Ancestral Places Geneameme

August 11, 2017 / Merron Riddiford / 2 Comments

Yes, I did say in my last post I’m on the move so the chances of me posting in the next month were slim. Just after finishing that post, I read a new post from Alona at the Lonetester blog inviting geneabloggers to take part in a geneameme with the theme, Ancestral Places. The instructions…How many ancestral places can you name using the letters of the alphabet? I couldn’t resist because one of my favourite things about family history is the places my ancestors lived. Finding out more about those locations helps us learn more about them it’s a great way to brush up on geography general knowledge. I’ve listed the main places my direct ancestors resided and added links to earlier posts about some of the families. If I included 2 x great uncle George Diwell, I could have had a J for Jeparit or 4 x great uncle William Reed, a Y for Yulecart but I managed a place for most letters:

A

Almurta, Victoria, Australia – Combridge

Ararat, Victoria, Australia – Bishop

Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England – Cooke, Lane, Piddington, Riddiford

ARARAT, VICTORIA

B

Ballarat, Victoria, Australia – Gamble, Harman, Riddiford

Bass, Victoria, Australia – Combridge, Hunt, White

Bisham, Berkshire, England – Buckland

Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, England – Cooke, King, Richardson

Brighton, Sussex, England – Hughes

Broadstairs, Kent, England – Culmer, Jarman, Pettman, White

Byaduk, Victoria, Australia – Bishop, Harman

BYADUK, VICTORIA

C

Casterton, Victoria, Australia – Diwell, Jelly

Cavendish, Victoria, Australia – Hadden, Mortimer

Charlton, Wiltshire, England – Young

Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, England – Chapel, Kirkin, Parsons

Clapham, London, England – Webb

Clerkenwell, London, England – Riddiford

Colac, Victoria, Australia – Gamble, Hodgins

Cuddington, Buckinghamshire, England – Lawrence, Piddington, Riddiford, Timberlake, Wall

CAVENDISH, VICTORIA

D

Dover, Kent, England – Trewin

Drumgooland, County Down, Ireland – Jelly

E

East Lothian, Scotland – Calder, Warden

Edmonton, London, England – Riddiford

F

Fenny Stratford, Buckinghamshire, England – Cooke, Riddiford

Fermanagh County, Ireland – Brackin, Hodgins

Frant, Sussex, England – Diwell, Sinnock

G

Geelong, Victoria, Australia – Combridge

Gladsmuir, East Lothian, Scotland – Dobson, Hadden, Kinnaird, Neilson

Glen Alvie, Victoria, Australia – Combridge

Grantville, Victoria, Australia – Combridge, Hunt, White

GEELONG, VICTORIA

H

Haddenham, Buckinghamshire, England – Riddiford

Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland – Dobson, Hadden

Hamilton, Victoria, Australia – Diwell, Gamble, Hadden

Hulme, Lancashire, England – Jelly

HAMILTON, VICTORIA

I

Ireland – Beaty, Irwin

Islington, London, England – Kirkin

J

K

Kingswood, Gloucestershire, England – Riddiford, Trotman

L

Lambeth, London, England – Kirkin, Riddiford, Webb

Leytonstone, London, England – Riddiford

Longniddry, East Lothian, Scotland – Hadden

Lower Winchendon, Buckinghamshire, England – Lawrence

M

Macarthur, Victoria, Australia – Bishop

Macclesfield, Cheshire, England – Law, Shaw

Manchester, Lancashire, England – Shaw

Melbourn, Cambridgeshire, England – Harman, Mulberry

Merino, Victoria, Australia – Diwell

MERINO c1880 Image courtesy of the State Library of South Australia. Image no. B 21766/113 http://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+21766/113

N

Newington, London, England – Turner

Norfolk, England – Baker, Thurling

North Nibley, Gloucestershire, England – Riddiford, Trotman

O

Oldham, Lancashire, England – Riddiford

Ontario, Canada – Riddiford

P

Poplar, London, England – Hunt, Jewell

Port Fairy, Victoria, Australia – Harman

Portland, Victoria, Australia – Diwell, Harman

PORT FAIRY, VICTORIA

Q

Queensferry, Victoria, Australia – Combridge

SAWMILL NEAR QUEENSFERY, VICTORIA c1880. Photographer: Fred Kruger. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria.

R

Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, England – Combridge

Reading, Berkshire, England – Druce, Mortimer

Rotherfield, Sussex, England – Diwell, Sinnock

Rotherhithe, London, England – Webb

S

Smeaton, Victoria, Australia – Riddiford

St. Peters, Kent, England – Jarman

Steiglitz, Victoria, Australia – Combridge

ANDERSON’S MILL, SMEATON. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria

T

Thanet, Kent, England – Culmer, Jarman, Trewin, White

Thornbury, Gloucestershire, England

Tipperary County, Ireland – Barry

Tonbridge, Kent, England – Lawrence

Tudeley, Kent, England – Lawrence

U

Uley, Gloucestershire, England – Riddiford

V

Victoria

W

Water Eaton, Buckinghamshire, England – Cooke, Goodman

Weymouth, Dorset, England – Bishop

Whaddon, Cambridgeshire, England – Read/Reed, Waymant

White Waltham, Berkshire, England – Buckland, Mortimer, Sharp

Wonthaggi, Victoria, Australia – Combridge

Woolwich, London, England – Kirkin

Wotton-Under-Edge, Gloucestershire, England – Riddiford

Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England – Riddiford

WONTHAGGI, VICTORIA 1925. Image courtesy of the State Library of South Australia. Image no. B 61788/85http://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+61788/85

X

Y

Z

Australia Day

January 26, 2014 / Merron Riddiford / 2 Comments

Because of time restrictions, I’m not participating in the 2014 Australia Day Blogging Challenge. Don’t despair, some great geneabloggers have written posts for the 2014 Australian Day Challenge, a Geneameme, C’Mon Aussie created by Pauline Cass of the Family History Across the Sea s blog.

