plants are in the foreground including a maidenhair fern.

Richard & Elizabeth Diwell and family

A garden photo that interests me is from the backyard of Richard’s daughter, Edith Diwell, my great-grandmother.  The photo is of three of her sons, including Grandfather Bill on the left.  This was either at a house in Mt Napier Road, Hamilton or Skene Street, Hamilton.  Either way, they would have only been in the house a short time before the photo was taken, so the garden layout was not the work of Edith.  However, it still gives an example of a 1920s backyard.  There is a vegetable garden, with wooden edging and the boys are standing in front of a Yucca.  A fruit tree stands in the background.

My paternal side of the family, the Riddifords, did not have the same influence on my love of gardening.  Dad has never grown anything.  Well, at least that’s what I thought.  Mum told me how he thought cauliflowers could be a profitable venture, sometime around 1967, and planted them in the backyard at 78 Coleraine Road.  Turns out there was little market for his produce and that was the end of his gardening days.  We probably ate cauliflower with white sauce for some time afterwards.

Dad’s father, Percy Riddiford, did like to garden.  It was not until  recent years that I came to know how much.

Prior to her death, my Grandma, Mavis, gave me a binder of Your Garden magazines collected by Grandpa.  I knew he liked roses as they lined the perimeter of their front yard, but I didn’t realise his passion went as far as buying gardening magazines.  It just happened that the year the magazines were from was 1968, the year I was born.

I did enjoy visiting Grandma and Grandpa’s in Ballarat.  A sign, “The Riddifords” hung proudly on the letterbox.   A terrace garden was at the back of the steep block.  Three large steps led to the top of the terrace and I recall that as a small child, I would haul myself up the steps and teeter on the top to look across neighbouring backyards to see Sovereign Hill in its infancy, sprouting up on a nearby hill.  I would cry out that I could see the “historical park”.

I recently drove past Grandma and Grandpa’s old house to see if Grandpa’s roses were still there.  I do remember them there, but look old and gnarly, not the many years ago.  They are now gone, but suckers grow were the roses were.  A little reminder of Grandpa.

‘My gardening history started in a rented house, but now with a  home of my own, more passion is imparted.  In the 13 years we have lived here, I have gardened through a 10 year drought, dogs, goats, child and recently a plant shredding hail storm.  Inspired by Edna Walling and dispirited by Mother Nature and her creatures.

My garden is probably not at the point I would like it, but it has changed over the years thanks, I suppose, to the drought.  I started with a range of cottage perennials, including some unusual varieties, but full water restrictions (no mains watering) did not help many of those thirsty English plants.  Anything that survived I have planted more of, and more natives and succulents have come in.

One of my favourite plants is the Aquilegia or “Granny Bonnet’.  It was also a favourite of Nana’s.

One day my “Zephirine Drouhin”  roses will cover the arch they grow beside.  But every year, just as the juicy new shoots show, two white creatures manage to break into my garden and indulge in one of their favourite delicacies.

and

Are We To Have More Fragrant Roses. (1930, September 5). Advertiser (Hurstbridge, Vic. : 1922 – 1939), p. 8. Retrieved March 12, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article57763452

The Sedum is an underrated plant and one that dates back to 19th century Australian gardens.  It transforms itself throughout the year giving ongoing variety in its form and it can cope with dry weather.  I have filled my borders with different varieties and they never disappoint.  The following description of the Sedum is from 1911.

NOTES. (1911, March 25). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954), p. 5. Retrieved April 6, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15231478

Advertising. (1894, August 17). Portland Guardian (Vic. : 1876 – 1953), p. 4 Edition: EVENING. Retrieved March 29, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article65395732

If you would like to get an idea of how your ancestors’ gardens may have looked or you would like to recreate a garden from earlier times, Cottage Gardens in Australia by Peter Cuffley is a beautiful book and an excellent resource for studying Australian gardens right back to Colonial days.

Trove Tuesday – Dancing Girls

I found this article “Women at Dances” while searching for pioneer obituaries in the Portland Guardian, so I tagged it for a future Trove Tuesday post.  That day has arrived.  Today I introduce the preachings of  Reverend George Gladstone of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Nathalia, Victoria.

Established August 1842. (1899, June 7). Portland Guardian (Vic. : 1876 – 1953), p. 2 Edition: EVENING. Retrieved March 30, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63676343

Surely he didn’t get  away with that. Did he?  Well, yes and no.  While the Bishop of Melbourne stood by his man, the people of Nathalia wanted to run him out of town.

