X is for Xiàmén

In 1881 my husband Greg’s great great grandparents John Plowright (1831 – 1910) and Margaret Plowright née Smyth (1834 – 1897) adopted a boy—their grandson—named Frederick Harold Plowright. The child’s father was James Henry Plowright; his mother was Elizabeth Ann Cooke, née Onthong.

Elizabeth Ann Onthong was born in 1862 in Avoca, Victoria, to Thomas Onthong and Bridget Onthong née Fogarty. The Onthong family later used the surname Cook (or Cooke). Elizabeth was the fourth of six children; she had four brothers and one sister, Mary Ann.

Elizabeth’s parents Bridget Fogarty and John Tong were married on 17 October 1855 in the Church of England vicarage at Carisbrook.

Marriage certificate (Victoria Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages) for FOGARTY, Bridget and TONG, John; Year: 1855, Reg. number: 2887/1855

The marriage certificate has them both living in Avoca. Neither could sign their name.

John Tong, son of William Tong storekeeper, was born in Amoy, China. His occupation was cook, and he was 26 years old. The certificate notes that he “could not tell his mother’s name (Chinese)”. This presumably meant that he was unable to transcribe the sounds of her name into English letters. He was probably also illiterate in Chinese.

Bridget Fogarty was born at Burr (Birr), King’s County (now County Offaly), Ireland. She was a servant, she stated her age was 21, and her parents were Michael Fogarty, farmer, and Ann Whitfield.

John Tong’s birthplace Xiamen 廈門 (pinyin: Xiàmén) is a city on the Fujian coast of China. For many years, the name, pronounced ‘Emoui’ in the Fujian dialect, was rendered ‘Amoy’ in Post Office romanization.

Amoy’s harbor, China. Painting in the collection of Sjöhistoriska Museet; image retrieved through picryl.com.

Xiàmén is 7,300 km north of Avoca, Victoria. Map generated using Google maps.

At the end of 1854 it was estimated that more than 10,000 Chinese lived and worked on the Victorian goldfields. In 1855 alone more than eleven thousand Chinese arrived in Melbourne, many of them indentured labourers from the province of Fujian via the port of Amoy.

John Tong arrived before the Victorian parliament passed the Chinese Immigration Act 1855, legislation meant to restrict Chinese immigration by imposing a poll tax of ten pounds upon every Chinese arriving in the Colony and limiting the number of Chinese on board each vessel to one person for every 10 tonnes of goods. (£10 was worth about $9,000 today in comparing average wages then and now [from MeasuringWorth.com])

Though at the time of his marriage John Tong’s occupation was cook, he later worked as a miner at Deep Lead near Avoca. Three of his sons were also Avoca miners.

John Tong was also known as Thomas or Tommy Cook. Tommy Cook was mentioned several times in the newspapers. In 1866 he was noted as having “attained considerable proficiency in the English language.” In 1871 his son William gave evidence in a court case and he, William, was the son of “Thomas Cook, a miner, residing at the Deep Lead, Avoca.” In 1875 Bridget bought a charge of assault against her husband, Ah Tong, alias Tommy Cook. He was described as “a tall, powerful, and rather wild-looking Chinaman”. Bridget said he “was very lazy, and when he got any money would go and gamble it away.”

In October 1890 Tommy Cook and his son George Cook gave evidence in the inquest of the death of George Gouge. From the report in the Avoca Mail:

Tommy Cook deposed – I am residing at Deep Lead, near Avoca. I am father of George Cook. Knew deceased. I found the body lying about six o’clock on Friday morning about 200 yards from the hotel …

MURDER AT AVOCA. Avoca Mail 7 October 1890

I do not know when and where John (Tommy Cook) died nor where he was buried. Bridget died in the Amherst hospital in 1898 but her death certificate had no details of her marriage or children.

In 1935 the “Weekly Times” had a picture of an old hut on the Avoca gold-diggings.

READERS’ CAMERA STUDIES (1935, February 23). Weekly Times (Melbourne,
Vic. : 1869 – 1954), p. 38 (FIRST EDITION). Retrieved
from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223890597

A newspaper clipping published in the 1930s claims that this was the hut of Henry, George, and Frank, three of the sons of John and Bridget. The hut was said to have been known as “Cook’s Hut”.

