Sepia Saturday: Melbourne tram

Melbourne tram, a photo by boobook48 on Flickr.

Several times a month I volunteer at the Genealogical Society of Victoria's library. To get there I travel on a tram in Collins St, Melbourne and I really enjoy it. I love people-watching and it's a relaxing way to travel. Tourists love the Melbourne trams - I often see them standing with cameras at the ready. 

I took this photo several years ago, played around with colour and focus,  and uploaded it to my Flickr online albums. Now I'm adding it here for Sepia Saturday's last theme for the year. Unfortunately Santa is not on this tram and I don't have any old sepia Christmas photos so this is it.

Happy Christmas everyone.

Sister Yeaman

More Than Bombs and Bandages: Australian Army Nurses at Work in World War I , Kirsty Harris - Google Books

I accidentally  found Edith when I was looking in Australian Archives for World War 1 service records of relatives. In my mind I was looking for soldiers, all male, but then up popped a female. So of course I had to have a look at her file and I've sincebeen to the library and borrowed the book More Than Bombs and Bandages: Australian Army Nurses at Work in World War I  by Kirsty Harris. (I also found sections of that book on Google Books and that's where the picture above came from.) Edith is a relative but somewhat distant (first cousin of my father-in-law's grandmother!) so her close family might be surprised to find her here but, as far as I know, she's my only female relative who went off to war as a nurse.

Edith Wilson Yeaman, at the age of 30, enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in Victoria in May 1915, about three weeks after the landing at Gallipoli. She was a nurse at Melbourne Hospital and was also a member of the Australian Army Nursing Service, a reserve that was established in 1900. In the AANS Edith would have attended lectures, done first aid, paraded and attended field camps. But it didn't actually prepare the nurses for the harsh conditions in a field hospital. The organisation and the nurses themselves were thrown in the deep end and they had to learn 'on the job' how to cope with trench foot, frostbite, shell shock, mustard gas, dysentery, gangrene, surgical nursing and shrapnel wounds. As well as nursing in tents, an extreme lack of supplies of food and equipment. And hospitals run according to strict military routines (when to get up, when to shave, when to bathe). It seems madness to insist that patients who were able had to stand to attention at the foot of their beds when the Medical Officer did his rounds each day! Nurses also had to escort convalescents to Egypt, England or Australia, they wrote letters home for ill soldiers, they became adept at scrounging supplies and extras for 'their boys'.

Edith was appointed to 3 A.G.H. (3rd Australian General Hospital), left Melbourne on the Mooltan and arrived in Egypt. A year later her file records her as returning from a period of recuperation in a British convalescent home for sick nurses at Bulkeley, just outside Alexandria.    This quote is from a website about the 3 AGH <http://throughtheselines.com.au/research/3-AGH>

The unit arrived in England on 27 June 1915, expecting to be posted to France. However, on 1 July, the commanding officer was informed that they would instead be deployed to Mudros, on the Greek island of Lemnos, where they would nurse the sick and injured troops fighting in the Gallipoli campaign. Lemnos was only 50 miles from the fighting, whereas the hospitals in Egypt were over 650 miles away, a journey of 1½ days.
When 3 A.G.H. first started admitting patients, the majority were wounded men from the August offensive, and it was these patients the hospital had been set up for, with operating theatres and surgeons on the staff. In later months, nearly all the patients were ill with either dysentery or paratyphoid. The staff of the hospital also fell ill, though the nurses suffered less, probably by practising better hygiene. in late November and December, the casualties changed again – troops were caught in freezing weather on the Peninsula without adequate clothing, and many were admitted to the hospitals on Lemnos suffering from severe frostbite.
The last Australians were evacuated from Gallipoli on the night of 19/20 December, and many spent Christmas on Lemnos while waiting for further orders. The whole evacuation of allied troops took three weeks. In spite of earlier predictions that up to half the remaining forces could be killed, the evacuations were so well planned that there were minimal casualties, which was a relief to the hospital staff who had been prepared for casualties. With the end of the Gallipoli campaign, the hospitals on Lemnos were disbanded. The nurses boarded the hospital ship Oxfordshire on 14 January, and sailed out of the harbour at Mudros on 17 January, bound for Egypt.
We have just seen the last of Lemnos. Of course we are glad, yet there are many things we will miss; the unconventional freedom and the unique experiences we had there… Goodbye Lemnos. We take away many happy memories of you. I would not have liked to miss you, yet I have no desire to see you again. —Sister Anne Donnell
3 A.G.H. was re-established at Abbassia in Egypt in early 1916 in an old harem, where it operated for approximately eight months. The staff then operated the Kitchener War Hospital at Brighton, England from October 1916 before moving to Abbeville, France, from May 1917.

