ADHS Newsletter No. 199 FEBRUARY, 2002
Items of interest –
- Tribute to Eulie Driscoll
- Homebush, Lamplough and Mount Lonarch voters in the 1899 Victorian Federal Referendum. Names mentioned – BARRY Edward Miner, OPPEY James Miner (Lower Homebush), BARRY John Miner, PLOWRIGHT John Miner (Lower Homebush,) BOSWARICK John H. Supt. Of Works, PYMAN Bruce Carter, BURKINSHAW Frank E. Labourer, RAW James Miner, BURKINSHAW George Miner, SCOTT George Miner (Lower Homebush), CALABY Christopher A. Miner, SKEWES John Miner, CASTLEMAN Charles snr. Farmer (Lower Homebush), CHESTERFIELD John Miner, SKEWES Joseph Miner (Lower Homebush), CRAVEN Edward Miner, SMITH John R. Farmer (Lower Homebush), SMITH Robert G. Farmer, FITCH George Farmer (Lower Homebush), HORLEY James Farmer, SMITH Thomas J. Farmer (Lower Homebush), KOFOED Benjamin P. Miner, SQUIRES Charles H. Storekeeper, KOFOED William P. Miner (Lower Homebush), LEYLAND William Farmer, TAYLOR Frederick Miner (Lower Homebush), THOMPSON James Carpenter, McKINNON James Storekeeper, WATTERS Edward Miner, MOUSER Charles Miner (Lower Homebush), WATTERS John Miner, MILES Walter Miner (Lower Homebush), NEALE Charles J. Line Repairer, WILKINS George E. Teacher, NICHOLLS John Publican (Lower Homebush), BEAVIS Henry Miner, RITCHIE Alexander Miner, BURGDORF August Miner, RITCHIE Joseph Farmer, CURTIS Robert Miner, RITCHIE Ramsden Miner, FOGARTY Patrick Miner, SCULLY John Miner, FOGARTY William J. Miner, WELLINGTON Arthur H. Miner, HANN John Shepherd, WELLINGTON George Miner, HOWELL Frederick W. Shepherd, WELLINGTON William Miner, HOWELL Thomas Shepherd, WILLIAMS Henry Miner, HUMPHREY Richard Shepherd, WILLIAMS Thomas Miner, LOBB William Farmer WILLIAMS William Miner, MITCHELL Henry Farmer, WILMOT Jonathon Farmer, MORRIS John Miner, ZUCHETTE Joseph Miner MOUNT LONARCH, BELL Thomas Trapper, RENKIN John Farmer, FORTE William Farmer, RENKIN George Labourer, PHILLIPS Alexander Farmer, RENKIN James Farmer, SCHMIDT Albert Farmer
Garage Sale – This annual fund-raising event was held on Saturday, 16th February, in ideal weather conditions. Eager buyers snapped up the many bargains on offer, be it a Sunbeam mix-master or a hurricane lamp, fresh garden produce or cakes, plants, books or manchester. It was indeed a varied array of stock, and we thank all those good folk who donated items for the sale. We now have about $800 to add to our funds, and expect to make more sales over the next couple of weekends.
A great time was had by our members who assisted on the day and we extend grateful thanks to each and every one of them. Your Editor hesitates to start mentioning names because someone may be overlooked. You each know what your contribution was to the overall success of the day – so please know that it was indeed valuable and much appreciated.
General Meeting – Our first general meeting for the year took place at the Court House at 2 p.m. following the Garage Sale, when several important matters were discussed. Again, we sincerely thank Max Hobson for chairing the meeting and Edna Jarvis for acting as minute secretary.
Address for Society – Mindful of the fact that, whilst we are without a President or a Secretary, folk are at a loss to know where to address correspondence for the Society, it was decided to accept Dorothy Robinson’s kind offer to use her address as the central point of contact. We therefore request that all correspondence to the Society should now be sent to 27 Orme Street, Avoca, Vic. 3467.
Next Meeting – A visit to the Gun Sam Chinese Heritage Centre at Ararat is planned for our next meeting day on Sunday, 17th March. It is suggested we meet outside the museum at 1.30 p.m., where the admission charge will be $5 (group concession). After our visit, we plan to adjourn to the nearby gardens for afternoon tea (please BYO) and a short meeting.
The Chinese Heritage Centre is located on the left-hand side of the Western Highway (Lambert Street) as you head for Adelaide. Car parking is available on the opposite side of the street, near the Alexandra Oval.