That finding came from a search – George Gladstone Nathalia – at Trove.  There were pages of search results specific to the Reverend and the implications of the June 1899 sermon reported in the Portland Guardian and beyond.

I was not surprised to read headlines like this:

The Dancing Crusade. (1899, June 24). Clarence and Richmond Examiner (Grafton, NSW : 1889 – 1915), p. 7. Retrieved March 30, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61302118

or this:

THE REV. GEORGE GLADSTONE. (1899, June 21). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1956), p. 8. Retrieved March 30, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9516823

or even this:

THE EXTRAORDINARY SERMON. (1899, June 13). The Horsham Times (Vic. : 1882 – 1954), p. 3. Retrieved March 30, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article7505982

A public meeting was held in the Nathalia hall and the following is an example of the tone of the meeting:

THE REV. GEORGE GLADSTONE. (1899, June 21). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1956), p. 8. Retrieved April 1, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9516823

A cry of “Horsewhip him” rang out as Mr W. McCormick had his say, indicating the Reverend’s sermons were receiving publicity around the world.

THE REV. GEORGE GLADSTONE. (1899, June 21). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1956), p. 8. Retrieved April 2, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9516823

The Reverend did not stop. He delivered a sermon at Barmah, not far from Nathalia in September 1899, and once again spoke of the evils of dances.  He also denounced the Irish, proclaiming they the were known for “drinking, dancing and dynamiting”.  George Gladstone then had to escape through a side door and run through the bush to an awaiting buggy, hence the headline:

Sensational Lecture by a Clergyman. (1899, September 23). The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 – 1950), p. 5. Retrieved April 1, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article85778569

A year on he was not leaving anyone alone.

Current Notes. (1900, October 8). The North Queensland Register (Townsville, Qld. : 1892 – 1905), p. 3. Retrieved April 1, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article82340469

I was surprised to read that in 1907 George Gladstone was still in Nathalia and was still delivering sermons that led to riotous scenes.

In 1908, it all ended up in the courts after the Bishop of Wangaratta revoked Gladstone’s license to preach.  After failing in the courts, Gladstone attempted to set up his own religion, the Natalia Reformed Church of England.  The Victorian Government refused to proclaim the religion.  He passed away in 1916.

George Gladstone, while totally unrepentant, was probably lucky he was not preaching one hundred years later.  Imagine the social media uproar #horsewhiphim

Passing of the Pioneers

March Passing of the Pioneers  once again gathers together a diverse group of Western District pioneers.  They include a winemaker and a lighthouse keeper.  There are links to some well-known Western District properties and families, and a Portland resident that grew up with an English author.

Eliza Mary KEARTON:  Died March, 1891 at Creswick.  Eliza Kearton was a long-time resident of Portland.  She had gone to Creswick for an operation, but  died of complications.  She was born in London in 1820 and married William Tulloh in 1844 in Tasmania.  William’s obituary appeared in Passing of the Pioneers in July 2011 and includes a lot of detail about their lives in Portland.

James ROBERTSON:  Died March, 1892 at Portland.  James Robertson was born in Alvie, Scotland.  Once in Portland, he set up the Iron Store business with his older brothers John and William Robertson.

Anne WILCOX:  Died March 12, 1894 at Portland.  Anne and her husband Thomas Must were well-known residents of Portland.  Anne was from Sydney and married Thomas a Sydney mechant in 1842  before they travelled to Portland to set up a branch of Thomas’ business, Must and Flower.  A few years after his arrival in Portland,  he had an architect design a home resulting in “Prospect“, built in 1855. The couple lived there for the rest of their lives.  In 1908 at St Stephens Church, unveliled a stained glass window in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Must.

ST STEPHENS CHURCH, PORTLAND

 

Ann PAXFORD:  Died March 1900 at Portland.  Ann Paxford was the daughter of Jonathan Paxford and Ann Bray and was born around 1818.  She married Edward Francis Hughes and they arrived in Victoria in 1853 and Portland in 1854.

Ann had an interesting life while a child in England.  She spent time with a young Marion Evans better known as George Elliott, writer.  Looking further into the story, which appears correct, proved intriguing.  Ann, through her mother, Ann Bray was related to Charles Bray a ribbon manufacturer and a leader of the “intellectual elite”.(Oxford Dictornary of National Biography)  He described his house, Rosehill, as “a mecca for radicals and intellectuals” (The Continuum Encyclopedia of British Philosophy in Oxford Reference).  Marion Evans lived at Rosehill and that is where Ann would have come to know her.

