Who was Pat Morse?

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How do I tell you about my Mum? Mum could be a chameleon. She is a very complex woman.  She was a great sportsperson in her day. She competed in tennis and was a ball girl at the tennis in Melbourne, she was an excellent speed skater, dancer, jitterbug and on ice she rode and she biked and she was a good horsewoman.

Mum grew up primarily with her grandparents and her aunts as her home life  was not happy . Born in 1927 she experienced the effects of the depression  the second world war the Korean conflict and the cold war.

  Her maternal grandparents were primarily Irish with a bit of Danish thrown in. She was third generation born in Australia. Her grandfather was a policeman not an unusual occupation for the Irish.   Pat grew up surrounded by a strong Irish catholic family. People who held strong and forceful opinions.  Archbishop Mannix and Arthur Caldwell were frequent dinner guests and the talk at the table would revolve around horse racing politics and religion. In particular the troubles in Ireland. Grandpa Hardiman used to send money back to Erin to help support the church in its struggles.  Her parents were Fred and Etheldreda Elliman. Nana was known as Dreda.  They married late in life and had a daughter Dorothea Miriam who died at 6 months. My Nana was very ill after the birth and never saw her child and never got over the loss.  Mum was born about 4 years later and was a surprise.

Being Irish Mum was also surrounded by people with quick tempers something she inherited. Her Uncle Frank was a racehorse trainer and a publican and also a SP or off course book maker and Uncle Jock an ANZAC was a trade unionist and a personal friend and companion of John Wren the infamous  Victorian Premier.

Mum was sent to boarding school at Star of the Sea in Melbourne and St Aloysius  and Saint Columba’s. She detested school and would play hooky   to be with her uncle at the track or in the hotel.  Mum had a passion for racing.

Mum would spend her holiday with her Aunt Irene on her property in Mansfield in the Victorian Alps. Pat adored her Uncle Bill who went to the second world war and was MIA for many years, He was massacred at the Battle of Parat Sulong.

  In January 1939 the black Friday bushfires swept through two thirds of the state and 71 people died. Pat was at Mansfield with her aunt and her young cousin. Her aunt was out trying to save the stock, the fire turned back and raced for the homestead. Pat heard the roar of the approaching fire grabbed the thick horse blankets and her young cousin and headed for the dam in the home paddock. Her prompt action saved both their lives. The farm house all the outbuildings and stock were destroyed.  Mum and her cousin Brian had heat burns and inhalation problems but they were alive. It was another 10 hours before the rescuers could reach them and then they were taken by truck to hospital in Melbourne. 

As soon as she was old enough to leave school, she secured a job in the note printing works  of the Royal Mint. Her aunt Lucy was a senior supervisor. That didn’t last long as it was wartime and  due to her quickness and aptitude, she was seconded to the code room at Vic Barracks in St Kilda Road.  She worked there until the end of the war and her boss was Wing Commander Owen Dickson  who later became Sir Owen Dickson the 6^th Chief Justice in Australia.

Once the war was over Mum worked in Retail at Paynes Bon Marche and Myer.  She married Norm when he demobbed in 1947 and I arrived in 1950. The brought a block of land 8 miles out of the city centre and built their home 39 Xavier Street Oak Park  They were the second house in the street and there were no made roads, sewerage, and transport hubs as there are today.  Mum went back to work when I was in high school and she loved her work in the men’s shoe dept at Myer Melbourne. In those days it was not unlike Grace Bros in Are you being served with floor walkers and a strict hierarchy of staff.

Mum had  a very enquiring brain and was always interested in world affairs, politics, and the arts. She had a passion for Melbourne and never really felt at home in Queensland.  She missed the Art Galleries, the theatre, the museum and the restaurant culture, she missed the changing of the seasons but Dad knew that neither of them would be able to tolerate the winters in Melbourne and he loved it there so there they stayed. Mum could quote the kings and queens of England and their linages by heart and she had a great appreciation of Australian art.

Mum and I had a checked  relationship, but I will be forever grateful for the gifts she gave me. A love and appreciation of art music and theatre  She made me stand up and not be frightened of having an opinion We had heated disagreements about many things she stimulated my understanding of the world we live in. She showered me  with books; classics, Billabong series and  poetry. I am a voracious reader thanks to Mum. I love the theatre thanks to Mum. I appreciate opera and ballet music and the fine arts thanks to mum and her passion for these things

Mum was also a great story teller and would build fantasy worlds perhaps this is where my talent for writing stems from.

She loved her grandchildren and her biggest regret was she did not spend as much time with them as she wanted to.  She was very proud of her great grandsons and the same regret that she never really got to know them.  Her beautiful Amanda and David were, after Dad the love of her life.