Visit to Talbot – An interesting day tour of the Talbot area is planned for Sunday, 21st April, with Tom Fleming as our guide. Final arrangements for this outing will be announced at the short meeting to be held after our visit to the Chinese Heritage Centre on 17th March.
A.G.M. – Our Annual General Meeting will be held on Sunday, 19th May, and we will follow our usual custom of having a casserole luncheon. Margaret Oulton has kindly accepted our invitation to be the speaker on this occasion, her topic being about convicts and their place in our history.
Increase in Subscriptions – In order to keep up with rising costs, it was decided that a motion should be put at the Annual General Meeting recommending that subscriptions to the Society be increased to $17 single and $20 for a family as from that date (19th May, 2002).
Australia Day Celebrations – Congratulations are in order for our member, Mary Dridan, of Amphitheatre, who was jointly awarded the honour of Citizen of the Year in the Pyrenees Shire with Maurice Trainer, of Beaufort, at the Australia Day celebrations held last month at Beaufort. This is the second time Mary has been so honoured, having received the first ever citizenship award given by the Shire of Lexton at Amphitheatre in 1988 at the Back-to-Amphitheatre reunion held on the Australia Day weekend at that time. This latest award shows that Mary’s deep commitment to the community and local history is as strong as ever and we salute her!
BELOVED FLAG
Our flag bears the stars that blaze at night, in our southern sky of blue,
And the little old flag in the corner, that’s part of our heritage too.
It’s for the English, the Scots, and the Irish, who were sent to the ends of the earth,
The rogues and the schemers, the doers and dreamers, who gave modern Australia birth.
And you, who are shouting to change it, you don’t seem to understand,
It’s the flag of our law and our language, not the flag of our far-away land.
There are plenty of people who’ll tell you how, when Europe was plunged into night,
That little old flag in the corner was their symbol of freedom and light.
It doesn’t mean we owe allegiance to a forgotten imperial dream.
We’ve the stars to show where we’re going, and the old flag to show where we’ve been.
(Written by an unknown soldier and taken from the “Lithgow Pioneer Press”, October, 2001. See our Newsletter No. 197 of October, 2001, for the history of the Australian flag. Ed.)
New Members – A warm welcome is extended to the following new members :-
Mrs. Marge MADSEN, of Carnarvon, W.A. 6701, whose interests are the PECK, MARSHALL and McGREGOR families, and the Stuart Mill, Lamplough, Landsborough. Barkly, Moonambel, St. Arnaud, Carisbrook, Dunolly and Fryers Creek areas. Note – Marge is prepared to do W.A. research for members and we thank her for this kind offer. Contact our Research Officer for her postal or e-mail address.
Ms Rachel J. STEPHEN, of Waverley, N.S.W. 2024, who is researching Patrick KELLY, born in Lexton circa 1862, and the family of Ellen DROMEY, born in Amphitheatre circa 1863.
Mr. Ivars SULCS, of West Brunswick, Vic. 3055, who is researching Thomas Bate COOPER and his wife Elizabeth (nee PROCTOR), of the Majorca area, where Thomas was a bootmaker.
Mr. Martin WEBSTER, of Ascot Vale, Vic., 3032, whose interests are WEBSTER, KEAM, FORT(E) and PHILLIPS.
Thanks – A big thankyou to Max Hobson who recently undertook the task of completing the surrounds to the historic lamp-post which stands in front of the Court House. In April, 2000, a plaque was unveiled by members of the Holland family to the memory of their mother, the late May Holland, known to one and all as “Nana”, in whose garden this lamp-post had stood for many years. The plaque is attached to a rock, which was to have been set in concrete by the lamp-post but, owing to torrential rain at the time, the project was not completed in time for the unveiling. We are grateful to Max for his efforts in completing this task.
A TRIBUTE TO EULIE DRISCOLL, born 25.9.1912, died 6.2.2002 – Members were saddened to learn of the death of Eulie Driscoll at St. Arnaud on 6th February, aged 89 years, and our deepest sympathy is extended to her family.
Eulie was a foundation member of this Society and was honoured with a life membership in 1995 in recognition of her great contribution to the preservation of the local history of our district, especially that of the Barkly area. In 1985, she published a book, The Barkly Story, 1885-1985, which sold several hundred copies and is still sought after today.
The funeral service was held on the 8th February at the tiny, historic Anglican Church at Barkly, which had been given by Eulie’s paternal grandmother, Judith Cheesman, and where Eulie had been the organist for about fifty years and a Sunday School teacher in earlier times.
The eulogy was prepared and presented by her children and gave a picture of a by-gone era. The following is an abridged version of this eulogy which was a loving tribute to their mother, a very versatile, resourceful and remarkable lady.
