The description with the photo reads as follows, “The horse ‘Daybreak’ or ‘Daydream’ (?), a champion hunter who won many equestrian events in the Wimmera and Western district. His certificates and prizes are displayed.” The individuals identified were named as Ethel McIntyre and John Ross and the photo was taken at Douglas (north-east of Harrow) c1920.
Using those clues, I uncovered a wonderful story of a horse called Daystar and his owner John Hugh Ross. I also found John was part of a family I was familiar with from my Byaduk research.
Born around 1900, Daystar was by the sire Timmon out of the mare Phyllis. In the years 1905 and 1906, John Ross of Douglas (also known as Salt Lakes) was racing Daystar on the flat and over steeples at meetings including Casterton, Chetwynd, Wando Vale, and Hamilton. I couldn’t find him winning a race but he did run second a couple of times.
John also took Daystar on the show circuit, riding the horse in hurdle races and hunter classes and it turned out Daystar was a handy jumper. On 14 July 1909, at Douglas, John was schooling Daystar when the horse cleared a jump of 3ft 6in but it was not the height of the jump, rather the length which stood out.
From take-off to landing, Daystar jumped a width of thirty-nine feet (almost twelve metres). At the time, records dating back to 1847 were cited when another horse jumped thirty-seven feet. The current world record for a long jump by a horse across water is held by a horse called “Something” who jumped twenty-eight feet. (8.4 metres) in 1975.
John Ross was born at Knebsworth south-west of Byaduk in 1875. He left school and started working when he was thirteen. In the 1890s John joined others from Victoria who travelled to the Western Australian goldfields but he was back in Victoria and living at Douglas by 1905. John was a blacksmith and purchased the Douglas blacksmith shop in 1908, He was also a good footballer.
The young lady in the photo was named as Effie McIntyre. In 1913, John Ross married Effie Grace McIntyre at the Presbyterian Manse at Hamilton (below).
FORMER HAMILTON PRESBYTERIAN MANCE
The wedding ceremony was followed by afternoon tea at the Caledonian Hotel where Daniel Scullion proposed a toast to the newlyweds on behalf of their parents. John’s wedding gift to Effie was a gold broach and Effie gave John a gold watch guard. The couple honeymooned in Warrnambool.
On their return to Douglas, a gathering was held and John and Effie were presented with fifty sovereigns from the locals. It was there Thomas Hobbs spoke of John and Daystar’s contribution to the community. If someone was requiring medical assistance in the night, they just had to knock on John’s window and ask him to go to Harrow for the doctor. In no time Jack would be aboard “his favourite Daystar” and on his way. John thought he was only doing what he thought was his duty to help others whenever there was a chance. The rides to Harrow were no trouble because he loved to spend time in the saddle.
John and Daystar continued to compete but in August 1914, Daystar then aged fourteen and with John aboard, dropped dead at the Edenhope P&A show during a round of a hurdle competition. Daystar cleared the first two hurdles well but ran out at the third jump and dropped from beneath John. A sad and sudden end for Daystar. John must have been devastated not just to lose a horse but his companion. The news of Daystar’s death spread across the country. The story led the “News of the Day” in the Warracknabeal Herald (below).
The Border Chronicleremarked on the coincidence that Daystar carrying number 13 (unlucky for some) had his first and last jumps competition at the Edenhope Show.
As for the Byaduk connection, if you’ve ever travelled through Byaduk, say going from Hamilton to Port Fairy, just past the Byaduk oval you will see the Byaduk Boer War Memorial to the right. On it is the name of Donald Ross, killed in South Africa on 15 November 1900.
BYADUK BOER WAR MEMORIAL
Across the road is the Byaduk War Memorial.
BYADUK WAR MEMORIAL
With the names of Andrew and Samuel Ross.
BYADUK WAR MEMORIAL
Donald, Andrew, and Samuel Ross were the sons of George Ross and Flora Cameron and younger brothers of John Ross. The boys’ father George died at Byaduk in 1895. Their mother Flora sent off son Donald to South Africa as part of the 1st Australian contingent. Three months after his return in August 1900, Donald was dead from a lung condition. When WW1 came, Flora sent three sons, Andrew, Samuel, and William. At the time of Andrew’s enlistment, the Hamilton Spectator wrote of the “Patriotic Family”
On 7 November 1917, Samuel Ross was killed in Palestine while serving with the 11th Australian Light Horse Regiment. Andrew Ross returned from overseas but died of bronchitis on 10 June 1919. William returned in 1919 and died at Red Cliffs in 1963.