Thank you for making me the person I am today – you made me the strong person I am I made you a promise to take you home and I will.

Be at peace Mum you have searched so long for that peace.  Requesat in Pace.

ANZAC HEROES PERCY & BERTIE MORSE

This document was complied by  Donna Baldey 2019  www.tunnellers.net  with support and input of Linda Morse and family archive material.   NB  – Although Bertie is referred to as Bertram is birth certificate clearly states his given name was Bertie.  He obviously thought this unsuitable and changed it to Bertram Roy.   He returned TPI and died as a result of injuries sustained during World War 1.

MORSE Brothers – Bertram & Percival Norman

SAPPER BERTRAM MORSE

8214 – 3rd Tunnelling Company

Born Bertie Morse in 1899 at Newstead, Castlemaine, Victoria, he was the son of William Samuel Francis and Lillian Regina (Elizabeth Eugeni nee Menz) Morse.  His father died in 1901.

With his mothers’ consent, Bertram Morse signed the ‘Attestation Paper of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad’ on 12 September 1917 at Castlemaine.

  Photo of Bertie and Lily Morse (possible pre embarkation)

He named as his Next-of-Kin his mother, Mrs Lily Morse of Chapel Street, Campbells Creek, Castlemaine, and stated he had been an apprentice for 4 years with Thompson and Co. at Castlemaine and had previous military experience with the Citizens Forces.

A medical examination on 13 September recorded that he was 18 years and 8 months of age.  He stood 5ft 7ins tall and weighed 126 pounds, had a fair complexion, green eyes and brown hair.  He was of the Church of England faith.  He signed the Oath to ‘well and truly serve’ the same day.

Also on 13 September 1917, the 66th (Mount Alexander) Infantry, Castlemaine, advised the Recruiting Authorities that he had returned all articles of Government Property issued to him.

On 27 September his mother was advised in writing that he had enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force.

His training began with the Recruit Depot, Broadmeadows on 28 September.

On 2 October 1917 Thompson & Co. (Castlemaine) Pty. Ltd, Engineering Works, provided a reference stating that Bertram had been employed as a Fitters’ Apprentice in their Locomotive Shop from 29 June 1914 until 19 September 1917 and during that time had been attentive to his work and showed promise of becoming a good tradesman.

On 15 October he was transferred to the 1st [Depot] Battalion, A.I.F., at Broadmeadows and on 22 October he was transferred to the Engineers at Bendigo with the rank of Sapper.

On 22 November 1917 he was appointed to the June Reinforcements, Tunnelling Companies and embarked on Indarra on 26 November.

130 Reinforcements departed Melbourne, Victoria at noon on November 26, 1917 aboard the SS Indarra.  On November 30 at 10.15 p.m. the ship arrived at Albany, W.A. and departed at 2.10 p.m. on December 1, 1917.  Bertram was admitted to the Ships Hospital on 5 December 1917 with hysteria, but was released the next day.

Colombo, Ceylon was reached by December 13 at 10.30 a.m. and Indarra departed two days later at 8.30 a.m. on December 15.  Christmas Day was specially provided for by the ship and religious services were held on board.  The troops disembarked at Suez at 7 a.m. December 27, 1917.  Amusements such as sports and cricket between various troop decks took place with some competitive teams made up of officers.  Occasionally a religious service was held during the week.  Weather was excellent and warm in the tropics.

The troops were transshipped to HMT Kashgar on January 9, 1918 and arrived at Taranto, Italy on January 20, 1918.  They were entrained at Bordighira, Italy about January 27 arriving at Cherbourg, France on January 31, 1918 where they boarded H.M.T. Mona’s Queen and disembarked at Southampton on February 2, 1918.  The men were entrained to Parkhouse camp and marched into No.3 Details camp the same day for further training for the front.  They had gone from the tropic summer into the Northern winter.

Bertram reported sick on 21 January and was admitted to the 79th General Hospital, Taranto, Italy, on 22 January 1918, not yet diagnosed.  He was released from hospital on 13 February having recovered from measles and proceeded on to England, disembarking at Southampton, England on 21 March.  He marched in to No.3 Camp Details, Parkhouse on 22 March 1918.

He proceeded overseas to France on 26 April 1918 and marched in to the Australian General Base Depot (AGBD), Rouelles, the next day.  He was transferred to the Australian Corps Depot at Caestre on 2 May 1918 and marched out the same day to join the 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company (3ATC), where he was taken on strength on 4 May1918.

Wounded in action on 27 May, he was admitted to the 34th Field Ambulance suffering the effects of shell gas.  He was transferred to the 6th Casualty Clearing Station the same day and then to the 30th Casualty Clearing Station on 29 May.  The same day he was the transferred to the 23rd Casualty Clearing Station.  On 31 May he was discharged to duty and re-joined his unit in the Field on 31 May.