Instead, I will re-visit my 2012 and 2013 posts, Wealth for Toil – William Hadden and The Drover’s Wife

The 2012 Challenge was about occupations and the phrase “wealth for toil” from the Australian National Anthem. “Toil” stood out for me and I chose to write about my gg grandfather, William Hadden of Cavendish, and his work of almost 70 years, at Mokanger Station. Full Post

The following year threw up a new challenge and for 2013, the task was to write the story of my first ancestor to arrive in Australia. I decided not to go with my ggg grandparents Thomas Gamble and Ellen Barry, both early arrivals, because I had told their stories on other occasions. Instead I chose Sarah Hughes, another ggg grandmother, who I had suspected arrived in 1840.

Sarah married James Bishop in 1852 and after time in Mt Gambier and the goldfields of Ararat, they settled around Byaduk and later Macarthur. Jim was a drover and my post explores life for the wives when their husbands were away for long periods on the road. I enjoyed writing this post and I have only now read again it for the first time in a year. As I say in the post…pass the tissues please. Full Post

WATTLE & WILDFLOWERS 1886, Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria. Image no. IAN13/11/86/SUPP http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/253970

A Simpler Time

December 21, 2013December 13, 2019 / Merron Riddiford / Leave a comment

An old photo album has a way of taking you back to a time when things seemed simpler. As life today gets busier, there are aspects of those times that would be welcome again. Christmas is one of those. Braving the shops near Christmas, I’m always amazed at the frenzy. The real meaning of Christmas is forgotten with the need to meet expectations or to compete with others high on shopper’s lists.

The following photos take me to a time when Christmas was simple and special. It was around 1950 when Mum was a little girl living in Ballarat. The first two photos are of my grandfather Bill Gamble and Mum at a special time, Christmas tree day. Not a purple or blue tree, or a highly coiffed real tree, but one plucked from the side of the road, carefully selected to fill the home with Christmas joy. While there was a plastic Christmas tree in my house while growing up, I do remember similar pine Christmas trees we had a school, tall, often stooped and adorned with paper chains and lanterns.

My grandparents both rode bikes, their only form of transport then, and my grandfather had a nifty little trailer to go on the back, perfect for carting a Christmas tree…or taking a little girl for a ride.

0076 (2)

The following photos were taken in Hamilton at the home of Nana’s brother, Bill Hadden on either Christmas Day or Boxing Day the following year. My grandparents lived in Ballarat, but their families lived in Hamilton. Given the family didn’t have a car then, I asked Mum how they would have travelled to Hamilton. She suspects they went by train. How did the trike get to Hamilton, I asked? She didn’t know…maybe Santa made a special delivery. Of course, I had to ask how they got the trike back to Ballarat. Again she didn’t know. Now I’ve got her wondering.

This is Mum, with her cousin Norma and a special visitor.

Norma and Nana’s sister, Rosie Miller (nee Hadden)

What more could little girls want for Christmas other than a trike or a pram and doll?

Now a photo from when I was growing up in the 1970s, not as uncomplicated as the days before television but it was still an unpretentious time. The year was 1975 and the occasion was the annual George Street Primary School Grade 2 nativity play, a Christmas staple for those taught by Miss Coffey. Not a fancy costume in sight, but rather tea towels and dressing gowns sufficed. (I was a shepherd).

Here’s to simpler times.

The Victorian Heritage Database

May 18, 2013March 6, 2021 / Merron Riddiford / 5 Comments

On May 5, I attended Day 2 of the Victorian Association of Family History Organisation (VAFHO) conference in Ballarat. It was a great day with some wonderful speakers and I regret I couldn’t make it the first day.

The first keynote speaker was Lisa Gervasoni, a town planner dedicated to Heritage conservation and a member of the Daylesford & District Historical Society, among other things. She gave a great talk about using Google Maps to help with family history research and then showed us the usefulness of the Victorian Heritage Database (VHD). Timely, as I had considered a post about the VHD as I think it is a valuable resource for those researching families from Victoria.

The Victorian Heritage Database is a collection of Heritage places and precincts in Victoria including Heritage studies completed by local councils around the state.

While writing Passing of the Pioneer posts, if I see a property name in an obituary, I head straight to the VHD. If the property is on the database, most times I can find more about the obit’s subject. There is always a history of the building, property, etc offering a wealth of information

In May Passing of the Pioneers, one obituary belonged to Mary Laidlaw (nee Learmonth). She and her husband David lived at Eildon” in Hamilton. A search found information about the house, the architects Ussher and Kemp, and the Napier Club purchasing the building in 1939, the year of Mary’s death. Not only was I able to expand on the obituary, I learnt something of a house that it is a Hamilton landmark and has intrigued me since childhood.

“EILDON”, HAMILTON

The VHD was useful when I researched The Parisian, the 1911 Melbourne Cup winner because his owner John Kirby lived at “Mt Koroite Station” opposite Coleraine Racecourse. On the VHD entry for “Mt Koroite” I found out more about John and even what he did with his winnings from the Melbourne Cup.

The VHD is useful when researching a cemetery and I have used it for cemetery related posts. There are photos of headstones and the Byaduk Cemetery entry even has a photo of Jonathon Harman’s headstone. A short history of the town is given and a history of the cemetery, early burials, and notable “residents” and more.