Meanwhile, John and Effie were running the Douglas Post Office. John had taken over duties temporarily in 1917 when the postmaster at the time enlisted. They also built a new house at Douglas in 1937.
John Ross died at Douglas on 29 April 1949 aged seventy-three. Later in the year, Effie was recognised by the people of Douglas for her service running the Douglas Post Office for over thirty years. Effie died at Portland in 1976 aged eighty-five.
This post has been sitting in my drafts for six years so today it’s time to set it free, something I wish happened to the subject of the post. This is my second Trove Tuesday post about a captive eagle and it’s sad they could no longer soar free over the Western District. The first post was called The Hungry Eagle and this one could easily have had the same title.
DESERVING OF RECOMPENSE. (1879, April 25). Riverine Herald (Echuca, Vic. : Moama, NSW : 1869 – 1954), p. 3. Retrieved August 3, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article115122329
If only the fledgeling hadn’t popped his head over the side of the nest. Instead of a trip to New South Wales, he could have lived out his life soaring over the rolling hills and valleys around Byaduk.
Recently, while searching for newspaper photos of Portland, I stumbled across a photo of my 1st cousin 4 x removed, Amelia Harman, with four of her descendants published in the WeeklyTimes in 1952. Standing back left is Amelia’s daughter, Elsie May Harman. Elsie married Herbert Skipworth in 1909 at Heywood. Back right is Elsie’s daughter Doris Eveline Skipworth. Doris married Samuel Porter in 1929. Sitting directly in front of her is Doris’ daughter and her daughter Lynette Wilmot.
I’ve previously posted a photo I found of Amelia photographed with her granddaughter, great-granddaughter, and great-great-granddaughter. You can read more about that photo in the post Matter of Relativity.
Amelia was the eldest daughter of Jonathan Harman and Elizabeth Oliver of Byaduk. She died in 1956 at Portland, aged ninety-one. Her husband Chris Bell predeceased her by twenty-seven years.
As I write, it is seventeen hours and twenty-one minutes since Trove went offline to prepare for the launch of Trove 7 on Thursday 25 February. And yes, I’m already missing it. Not a day goes by when I don’t turn to Trove to find a photo, a parish map, information on events in Australian history or book details. But I’m reassured knowing in two days this wonderful free resource we are so lucky to have will be back new and improved.
Of course, the online newspapers are my favourite Trove feature especially little gems such as the following article my “Electronic Friend” from Trove sent on Friday. The article from The Ballarat Star of 18 July 1881 is about my ggg grandfather James Harman. At age fifty-one in 1881. James and his old horses, pulling a Lennon plough, were a great team, often winning local ploughing matches. James lived another thirty-five summers but I’m guessing not too many more summers passed after the article before James laid the horses to rest on his Byaduk property Mt Pleasant.
**Postscript – Since writing this post I’ve become aware of funding cuts to the National Library of Australia, the home of Trove. It would be terrible if it meant Trove’s digitisation program was restricted or worse, the introduction of a paywall. You can read more about the funding cuts here.
While writing the history of the Harmans of Byaduk, I immersed myself in the family’s daily lives and at times felt as though I was there with them. With my ggg grandfather James Harman, I was among the congregation at the Byaduk Methodist Church and traversed the countryside as he conducted his Local Preacher duties. I attended sheep and Pastoral and Agriculture (P&A) shows and learnt the finer points of tilling the soil at ploughing matches. I felt James’ pride in 1907 as he stood with his fellow pioneers and friends for a photograph before his beloved Byaduk Methodist Church (below) and shared his satisfaction when he won a Lincoln ram at the Hamilton P&A show.
BYADUK PIONEER DAY – March 27, 1907. JAMES HARMAN (Back Row, 6th from right), JONATHAN HARMAN (Back Row, 5th from right), ELIZABETH OLIVER, widow of REUBEN HARMAN (Front row, 2nd from right). Photo courtesy of the Hamilton History Centre.