On 10 June Base Records advised his mother that he had been gassed (classed as wounded) and she was provided his address: ‘No. 8214, Sapper B. Morse, 3rd Tunnelling Company, Australian Imperial Force, Abroad’.

On 27 August 1918 he was admitted to the Military Hospital at St Germain with debility.

Bertram enjoyed some leave from France from 9 to 23 February 1919, re-joining his unit in the Field on 25 February.

He left 3ATC on 22 April for return to Australia and marched in to the Base Depot, then out to England on 28 April.  He had been a member of 3ATC from May 1918 until his return to Australia in July 1919.

The Company had been allocated to the First Army and was engaged variously at Laventie-Fauquissart, Givenchy, Loos, Lens, Double Crassiers and Vermelles and other places on the Western Front, their major effort being at Hill 70 where they constructed the extensive Hythe Tunnel system.  The company was also heavily involved in road and bridge construction and the locating and clearing of enemy mines and booby traps.  This continued for the company for some months after the Armistice.

He returned to Australia on board Frankfurt, leaving London on 1 July and disembarking at Melbourne on 20 August.

Discharged from the A.I.F. in Melbourne on 12 September 1919, he was entitled to wear the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.  His medals were not collected and were returned to Depot for storage in May 1923.

The 1919 Electoral Roll records Bertram Morse, labourer, living at Campbell’s Creek, Victoria.

The 1921 Electoral Roll records Bertram Morse, labourer, living at Campbell’s Creek (Bendigo) with Lily Elizabeth Regina Morse performing home duties.  The 1921 Roll also records Harold Ernest Morse, Foundry employee; Otto William Henry Morse, compositor; and Percival Norman Morse, labourer, all living at Chapel Street, Campbell’s Creek.

The 1924/1925 Electoral Rolls record Bertram Morse, labourer, living at Campbell’s Creek with Lily Elizabeth Regina Morse.

In 1925 Bertram married Constance Rosa Taylor.  Constance was born in 1906 at Maldon, Victoria, the daughter of George and Elizabeth Alice (nee Moore) Taylor.

On 16 March 1929 his service and medical records were provided to the Repatriation Commission, Melbourne.

He submitted a Statutory Declaration on 24 May 1930 reporting that he had lost his Returned from Active Service Badge in Melbourne about two years previously.  A duplicate Badge, and his British War Medal and Victory Medal were signed for by Bertram the same day at Base Records, Melbourne.

The 1931 Electoral Rolls record Bertram Morse, fitter, living at Landells Road, Coburg, with Constance Ross Morse performing home duties.  In 1935 the Electoral Roll records Bertram Morse, fitter, living at 36 Birdwood Street, Footscray North with Constance Ross Morse performing home duties.

The 1937 Electoral Rolls record Bertram Morse, fitter, living at 29 Monash Street, Footscray North with Constance Ross Morse performing home duties.   Bertram Morse died on 20 March 1940 aged 41 years.  He was buried at Footscray General Cemetery, Victoria.

Constance and their only daughter, June Eileen Morse, continued living at 29 Monash Street well into the 1980s.  Constance Rosa Morse died in Footscray in 1994.

June Morse never married, worked mainly as a sales assistant, and appears to have lived with her mother for most of her adult life.  She died in 2017.

PRIVATE PERCIVAL NORMAN MORSE

2847 – 24th Battalion / 2nd Tunnelling Company / 1st Pioneer Battalion

Percival Norman Morse was born on August 6, 1896, in Maryborough, Victoria, the son of William and Lily (nee Menz) Morse.  He attended Campbell’s Creek Primary School.

He enlisted in the A.I.F. on 13 July 1915, signing the Oath on that day at Melbourne.  A medical examination the same day recorded that he was 19 years and 1 month of age.  He stood 5ft 9¾ins tall and weighed 11 stone.  He had a fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair and was of the Church of England faith.

A Labourer by occupation, he had served 2 years of an apprenticeship as a Baker.   He named as his Next-of-Kin his mother, Mrs. Lily Morse of Campbell’s Creek, Castlemaine and allotted three-fifths of his pay to his widowed mother, who had given her written consent for his enlistment on 8 July 1915.

Training began on 28 July with the Depot Battalion until 13 October when he was transferred to the 24th Battalion Reinforcements.

On 14 October 1915 he was appointed to the 6th Reinforcements, 24th Infantry Battalion at Broadmeadows, Victoria and embarked from Melbourne on 27 October on board HMAT A38 Ulysses.

From the 6th Training Battalion at Zeitoun, Egypt, he proceeded to join the 7th Battalion direct from Training Camp and was taken on strength on 24 February 1916.