I have searched property names and town names, but not surnames and Lisa’s talk made me realise I should. Individuals may be listed as builders of a property or a labourer on a station. My search of towns had found some references to my family members but I thought for the purpose of this post I would search specific family names.

None of my family were owners of large holdings or houses but the Diwell family were bricklayers and George Jelly was a builder, so maybe there was a chance.

When searching the VHD, use the “Advanced Search” form (below). It will give you more results than the “Simple” search.

VHD Advanced Search form http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/#advanced;user

There are plenty of options to narrow down a search, but I only used the field “with all of the words“.

An entry on the database will include the location, statement of significance, history and description of the building or otherwise. There is a Google Maps link with both the aerial view and Street View and most times there is a photo or photos.

Now for my results. I did find entries I had seen before when searching towns, but there were some new things. What all the results show is the different ways your family members can be found at the Victorian Heritage Database.

HADDEN

My search started with the Haddens on my mother’s maternal line. I had two relevant matches. The first was about a Bills Horse Trough, in the Lions Park on the Glenelg Highway at Glenthompson installed in the 1920s.

A BILLS HORSE TROUGH (Portland Gardens)

While the horse trough had nothing to do with a Hadden, the entry has a history of the site, previously a blacksmith shop run by Donald Ross. The other blacksmiths that operated in the town are named including the shop of Harold James Hadden, my 2nd cousin 1 x removed.

Buggies outside blacksmith’s shop. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria – Elliot collection. http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/42869

I knew Harold was a blacksmith and that he lived in Glenthompson during that time period, but I didn’t know he ran his own blacksmith shop.

Another entry under “Hadden” was found on a previous search of “Cavendish” and is about gg uncle William Hadden, son of William Hadden and Mary Mortimer. In 1913, he purchased the Cavendish Cobb & Co Depot and Stables (below) and the adjacent property on the corner of Hamilton Road and Scott Street, Cavendish. The 1914 Electoral Roll lists William’s occupation as a blacksmith, useful with a Cobb & Co depot. However, in 1915, the train came to Cavendish taking passengers away from Cobb & Co.

By 1919, William was living at Kiata near Nhill in the Mallee, running the Kiata Hotel. I am not sure if he had sold the Cobb & Co depot by that time but he never returned to Cavendish and died in Geelong in 1927.

HARMAN

A “Harman” search brought up not a building but a roadside Memorial plantation at Byaduk, sadly in poor condition. The trees, planted in memory of the Byaduk soldiers that served during WW2, have not been maintained over the years. My 1st cousin 3 x removed and grandson of James and Susan Harman, Leonard Roy Harman, was killed during the war as was another Byaduk man A.R.McNair. The Southern Grampians Shire Heritage study on this site reported that much of the significance and integrity of the site had been lost.

The Memorial planting was the only “Harman” reference found until I did a “Byaduk” search. Then I discovered that a search of “Harman” did not bring up any references to “Harman’s”. This was after I read the report about the Byaduk General Store ruins. The general store is thought to have opened around 1863 when another early shop opened, Joseph Harman’s, bootmaking shop.

DIWELL

I then turned to Mum’s paternal side and searched the Diwells.

Surprisingly the result took me back to Cavendish, a town I never thought they had links to. However, I found my gg uncle William Diwell, a bricklayer, was the contractor that built the Cavendish Memorial Hall in 1920.

It was no surprise William Diwell was a bricklayer. The following entries are about his father and grandfathers, all bricklayers or builders.

Firstly, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Merino. Builders Northcott and Diwell built the church in 1868. That would be ggg grandfather William Diwell and I am assuming Northcott is George Northcott of Merino. George owned Merino’s Commercial Hotel (below) and the Cobb & Co Station. From the VHD I discovered they received £126/15/- for the job and that they had also built the Merino Free Library and the Mechanics Institute.

COMMERCIAL HOTEL, MERINO 1880 Image Courtesy of the State Library of South Australia http://images.slsa.sa.gov.au/mpcimg/22000/B21766_112.htm

The next Diwell match was for the Sandford Mechanics Hall (below). I knew from a transcript of the booklet, Back to Sandford Centenary: 1957 on the Glenelg and Wannon Pioneers site, William Diwell senior had a link to the building of the Mechanics Hall but only that he suggested that it be made of brick and not wood. The VHD shed a little more light on a conversation that took place between William and the committee secretary J.S. Anderson in 1864, but in doing so, it leaves me questioning the entry

From the Back to Sandford booklet,I knew that William ran into Mr Anderson on the Casterton Road. Anderson told William of the plans to call for a tender for the building of a wooden hall. William suggested a brick building and that Mr Anderson should take the idea to the committee before advertising. The committee thought it was a great idea and they called for tenders for a brick hall.

Turning to the VHD, the report continues on from the above story but cites rate book entries from 1863 that Richard Diwell of Casterton was a brickmaker or bricklayer. Richard was my gg-grandfather and he was nine in 1863. It continued with the story that William suggested Anderson go back to the committee, but added that William had a proposal, maybe an offer of funding. The committee agreed to the unknown proposal and the tender process began. The tender was won by James McCormack.

The thing is, the hall was not built until 1885, 19 years after William Diwell met Mr Anderson on the Casterton Road. William had been dead 14 years. So he could hardly be credited for a brick hall, surely. Also, why is Richard Diwell mentioned? Did they mean William or was Richard involved later when the hall was built when, as a 30-year-old bricklayer, it was more realistic?