The post False Alarm, revealed my ongoing frustration of not having an obituary written about James Harman, my favourite ancestor. One such as those written for his brothers Jonathan and Walt, lengthy, information-packed tributes which told me much about the type of men they were. An obituary for James in the Hamilton Spectator came close but I wanted more.
Just a few weeks before my thesis was due, the Spectator and Methodist Chronicle(Melbourne 1914-1918) came online at Trove and there was an obituary for James. Unfortunately, the article was still undergoing quality control checks so the wait was on. My “Electronic Friend” would send an email when the article was ready to go but no amount of checking my inbox made the article arrive. The submission date for my thesis came and went and still, the article was unavailable. Until yesterday.
The obituary was signed “W.H.G” and knowing something of the Byaduk Methodist Church helped me name the author as the Reverend William Herbert Guard who presided over the church at the time of James’ death. His tribute answered one of my questions about James. When did he become involved with the Wesleyan Methodist Church? Was it when he arrived in Port Fairy in 1852? Or when the family spent some time at Muddy Creek before going to Byaduk. Muddy Creek had a strong Methodist community of Wesleyans, Primitives and Reformers who had arrived via Port Fairy. But, according to Reverend Guard, James’ commitment to Methodism began before leaving Cambridgeshire.
Reverend Guard visited James in his last days and recounted those visits but most powerful were his recollections of James’ final hours. “I’m going home,” a weakening James told him. Then in his last moments, James raised his hand and uttered his last word “Coming” and with that, he was gone. James was ready to meet his God. Many obituaries describe the last moments of a person’s life but often in a clinical fashion. W.H.G.’s description was spiritual. Such was James’ devotion it couldn’t be any other way.
James was not just “going home” to God. His beliefs gave him the faith to believe he was also joining his wife Susan Reed. The obituary confirmed the bond he shared with Susan, forged over sixty-four years. Susan died on 10 April 1916 and James on 13 August in the same year. I have always thought the few months apart was too long a time for James. He had lost the woman who gave him strength and after only four months they were reunited at the Byaduk Cemetery.
TOGETHER AGAIN
There is little information about Susan’s life besides her birth, death and children in-between. But she was with James when they left Melbourn, Cambridgeshire as newlyweds and endured a forgettable voyage on the Duke of Richmond. She travelled with him from the port of Portland to Port Fairy for James’ first employment in Victoria and together they endured the pioneering life at Byaduk. No doubt she sat up late into the night waiting for James to return from church meetings and sheep shows in neighbouring towns.
Reverend Guard brought to my attention something about Susan I did not know and it was sad to read of her blindness in her last years. That is now obvious when I look at her in this treasured photo passed on to me by James and Susan’s great-grandson Mike Harman.
JAMES & SUSAN HARMAN. Photo courtesy of Mike Harman & family.
On reaching the end of Reverend Guard’s tribute, chills had come over me and tears filled my eyes. Since that first reading, I have thought often of those last hours of James’ life with sadness. After feeling many emotions while researching James’ life, for the first time, I was feeling grief. It is the only time I have felt that emotion about my long departed ancestors. Usually, such discoveries evoke feelings of jubilation such as the revelation my ggg Grandmother Ellen Barry died in a house fire caused by her insobriety or learning my gg aunt Ellen Harman dropped dead on the floor while cooking breakfast for her son. While I did feel sad for their unfortunate passing, always in the back of my mind was the thought “That will be good for the family history”. But the tears that came to my eyes when reading about James weren’t because this useful information missed my thesis, it was because I felt like I was saying goodbye.
Snapping back to reality, I reminded myself the never-ending journey of family history will bring new stories of James and I can once again join him on his life’s adventures.
“Each regiment formed upon a squadron frontage in three lines from 300 to 500 yards apart, and every man was restless, excited, and resolute for victory.
At 4.30 the two regiments moved off at a trot. Surprise and speed were their one chance, so no time was lost in breaking into a gallop. For what seemed to be a space of minutes the Turkish fire ceased, as if the garrison was wondering what the approaching horsemen had in mind. Then swiftly realising that they were out for business, the whole line burst into a flame of fire.
But the Australians were not to be denied, much less were their glorious chargers in the mood to hesitate. As if entering into the spirit of the great game, with ears pricked and manes flashing back, they headed in a wild scamper into the setting sun.