He was transferred to the 1st Pioneer Battalion on 13 March 1916 and embarked at Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, disembarking at Marseilles, France, on 2 April.

Transferred to the Australian Mining Corps on 3 July 1916 Percival was taken on strength of the 2nd Australian Tunnelling Company (2ATC) as permanently attached supernumerary to establishment and was taken on strength the same day.

In July 1916 2ATC, being allotted to the 2nd Anzac Corps, 4th Australian Division, were working in the Armentieres Sector engaged in offensive mining at Cordonniere and Spion Kop.  Work at Cordonniere was stopped 9 p.m. 15 July.  This was followed by an enemy bombardment and raid, during which the unfinished gallery No. 9 shaft collapsed for 40ft and No. 6 shaft level was demolished.

All men were withdrawn at 8 am on 16 July.  Blew 1200lbs ammonal at 6 hours on 19 July in Company’s No. 1 & 2 shaft workings.  All men were again withdrawn at 9 a.m. 19 July before our own bombardment at 11 a.m.  2ATC supported the 5th Australian Division in the attack on the German trenches between Sugar Loaf and the Farm Delangre.

[See Official History of WW1 – 19th July, 1916 – BATTLE OF FROMELLES]

On 30 September he was transferred to the 1st Australian Divisional Pioneer Battalion and was taken on strength of that Unit.

He reported sick on 5 May 1917 and was diagnosed at the 33rd Field Ambulance with PUO (pyrexia of unknown origin) and transferred to No.3 Casualty Clearing Station.  He was transferred to Ambulance Train No.31 and transported to No.5 General Hospital at Rouen where he was admitted on 6 May.

On 30 May he was transferred to No.2 Convalescent Depot and then on to No.11 Convalescent Depot the same day.  On 21 August he was discharged to the 1st Australian Divisional Base Depot (ADBD) at Havre.

He proceeded to re-join his unit in the Field 13 October, arriving there on 16 October.

 

Percival proceeded on leave to England on 3 January 1918, re-joining his Battalion on 19 January.

On 10 November 1918 he was again on leave to England, re-joining his Battalion in the Field on 30 November.

He marched out of his unit on 19 January 1919 for return to Australia and marched in to the Australian General Base Depot, marching out to England on 24 January and in to the Overseas Training Brigade the same day.

Percival returned to Australia on City of Poona, leaving England on 28 March 1919 and disembarking at Melbourne on 14 May.  Discharged from the A.I.F. on 3 August 1919 he was entitled to wear the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

The 1919 Electoral Rolls record Percival Norman Morse, labourer living at Campbell’s Creek.

He received his 1914/15 Star by Registered Post on 24 November 1920.

Percival Norman Morse married Dorothea Isobel Bennett on 22 October 1923.  Percival was a Dyer at the time and Dorothea a Weaver.  Born at Campbell’s Creek in 1902, she was the daughter of Henry Bennett, Block Manager, and Nellie Batts.

In February 1924 his Victory Medal was sent to him at 9 O’Heas Street, Coburg, by Registered Post.

A daughter, Jean Lillian, was born in 1924.  A son, Norman Henry, was born in 1925, and a second son, Neil William, in 1930.

In May 1930 his medical and service records were provided to the Repatriation Commission, Melbourne.

The 1937-1968 Electoral Rolls record Percival Norman Morse, labourer, living at Birdwood & Prince Streets, Footscray North, with Dorothea Isabel Morse performing home duties.

In April 1954 A.K. Barlow wrote from 33 Vida Street, Essendon to Central Army Records Office on behalf of his father-in-law, Percival Norman Morse, 2847, 24th Battalion,  seeking a replacement of one of his 1914-1918 War Medals, a round silver medal – possibly the Victory Medal, which had been lost some years back.

The Electoral Rolls for 1972 through 1980 record Percival, labourer, living at 36 Birdwood Street, Footscray, with Dorothea performing home duties.

‘Ken Barlow’s death in 1976 was quickly followed by concern for her ageing parents who came to live with Jean and Steven in 1980. It was a happy time: she had acquired the daughter-in-law she had always longed for and she loved Bronwyn very dearly. She loved her two grandchildren, Chris and Elizabeth, and took pride in their achievements right up until her death. She exhibited the same devotion to their health and welfare as she had to her own children, to her parents and to her husband. Her parents both lived to 91, in part perhaps because of the love and care Jean expended.’                                   Morse Family Tree – Ancestry

Percival Norman Morse died at the Western General Hospital on 28 January 1988 aged 91 years.  A Death Notice appeared in The Age, (Melbourne) on 4 February.  His ashes were scattered over his parents grave Campbells Creek Cemetery now Castlemaine General Cemetery, Campbells Creek, Victoria.