Janet McCRACKEN:  Died March 1911 at Stawell.  Born in Scotland around 1840, Janet McCracken arrived in Melbourne with her parents in the early 1850s.  After a few years they moved to Stawell and Janet married James Mathers.   The couple lived in Stawell for the rest of their lives and had four sons and three daughters.

Daniel TYERS:  Died March 15, 1915 at Byaduk.  After arriving in Victoria around 1856, Daniel Tyers lived at Port Fairy.  He later moved to Byaduk where he remained until his death at the age of 95.  He was buried at the Byaduk Cemetery along with his brother Samuel and sister Jane.

John MOONEY:  Died March 29, 1915 at Mooney’s Gap.  In 1854, John Mooney from Ireland, travelled to Australia aboard the “Great Britain“.  His brother Lawrence had arrived the year before, so John joined him on the Ararat diggings.  In 1858,  the brothers planted grape vines at Mooney’s Gap near Ararat and started the “Emerald Vineyard“.  In the same year, just down the road, Jean-Pierre Trouette, his wife Ann-Marie and brother-in-law Emile Blampied, were the first to plant vines at Great Western.  While Troutte’s winery “St. Peters” no longer exists, other wineries from the early days, Best’s and Seppelts are still in production there.

OBITUARY. (1915, March 30). The Ararat advertiser (Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 2 Edition: triweekly. Retrieved March 26, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74241893

In 1925, Lawrence Mooney uprooted the vines at “Emerald Vineyard” and used the land for other purposes.

Elizabeth Robertson MURDOCH:  Died March 7, 1916 at Port Fairy.  I did a little extra research at Ancestry.com.au on Mrs Whiting because I wanted to find her name, in preference  to listing  her as Mrs Albert Edwin Whiting.  Elizabeth grew up around the Geelong area and married Albert Whiting in 1878.  Albert was a son of Edwin Whiting and Hannah Manifold.   Hannah’s brothers were Thomas, Peter and William Manifold, original owners of the “Purrumbete“ run.

At the time of marriage, John was station manager for the Chirnsides property “Boortkoi” .  Their wedding was at  “Woolongoon” ,Mortlake then owned by Anthony McKenzie.  Elizabeth and Albert moved to Port Fairy and lived at Boodcarra before moving to “Loongana” for several years before Elizabeth’s passing.

Family Notices. (1878, May 6). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1956), p. 1. Retrieved March 28, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5931295

William HILL:  Died March 14, 1916 at Warrnambool.  Born in Ireland, William Hill spent the first 20 years of his time in Victoria working for Henry de Little, owner of Caramut station.  He then began farming himself, first at Woodford and later at Framlingham where he had dairy cows for 17 years.  In the early 1860s, William married Mary Hassett of Caramut.

Mary FITZGERALD:  Died March 17, 1916 at Tower Hill.  Mary Fitzgerald lived in the Tower Hill district since she was 10 years old, around 1849.  She married John Fitzgibbon and she left two sons and eight daughters at the time of her death.  Her funeral was attended by a large crowd of mourners.

Mr J.J.T. COOPER:  Died March, 1918 at Port Fairy.  Mr Cooper was born in Somerset, England and arrived in Victoria with his parents as a baby.  He became an assistant life boat pilot in 1883 and became the Superintendent of Life boats at Queenscliff in 1892.  Around 1905 he moved on to lighthouse keeping, working at Queencliff, Port Fairy, Cape Nelson and Warrnambool.

QUEENSCLIFF’S BLACK LIGHTHOUSE

CAPE NELSON LIGHTHOUSE

Mrs Letitia EMERY:  Died March 13, 1918 at Port Fairy.  Letitia Emery was born in London in 1848 and arrived in Port Fairy four years later.  She lived with her aunt, Mrs Gillespie at the Union Inn at Port Fairy.  Letitia’s husband died eight years before her and she left no children.  She had two cousins surviving and two nieces.

Margaret WHITE:  Died March 4, 1925 at South Portland.  Margaret White spent most of her life living in the Narrawong and Portland districts, an estimated 82 years.  She married James Grant in 1870.  She left two sons and three daughters.  Margaret’s obituary mentions the hardships faced by the early settlers.