As they reached the Turkish front line trenches, the leading troopers dug in their spurs and their mounts cleared the obstacle in their stride”
The outcome, achieved in just under 60 minutes of wild riding, sheer bravery and maybe a touch of madness, saw the 4th Light Horse Brigade, consisting of the 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments, capture Beersheba in one of the most important offensives of WW1.
Eight hundred Australian Light Horsemen waited on a ridge about six kilometres from the town of Beersheba, hidden from the Turkish troops. At 4.30pm on October 31, 1917, under the orders of Lieutenant General Harry Chauvel, they moved forward, first at a walk, then a trot, gradually quickening until the order of “CHARGE” was given, and 800 horsemen urged their horses, tired and thirsty from travelling overnight, into a gallop.
The Turks, expecting the Australians to dismount and fight one on one at the first trench, watched with surprise as horsemen, with only bayonets in hand, rode resolutely with no intention of stopping. They cleared the first trench, then the second. As the first squadron approached the third trench and dismounted, gunfire raining upon them, a bullet hit a 28-year-old farmer from Byaduk in the Western District and he died where he fell.
Walter Rodney Kinghorn, the youngest child in a family of 12, was born in Byaduk in 1888 to Francis Kinghorn and Elizabeth White. Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914 and 20 days later at Broadmeadows, 26-year-old Walter Kinghorn enlisted, one of the first from the Hamilton district to do so. Prior to that, life for unmarried Walter consisted of farm work at Byaduk, like his father and brothers before him. His future had looked mapped out for him, but with no wife or children, the offer to see the world was all too enticing.
On August 22 1914, the people of Hamilton demonstrated the patriotic feelings that abounded as they bid farewell to what they then thought was the remaining quota of Hamilton district volunteers preparing for departure overseas. Those in the streets that day described the scene as “stirring”.
It was not just men leaving Hamilton. Fourteen horses, donated by prominent local breeders, including James Learmonth of Melville Forest, also said goodbye to their breeding grounds and like the men, were oblivious to what lay ahead of them. The mood was buoyant and locals provided gifts for the men including cigarettes and a box of cigars, from Mr Short, brother-in-law of Private Maurice Tilley. The parade moved along the streets of Hamilton to the Town Hall, accompanied by the Hamilton Pipe Band.
Walter spent time training at the Broadmeadows Camp until 19 October 1914 when the men and horses of the 4th Light Horse sailed aboard the steamer HMAT Wiltshire bound for Egypt. With him were Tom Henderson, Maurice Tilley and William Niven of Hamilton and John Francis of Yulecart.
FEEDING HORSES OF THE 4TH LIGHT HORSE ON BOARD SS WILTSHIRE. Image Courtesy of the Australian War Memorial. Image no. PS0008 http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/PS0008/
They arrived at Port Said, Egypt on 10 December 1914 and work began to unload the horses and set up camp.
Walter Kinghorn’s service record gives no clue to his whereabouts from the time the steamer docked in December 1914 until 2 January 1916 when he was recorded as being in Heliopolis. The only other listing was that he was a driver with 4th Light Horse Transport from the time of his enlistment until July 5, 1916.
If Walter remained with the 4th Light Horse after their arrival, he would have travelled with them to Gallipoli during May 1915, minus the horses, as infantry reinforcements. The regiment spent six months in the trenches at ANZAC Cove before returning to Egypt to discover the regiment would be split up. Horses had limitations in the desert with water supplies an ongoing concern. Two squadrons left for France, while the rest remained around the Suez Canal.
Walter spent time at the 4th Light Horse Regiment Headquarters at Heliopolis before falling ill late in May 1916. He spent a few weeks in hospital before joining the 1st Light Horse for a month at Tel-El-Kebir. Then on to the 1st Double Squadron at Serapeum, Egypt in July, where he remained for four months.
There was still reshuffling among the Light Horse regiments and the 4th Light Horse joined with the Imperial Camel Corps to form the 3rd Camel Regiment at El Ferdan, Egypt in November 1916. Walter was with the camel regiment for three months. On December 27, 1916, Henry Langtip wrote in his diary “Got camels issued today. I don’t like them at all but I suppose one willget used to them“, but the following day…”On camels for the first time today and it was great fun as several fell off”.