Dorothea Isobel Morse died in 1993, also aged 91 years, her ashes scattered  with Percival.

They are commemorated on the grave of William & Lily Morse.

 © Donna Baldey 2019

http://www.tunnellers.net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today I Met A Man Who Wasn’t There

justmecreativewriter

Um excuse me.

Good morning how can I help you?

I need help.

Silence.

I have walked all day and night; I don’t know how long I have walked.

Silence.

I have walked from East Gippsland.

How?

Through the bush …fire…everything gone. Could I have a glass of water please?

The voice is soft, almost a whisper. A quietness surrounds him. I did not hear the door open. It is as if he had simply appeared in front of my desk in the reception area.

I look at the man standing before me.  A well-built man of indeterminate age, 60 plus, physically strong, thick grisly white hair and a beard, reeking of smoke. Green open necked linen shirt smoke soiled, trousers tucked into what look like fireman’s boots and a small leather pouch over his shoulder.  Shoulders stooped, eyes lowered and head bowed, he stands silent, still, before me.  He…

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The Very Special Cake

This cake has a story to tell.  When my mother’s parents Fredrick Ernest Elliman and  Etheldreda Hardiman married in the 1920s, their wedding cake was made by Mr Otto Plarre (founder) of Plaree’s Bakery. The shop was in Puckle Street Moonee Ponds.

The shop is still there today.  My mother’s  Wedding cake 1947, was made in the same shop as was her 21st birthday cake in 1951. My first birthday, 18th 21st and wedding cakes x 2 were all made  and purchased from the Puckle Street Shop.  Mum’s wedding  reception was celebrated at Edenhope, Maribyrnong Road  Ascot Vale on the 18th January 1947.

Memories abound of caraway seed cakes, proper vanilla slices, no pink icing or passionfruit, fresh cream-puffs and chocolate eclairs oozing with luscious fresh cream and melt in the mouth chocolate.  My son and daughter’s 18th and 21st birthday cakes were also made there, Such a long family association of almost 100 years with this company . My 70th birthday is fast approaching and another Plarres cake is on the horizon.

But Mum and Dad’s cake was something special. They were living in Maroochydore by then and the cake was packed and flew up with me the day before  –  to keep the tradition alive. On the 18th January 1987, fifty years on ,  at Stewarts Hotel, Aerodrome Road Maroochydore another Plarre cake took pride of place on the Bride and Groom’s table.  Mum would have no other cake than a Plarre cake for her anniversary  and neither would any of us.

I wonder what Mr Otto would think if he were alive today.?

Do Papers Maketh The Man ?

Currently I am in the process of scanning some of my father’s documents. Humans are a strange bunch of contradictions like an untidy, unwieldy parcel tied up in brown paper and string.  One thing to one person and something completely different to another.
I feel quite uncomfortable at times as if I am pulling back a curtain and looking at something intensely private, something not meant for my prying eyes.  But then what do we do with the flotsam and jetsam we collect throughout our lifetime.

Do I put in the rubbish, burn it, rip it up so no one will ever see the words on the page? Or do I conserve it and share with my children so that we may all understand better the man we called Dad and Pa.

I have taken the plunge and scanned some items and I will share them here so the grandchildren and great grandchildren can see them.

These are from Dads school days.  He attended Rosamund Road Primary School in Footscray and then Footscray Technical School pre and post war – we will start with the Tech School;

This is the information booklet. Dad was studying Electrical Engineering before  signing up join the RAAF as a Radar Operator.  He wanted to be a pilot but he did not have the fine  motor skills required.

His handwriting  is visible in pencil at the bottom of the right hand page.  He was working out what courses he had completed and what lay ahead.

Dad married in 1947 post war and went back  to Tech and completed his Diploma.  He acquired a government funded traineeship and went to work at Department of Defence in Maribyrnong and when he retired in the mid 1980s he was General Manager Defence.  He was a member of the Australian Society of Mechanical and Electrical Engineers and also  The Association of Professional Engineers Australia.

There was another side to my dad a softer, loving man who adored the woman he married right up to the time when he sometimes forgot who she was.   He wrote this poem for her early in their time together. Two things never changed with Dad his writing and his love for Mum. I can read the words and hear his voice;  the poem is called PATRICIA.

He was a kind , loving gentle man- he is missed everyday by those who love him and the world is now a different place without his physical presence.  Norm Norse 1925-2015

 

 

 

 

A Letter to Bonnie

What is it that drives us to connect with those who have passed long before we were born?