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Related Posts

• Finding the parents of Frederick Harold Plowright born 1881

Wikitree:

• Frederick Harold Plowright (1881 – 1929)
• Elizabeth Ann (Onthong) Wiffen (1862 – 1927)
• John (Tong) Cook (abt. 1829 – aft. 1890)
• Bridget (Fogarty) Cook (1825 – 1898)

Finding the parents of Frederick Harold Plowright born 1881

My husband Greg’s great great grandparents John Plowright (1831 – 1910) and Margaret Plowright nee Smyth (1834 – 1897) were married in 1855. They had six children, the youngest born in 1872. In 1881 they adopted a child named Frederick Harold Plowright. I have not found his birth certificate, and until recently I did not know how he was related to the Plowright family. Until 1929 there was no formal adoption process in Victoria and so there was no directly relevant documentary material from 1881 to establish a relationship.

Frederick Harold Plowright 1881 – 1929, photograph in the collection of his grandson J P

In 2018 J P, grandson of Frederick Plowright, took a DNA test. This showed that he was related to the descendants of John and Margaret Plowright but that his grandfather was not the son of John and Margaret.

I used a DNA Painter analysis tool called ‘What are the Odds?’ to estimate where J P stood in the family tree and so how Frederick Harold might be related. The tool calculates where somebody probably fits in the family tree based on the amount of DNA they share with people about whose position in the tree you have complete confidence. The tool predicted that the best hypothesis is that J P was the great grandchild of James Henry Plowright, one of the sons of John and Margaret Plowright, and that his grandfather Frederick was a half-sibling to the other children of James Henry.

In short, it appears very likely that Frederick was adopted by his paternal grandparents.

Using the What are the odds (WATO) tool from DNA Painter to calculate how J P might be related to his Plowright cousins. Hypothesis 5 is the most likely and is indicated with a red *. J P’s grandfather’s most probable position in the family tree is indicated with a green *.

The Avoca Mail reported on 28 June 1881 that Elizabeth Ann Cooke brought an affiliation case against James Henry Plowright. This is a legal proceeding, usually initiated by an unwed mother, claiming legal recognition that a particular man is the father of her child. It was often associated with a claim for financial support.

AVOCA POLICE COURT. Monday, June 28th, 1881. (Before C. W. Carr, Esq., P.M.)

Elizabeth Ann Cooke v. James Henry Plowright. — This was an affiliation case, and Mr Matthews, who appeared for the plaintiff, asked that it might be postponed to allow it to be arranged out of court. The case was accordingly postponed by mutual consent for one week.

Avoca Mail 28 June 1881

A week later the case had been settled, presumably by the parents of James Henry Plowright agreeing to adopt the child:

AVOCA POLICE COURT. Monday, July 4th, 1881. Before W. Goodshaw, Esq., J.P.

E. A. Cooke v. J. H. Plowright. — Mr Matthews, for the plaintiff, stated that the case (adjourned from last court) had been settled

Avoca Mail 5 July 1881

Elizabeth Ann Onthong was born in 1862 in Avoca, Victoria, to Thomas Onthong and Bridget Onthong nee Fogarty. The family later used the surname Cook or Cooke. Elizabeth was the fourth of six children; she had four brothers, none of whom apparently married or had children, and one sister, Mary Ann, who married and had children.

J P shares DNA with descendants of Mary Ann

Related posts:

• John Plowright (1831 – 1910)

Wikitree:

• Frederick Harold Plowright (1881 – 1929)
• James Henry Plowright (1860 – 1932)
• John Plowright (1831 – 1910)
• Margaret (Smyth) Plowright (1834 – 1897)
• Elizabeth Ann (Onthong) Wiffen (1862 – 1927)

A is for Avoca

Major Thomas Mitchell, Surveyor-General of the Colony of New South Wales from 1828 to 1855, undertook several journeys of exploration. His third, in 1836, took him south into what is now Victoria. On 10 July he recorded in his journal that he and his party

crossed a deep creek running westward which I named the Avoca, and we encamped on an excellent piece of land beyond it.

Mitchell, Thomas, Sir, 1792-1855 (1839-01-01). Three expeditions into the interior of Eastern Australia : with descriptions of the recently explored region of Australia Felix and of the present colony of New South Wales. T. & W. Boone volume 2 retrieved through http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks/e00036.html

Mitchell was born and raised in Scotland not Ireland. The inspiration for the name probably came from Thomas Moore’s 1807 poem ‘The Meeting of the Waters’. The final stanza has:

Sweet Vale of Avoca! how calm could I rest
In thy bosom of shade, with the friends I love best;
Where the storms that we feel in this cold world should cease,
And our hearts, like thy waters, be mingled in peace.