4th LIGHT HORSE REGIMENT BATHING HORSES & CAMELS, MARAKEB, PALESTINE, 1917. Image Courtesy of the Australian War Memorial Image No. J00425 http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/J00425/
With further reorganization to the mounted brigades in early March 1917, Walter returned to his role as a driver with the 4th Light Horse Transport, then camped at Ferry Post on the Suez Canal. He was also promoted to Lance Corporal. For some reason, at his own request, Walter reverted from driver to trooper on 26 May 1917, while in Tel El Fara, Palestine. That decision may have sealed his fate.
4th Light Horse in Palestine c 1915. Image courtesy of Picture Queensland, State Library of Queensland Image no. 182314 http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/47940236
In the months leading up to the attack on Beersheba, on two occasions the Allies had unsuccessfully tried to take Gaza but a different tack was in the planning. The Light Horse would come from another direction, the East.
Harry Langtip wrote on Sunday 28 October1917, “We are ready to move out to attack Beersheba at a moments notice. We have had a lecture from the Colonel and he tells us that we are going 30 miles tonight and 30 miles again the next night” (p37 of transcript).
On 31 October he wrote, “We rode all night to get right around Beersheba, 32 miles in all…Our horses ready to go into the line to attack within the next few minutes. It was a terrible ride inheavy dust all the way. The horses have still got the saddles on and I don’t know when they will get them off…”
THE ROAD TO BEERSHEBA (Oct 1917). Image courtesy of the Australian War Memorial Image no. A02788 A02788
Soon they were on the move as the charge began. Aloysius Cotter of the 4th Light Horse wrote home to his sister in Gippsland about the charge. He recounted burying his head in his horse’s mane as they galloped directly into the barrage.
OUR SOLDIERS. LETTER FROM PALESTINE. (1918, February 28). Foster Mirror and South Gippsland Shire Advocate (Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 3. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article129511784
Thomas Hoskisson, of the 12th Light Horse Regiment, wrote home to his brother in N.S.W. about his experience.
HOW THE LIGHT HORSE FOUGHT IN THE CAPTURE OF BEERSHEBA. (1918, December 5). Camden News (NSW : 1895 – 1954), p. 1. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article136790912
Walter Kinghorn was one of the brave troopers at the head of the charge. His father Francis received a letter from Major James Lawson, a hotel keeper from Rupanyup prior to the war, describing Walter’s last ride.
THE LATE LANCE-CORPORAL WALTER KINGHORN. (1918, May 9). Hamilton Spectator (Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 4. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article119501800
As members of the 4th Light Horse dismounted and fought the Turkish soldiers in the trenches, the 12th Light Horse passed them by and continued on to Beersheba clearing the way for the remaining squadrons to move forward, resulting in the capture of the town. Horses wasted no time drinking from the wells, another advantage of taking Beersheba. Some horses that had survived the gruelling gallop, dropped dead from exhaustion after drinking. Behind them, on the path they had travelled lay fallen horses, taken down from underneath their riders. Considering the number of troops involved and the great risk, the casualties were considered light with 31 men killed and 36 wounded. The loss of horses was higher, with 70 killed and at least 70 wounded.
Seven other men died at the same trench as Walter from Troopers to Officers, and they were buried close to where they fell. Eight white crosses marked their graves.
The 4th Light Horse Quarter Master Sergeant James French managed to craft a memorial plaque for the gravesite, using scrap metal, the debris of war. During the 1920s, the plaque was donated to the Australian War Memorial, but not before approval was given by the eight families.
Memorial at Beersheba. (1918, May 14). Gippsland Farmers Journal (Traralgon, Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 2. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88057978
He may have been thousands of miles from home when he died, but a touch of Byaduk, family and friends was not far away from Walter. Also in Palestine was the No. 1 Squadron of the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) and among the ranks was Charles Harman, Walter’s brother-in-law.
The AFC’s role in Palestine was mainly surveillance, taking photos of the war front and military objectives, such as this photo above Beersheba.
Aerial View of Beersheba taken from the plane of No 1 Squadron AFC. Image courtesy of the Australian War Memorial. Image no. B02020 http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/B02020/
Charles Harman, 10 years older than Walter, married Walter’s eldest sister Catherine in 1905, but he would have known Walter all of his life. After all, Charles’s grandfather James Harman and the Kinghorns had neighbouring properties and in 1907, James and Jonathan Harman stood with Frank and Elizabeth Kinghorn for a photograph with other Byaduk pioneers. The two families had known each other for 50 years. Even while they were overseas, letters to Walter and Charles from home would have told them the news of the marriage of Walter’s brother David Kinghorn to Charles’ cousin, Charlotte Harman in 1915.