This is a case in point. The last couple of days have been chasing around – up and down rabbit holes  trying to find new information where once there were roadblocks.  This morning Ancestry showed the inevitable number of leaf symbols on names indicating links to other information around your family history.  Most  of the time these are not helpful as so many people cut and paste from other trees without due diligence and like a chinese whisper they contain a mere scintilla of truth.  Dorothy  or Dorothea Miriam Elliman  is one such relative on my family tree.  She was also known nas Bonnie according to the memorial notice.

A diminutive entry, she was my mother’s  elder sister who died five years before my mum was born.  This month on the 2nd of December was the 98th Anniversary of her death. My mother was an only child and so am I – so why was there a cluster of  leaves against her name? There are times when I become overly protective of the leaves on my family tree and wonder why a particular person would be of any interest to any one  except to me.

My mother told me a story, that in itself is a statement.  Mum used to elaborate on the truth. I never knew what was fact and what was fantasy.  She spun quite a story about Dorothea, according to mum and mostly in her words;

One day in the early 1980s there was a knock on the front door.  The door was opened to reveal a well turned man and a woman with official papers.  How did mum know they had official papers? sorry I digress.  The couple showed mum their identification and paperwork, they were from the Federal Police. First mum thought something had happened to my father, he worked for Department of Defence (DOD)   but no  they asked her if she knew a Dorothy Elliman and provided a date of birth. Now this is where I begin to wonder about the veracity of the story.  I have searched for years for Dorothea’s birth records and have come to the conclusion that her birth was not registered, due to the circumstances at the time.  Oops sorry there I go again.  Mum replied she did know the name and it was her sister’s name. She was then asked about her sisters whereabouts or how she could be contacted.  Mum dutifully replied, her sister had died before she was born some five years later.  She added she could tell them where she was buried, in Fawkner Cemetery. Mum was then advised that a passport had been issued in Dorothy’s name and there was reason to suspect criminal activity.  The couple thanked Mum for her time and apologised if they had caused and distress and the poof they disappeared never to be heard from again.

Well you have to admit it isn’t a bad yarn – but is it true?  Back to my original point, why is someone in New Zealand interested in Dorothea?  Good question.  I have penned a message through Ancestry and will wait for a reply. I have searched her files no connection  and either she has not done a DNA test or we are not related as there is no DNA match.   In the  meantime I decided to try once more for a birth notice or registration.  No birth data – I am conceding due to the circumstances, her birth  was not registered as she was 17 weeks old when she died.

A search of Trove, however  gave up a notice of death in 1922 and some memorial notices in 1923

The address provided in the notice of 1922 is 129 Leveson street North Melbourne. My great grandparents home.  Family Notices (1922, December 23). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 – 1954), p. 1. Retrieved December 28, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205052775

Family Notices (1923, December 22). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 – 1954), p. 5. Retrieved December 28, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206246044

A search of the Victorian BDM was equally frustrating as for some reason it was really picky about information entered.  The search facility is nowhere near as robust as it was prior to the upgrade earlier this year.   The following is  a copy of Dorothea’s death certificate showing death as a result of toxicosis and infectious colitis.  She died in the children’s hospital in Melbourne and if the family stories are true her mother, my grandmother, never saw her or held her, as she was in a coma for months after the birth with childbed fever.

Childbed or Puerperal fever: Fever due to an infection after childbirth, usually of the placental site within the uterus. If the infection involves the bloodstream, it constitutes puerperal sepsis.  We know now that Puerperal Fever is caused by a bacterial infection and this could have been passed on to the baby unwittingly causing her premature death.

A sad but not uncommon story.  We will never know the answers to so many questions that impacted on my mother as she always felt second best to Dorothea  and unwanted. Perhaps my grandmother was so damaged by the birth, her illness and death of her child that something inside her  prevented her from being a loving mother. Perhaps it was a fear that if she loved this child she would lose her as well.  All suppositions and we will never know the answers  – but at least Dorothea Miriam Elliman is not forgotten and her memory lives on.   Good night Bonnie …..

VINCENT JAMES HARDIMAN – A lost soul

Another gem from the archives. Not getting a great deal of scanning done as each item sends me off down another rabbit hole. This certificate was my grand uncles. he died at an early age born 1893/29921 died 1940/12058.  There is a family whisper  he committed suicide. However this would have been catastrophic for the family as they were devout practising catholics  and would mean he would have been buried in consecrated soil.  His father although elderly was an ex policeman and also a well respected member of the Catholic Community in Victoria. An assumption could be that pressure was applied   not to have the words suicide or death by own hand on the death certificate.

This one is a doozy the certificate is clearly dated 1908, therefore he would have been 15 when this was awarded, and 47 when he died.