JELLY

I found entries for George Jelly, my ggg grandfather, and father-in-law of Richard Diwell. George built the Anglican Rectory (below) in Henty Street Casterton in 1887.

CASTERTON ANGLICAN RECTORY c1890. Image courtesy of the Museums Victoria Collections https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/769228

What particularly interested me came from a spontaneous search I did for the variation “George Jellie”. It brought up the Coleraine Anglican Church. The history of the church referred to the original structure built in 1853 by Casterton contractor, George Jellie. My George Jelly did not arrive in Victoria until 1855 aboard the Athelate with his wife Jane and daughter, Mary. According to his obituary, they first went to Murndal at Tahara, run by Samuel Pratt Winter, and then on to Casterton. George and Jane’s firstborn child in Australia was my gg-grandmother, Elizabeth Ann Jelly at Casterton in 1856.

That beggars the questions, was there a George Jellie, contractor of Casterton in 1853, or did the first building at the Coleraine Anglican Church not get constructed until around 1856 by which time George Jelly had arrived in the town? More research is needed on that one.

George’s obituary credits him for building the Casterton Mechanics Institute also, however that building is not on the VHD.

——————————————————–

While the Victorian Heritage Database is full of useful information, I do wrestle with it on occasions as it takes on a mind of its own. I use a Firefox browser and I think it doesn’t agree with the database. I have tested Chrome and it seems a lot happier. Another problem I occasionally have is when clicking on a link to VHD from Google or Western District Families. I get a message that my session has ended. If that happens, page back and click again and it will come up.

More on Lisa Gervasoni. Lisa has over 300,000 photos on Flickr and they are also found with a Trove search. Lisa’s photos of landmarks and war memorials, often come up in my searches of Western Victorian towns. When I have wanted to see what something in the Western District looks like, Lisa’s great photos have been there. Thank you, Lisa.

More on the VAFHO conference. It was great to finally meet in person, Liz Pidgeon from the Yarra Plenty Regional Library and Infolass blog, who I have known on social media for some time. I also met Craige from the Mortlake Historical Society. You should check out the great Facebook page he is running for the society.

Gardeners in My Family

April 8, 2013April 8, 2013 / Merron Riddiford / 2 Comments

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 Hadde n. 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.

Old Cavendish Cemetery

November 8, 2012May 12, 2017 / Merron Riddiford / 3 Comments

Behind this gate are the graves of two of my ggg grandfathers, two ggg grandmothers and a 2nd cousin once removed.

This is the Old Cavendish Cemetery on the banks of the Wannon River. In use from 1849 through to 1922, it was the site of over 120 burials. A beautiful resting place for my ancestors but the problem is there are very few headstones remaining.

I visited a few weeks ago on a sunny Sunday morning. Ticking off the risk factors before entering: sunny, mid-spring, river location, long grass and graves, I decided to move quickly as I didn’t want to run into “Joe Blake”. I moved at great haste barely stopping to take each photo. Surprisingly none were blurred.

This cemetery is set in beautiful countryside with Hugh Duncan and his wife Catherine having a prime position overlooking the Wannon River.

Headstone of Hugh Duncan (died 1892) and Catherine Duncan (died 1917)

Grave of James Rogers (died 1913) and Hannah Rogers (died 1908) and their daughters Mary Ann (died 1876) & Elizabeth Jane (died 1899)

I have a family link to the Brewis family of Karabeal (below). My first cousin 4 x removed, Alice Reed married Henry Alfred Brewis, son of Joseph and Mary Brewis. Alice was the niece of Susan Reed, wife of James Harman.

Front: Headstone of Magaret Matheson (died 1871) Back: George Healy Wilson (died 1895) and his mother Elizabeth Wilson (died 1898)

Headstone of William Lord (died 1885) and Sarah Lord (died 1874) and their son Henry (died 1872)

The following headstone is interesting. It is the grave of Ann Wright who died in 1891. She is buried with her son Henry Huntly and another Cavendish man Brown Hearn who died in 1904. A clue came from another Hearn buried in the cemetery, Jessie Hearn. Her death record of 1880 lists the three-year old’s parents as Brown Hearn and Elizabeth Huntly (or Huntley). I have found a Victorian Marriage record for an Ann Prior to Henry Huntly in 1842 at Portland, but I can’t find a birth record for a Henry Huntly Jnr and I can’t explain the “Wright” surname.

Headstone of Thomas Varley (died 1892) and his daughter Evelyn Margaret (died 1894)

A Diphtheria epidemic hit Cavendish during 1879 and 1880 and many lives were lost including four children of the Cavendish school headmaster. The headstone of Sarah Jane and Minnie McDonald is a reminder of that time. Sarah Jane passed away on 17 June 1880 and her sister on 19 June 1880. They were the daughters of Michael and Margaret McDonald of Hyde Park, Cavendish.

Richard Bryant (below) was a July Passing Pioneer. Maggie, Richard’s second wife, was born in Ireland and was Margaret Nowlan. My link to Richard is on his Passing Pioneer entry.

Headstone of Eliza Hewitt (died 1891), Anna Jane Hewitt (died 1899) and William Hewitt (died 1905)

This plaque at the entrance to the cemetery lists all those buried in the cemetery and events from the history of Cavendish during the time the cemetery was in use.

My family members are well represented in the cemetery, but the headstones are gone. They included my ggg grandparents Charles and Agnes Hadden and their great-grandson, Charles. Also, my ggg grandfather James Mortimer, died 1895 and his granddaughter Queenie Rose Ann Victoria Mortimer who died as a baby in 1891.