Old Resident Passes. (1925, March 5). Portland Guardian (Vic. : 1876 – 1953), p. 2 Edition: EVENING.. Retrieved March 26, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article64106818

 

Florence EDSALL:  Died March 22, 1944 at Geelong.  Florence Edsall was born at Warrenheip near Ballarat around 1858.  She married W.J. Silvester and they lived in Cobden during their working lives, before retiring to Geelong.  Florence’s husband was a Councillor with the Heytesbury Shire and was the first child of European descent born at Cobden,

Trove Tuesday – Daddy of Them All

If you have read my Twitter profile, you would have noticed one of my loves, other than family history, is the Carlton Football Club.  This week, as we are in the middle of Round 1 of the 2013 AFL season with Carlton playing on Thursday night, I thought Trove Tuesday should have a sporting theme .

Opening round football is not the only sport happening over the Easter weekend.  One of the great sporting events of  Western Victoria , the Stawell Gift, will attract thousands to the town for a weekend of athletics culminating in the final of the Gift on Monday.  But as I have written about the First Stawell Gift Winner before, I thought I would look at the Carlton Football Club, one of the original teams in the VFL/AFL, from a Trove perspective.

Plucking a name from the early times of the club, I found George Coulthad. He played with Carlton from 1876 to 1882 when teams participated in the Victorian Football Association (The VFL begain in 1896).  Sixty years later, commentators and former players were still naming him as one the greatest footballers ever.  In 1990, he was inducted into the Carlton Hall of Fame.

What treasures could I find about George at Trove?  From the “Picture, Photo and Object” search I found this great engraving from 1880 .  Held at the State Library of Victoria, it shows George, with the ball,  leaving his Geelong opponent behind.  This is a great example of football attire of the time and I’m glad Carlton moved away from the white neck frill.

GEORGE COULTHARD, CARLTON FOOTBALL CLUB – Image Courtesy of the State Library of Victoria – Wood engraving published in Australian pictorial weekly, no. 7, Melbourne, July 24, 1880, held in Rare Books Collection. http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/104291

The following article from Perth’s  The Daily News summerises George’s career and displays that white frilly collar again.  What was the idea behind that?  George was also a keen boxer and cricketer of some note, even playing a Test match for Australia.  I like George’s entry on the Blueseum site.  The number of games played by George was about 140, 4 state games and 2 Rugby matches.  George was a true all-rounder.

CHAMPION OLD-TIMER. (1929, July 13). The Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 – 1950), p. 4 Edition: FINAL SPORTING EDITION. Retrieved March 26, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article82981723

In 1937, “Bob” Dickson told the Sunday Times of Perth, George Coulthard was “the greatest footballer ever”.

The Greatest Footballer Ever!. (1937, July 25). Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 – 1954), p. 13 Section: First Section. Retrieved March 26, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58785233

George Coulthard’s story was not all sporting glory as he was sadly cut down in his prime.  Even a great sportsmen with such athleticism could not hold off the ravages of tuberculosis.  In October 1883, aged 27, he succumbed to the disease.

THE North eastern Ensign. (1883, October 26). The North Eastern Ensign (Benalla, VIC. : 1872 – 1938), p. 2. Retrieved March 26, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article70744750

Formed in 1864, the Carlton Football Club has a rich history that includes 16 premierships.  The club is proud of its history and there is a wealth of information available online via the Blueseum website and the Carlton Football Club website. There is a wonderful tribute to George Coulthard on the Blueseum site including many newspaper references.  I also found out a little more about that early guernsey

Something of interest to the family historian on the Blueseum site is a call out for photos of former Carlton players.  If you find one of your family members played for Carlton anytime over the past 149 years and you have a photo, check out the website.

Byaduk Cemetery

I enjoy a trip to the Byaduk Cemetery.   When I turn off the Hamilton-Port Fairy Road and drive up the hill on not much more than a track, I can sense the ghosts of my ancestors around me, walking or driving a buggy up the hill following a horse-drawn hearse to the cemetery.  It is like stepping back in time.

IMAGE COURTESY OF THE STATE LIBRARY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA B62833 http://images.slsa.sa.gov.au/mpcimg/63000/B62833.htm

There are over 250 burials, in the cemetery and I will share photos of a small sample of headstones, including some of my family.  There are also unmarked graves, such as that of my 4 x great grandparents Joseph and Sarah Harman.

THREE BROTHERS

Scottish brothers, Colin, Duncan and James Fraser called Byaduk home and became respected residents.

The brothers immigrated from Scotland in 1853 and went to the Ararat diggings.  When land became available in 1861, the brothers went to Byaduk and Colin and James selected “Aird“.