He was in care when he died. My mother loved her uncle dearly, and was very protective of his memory. She was born in 1927 and she always claimed he died of a brain explosion? aneurysm. But not so, his inquest documents show he died from undernourishment and pneumonia – probably as a result of his inability, his family’s or the systems inability to care for someone who could not cope with mainstream life. Apparently he was fluent in French, German, Mandarin and Japanese

A little more digging on Trove unearthed further information;

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY. (1918, November 7). Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (National : 1901 – 1973), p. 2128. Retrieved December 27, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article232462782

Victoria.
Extension of Probation.—Freida Murray Buckingham, Female Sorter, General Division, for six months from 1st June, 1918. (400.)
Grant of Sick Leave.—Vincent James Hardiman, Clerk,  Class V., Clerical Division, from 1st August, 1918, to 10th September, 1918, without pay; Elizabeth Evelyn Hueston, Assis
tant, General Division, from 14th May, 1918, to 13th June, 1918, on half pay, from 14th June, 1918, to 30th June, 1918, on third pay, and from 1st July, 1918, to 16th July, 1918, on half pay. (This notification cancels that relating to grant of sick leave to Elizabeth Evelyn Hueston appearing on page 1707 of Gazette of 15th August, 1918.) (399.)
W. A. WATT, Treasurer.

AND

MILITARY FORCES OF THE COMMONWEALTH. (1911, July 8). Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (National : 1901 – 1973), p. 1657. Retrieved December 27, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article232513992 

Vincent James Hardiman is listed as a Senior Cadet to be made up provisionally to Lieutenant on 1 July 1911

A Methodist Missionary?

This document belonged to my paternal grandmother Dorothea Isobel Bennett – Morse.

She was born on 15th July 1902 and died 01 December 1983.  She was the only daughter of Nellie Batts and Henry Bennett.  There were four brothers  Thomas Henry Phillip aka Nunk 1903-1979), Roger Keith 1906-1944, and the twins  William James born & died 1914 and Jack Webster .  She was 12 when the twins were born.   

Born at Jim Crow Creek in the Hepburn Campbells Creek area she lived in the area until moving with her family to Mildura where her father worked as a labourer and then blockmanager.  Henry  lived the remainder of his life in Mildura, however Dorothea  or Dorothy as she became known returned to Campbells Creek where she met and married her husband Percy Morse.

She was a remarkable,kind and gentle woman of strong convictions. I never heard her swear or raise her voice or say anything bad about anyone.  When pressed about someone she did not like she would smile and say nothing.  I never remember her attending church except for  the usual baptisms, weddings and funerals.  Her beliefs were transferred to her children. My Aunt Jean her eldest child  was a compassionate and kind woman like her mother and embraced the Anglican faith.  My father Norman was raised Methodist, he rarely spoke about religion and would say he was a agnostic.  My Uncle Neil well he was the baby and very different. Loverable, a charmer, a rouge and at times a conman; and although he caused my Nan a heap of tears I think she always had a soft spot for her baby boy.  I don’t remember her ever having a drink even a shandy and she was a wonderful cook and the best ever grandmother any one could ask for.  She never espoused her religion to any one although I grew up knowing she was what was called in those days a Primitive Methodist, she was private about her faith.

THE HISTORY OF THE PRIMITIVE METHODISTS

The 19th century working class movement known as Primitive Methodism, originated in the Potteries, where an open air ‘camp’ meeting was held at Mow Cop in 1807, igniting a passion for the love of God which quickly spread across the Midlands. By the end of the century there were over 200,000 members.

Industrial revolution

In the context of the growing democratisation and sense of dislocation caused by the Industrial Revolution, it appealed primarily to miners and mill hands, farm labourers, and workers in developing factory towns. In rural areas, Primitive Methodists often came into conflict with the Squire and Anglican clergy, who saw them as a threat to the established order.

A people’s movement

Hugh Bourne and William Clowes are credited as the founders, but it was a people’s movement, with a network of local societies and travelling preachers.  Some were great characters, such as Eleazor Hathorn, a one legged veteran of the Napoleonic wars, and John Oxtoby, known as ‘Praying Johnny’.  Women had an important role, like Sarah Kirkland, who at the age of 21 went to Nottingham, and preached to a huge crowd in a disused factory in Broad Marsh.

Self worth

Primitive Methodism gave people a sense of self-worth and a desire for self-improvement. Chapels provided education and an opportunity to develop skills in public speaking and leadership. It also provided an alternative way of life, based on moral values, which helped raise families out of poverty.

Social justice

The conviction that God’s love was for all, led to a concern for social justice, and many Primitive Methodists became involved in politics, as trade unionist leaders, Chartists, and later as Labour MPs. George Edwards, who championed the cause of farm labourers in Norfolk, is typical of the early trade union leaders who developed their passion and leadership skills through the Primitive Methodist Chapels.  Started his working life at the age of six, he was illiterate until he found faith and embarked on a journey of self-education, as he recounts in From Crow Scaring to Parliament.