Charles Harman was a Sergeant with the AFC No. 1 Squadron mechanics. The mechanics made a memorial plaque and Charles erected it on Walter’s grave. A touching gesture and most likely one of the most difficult times of Charles’ war service. During the 1920s, the plaque was returned to the Kinghorn family after Walter and the other men were exhumed and buried at the Beersheba War Cemetery.
MEMORIAL PLAQUE MADE BY THE MECHANICS OF THE NO. 1 SQUADRON AFC Image Courtesy of the Australian War Memorial. Image No. B02143 http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/B02143/
WALTER KINGHORN. Photo taken at the 2015 Byaduk Spring Show. The photo of Walter was part of a larger tribute to him.
In contrast to the deserts of Palestine, back at home in Western Victoria, the spring grass was abundant, lambs were fattening and the local P&A Agricultural show season was underway. News of Walter’s death, however, began to reverberate from Byaduk by mid-November 1917. His death was felt as far away Trawalla, west of Ballarat, home to Walter’s sister Flora. Reports appeared in both the Ballarat Courier and the Ripponshire Advocate.
TROOPER W. KINGHORN. (1917, November 16). The Ballarat Courier (Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 1 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article73334841
In the Hamilton Spectator, Frank Kinghorn gave thanks to all those who had paid tribute to his youngest son.
When Major Lawson corresponded with Frank Kinghorn the following year, he too paid tribute to Walter and reassured Frank that Walter had played a part in the “finest charge in the annals of modern warfare”. Little consolation for Frank, then in his 80s. He died in 1919.
THE LATE LANCE-CORPORAL WALTER KINGHORN. (1918, May 9). Hamilton Spectator (Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 4. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article119501800
Byaduk suffered the loss of 14 men during WW1 and the community moved to remember them. Described as a historic day for Byaduk, on June 28, 1918, the families of the local men that served, planted trees for an Avenue of Honor. Those who had paid the supreme sacrifice carried a laurel wreath on their plaques. One of Walter’s sisters, most likely Fanny, planted his tree. Mrs Hilda Harman, aunt of Charles Harman planted one for him, while Charles’ sisters Julia and Alice planted trees for the other Harman brothers to serve, Reuben Edward and William Louden.
A cousin of Charles Harman, Isabella Harman had two brothers-in-law served, Denis and Michael Bunworth. Denis was killed only a month earlier in France. As Isabella’s husband, Jonathan Bunworth planted a tree for his brother Michael, he could never imagine that within two weeks, Micheal’s plaque too would bear the telling laurel wreath. Michael was killed on 1 August 1918 in France. The deaths of the two Bunworth boys was also felt by the Kinghorns as Walter’s brother Frank Jr. married Denis and Michael’s sister, Johanna. Three families intertwined through marriage and united in grief.
In nearby Hamilton, the brave ride of the Light Horsemen at Beersheba was also remembered, with a row of 14 Aleppo palms planted along Alexandra Parade in 1920 as a tribute.
Unveiled in 1995, a memorial stone close to the palms completes the Beersheba memorial. Water Kinghorn’s name is beside Dunkeld boy, Edward Womersley, who died of his wounds in the days after the charge.
The horses of the Australian Light Horse, especially those from the Western District that never returned to rolling green pastures, but instead only knew sand, dust, flies, heat and death, their bravery and endurance should never be forgotten.
While in no way can the adrenaline, fear and the scale of the charge at Beersheba be recreated, the Australian film “The Lighthorsemen” does go some way to depict the events of 31 October 1917.
But nothing can go past recollections of those that were at Bersheeba such as the following poem by Trooper Arthur Beatty of Sassafras written in 1918 remembering those buried in a “Bedouin camping place”
GONE TO “BYADUK.”. (1945, May 17). Portland Guardian (Vic. : 1876 – 1953), p. 2 Edition: EVENING. Retrieved October 1, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article64404340
I find with Byaduk’s name is that it is often spelt incorrectly as Byaduck. If I am searching Trove for Byaduk, I have to search Byaduck too.