Staff, No 3 AGH Christmas Day, Lemnos
http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:1090

Nurse Yeaman worked at hospitals in France and England in 1917 and 1918, was promoted to Sister in July 1917 and was herself admitted to hospital several times extremely ill with severe bronchitis and influenza in the winter of 1917/1918. In March 1919 she embarked at Portsmouth, England as one of the nursing staff on the ship Czaritza returning to Australia with a full quota of injured soldiers. At Port Said they transferred to another ship, the Dunluce Castle. 

Papers Past, New Zealand 

One of the passengers wrote about the voyage: 

Beneath Hill 60, Will Davies                 Source: Google Books

Edith disembarked at Melbourne 15 May 1919, almost four years after she left. She never married and continued to work in hospitals in Melbourne and Sydney. Like many of her fellow nurses Edith's brothers also enlisted in the AIF and served in France. Pte Wilfred Charles Yeaman left Victoria several months after Edith and also returned in 1919, Pte Lindsay Frederick left Australia in 1915, was injured four times in action and returned to Australia in 1919.

Edith Wilson YEAMAN, daughter of William Bunyan YEAMAN and Harriet Mary Ann WILSON, was born in 1884 in Elmore, Victoria, Australia. She died in 1963 in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. 

Trove Tuesday: In which Jane is lost in the bush

Getting lost in the Australian bush is easy to do, especially if you're only three. Finding someone who's lost in the bush is really hard.

Jane Perryman was lost in bush near her parent's farm at Woolshed Flat near Korong Vale north of Wedderburn. It's a goldmining area so there would have been mine shafts and other hazards and luckily it was spring not summer. Jane was found and lived until she was 85.

Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser, 18 Sep 1873, p1

Wychitella Nature Reserve, Korong. Photo: K Stockwell

This article was found using Trove. It amazes me that the Maitland and Hunter River areas are in New South Wales, hundreds of miles from Wedderburn, but the incident was reported as newsworthy. And I'm glad it was because the Inglewood Advertiser hasn't been digitised as yet and it doesn't appear to have been reported in the Bendigo paper.

Jane PERRYMAN, daughter of Zechariah PERRYMAN and Margaret KERR was born in 1870 in Korong Vale, Victoria, Australia. She died in 1955 in Swan, Western Australia, Australia (Registered as MILLAR on online index.). She married John MILES in 1904 in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. 

William Cook: memorial card

In my last post there was an image of an embroidered post card sent from France by a soldier in WW1. This is also an embroidered card, but this time it's a memorial card for an ancestor of mine*.



Memorial card, William Cook, 1878

Many of the cards like this one hold clues for further family history research, some have photos of the person who has died. Many are black with gold lettering but this one is a cream fabric, probably silk. I imagine they were available 'off the shelf' with the printing added as required. Were they handed out at the funeral or posted as a 'thankyou' card? I don't know.

And, just to show that our family were copycats, here's a very similar card produced a generation earlier (or on an anniversary of Prince Albert's death).





Memorial card, Prince Albert, 1861 (source unknown)

*William Cook was a farmer at Dunmunkle, Victoria. He was born in Plumstead near London, married twice and left a widow and a large family.

Sepia Saturday: Kisses from France

Hmmm. What to do. I couldn't find a single old photo in my albums to write about for this week's Sepia Saturday theme of 'kiss'.

So I decided to write about a different sort of kiss.

Grandfather Roy was one of the thousands of Aussie young men who volunteered to serve his country in World War 1 and was sent to France. He wrote to his Annie every week when he could (and married her when he returned). She kept every letter and now I have them. Every letter is signed the same way. "With fondest love from ever your own Roy XXXXXXXXXXXXX"

Postcards were enormously popular during World War 1. We have a few in our treasure box but I found this beautiful card in the State library of Victoria.