Persecution

Thomas Russell, known as ‘the Apostle of Berkshire’, was even imprisoned for his faith.  Sent to Berkshire in 1829, he faced violent opposition, and burst a blood vessel preaching in the open air, trying to be heard above the noise. People were afraid to invite him to hold services in their homes because they faced threats of loss of work and eviction. His perseverance eventually paid off, and Berkshire became one of the strongholds of Primitive Methodism.

What’s in a name?

Also known as ‘Ranters’, for their enthusiastic preaching, ‘Primitive’ Methodists were so called because they wanted a return to an earlier, purer form of Methodism, as founded by John Wesley, based on the early church. In 1932 Primitive Methodists joined with Wesleyan and United Methodists to form the Methodist Church, which continues to promote faith and justice in contemporary society.  https://www.myprimitivemethodists.org.uk/content/subjects-2/primitive-methodist-history/what-is-primitive-methodism

The Bridge at Parit Sulong 1942

This is an article reproduced  from the West Australian  22/01/2012

My grand uncle William Campbell was one of the men massacred at Parit Sulong.  He left a widow at home in Australia  who never came to terms with the manner of his death and a young boy who grew up not knowing his father.  They did not know the full details,  and the information was sealed under the secrecy act.  Was there an active coverup?

pub 2004

This January 2020, will be the 78th Anniversary   Rest in Peace Uncle Bill .

Drains reveal war massacre secret

ROD MORAN The West Australian

Sunday, 22 January 2012 4:24PM

 

Today marks the 70th anniversary of a massacre of Australian prisoners at the Malayan village of Parit Sulong during World War II.

It is an atrocity that was lost to public consciousness for many decades. The publication in 2005 of The Bridge at Parit Sulong: An Investigation of Mass Murder, based on research by Sydney historian Lynette Silver, retrieved it from the mists of history.

Not only were the appalling events brought to public awareness again, but Silver also solved an enduring mystery underlying the atrocity.

Although Japanese general Nishimura Takuma, who ordered the killings, was hanged for war crimes – one of only two survivors of the massacre, Lt Ben Hackney, supplied a deposition against him – no traces of the victims’ remains were found.

Troops of the Australian Imperial Forces captured at Parit Sulong on January 22, 1942, were involved in the fierce battle around the town of Muar.

It was part of a desperate fighting retreat by Allied forces during the Malayan campaign.

Though depleted and greatly outnumbered by 10,000 Japanese Imperial Guards, the Allied forces – of about 4000 Australians, with a small Indian Army group – inflicted heavy casualties on them. However, pushed back to the hamlet of Parit Sulong, the Australians were surrounded.

No relief would be forthcoming. Refusing to surrender, Lt-Col Charles Anderson, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his role in the fighting, gave the order – every man for himself.

It was hoped at least some of the troops would make it through the jungle swamps back to Allied lines. But 110 badly wounded Australians and 35 Indian soldiers had to be left behind in trucks at the bridge.

It was expected they would receive Red Cross protection.

Instead, the Japanese forced them out of the vehicles, tied them together, bayoneted and machine-gunned them. Petrol was poured over the dead and dying men and they were set on fire.

“Post-war, not a single trace of any of these victims was found,” Silver said.

“As the Japanese claimed they had been cremated, no further investigation in regard to the remains was undertaken.”

Knowing it was impossible to cremate the bodies to ash, Silver was puzzled by the contradictory stories she encountered about the fate of the remains as she researched the history of the battle.

In addition to the cremation story, there was testimony that charred bodies were disposed of in a mass grave. Others said the victims were thrown in the river.

To complicate matters, survivor Lt Hackney saw no sign at all of the battle or massacre when he passed through the village after recapture.

Then, in 2003, in an upgrading of the Parit Sulong bridge, human bones were found.

Later, an Australian-Malaysian archaeological examination of the site was done through the Department of Defence’s Unrecovered War Casualties Unit.

However, this only deepened the mystery. Despite three weeks of sifting tonnes of dirt, no trace of the massacre was found.

“Indeed, the most remarkable feature of the excavation was there was nothing to indicate the area had been subjected to fierce fighting, or that large numbers of Allied troops and civilians had been killed there,” Silver said.

“Malaysian archaeologist Dr Stephen Chia remarked that he had never excavated a site with such potential that had yielded not a single archaeological find of any significance.”

Silver finally solved the puzzle. The drains (or parits) in the area emptied at low tide. They made a perfect mass grave.

She was able to pinpoint that the “burial” had taken place on January 23. The bodies would have later washed out on the evening high tide.

“Any residual remains would soon be flushed by the monsoonal rain, which resulted in massive floods about two weeks later,” she said.