There are three Mortimers that I am not sure of. Given I cannot find the death of my ggg grandmother Rosanna Buckland*, she has to be one of them. One unidentified Mortimer died in 1895 which should be James Mortimer. There is also a Mrs Mortimer, died 1889 and another Mrs Mortimer, died 1898. I think the latter is Sarah Ann Duggan, wife of Henry Mortimer, James and Rosanna’s youngest son. Sarah Ann died in Warrnambool in 1898.

GGG Grandmother Rosanna could be the 1889 “Mrs Mortimer”. Or maybe not. She has been elusive to date *. There is also a Mr W. Mortimer who died in 1889. I don’t have a W. Mortimer on my tree that died around that time nor can I find a W. Mortimer in the Victorian Death records.

I will return to the Old Cavendish Cemetery in Autumn when the grass will be shorter and “Joe Blake” will be tiring. Maybe then I can take my time and see what is hidden beneath the grass.

For a full list of those buried at the Old Cavendish Cemetery, check out Ian Marr’s great site Cemeteries of S.W.Victoria

* With some help I did find the death date of Rosanna Mortimer and you can read more about that on the link here. Since that discovery the Hamilton Spectators from the time are now available at Trove, so I was able to find Rosanna’s obituary and once again another variation on her name.

“Items of News.” Hamilton Spectator (Vic. : 1870 – 1918) 28 August 1888: <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225804201>.

GLOSSARY:

“Joe Blake” ( Australian Rhyming Slang) – snake.

W is for…What Else Could It Be?

October 13, 2012February 7, 2021 / Merron Riddiford / 10 Comments

Naturally, I had to rejoin the Gould Genealogy Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge at “W”. W is for Western District and that means a lot to me not only because this blog “Western District Families”. I was born and raised in the Western District and all the families of my maternal lines, going back six generations, chose to settle in the wonderful Western District.

One of the highlights of the Western District is the geography. Entering from the east, the Western Plains lead to the rise of the Grampians and on to the volcanic plains and green rolling hills beyond. To the south are the forests of the Otways, the south-west coastline and volcanic Tower Hill. And there are the rivers, meandering through the countryside to the sea.

I will take you on a geographical journey through the Western District, just a glimpse really, beginning with two colonial artists, Nicholas Chevalier and my favourite, Eugene Von Guerard. These artists and others traipsed around Victoria sketching and painting. Von Guerard also travelled to Tasmania, New South Wales, South Australia and New Zealand. Looking at their paintings reminds me of the lives they lived for the sake of their art.

Chevalier’s sketch shows the Serra Range including Mt Sturgeon and Mt Abrupt at the southern end of the Grampians.

View of the Grampians, Western District [art original] N. Chevalier.
State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/100967

Moving south-west, dormant volcano Mt Eccles near Macarthur has played a part in my family history. My gg grandfather Reuben James Harman, son of James Harman, owned property at Mt Eccles. It was also a favourite fishing spot of my grandfather Bill Gamble.

Crater of Mt. Eccles, von Guerard, Eugene,1811-1901,artist.
Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/46307

I prefer von Guerard’s depiction of Lake Surprise, the crater lake of Mt Eccles, to my own (below). I remember as a child asking about the name “Lake Surprise”. The answer: When you get to the top of the crater and see the lake, you get a surprise. Fair enough.

LAKE SURPRISE, MT ECCLES CRATER LAKE

It’s the photo of my grandfather Bill Gamble during the 1930s that is my favourite.

A little north of Mt Eccles is the volcanic lava flow, the Harman Valley at Byaduk, named after my Harman family. In the distance is the source of the lava, Mount Napier.

THE HARMAN VALLEY, BYADUK

South of Mount Eccles is beautiful and historic Port Fairy, the last port of call for the Moyne River, with its origins east of Macarthur, before it reaches the sea.

MOYNE RIVER, PORT FAIRY

Moving east from Port Fairy is Tower Hill, another dormant volcano.

TOWER HILL

Next is Warrnambool. The cemetery has a great view toward the Hopkins River close to the end of its 271 kilometre journey through the Western District from near Ararat to the sea at Logans Beach, one of the whale nurseries along the south-west coast,

WARRNAMBOOL CEMETERY OVERLOOKING THE HOPKNS RIVER

South-east of Warrnambool is the famous Loch Ard Gorge, named for the Loch Ard which wrecked on the treacherous coastline. The only two survivors, Tom Pearce and Eva Carmichael were washed on to the beach at Loch Ard Gorge.

I find standing on the beach in the Gorge a haunting experience.

LOCH ARD GORGE

East along the coastline is one of the most iconic views, not only of Victoria but Australia.

THE 12 APOSTLES

North-west, and back where we started, are the Grampians.

HALLS GAP, GRAMPIANS

The Grampians are a perfect place to leave the subject of the Western District and move on to another “W” which has been a part of my family since the 1860s, the Wannon River…

W is for…Wannon River

The Wannon River begins its’ flow at the base of Mt Abrupt in the Southern Grampians. It flows toward Dunkeld, around the base of Mt Sturgeon and leaves the Grampians heading north-west toward Cavendish. Along the way, it passes by Mokanger, the workplace of both the Mortimers and Haddens. Through Cavendish, it passes close to the cemetery, burial place of members of those two families.

CAVENDISH OLD CEMETERY

From Cavendish, the river begins a southward journey toward two of the Hamilton district’s jewels, the Nigretta and Wannon waterfalls. As the river progresses west, the Grange Burn joins the Wannon north of Morgiana, having flowed from just east of Hamilton, the city founded on the Grange. This section of the Wannon river was another favourite fishing spot of my grandfather Bill Gamble.