They all at one time lived at “Aird“. ”James built a hut there but later built a home at “Lower Aird”, the adjacent property.  Colin built his home at “Aird” where he resided until his death.  The Victorian Heritage Database has a concise history of the Frasers and information about the Aird Homestead complex and the Lower Aird Homestead complex.  The Weekly Times ran an article about “Lower Aird” in 2009.

Duncan didn’t buy land initially, rather, he returned to Scotland.  In 1871 he was back in  Byaduk with his wife Margaret and four children, Simon, Helen, Donald and William and they lived at “Aird” for a time.  In 1873, Duncan purchased “Camp Creek” where he lived until his death in 1878 aged just 49.

HEADSTONE OF DUNCAN & FRASER, BYADUK CEMETERY

Duncan and Margaret Fraser produced a WW1 hero, 2nd Lieutenant Simon Fraser, and his bravery at the Battle of Fromelles, is commemorated at the Australian Memorial Park at Fromelles.  A statue “Cobbers“, depicts Simon carrying a fellow soldier during the battle.

2nd Leuitenant Simon Fraser, 58th Battalion. Image courtesy of the Australian War Memorial-ID no H05926 http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/H05926/

A member of the 57th Battalion,  Sergeant Simon Fraser carried men from No Man’s Land.  As he lifted a man on his shoulders, he heard another call out , “Don’t forget me cobber”.  Simon was later promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. The following year he was killed in action.  “Cobbers” has been replicated at the Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne.

Colin and Margaret Fraser lived at “Aird” but unlike the other two brothers, they had no children.  “Aird” was later purchased by another well-known Byaduk family, the Christies.

GRAVE OF COLIN & FRASER, BYADUK CEMETERY

I am very thankful to James and Mary Fraser’s third son, Peter Fraser.  It was Peter’s writings of the Early Byaduk History in 1931, compiled from events he kept in diaries, that has given me so much information on the history of Byaduk and the families that lived there.

Peter did not publish his writings, but in 1994, Ian Black of Hamilton, typed them out and published a wonderful little book, Early Byaduk Settlers.  It may only be only 15 pages long, but it is a star on my bookshelf and a must for anyone that has ancestors that lived at Byaduk.  Peter tells the story of the Fraser brothers in great detail.

There are at least sixteen Frasers buried at Byaduk.  Following are some of the family’s headstones:

The following headstones are either linked to each other in some way or have direct links to the Harman family

Jane Carmichael (nee Pope) came to Byaduk from Scotland later in life with two of her children, Charles and Emma.  From what I can gather her husband had either died in Scotland or remained there.

 

Family Notices. (1917, November 20). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1956), p. 1. Retrieved March 13, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1664422

Emma Carmichael, born in Dundee, Scotland around 1859 married Albert Harman in 1907.  She was 48 and Albert 39.  Albert was the fourth son of James and Susan Harman.

HEADSTONE OF ALBERT AND EMMA HARMAN

Samuel and Jane Tyers did not have any children, but other members of Samuel’s family lived in Byaduk.  There are at least nine other Tyers family members in the Byaduk Cemetery including Samuel’s sister Jane.

Other than Charlotte’s obituary, I could not find a lot about James and Charlotte Ward.  It was that obituary, however, that helped me find a link between this headstone and the one following it.

Family Notices. (1904, April 20). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1956), p. 1. Retrieved March 13, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10315347

This  Holmes headstone has a link to the previous one and to Samuel and Jane Tyers (above).  Joseph Holmes (1862-1929) was the son of George Holmes and Jane Tyers.  Jane was a sister of Samuel Tyers (above).

Joseph married Agnes Brand.  Her grandparents were James and Charlotte Ward (above).  Her parents were William Brand and Agnes Ward and Charlotte’s obituary mentions her daughter “Mrs William Brand”.

The following headstone belongs to Isabella Ward and her son Charles Ward.  Isabella was Isabella Harman, daughter of James and Susan Harman.  Her sister, Julia, married George Holmes, brother of Joseph Holmes (above).

Isabella married Stephen Ward in 1885 and their son Charles Frederick Ward was born in 1886, the same year as his mother’s death, presumably as a result of the birth.

I had heard from Nana that Henrietta Harman, Isabella’s unmarried sister, raised Charles.  James Harman, in his will, made provision for his daughter Henrietta and grandson, Charles to stay in the house that he owned beyond his death and for as long as needed.  Also, after the death of Henrietta, a trust would allow for Charles’ maintenance.  That was not because Auntie Henrietta outlived her much-loved nephew Charles.  He died in 1928 at Ballarat.