Embroidered post card sent from France, 1914-1918.
State Library of Victoria, http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/16590

Trove Tuesday: In which a bushfire engulfs Zachary's farm

Zachary Perryman went to the Wedderburn area during the goldrush of the 1850s and ended up staying and buying land. There are still descendants in the area.

A little snippet of information about Zachary came from a newspaper search at Trove. In an extreme heatwave in January 1875 a number of bushfires raged throughout central Victoria and the town of Wedderburn was surrounded on all sides. Zachary's land was north of the town and a newspaper report details how he and his neighbours lost everything on their farms. (Note: The report names Zachary as William in error.)

Bacchus Marsh Express, 30 January 1875

Bendigo Advertiser 23 January 1875



Snip from Borung Parish map shows the neighbouring farmers mentioned in the newspaper article (above).

In the following months there was a Relief Fund set up so that people could donate money to distribute to the victims of the fires. Zachary Perryman must have applied, following the instructions listed in the newspaper article below, and then in October the successful applicants were listed in the newspaper. Zachary received five pounds which would have been much less than the value of what he'd lost I'm sure but appreciated all the same.

The Argus 15 September 1875

BUSH FIRES RELIEF FUND.

In compliance with the terms of the notice given in our columns, we have received applications for assistance from the above mentioned fund from 25 persons, whose claims amount in the aggregate to £2,267.

As the sum at our disposal only amounts to £75 6s. 6d., we have considered it inadvisable to make a pro rata division of the money, and have selected for relief those cases which appear to us to be the most deserving.
The following are the cases selected and the amounts awarded.
Mary Bull, Linton £10 0 0
Edmond Faress, Newington £5 0 0
Rosanna Burns, Huntly  £5 0 0
Charles Dunn, East Trentham, Blackwood £10 0 0
Thomas Freeman, Durdidwarrah, near Geelong  £5 0 0
William Purcell, Anakie £5 0 0
Thomas Finner, Cargarie £ 10 0 0
Zachariah Perryman, Wedderburn £5 0 0
Mary Moloney, Moranding, Kilmore £5 0 0
George Robinson, Boccoflat, near Wedderburn £ 10 0 0
Ellen Walsh, Smythesdale £5 6 6

 £75 6 6

Subscription withdrawn at request of donor £2 0 0
Total amount of fund £77 6 6

The persons to whom sums have been awarded are requested to communicate with the general manager, Argus office, Melbourne, without delay, stating how the amounts due to whom can be most conveniently transmitted.

                                                                            The Argus Saturday 16 October 1875

Zachary PERRYMAN, son of Henry PERRYMAN and Elizabeth CLAYTON was born on 23 May 1824 in Dorney, Buckinghamshire, England. He died on 07 Jul 1888 in Korong Vale, Victoria, Australia. He married Ellen STOCK, daughter of John STOCK on 07 Jan 1849 in Southwark, England. She was born in 1823 in England. She died after Jun 1854 (Adelaide or Melbourne, Australia). He married Margaret KERR, daughter of William KERR and Mary PORTER on 01 Feb 1869 (Sandhurst, Victoria, Australia). Margaret was born in 1835 in Pontspass, ARM, Ireland. She died in May 1907 in Bellevue, Western Australia, Australia.

Sepia Saturday: Installing the new boiler

Keith and Neil Phelan, brothers, returned from serving in the Pacific in WW2 and were at a bit of a loss for a while as to what to do next. It turned out all right in the end but one of their business ventures, in 1952, was to take over a company that had been owned by other family members. It was a cordial factory, Euroa Cordials. They closed it down after a year or two because it wasn't profitable.

Here are Neil (left) and Keith (right) watching cheerfully while their father's first cousin, Ford McKernan (also a returned serviceman), does all the hard work! They're installing a new boiler.

You can.see more blogs on the Sepia Saturday theme here

The house in Little James Street

Just when you think you know it all something else pops out of the woodwork.

In 1850 William Chaundy was living in Victoria, Australia. (He had been jailed in Oxford, sentenced to transportation and arrived in Geelong in February 1849 -- but that's another story.) His wife, Rachel, and six children were living in Oxford, England and were a drain on the resources of their parish so when she applied to the Poor Law Commissioners to join her husband they agreed. The whole family arrived in Melbourne late in 1850.