On the river flows to Tahara and then Sandford. I have family links to Sandford with Julia Harman, daughter of James Harman residing there with her husband George Holmes. Two children were born at Sandford including WW1 casualty Arthur Leonard Holmes. My gg uncle William Diwell also spent some time around Sandford. In 1914, he completed extensions to the St Marys Church.

The Wannon River then joins another great river of the Western District, the Glenelg River, having passed through some of Victoria’s most beautiful countryside. It is not surprising Joseph Hawdon, travelling overland to Adelaide with Lieutenant Alfred Miller Mundy of the 21st Regiment in 1839, endorsed Major Thomas Mitchell’s description five years earlier. Major Mitchell followed the Glenelg River from its beginnings in the Grampians through to the sea at Nelson. It is little wonder all my direct ancestors stayed in the Western District after settlement.

(1839, September 26). Launceston Advertiser (Tas. : 1829 – 1846), p. 1 Supplement: SUPPLEMENT. Retrieved October 11, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page8723904

After the merge with the Wannon, the Glenelg flows on to Casterton where I have many family links. My ggg grandfather George Jelly, the father of Elizabeth Ann Jelly, was one man who could say he had conquered the river. His obituary read:

“He was a remarkably good swimmer and by his abilities in this direction was instrumental in saving many persons from drowning and rescuing the bodies of many others who had perished in the river”

He even dived for the bones of Robert and Mary Hunt, murdered by George Wains in 1860.

By the time the Glenelg River reaches the sea, it, the waters of the Wannon and Grange Burn have passed by many of the places my ancestors lived, worked, fished, swam and were laid to rest.

NEAR THE MOUTH OF THE GLENELG RIVER, NELSON

The Wannon River between the Nigretta Falls and the Wannon Falls, about twenty kilometres from Hamilton, would be the section most frequented by myself and my family before me. My own memories come from family visits, Sunday drives with Nana, school excursions and birthday parties.

The following views near the Wannon Falls are from the State Library of Victoria Collection and were captured around 1878 by Thomas J. Washbourne, a Geelong photographer.

Wannon River Scene – Washbourne, Thomas J. photographer.Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria Victorian Patents Office Copyright Collection (VPOCC) http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/53092

Wannon River Scene Washbourne, Thomas J.,photographer.
Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria – Victorian Patents Office Copyright Collection (VPOCC) http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/52931

THE WANNON RIVER AT THE WANNON FALLS

Of the two waterfalls, I prefer the Nigretta, especially after rain. The Wannon Falls could be described as pretty in the way the water drops off the edge, but the Nigretta Falls are, at times, spectacular.

NIGRETTA FALLS ON THE WANNON RIVER Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria – collection: Cogger album of photographs http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/41740

The Vagabond (John Stanley James) described the Nigretta Falls in his series “Picturesque Victoria” for The Argus. In the 4 April 1885 edition of The Argus, The Vagabond wrote of his visit to the Wannon. He enjoyed the hospitality at the Wannon Inn and then marvelled at the “miniature Niagara”

PICTURESQUE VICTORIA. (1885, April 4). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1956), p. 4. Retrieved October 11, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article6073697

This photo taken in August this year by my friend Catherine, after some good rain, sees the Nigretta looking like the miniature Niagara Falls described by The Vagabond.

NIGRETTA FALLS – Image courtesy of Catherine Huisman

My grandfather, Bill Gamble, took the following photo in the 1930s

It was pleasing to see that the old viewing platforms still remain at the Nigretta Falls.

NIGRETTA FALLS VIEWING PLATFORM

An impressive wooden staircase now leads down to the falls, but the original steps remain.

The Wannon Falls (below) holds memories of walking beyond the viewing platform, down to the rocks and behind the falls, but only when they were flowing lightly as they are in this photo. A new viewing platform now prevents such precarious escapades, even undertaken while on school excursions!

WANNON FALLS

I have two framed prints of the Wannon Falls by Louis Buveot, painted in 1872. One hangs on a wall as a constant reminder of Hamilton, the Wannon River and the waterfalls. The original work hangs in the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery. To see the original click on the link – Wannon Falls

The topic of the Wannon River gives me an opportunity to share my all-time favourite family photos. As a little girl when I first saw Nana’s old photo album, these photos captured my imagination. When Nana came to live with us she kept her photo albums in her wardrobe. I would take them down, sit on her bed and go straight to the photo below. It was near the beginning of the album which had black, much-turned pages.

From right: Nana, (Linda Hadden), my great-grandmother (Sarah Elizabeth Harman) and my great auntie Alma’s (Nana’s sister) mother-in-law Mrs Issac William Short (Catherine Gissane Tilley). They are standing on the original lower viewing deck. The photos from a day at the Wannon were originally very small. It wasn’t until I enlarged them on a computer, that I noticed Nana’s coat hanging on the railing.

I think the reason I like this photo because Nana looked exactly like she did when I knew her, but with long braids and I still can’t believe she was only about fifteen. Even the small research assistant thought Nana was the lady in the middle when he first saw it. He only knew her as an older person and does not think of her as having been a child too.

The second photo was taken from the lower viewing deck, looking toward the upper level. I didn’t like standing here as a child and as you can see the rail was high at the front and difficult to see over and to the right of Nana was a gap between the fence and the rocks. I much preferred the lower deck.

My grandfather Bill, before he married Nana, liked to visit the Wannon Falls too, although he didn’t stick to the viewing platforms.