Print shows a view of the confluence of three rivers, the “River Avonbeg”, “River Avonmore”, and “River Avoca”, in the “Vale of Avoca”, County Wicklow, Ireland; many of the features shown are identified below, such as “Shelton Abbey, the Mansion of the Earl of Wicklow” and the “Holy Well” on the left, and the “Woods of Glenart, the Seat of Lord Carysfort” on the right. Includes four lines of verse from the poem “Avoca, the Vale The Meeting of the Waters” by Thomas Moore.
Currier & Ives & Moore, T. (1868) The meeting of the waters. In the Vale of Avoca, County Wicklow Ireland
. County Avoca Ireland Wicklow, 1868. [New York: Published by Currier & Ives 152 Nassau St. New York] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2002710554/.

In the 1850s the town of Avoca was established on the Avoca River. Greg’s great great grandfathers George Young and John Plowright were gold miners there. 

The Avoca River in October 2020

The Avoca River in January 2021 from the same vantage point

My Cudmore relatives had a property on the Darling River named Avoca. We visited it earlier this year. It was said that Daniel H. Cudmore named it Avoca after his father’s hometown in Ireland. However his father, Daniel M.P. Cudmore, was from Limerick Ireland. I am not aware of any connection of the Cudmore family to the town of Avoca in Ireland.

The homestead of Avoca station on the Darling River near Wentworth, NSW.

Avoca is near the east coast of Ireland

Two of the many places in Australia named Avoca after the town in Ireland. There are 42 places in Australia named after Avoca.

Related posts

• The tristate tour February 2021 part 1
• A is for accident in Avoca

Wikitree:

• George Young,
• John Plowright,
• Daniel Michael Paul Cudmore
• Thomas Livingstone Mitchell

A is for accident in Avoca

Maria Young (1863-1941) was my husband’s great great aunt, the sixth of thirteen children of George Young (1826-1890) and Caroline née Clarke (1835-1879).

Maria married John Llewellyn Tunks (1858-1915) on 4 August 1884 at St John’s Church, Avoca, Victoria.

Marriage certificate of John Llewellyn Tunks and Maria Young (click image to enlarge)

On her marriage certificate Maria’s occupation was described as ‘domestic’. Her husband John was a miner.

In January 1884, Maria, then 19, fell through a trapdoor at the Royal Oak Hotel, where she worked as a servant. (Actually, I am not entirely sure that the Maria Young who fell into the cellar was Maria, daughter of George Young. It seems likely.)

She was not hurt badly, but the incident was regarded as sufficiently newsworthy to be reported in the Avoca Mail:

No title (1884, January 18). Avoca Mail (Vic. : 1863 – 1900; 1915 -1918), , p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article201530603

Maria and John had twelve children

• Clara Maria Caroline Tunks 1885–1970 
• Lillian Annie Tunks 1887–1971 
• Theresa May Tunks 1890–1976 
• John Lewellen Tunks 1892–1906 
• George Edward Tunks 1894–1983 
• Stephen Ernest Tunks 1897–1973 
• Caroline Ethel Tunks 1899–1984 
• James Victor Tunks 1899–1966 
• Ivy Myrtle Tunks 1901–1972 
• Thelma Harriet Maude Tunks 1904–2004 
• Clement Lewellen Tunks 1906–1961 
• Phyllis Grace Muriel Tunks 1910–1992 

The Tunks family about 1905 or 1906. There are ten children in the photograph. The baby is either Thelma born 1904 or Clement born 1906; John Lewellen Tunks junior died in February 1906. This photograph was given to me by Noel Tunks (1943-2008).

E is for Exemption Courts

In 1916 during World War I the Australian Government felt that the recruitment of volunteers was not providing sufficient men for military service. Two plebiscites seeking to conscript men for overseas military service were held, one in 1916 and the second in 1917. In both cases the proposal was voted against and Australia sent only volunteers to fight in the war.

The Prime Minister, William Morris Hughes, returned from Britain and France in July 1916  determined to introduce conscription.  Britain, soon followed by New Zealand, had introduced compulsory military service in January 1916.  Hughes believed that unless Australia was absolute in its support of the war effort, the nation might not get a full say in peace discussions where matters of Australian concern would be decided.

This plebiscite is often referred to as a referendum but this is technically wrong. A referendum decides constitutional issues; no constitutional issue was in question, the plebiscite was really just seeking consensus for the legislative changes required to introduce conscription.  However, the word `referendum’ was used at the time and has remained the accepted nomenclature.