Henrietta Harman was Nana’s great-aunt and she could recall as s a child,  Auntie Henrietta visiting their home.  That would have been during the 1920s and 30s.  Henrietta would catch the coach from Byaduk to Hamilton.  “She was a dear old thing” Nana would say.  I think maybe because Nana, Linda Henrietta, was named after her great-aunt she felt a special bond.  Henrietta passed away in 1952 and was buried in a simple grave at Byaduk,.

Catherine Harman was the wife of my great-great uncle Charles James Harman, son of Reuben James Harman and Elizabeth Bishop.  Catherine was Catherine Kinghorn, daughter of Francis Kinghorn and Elizabeth White.  Born in 1868 at Byaduk, Catherine married Charles, at the age of 37, in 1905.  Charles was 10 years her junior.  Catherine died in hospital in  Melbourne in 1913.  Charles enlisted in the Australian Flying Corps in 1916 and remarried in 1922 to Lavinia Raven Fisher of Middle Park.

William Leslie Harman was born in 1888 at Byaduk, the third child and eldest son of Alfred Harman and Louisa Newman.  William was the grandson of James and Sarah Harman.

Isabel Bunworth was Isabel Harman, the sixth daughter of Alfred and Louisa Harman and sister of William (above).  Isabel married John Bunworth of Byaduk in 1923.

Gershom Harman (1869-1940) was the second son of Reuben Harman and Elizabeth Oliver.  He married Elizabeth Hilliard in 1905 and they had two children, Ivy and Gordon.

Family Notices. (1934, March 10). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1956), p. 13. Retrieved March 14, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10917287

Family Notices. (1940, June 8). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1956), p. 4. Retrieved March 14, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12469954

Now to the Bishops and another Harman link as my gg grandparents were Reuben James Harman and Elizabeth Bishop.

The following headstone belongs to Charles Bishop and his wife Sarah Dancer.  Charles (1856-1916) was the eldest son of James Bishop and Sarah Hughes.  He was the brother of Elizabeth Bishop.

Charles married Sarah Dancer in 1884 and they had 11 children.  Frances Bishop Hylard was their ninth child, born in 1900.  She married Edward Thomas Hylard in 1920.

Charles Bishop passed away from a heart attack while loading wood.

COUNTRY NEWS. (1916, August 28). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1956), p. 9. Retrieved March 17, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1598956

Percy Almond Bishop was the second son of Charles and Sarah Bishop.  Percy was born in 1888 at Byaduk and enlisted in 1916 at Hamilton and served with the 39th Battalion.  He was awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal and a Military Medal.  Percy never married.

Family Notices. (1946, May 31). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1956), p. 2. Retrieved March 14, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22250486

Ian Marr’s website, Cemeteries of S.W. Victoria has a full list of the headstones at the Byaduk Cemetery.

View Larger Map

Trove Tuesday – Bottom Drawer

What’s in your bottom drawer?

No doubt the lovely ladies of Portland that overran Father Donoghue’s’ alter in last week’s Trove Tuesday post, Whispering Wedding Bells, would each have had a range of items in their bottom drawers ready to take them through to life as a married woman.

Vesta of the “Women to Women” column from the The Argus, explained on September 10, 1913 the essential items for a girl’s “bottom drawer” or “glory box”.  As you will see they must have been big drawers!

WOMEN TO WOMEN. (1913, September 10). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1956), p. 5. Retrieved March 19, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article7243175

I couldn’t resist sharing these fashions from the same page:

Trove Tuesday – Whispering Wedding Bells

An interesting piece for Trove Tuesday this week.  From February 4, 1882, The Portland Guardian reported on some hush-hush weddings in the district with the information provided by an “esteemed occasional contributor”.  The weddings were happening but the wedding bells were not ringing.  Not only that, one groom baked his own wedding cake.

An article such as this is most useful to the researcher.  It has names, place names, marriages and religious denomination

The Guardian. (1882, February 4). Portland Guardian (Vic. : 1876 – 1953), p. 2 Edition: MORNING.. Retrieved March 11, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63403448

I think Father O’Donoghue might have been ready for a lie down.  All those weddings and he was doing his own housework after his housekeeper, Miss Lavery was also “united in the holy bond”.  In case you were wondering, Miss Lavery’s new husband, John Quinlivan, did not bake the wedding cake just because he fancied himself as a cook… he was a  baker.

PORTLAND PROFESSIONAL AND BUSINESS DIRECTORY. (1890, January 17). Portland Guardian (Vic. : 1876 – 1953), p. 4 Edition: EVENING. Retrieved March 11, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63626245