Eulalie Vera May Driscoll (nee Cheesman) was delivered by a midwife at the family home at Barkly on 25th September, 1912, the eldest of six children born to Aileen and David Cheesman. She was taught at the Barkly Primary School by her maternal grandfather, Henry Banks Weldon, before going on to St. Arnaud High School, where she gained her Leaving Certificate and excelled at hockey and tennis. Because of the distance from Barkly, it was necessary for Eulie to board in St. Arnaud, making occasional visits home by horse and buggy. Her dreams of following in the steps of her mother and grandfather as a schoolteacher were not realised because of the Depression.
Eulie joined her sister, Lindsay, working in their aunt’s store at Redbank. In time, she took over managing the store on her own. One task was to harness the horse and cart to collect the bread from Moonambel and deliver it, along with any ordered supplies, to folk in and around Redbank. On Sundays, she walked or rode a pony the six miles to Barkly to conduct Sunday School.
On 9th December, 1939, Eulie married Leslie Driscoll and they began their married life in a mud-brick home on forty acres at Frenchmans. Sadly, their first-born, a son, died at birth. Then followed four girls and a boy.
In these early years, Les was often away shearing, leaving Eulie to carry on the property and rear the children. Later, more land was acquired and the farm became a wool and sheep growing venture, with Les and Eulie sharing the indoor and outdoor tasks. Eulie taught the children to milk the cows, separate the milk and make butter. In summer, the kitchen became a mini-factory, with a variety of fruit being bottled or made into jams, chutneys and sauces, with each child having a particular task to do on the “assembly line”. The girls learned to cook and sew and keep house, whilst Les taught them all to chop wood, drive the tractor and assist with all outdoor farm activities.
Eulie encouraged her children with reading, the use of a dictionary and atlas, learning their tables and spelling. She was determined to encourage and give the opportunity to her children to achieve their ambitions in life and, to this end, the milking herd was increased so that funds were available for secondary school and for tennis lessons for the two eldest children and music lessons for the younger three.
Hers was a busy lifestyle, serving on a variety of district committees associated with the school, the church, the local hall, the tennis club, and becoming a foundation committee member of the new Avoca Bush Nursing Hospital. Over the years, she readily shared her home with other family members, and nursed her parents, her aunt and her in-laws when they became ill or could no longer care for themselves. She also nursed her husband at home, with family help, when he became ill with cancer until he was hospitalised for his final few days.
Sport was an important part of her life, and she enjoyed a game of tennis until well into her fifties. Eulie and Les joined the Avoca Bowling Club and later the Landsborough and District Bowling Club as inaugural members. They gained great enjoyment and success from this activity, with Eulie winning several club pairs championships.
Although Eulie had only limited tuition in music, she determinedly set about improving her music skills, thus enabling her to carry out her duties as church organist for so many years. This same determination saw her learn to type in later years and progress from a typewriter to a word processor.
It was after the death of her husband that Eulie’s great interest in local and family history developed and she became a foundation member of the Avoca and District Historical Society when it was formed in 1984 and was awarded a life membership in 1995 for her great contribution to the work of the Society.
In recognition of her services to the community in many ways over many years, Eulie was very honoured to receive the 1990 Citizen of the Year award for the Avoca Shire.
Eulie left the family farm in 1997 and lived in Avoca until she moved to the Coates Hostel in St. Arnaud in November, 1999. Recently, she transferred to the Kara Court Nursing Home where she passed away on the 6th February. Eulie Driscoll will be sadly missed by many folk but will always be remembered for her warm, compassionate and caring nature.
(My sincere thanks to the family for passing on the copy of this moving eulogy through Jill Hunter. Ed.)
Acquisitions – We thank the following members for their donations to the Society :-
Alleyne Hockley for a book on Gold Findings in the Stawell Area.
Dianne Halmarick for a copy of her book on the Robertson family of Mt. Mitchell.
Helen Harris for the books Up and Down the River: The Butlers From Benenden, by Malcolm Ronan; Lean Times and Lively Days: Hahndorf Primary School, 1879-1979, by Reg. Butler; Microfiche, Part 3 in the series on the Infant Life Protection Act, which she has been indexing; and some interesting index cards for our collection.
Dorothy Turpin for some old Shire Books and Percydale items which Dorothy Robinson is indexing.
The K. Farnsworth family for some old Methodist church articles.