WWI Poster promoting enlistment for the AIF, 1915 from the National Archives of Australia and retrieved from Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WWI_Enlistment_Poster,_Australia.jpg

A `War Census’ was taken between 6 and 15 September 1915.  All males aged between eighteen and sixty years were asked their name, address, age, marital status, dependants, general health and debilities, current occupation and any other work they could undertake, military training (if any), numbers and descriptions of firearms in their possession, place of birth (and place of birth of father and mother) and, if relevant, naturalization particulars.  On the basis of information collected from this census, the Commonwealth Statistician found there were 600,000 fit men aged between eighteen and forty-four years. The Commonwealth Statistician deemed men “fit” if they described themselves in good health, neither blind nor deaf, and had not lost a limb.

THE WAR CENSUS. (1916, June 27). The Horsham Times (Vic. : 1882 – 1954), p. 4. Retrieved March 10, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article72979438

The Prime Minister anticipated a favourable outcome from the referendum and called up eligible men to go into military training camps. At the beginning of October 1916 the Federal Government, invoking powers under the Defence Acts, required men aged between twenty-one and thirty-five to register for service within the Commonwealth and, if fit, to enter camp for training.

Exemption Courts. (1916, October 18). Northern Times (Newcastle, NSW : 1857 – 1918), p. 5. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article123520807

I have looked at the history of Avoca , a town in central Victoria, during World War 1.  When all men in Avoca deemed eligible were required to report to camp in September 1916, many of those eligible who were found medically fit applied for exemption, mostly on the basis of farming or other commitments.  The exemption courts were reported in the papers without comment.  Calling up  eligible men perhaps drew the attention of voters to the implications of conscription and provoked them to vote no.

121 men were medically examined for military service in Avoca in October and November 1916. Of these, 69 were found fit for military service. Fifty-four of those applied for exemption, about 80% of those fit and eligible. This proportion is in line with the national averages.  National proportions of those claiming exemptions were: 62% of those examined, or 80% of those found fit.

No legal representation was allowed at the exemption courts.

Examples of newspaper reporting of the exemption courts include Nhill which gave reasons for exemption:

EXEMPTION COURT. (1916, November 17). Nhill Free Press (Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 2. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article129561102

Similarly in Parkes:

MILITARY EXEMPTION COURT. (1916, November 16). Western Champion (Parkes, NSW : 1898 – 1934), p. 19. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article112321176

Some men, though granted exemption, nevertheless subsequently enlisted. A man from the Avoca district, Stanley William Smith, a farmer from Homebush, who applied for and was granted exemption to 28 February 1917 was one of these. He enlisted on 28 April 1917, served with the 60th Battalion, was wounded on the road to Amiens, and died of his wounds on 9 August 1918 aged 26. He is buried at Vignacourt British Cemetery, Vignacourt, Somme, France.

Studio portrait of 3484 Private (Pte) Stanley William Smith, 9th Reinforcements, 60th Battalion, of Avoca, Vic. Pte Smith enlisted on 28 April 1917 and embarked aboard HMAT Port Melbourne in Sydney on 16 July 1917. He died of wounds on 9 August 1918. Photograph in the collection of the Australian War Memorial ID number DA18225 taken by the Darge Photographic Company at Broadmeadows, Victoria about June 1917 retrieved from http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/DA18225/

On 28 October 1916 the `No’ vote prevailed Australia-wide but not in Victoria, nor amongst soldiers from Victoria. (Soldiers voted in the plebiscite and their votes have been tallied separately.)

MEN IN TRAINING. (1916, November 18). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954), p. 13. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15676111

 Of the 86,101 applications for exemption Australia wide, 38,508 were allowed and 14,803 were refused. The result was that of the 189,335 men who reported in response to the 1916 proclamation only 18,192, under 10%, were found fit and did not claim exemption.

Chart based on figures published by the Sydney Morning Herald on 18 November 1916 on the outcome of men called up under the 1916 proclamation

If a member of your family was eligible for military service in 1916 and had not enlisted by October 1916 it might be worth your while to search local newspapers for reports of the exemption courts.

The National Archives appear to have few records of these courts, presumably because the push for conscription was unsuccessful and the files were destroyed shortly thereafter. The only two records I could find in the catalogue of the Archives relate to appeals to the High Court:

• NAA: A10117, 1916/12: In the matter of an appeal by the Military Representative Henty Subdistrict Victoria, re exemption court appeal, re JAPP Ronald Douglas, War Service Regulations
• NAA: A10117, 1916/11: Military Representative Fawkner Subdistrict Victoria, re exemption court appeal for FRANKLIN Richard Penrose, War Service Regulations

A is for Avenue of Honour

Entrance to Avenue of Honour, 14 miles long, the Lucas Girls tribute to Ballarat soldiers Image of postcard published by Rose Stereographs from State Library of New South Wales retrieved from http://143.119.202.10/item/itemDetailPaged.aspx?itemID=69960 9 March 2014

Avenues of Honour planted during and after World War I are an Australian innovation. The avenue at Ballarat was one of the first.