In more recent years, a rotunda was built at the Wannon Falls reserve with information about the waterfall, the local geography and history.

On our visit, the small research assistant said “Look Mum, they even have family history here for you” He was right. There is a lot of my family history at the Wannon Falls.

160 Years Ago Today…

September 18, 2012February 7, 2021 / Merron Riddiford / 2 Comments

This morning at 11.00am, I will think of my Hadden family sailing through the Heads into Port Phillip Bay, 160 years ago today. I have previously posted about their journey on the Marco Polo, a clipper ship that altered the course taken by immigrant ships on their journey to Australia and in doing so, earned the title of Fastest Ship in the World.

Marco Polo Brodie Collection, La Trobe Picture Collection, State Library of Victoria. http://tinyurl.com/9alkahe

Landing at Hobsons Bay, the Haddens made their own way to Melbourne and for the next 14 years, I have no idea where they were. In that time they “acquired” two daughters, Margaret and Ellen. John’s birth in 1864 is the first clue to the Haddens being at Mokanger Station near Cavendish where Charles worked.

The children of Charles Hadden and Agnes Dobson were:

WILLIAM: Born 1847 Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland; Marriage Mary Mortimer 1870, Cavendish; Died 1938, Hamilton.

JAMES: Born 1850 Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland; Died 1935, Cavendish.

MARGARET: Born circa 1854; Married James Cameron 1883; Died 1927, Swan Hill.

ELLEN: Born circa 1861; Died 1948, Cavendish.

JOHN: Born 1864, Cavendish; Died 1931, Cavendish.

AGNES: Born 1872, Cavendish; Died 1949, Hamilton.

I have searched records from Victoria, South Australia, and New South Wales for the births of Margaret and Ellen with no success. Yet on their death records, they are the daughters of Charles Hadden and Agnes Dobson. Also, the Probate Application at the time of the death of Agnes, listed among her children are Margaret Cameron of Swan Hill and Ellen Hadden of Cavendish. To find where they were born would help me find where they were for those 14 years. They may well have been at Mokanger Station all that time.

The Hadden children were not really the marrying kind. Of the six children, only two, my great-great-grandfather William and his sister Margaret, married. William must have wanted to make up the numbers with he and his wife Mary Mortimer having 10 children. Margaret and her husband James had five children. From the 15 grandchildren of Charles and Agnes, I have found 47 great-grandchildren so far.

At 11.00am I will thank Charles and Agnes Hadden for deciding to leave Scotland to take the journey of a lifetime to come to Australia. If they hadn’t, where would I be today?

A Memorial Coincidence

February 15, 2012February 15, 2022 / Merron Riddiford / 4 Comments

Eight years ago, almost to the day, we decided to visit the newly opened Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial in Ballarat. My great-uncle Bill Hadden was a POW in Changi and I wanted to find his name.

It was a warm evening, and I was about 8½ months pregnant and apart from another couple browsing through the names, we were the only ones there. We walked along the row, found Uncle Bill’s name then continued to the end. As we made the return trip, I noticed the couple had stopped near Uncle Bill’s name. As I paused nearby for a last tribute, I overheard the couple talking. They looked puzzled saying they couldn’t see a Bill or a William. They were pointing right at the list of Haddens on the memorial. I realised they were talking about Bill Hadden and I immediately understood their predicament. Uncle Bill’s real name was Thomas Horace Hadden, not William as many people over the years probably thought.

I asked the couple if they were looking for Bill Hadden and they were. I explained he was the T.H.Hadden on the memorial.

Who were these people? I certainly didn’t recognise them as cousins. As it turned out, the lady was a daughter of one of the men incarcerated with Uncle Bill in Changi and Bill had even attended her wedding. They were en route from Birchip to Melbourne and thought they would drop in at the memorial to look for her father’s name. Unbelievable. To think they were there at the same time I was. Also, if I hadn’t been there at that time, they’d have left wondering why Bill Hadden’s name was not on the memorial.

STOP PRESS!. (1942, February 16). Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 – 1954), p. 5. Retrieved February 15, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article42332207

This is a pertinent time to remember that visit eight years ago. On 15 February 1942, seventy years ago, Singapore fell to the Japanese and Bill Hadden of the 2/13th Australian General Hospital (2/13 AGH) was taken prisoner. In the days after, he would walk through the gates of Changi prison.

MORE NAMES OF AUSTRALIAN POW’s AT SINGAPORE. (1945, September 14). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1956), p. 2. Retrieved February 15, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article975785

BILL HADDEN

In Malaya prior to the capture, Uncle Bill wrote a letter home to his great-aunt Henrietta Harman of Byaduk. Answering the call of the Australian Women’s Weekly, Henrietta sent the letter into the Weekly with it published on 31 January 1942.

LETTERS FROM OUR BOYS. (1942, January 31). The Australian Women’s Weekly (1933 – 1982), p. 2. Retrieved February 15, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47812486

This is a wonderful insight into the lead-up to the events of seventy years ago today. How could Uncle Bill ever imagine the “…greater hardships before it is over” would be over three years in Changi prison. It has also given me a small glimpse of Henrietta’s life. Even though I did not know her, I never would have picked her as a reader of the Women’s Weekly. Maybe it was the incentive of a £1 prize for all letters printed.

May we also remember the brave nurses of the 2/13 AGH, evacuated from Singapore just prior to the fall. In particular, the nurses on board the ill-fated Vyner Brooke. The ship was attacked from the air on 14 February 1942. Survivors found themselves on Radji beach, Banka Island. They were discovered by Japanese troops who walked twenty-two Australian nurses and one female English civilian into the sea and shot them. One nurse, Sister Vivian Bullwinkel, survived and would herself become a POW.