Do you have an interest in the Maitland area? We have been advised that Rod and Wendy Gow have released an index to The Maitland Mercury 1846 (July to December). This index contains over 22,000 entries and is available on a set of 7 microfiche for $35, including postage. This is the sixth in a series of indexes to the Hunter River Gazette 1841-42 and the Maitland Mercury of 1843, 1844, 1845 and 1846 (January to June). These indexes enable researchers to easily locate a particular article and so eliminate countless hours of non-productive research.
Web-sites covering these two newspapers are as follows :
The Maitland Mercury www:nla.gov.au/ferg/issn/14403676
The Hunter River Gazette www:nla.gov.au/ferg/issn/13299611
For a full list of publications put out by these folk, write to R. and W. Gow, 50 Ferry Lane, Cundletown, N.S.W. 2430, or e-mail rgow@turboweb.net.au
Did You Know? The Family Tree Magazine of June, 2001, has a note about the terminology for “cousin-removed”. It appears that “removed” is to be used only upwards, not downwards. For instance, a person who is your great-great-grandmother’s first cousin is so described, but he is not your first cousin, four times removed, although YOU are his first cousin, four times removed. Work that out!
Dorset Migration Index – The West Dorset group of the Somerset and Dorset FHS is constructing a Dorset Migration Index of the “many people who left the area throughout the 19th century for other parts of the UK and overseas” and would appreciate information for that index. If you can assist with this interesting project, write to the West Dorset Research Centre, 45 West Street, Bridport, Dorset DTG 3QW, e-mail Dorsetmigration@aol.com
Are These Yours? Mrs. J. Turner, 35 Westerhill Road, Coxheath, Maidstone, Kent ME17 ADH, offers photographs of graves in Ladywell Cemetery, London, of three Australian servicemen killed in WWI – K. J. Bolitho, A. Haley and J. T. Minock.
(These three items are from Bulletin No. 155 for Jan./Feb, 2002, of the Newcastle Family History Society Inc. Ed.)
FEDERATION – We continue the listing of names shown on the Electoral Roll who voted at the Victorian Federal Referendum in 1899 :-
H O M E B U S H
BARRY Edward Miner OPPEY James Miner
(Lower Homebush) (Lower Homebush)
BARRY John Miner PLOWRIGHT John Miner
(Lower Homebush (Lower Homebush)
BOSWARICK John H. Supt. Of Works PYMAN Bruce Carter
BURKINSHAW Frank E. Labourer RAW James Miner
BURKINSHAW George Miner SCOTT George Miner
(Lower Homebush) (Lower Homebush)
CALABY Christopher A. Miner SKEWES John Miner
CASTLEMAN Charles snr. Farmer (Lower Homebush)
CHESTERFIELD John Miner SKEWES Joseph Miner
(Lower Homebush) (Lower Homebush)
CRAVEN Edward Miner SMITH John R. Farmer
(Lower Homebush) SMITH Robert G. Farmer
FITCH George Farmer (Lower Homebush)
HORLEY James Farmer SMITH Thomas J. Farmer
(Lower Homebush) (Lower Homebush)
KOFOED Benjamin P. Miner SQUIRES Charles H. Storekeeper
KOFOED William P. Miner (Lower Homebush)
LEYLAND William Farmer TAYLOR Frederick Miner
(Lower Homebush) THOMPSON James Carpenter
McKINNON James Storekeeper WATTERS Edward Miner
MOUSER Charles Miner (Lower Homebush)
(Lower Homebush) WATTERS John Miner
MILES Walter Miner (Lower Homebush)
NEALE Charles J. Line Repairer WILKINS George E. Teacher
NICHOLLS John Publican (Lower Homebush)
(Lower Homebush)
L A M P L O U G H
BEAVIS Henry Miner RITCHIE Alexander Miner
BURGDORF August Miner RITCHIE Joseph Farmer
CURTIS Robert Miner RITCHIE Ramsden Miner
FOGARTY Patrick Miner SCULLY John Miner
FOGARTY William J. Miner WELLINGTON Arthur H. Miner
HANN John Shepherd WELLINGTON George Miner
HOWELL Frederick W. Shepherd WELLINGTON William Miner
HOWELL Thomas Shepherd WILLIAMS Henry Miner
HUMPHREY Richard Shepherd WILLIAMS Thomas Miner
LOBB William Farmer WILLIAMS William Miner
MITCHELL Henry Farmer WILMOT Jonathon Farmer
MORRIS John Miner ZUCHETTE Joseph Miner
MOUNT LONARCH
BELL Thomas Trapper RENKIN John Farmer
FORTE William Farmer RENKIN George Labourer
PHILLIPS Alexander Farmer RENKIN James Farmer
SCHMIDT Albert Farmer
(To be continued)