The Electoral Roll of 1856 records that William had a house and land in Little James St, Richmond and working as a porter. He was still living there when he died in 1863. Rachel died there three years earlier.



Richmond Rate Book, 1862.
It describes the house as made of wood with two rooms.

Probate on William Chaundy's will in 1863 describes the property as having a frontage of twenty feet, 

a depth of eighty four feet and a three-roomed house in a bad state of repair. It was valued at 90 pounds.

Little James St, Richmond as it looks today - a narrow back lane with garage access for
 houses fronting other streets. (Google Maps street view)

William left the property to a son and two daughters and I have a copy of the paperwork generated in January 1878 when the son bought out the daughters' shares for ten pounds.

Now I hadn't actually been able to determine when William bought the property and I wondered how such a poor family could even afford it by 1856. I thought perhaps the gold rush that began in Victoria in 1852 may have been a factor but couldn't prove it.

So I was delighted yesterday to find a reference that filled in a few of the blanks. Early in 1852, just before the gold rush, one of William and Rachel's sons, William Henry Chaundy, sent a letter to a friend in Oxford and it was published in a newspaper there. He described how he was working on a large farm property near Ballarat and mentioned quite a few snippets about the family, including this:

My father, through our joint efforts, has a large piece of land, and a house built on it, at Collingwood, one mile from Melbourne.

[Extract from a letter written by William Henry Chaundy, in Victoria, to a friend in Oxford, England. Published in Jackson's Oxford Journal, Saturday, April 17, 1852.]

It appears that several members of the family were earning enough to contribute to the purchase of the property some time in the prior year or so. (It was actually at Richmond not nearby Collingwood.) William also explained that he and his brother were heading to the goldfields and we know from other sources that they were quite successful.

William CHAUNDY, son of Richard CHAUNDY and Jane ATKINS was born on 09 May 1806 in Stokenchurch, Oxfordshire, England (Stokenchurch was transferred to Buckinghamshire in 1896.). He died on 20 Jan 1863 in Richmond, Victoria, Australia. He married Rachel GREEN, daughter of Edward GREEN and Elizabeth HERRING on 06 Nov 1829 in St Lawrence, Reading, Berkshire, England. She was born on 25 Jun 1810 in Eastrop, Highworth, Wiltshire, England. She died on 20 Dec 1860 in Richmond, Victoria, Australia.  

Trove Tuesday: In which Uncle is dangerously ill

Saturday August 4th, 1888

We have had bad news today, had a telegram from Sale saying that Uncle is dangerously ill, that Father is to go at once if he can. So Father went this afternoon. He can only get as far as Melbourne tonight, so he will not reach Sale till Monday. I do hope poor Uncle will soon be better I am sure; poor Auntie will be in trouble. Father has a long journey before him. I do hope he will not take colds. I trust he will have a safe journey down, and find them all better than expected, and a safe journey home.

Thursday August 9th.

We received a letter from dear old Dad, at last. He arrived safely on Monday, found Uncle very much better. All the rest are well. What a blessing. I am glad Uncle is better, I'm sure it is a good thing. Mr Hampton arrived the day after Father; poor Auntie would be glad to see her Father.

Monday August 13th.
Dear Father came home today, Mr Hampton came with him, Mary went down to the railway station to meet them.

Rhoda ANDREW was 19 years old and living with her parents and her older sister on a farm near Pyramid hill north of Bendigo when she wrote the above entries in her diary. Her 'dear old dad' is John ANDREW and her uncle is Daniel ANDREW.

I was somewhat surprised to find a newspaper report about the cause of Uncle Daniel's illness.

Gippsland Times, 10 Aug 1888

PS We're very lucky to have Rhoda's diary. She only wrote it for about a year but it has provided me with quite a few clues for my family history research. Sadly both Rhoda and her mother died within a few days of each other 11 years later in an influenza epidemic.

Daniel ANDREW, son of John Andrew SHAWLEY and Susannah RAY was born on 25 Mar 1845 in Great Gidding, England. He died on 04 Aug 1913 in Longford, Victoria, Australia. He married Elizabeth HAMPTON, daughter of George HAMPTON and Pamela FRANKLIN on 27 Jul 1868 in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. She was born on 29 Aug 1847 in Bath, SOM, England. She died on 27 Mar 1917.