It’s time to tie up the loose ends with my Harman research before I launch into writing a thesis on the Harmans of Byaduk (1852-1952) for a Diploma in Family Historical Studies. That’s a daunting thought despite what you may think. I write often about my family here, especially the Harmans, I have research gathered over 20 years and I could ramble for 20,000 words about the Harmans if anyone would listen. Putting the research together into one structured and organised piece is what I find daunting.
Structure aside, there are still some unanswered questions about the Harmans that need resolution. The year the Harmans arrived in Port Fairy from N.S.W. is one question. Looking for leads, I contacted the Port Fairy Historical Society (PFHS) hoping they may have something. Robyn Bartlett, an archivist at PFHS got back with the news there was a lot of information particularly from a source I had forgotten as a possibility but was not unexpected. Last week I received a nice thick parcel from the PFHS. Thank you Robyn, You provided a wonderful service.
After the dancing died down and I carefully examined the contents of the envelope, I knew If I got nothing else from the information Robyn sent (which I doubt will be true), I have had my Who Do You Think You Are (WDYTYA) moment. You know that moment when a celebrity finds a family member that helps defines them, explains their career path or personality traits. It is different to the other WDYTYA moment when a celeb. visits the former home of an ancestor and feels some affinity. I have had that moment too.
My WDYTYA moment came as I read several letters written by my 2nd cousin 3 x removed, Edna Harman, formerly of Wangaratta. Distant cousin I know, but as I read the letters I could feel her passion for her family’s history and history in general . It was like reading me. Edna wrote six letters over a 20 year period from 1963 to the PFHS. I knew she was an active member and one time research officer of the Wangaratta Historical Society and had also co-written a book, Wangaratta: old tales and tours (1983) with Judy Bassett. Edna’s grandfather George Hall Harman left Port Fairy for Byaduk with the other family members, but later returned to Port Fairy where he remained for the rest of his life. That is how Edna came to have a Port Fairy connection.
LETTERS FROM EDNA
Edna’s letters contain snippets of some wonderful family stories and as luck would have it, Edna put those stories. and others she had gathered from cousins, into a text book, complete with photos (yes, she used photo corners!). There are pages and pages of history of the Harmans of Port Fairy and her family in Wangaratta including her father Herbert Harman, a long serving journalist with the WangarattaChronicle. One of Herbert’s poems was in the package, and I had to smile because the subject was the S.S.Casino.The steamer was the subject of a recent Trove Tuesday post. A story of Edna’s grandfather’s visits to Wangaratta resonated with me, George Harman would take a bunch of boronia for his granddaughter. That reminded me of my grandmother Mavis Riddiford telling me about grandpa Percy giving her bunches of boronia.
I am eternally grateful to the late Edna Harman, and I am sorry that I never met her. I know I would have liked her.
I have also been buying a few certificates that I have need to help answer some questions, well at least try.
Reuben Harman died in 1883 at only 44, less than half the age of most of his siblings. I wanted to find the cause of his death, and check his “length of time in the colony” status, to compare with the other family members. Turns out Reuben died of hydatids, a condition on the increase in the Western District during the 1880s and was probably caught from his dogs or dirty drinking water. This article from the Horsham Times of March 16, 1883, warned of the dangers of hydatidis and its spread. Reuben died weeks later on April 28.
I have also purchased the marriage certificate of Sarah Harman, sister of Reuben. She married Walter Oakley in 1864 but married again to George Adams in 1885. When I first wrote about Sarah and Walter I heard from Brad, a member of the Oakley family. As the family story goes, Walter disappeared while delivering horses to India, part of the active export trade during the later half of the 19th century. I wanted to know how Walter’s “disappearance” was explained on Sarah’s second marriage certificate. It said that Walter was “not seen or heard of or from for a period of nine years”. That would make it around 1876 when he disappeared, leaving Sarah with four children aged six to eleven,
Finally, I purchased the death certificate of Charles Frederick Ward, son of Stephen Ward and Isabella Harman and grandson of James Harman. Isabella died during child-birth and the Harman family raised Charles and from what I can gather, his aunt Henrietta played an integral part. Charles died in 1928 at Ballarat aged just 42, presumably unmarried and childless. It always appeared that something tragic had happened to Charles, but I had never found anything in the papers. Now the story is much clearer. Charles Ward died in the Ballarat Asylum, later known as the Lakeside Hospital, from “organic disease of the brain” and yes, confirmation he never married or had children. Of course, this now leads me down the path of inquest and asylum records, but if I am to know the part that Harmans of Byaduk played in the life of Charles, particularly Henrietta, I do need more.