The young women employees of a Ballarat clothing firm, Lucas and Company, planted a tree for every soldier who left Ballarat to serve in the Great War. The avenue runs from the city westerly for 14 miles (over 20 kilometers). The first 505 trees were planted in June 1917.

3,900 trees altogether were planted. The Lucas girls also raised funds for an Arch of Victory at the beginning of the avenue.  The Arch was opened by the Prince of Wales on 2 June 1920.

“AVENUE OF HONOR.”. (1917, June 5). Warrnambool Standard(Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 4 Edition: DAILY.. Retrieved January 19, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article73930919

The Argus reported the opening of the Arch of Victory: REST FOR THE PRINCE. (1920, June 3). The Argus(Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 7. at http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1707916 

Several years later the Argus wrote a feature article on the avenue:  BALLARAT’S AVENUE OF HONOUR. (1922, April 15). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 5. at http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4665883

The names of the 3,900 men for whom trees were planted can be found through https://bih.federation.edu.au/index.php/Ballarat_Avenue_of_Honour

One of the men was Alan Lawrie who is pictured standing next to his tree.

Mrs C Chisholm (Creator) Negative – Alan Lawrie Standing Next to his Tree in the Avenue of Honour, Ballarat, Victoria, pre 1925. Museum Victoria. Reg. No: MM 001068 retrieved from http://museumvictoria.com.au/collections/items/768849/negative-alan-lawrie-standing-next-to-his-tree-in-the-avenue-of-honour-ballarat-victoria-pre-1925

 Roderick Allen Lawrie enlisted in March 1915 aged 20 years with the permission of his mother.  He was a draper’s assistant. (National Archives of Australia Series B2455; LAWRIE Roderick Allan : Service Number – 3169 : Place of Birth – Ballarat VIC : Place of Enlistment – Ballarat VIC : Next of Kin – (Mother) LAWRIE Alice. Digital copy of dossier at http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/Imagine.asp?B=7377828)

Associated with the centenary of World War I, there is a project to preserve and restore the avenues across Australia: http://www.avenuesofhonour.org/ 

My husband’s grandfather Cecil Young and Cecil’s brother Jack have their names listed on a plaque with a small avenue of eucalypts planted in the grounds of the former school of Lower Homebush near Avoca in Victoria.

The Avenue of Honour at the Lower Homebush school

The Homebush Honor Roll at the beginning of the Avenue of Honour at Lower Homebush school

At Avoca nearby, an avenue was planted, but most of the trees have died . There presumably was a list of the men who were commemorated but I don’t know where that list is.

One of my favourite avenues is at Bacchus Marsh. It was planted in 1918 and is of Dutch elms. 281 trees were planted simultaneously on the afternoon of 10 August following the blowing of a bugle. The avenue extends for nearly two miles on the road towards Melbourne. In 2004 there were 312 trees and 48 vacant sites. A list of the names of the soldiers can be found at http://www.bacchusmarsh.avenueofhonour.org.au . On 28 May 2010, The Age reported on a plan to build a roundabout in the avenue and opposition to the proposal. For the time being the avenue is  intact. http://www.theage.com.au/national/a-matter-of-honour-20100527-whtb.html The avenue is listed on the Victorian heritage register http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/#detail_places;4957

Avenue of Honour in Bacchus March By Wcwu (Self-photographed) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Avenue_of_Honour_in_Bacchus_Marsh.jpg

Trove Tuesday: Vida Mary Jane Goldstein (1869 – 1949)

Vida Goldstein (1869 – 1949) was my first cousin three times removed and stood for the Senate in 1903, 110 years ago. Although she was not elected, she was the first woman in Australia to stand for election to the Federal parliament and one of four women who were the first in the British Empire to be nominated and to stand for election to a national parliament. She was also a key campaigner for the vote for women in Victoria.  She has an entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography and also on Trove. (Janice N. Brownfoot, ‘Goldstein, Vida Jane (1869–1949)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.  Retrieved September 10, 2013, from http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/goldstein-vida-jane-6418/text10975) (Goldstein, Vida (1869-1949). (2008). In Trove. Retrieved September 10, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-599050)