AUSTRALIAN POW NURSES

Growing up, I was familiar with the name Sister Vivian Bullwinkel. On Anzac Day, as we watched the march on television, Nana would proudly tell me Uncle Bill knew Vivian Bullwinkel during the war. It was not until I was older I realised her heroics and the horrific acts she saw.

I also grew up familiar with the name “Changi,” again because Nana would talk of Uncle Bill being in “Changi” during the war. It probably was not until Uncle Bill, Nana and their two sisters Rose and Alma visited Singapore and the infamous prison in 1981 that I had any inkling of what it really was.

UNCLE BILL & HIS SISTERS IN SINGAPORE

As I have read more, I have learned more about life in Changi for Uncle Bill and thousands of other Australians during that time. I now know why Nana was so proud of her brother “Billy”.

I have a copy of a letter from Uncle Bill to his mother Sarah Hadden (nee Harman) written on 18 August 1945, three days after the war ended. Bill commented on how fortunate he was to remain at Changi for the duration of his incarceration. He wrote, “I have truly a lot to be thankful for, as many hundreds who went to Thailand and Burma will never return.”

I have only touched on the sinking of the Vyner Brooke and the events on Banka Island. The Australian War Memorial (AWM) has photos of the nurses from the Vyner Brooke and you can see them here. It is sad scrolling through the photos of fresh-faced young women who had just enlisted and thinking they never came home.

An article from the Sydney Morning Herald of 18 September 1945 tells the story of Banka Island in Sister Vivian Bullwinkel’s words.

The AWM has articles about the Sinking of the Vyner Brooke and Sister Bullwinkel.

Wealth for Toil

January 26, 2012March 12, 2021 / Merron Riddiford / 21 Comments

I have made it just in time for the Australia Day 2012 blog post. Thanks to Shelly at Twigs of Yore, geneabloggers have the chance to share the occupation of an ancestor while considering the line “wealth for toil” from “Advance Australia Fair”. The requirements are:

To participate, choose someone who lived in Australia (preferably one of your ancestors) and tell us how they toiled. Your post should include:

What was their occupation?
What information do you have about the individual’s work, or about the occupation in general?
The story of the person, focusing on their occupation; or
The story of the occupation, using the person as an example.

I love occupations. The first thing I look at on a census or electoral roll is my relative’s line of work. Maybe it is just because I’m hoping for something other than a farmer. So I jumped at the chance to share an occupation. Of course, I have plenty of farmers and a large number of butchers, including my grandfather and two great grandfathers. But they didn’t cut it for me.

Who were workers that fitted the “toil” definition? I have already done a post on Jim Bishop, the drover who I do believe toiled against the elements and probably for little reward. One definition of “toil” is to labour continuously. Taking that into account there could be no other person to write about than station hand William Hadden, my gg-grandfather.

William Hadden did not make monetary riches from his work, but he had the wealth of his family on whom his work depended and the knowledge that he was putting food on the table.

WILLIAM HADDEN

William was born in Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland, and immigrated with his parents, Charles and Agnes on the Marco Polo in 1854. William would have been around 17 when he went to work at nearby Mokanger station with his father Charles. That was the beginning of a love affair with the land and in particular Mokanger.

In 1870, he married Mokanger servant, Mary Mortimer at the station. They also lived at Mokanger and children were born there. Mokanger was their life. Except for Sundays, the day of rest. That was the time to attend St John’s Presbyterian church at Cavendish, William’s other passion.

While sheep station work can be seasonal, William most likely had an ongoing job. There is always plenty to do on a sheep property. Lambing, marking lambs, shearing sheep, crutching sheep, and dipping sheep! Also at Mokanger, William’s father Charles Hadden worked as a boundary rider, and father-in-law, James Mortimer was a ploughman, just two further examples of jobs on a large station.

William loved his work at Mokanger station so much, he was there into his eighties. I am not sure if he was still in paid employment then, but he was there overseeing the dipping and crutching. I think that qualifies as having toiled.

William’s value of hard work and love of the land was passed to his children, along with his quiet, unassuming nature. Son John, also worked at Mokanger, James worked at Mt Sturgeon station and Henry worked at Mooralla station as a boundary rider.

My favourite story of fourth son, my great grandfather Thomas Hadden relates to work. Each Sunday during the 1920s and ’30s, my great grandmother Sarah, would pack a week’s worth of food in a tin for Thomas to take away working on the roads. This must have been incredibly hard work and having to leave the family for a week at a time, must have made it harder. Likewise, Thomas and Sarah’s children, including my Nana, portrayed the same values and ethics as the Haddens before them.

Thomas Hadden, son of William Hadden

William Hadden was happy to work for a wage for so many years, but as I have mentioned, it put food on the table. He was an honorable servant to the owners of Mokanger, first the Chirnside brothers and then the Gardiner family.

For as long as I can remember, I have considered the hard-working trait displayed by the Hadden family to be thanks to their Scottish heritage, something they were proud of. I don’t know why that is but the following is an excerpt from an article on St Andrew’s Day, 1922, which supports my theory.

ST. ANDREW’S DAY. (1922, November 30). The Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 – 1929), p. 6. Retrieved January 26, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63739163

William Hadden probably enjoyed “Advance Australia Fair” penned by a Scot, P. J. McCormick. Happy Australia Day!

Advance Australia Fair!. (1938, January 26). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1954), p. 1. Retrieved January 26, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2451050

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WILLIAM HADDEN

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