HEADSTONE OF CHARLES WARD AND HIS MOTHER ISABELLA HARMAN
The next steps in my research will be a call to the Macarthur Historical Society, a visit to the State Library of Victoria for some elusive Byaduk history books, PROV for land records and correspondence with living Harmans. Just all the things I’ve put off for the past twenty years.
Last month, the Trove Tuesday post, “They Say” introduced the Tantanoola Tiger that was causing terror for farmers and their sheep in 1915. I have now found an article from an earlier sighting at Byaduk in 1896. You may remember the Tantanoola Tiger was first sighted in 1884 after a Bengal tiger supposedly escaped from a circus visiting Tantanoola in the South-East of South Australia and set out on a path of destruction through that district and the Western District of Victoria.
Mr Falkenberg of Byaduk was certain he was a victim of the tiger in 1896. Just as the story of the Tantanoola tiger had grown in size, so had the tiger itself. He thought the “tiger was bigger than ever”so big that it was “as big as most horses”.
THE TIGER AGAIN. (1896, February 14). Albury Banner and Wodonga Express (NSW : 1896 – 1939), p. 28. Retrieved August 3, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article99428658
While the mauling of Mr Falkenberg’s sheep was tragic, I do fear the Byaduk correspondent took the event far too seriously in his report about the “tiger-infested country”. Thank goodness for the report from the Kalgoorlie Western Argus, almost a month after Mr Falkenberg’s encounter. That was very much “tongue in cheek” with the last sentence producing a laugh out loud moment for me.
Family historians love a cemetery, but how do you find the cemeteries where your ancestors have been laid to rest? If you are lucky enough to have Western District Families, there are two great sites available to help the search.
I have used this site, created by Ian Marr, for years and it has done much to help me track down my family members. Ian has visited what seems like every cemetery in the Western District, from the big ones such as Warrnambool and Hamilton to little ones in paddocks. He has recorded the details from the headstones and compiled them in an easy to use website. Not only that, Ian describes each cemetery, gives directions, facilities available and contact details.
The site allows searches by surname or cemetery name. If you choose a surname search, click on the relevant letter then scroll the names to find your own. All cemeteries where the name appears are listed beside each surname and you can click through to the cemetery from there.
The 16 largest cemeteries lists are not available online, but Ian has compiled a range of DVDs and USBs of the entire collection or individual cemeteries to buy. These also have photos of headstones from many of the cemeteries. The name search results on the website will still show a surname match for any of those 16 cemeteries.
If you prefer to browse by cemetery, simply click the cemetery name and a list of names will appear. Click on your surname and it will go to all matching surnames at that cemetery.
Some of the headstones have researcher links too, so you could find someone else researching your name. Or add your own contact details on a headstone as I have done for James Harman in the Byaduk Cemetery and William Hadden in the Cavendish Cemetery.
Carol’s Headstones offers photographs from cemeteries from mostly Victoria, but also N.S.W., South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia. The main page lists the available cemeteries. Click on a cemetery and a list of headstones will come up. If you email Carol, she will kindly return a photo of your selected headstone.
I have made use of this fantastic service offered by Carol and received headstone photos of Julia Holmes (nee Harman) from Casterton Cemetery and Amelia Bell (nee Harman) from the Heywood Cemetery.
While there are common cemeteries to Cemeteries of S.W. Victoria, what you can’t find on one you may find with Carol. Also it is possible to see a headstone list for Camperdown and Casterton, for example, that are only available on the DVD/USB version of Cemeteries of S.W. Victoria.
Carol’s Headstones has a War Memorial Index too. Some of the Western District memorials include Branxholme and Hotspur and there plenty of new entries.
Carol has a blog, Carol’s Headstone Photographs so you can keep track of cemeteries or War Memorials as they become available.
What strikes me about both websites is the amount of work Ian and Carole put in to deliver us a fabulous free service. Thank you to both of them.
Western District Families 
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