Vida was a relative from my Hughes branch and I first learned of the family connection through Helen Hudson née Hughes (1915 – 2005) who enjoyed researching the family history and wrote a book, Cherry Stones, which I have found tremendously useful in following up on her research. ( Hudson, Helen Lesley (1985). Cherry stones : adventures in genealogy of Taylor, Hutcheson, Hawkins of Scotland, Plaisted, Green, Hughes of England and Wales … who immigrated to Australia between 1822 and 1850. H.L. Hudson, [Berwick] Vic )

 

Vida was the daughter of Isabella née Hawkins (1849 – 1916) and Jacob Goldstein (1839 – 1910). Isabella was the sister of my great great grandmother Jeanie (1862 – 1941) who married Edward Walter Hughes.

 

Last weekend’s election prompted me to search for mentions of Vida’s political career.  She has been the subject of several books and I have come across a memorial mentioning her name at Parliament House in Canberra.  When researching Avoca at the time of World War 1, I noted that as a candidate at that time only four people voted for her from Avoca; but then again she had not visited the town to campaign.

In 1903 her campaign for the senate received wide coverage.  Trove newspaper search has 353 items in its newspaper database for 1903.  The coverage is across Australia, not only in Victoria; newspapers as far afield as Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Broken Hill, New South Wales, and Brisbane, Queensland reporting on her campaign.

Meetings were well attended and usually reported on at length with details of the speeches and questions to the candidate.  Here is a short report of a meeting at Echuca in northern Victoria.  It is a small town but she had an audience estimated at 600 to 700.

THE SENATE. (1903, December 11). Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 – 1918), p. 3. Retrieved September 10, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89494011

Vida gained more than 50,000 votes and ranked 15th out of 18 candidates for the four senate seats.

THE SENATE. (1903, December 22). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 5. Retrieved September 10, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10589115

Vida spoke about the aftermath of the election:
 

A LADY CANDIDATE’S OPINION. (1903, December 24). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 – 1931), p. 5. Retrieved September 10, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5025504

 

My search on Trove found a picture of her I had not seen before.

 

The image is from the collection of the State Library of Victoria. Their catalogue entry: 

• Title: Miles Franklin [and] Vida Goldstein [picture]
• Publisher: ca. 1900-ca. 1920 
• Date(s): 1900 
• Description: photograph : gelatin silver ; oval image 6 x 4 cm., on double mount 18 x 14 cm. 
• Copyright status: This work is out of copyright 
• Terms of use: No copyright restrictions apply. 
• Identifier(s): Accession no(s) H42756; H42756a 
• Subjects: Goldstein, Vida, 1869-1949 ; Franklin, Stella Maria Sarah Miles, 1879-1954 ; Feminists — Australia ; Gelatin silver prints ; Group portraits
• Index terms: Australia; women’s movement; suffragettes; feminists; authors; Miles Franklin; Viva Goldstein [sic]
• Notes: Title inscribed on mount l.l. and l.r. 
  Detailed view digitised. 
  Miles Franklin was born in Tumut, N.S.W.; published My Brilliant Career 1901; involved with feminist movement; left for the U.S.A. 1906; returned to Australia 1927; died 1954. 
  Vida Goldstein was born in Portland, Victoria 1869; became involved with suffragette movement; ran for the Australian Senate 1903; addressed the United States Congress in 1902; died 1949. 
• Contents/Summary: Miles Franklin is half-length, to right, Vida Goldstein standing behind her. 
• Source/Donor: Donated by Miss Jean Robinson, 1980. 
• Link to digitised item: http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/136880 
• Link to this record: http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=MAIN&reset_config=true&docId=SLV_VOYAGER1787491 

I did not previously know of any connection with Miles Franklin, an author whose works I enjoy very much and who came from areas around Canberra which I used to visit often (Brindabella, Tumut, Goulburn, Talbingo). I also wonder of the connection with Jean Robinson, I am not sure who she is, a puzzle for another day.

 

Exploring further in the State Library’s collection I found more items which I must research further to explore this branch of my family. Included were these photos:

Group of people at river, including Vida Goldstein 1885 – 1892. Vida Goldstein – left foreground, holding stick. Col. Goldstein [Vida’s father] – seated in centre with a little girl on his knee. I [presumably Leslie Henderson, donor of the photograph] do not know who she is. George Reid – extreme right, standing. From the State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/242093

Vida Goldstein at a picnic, probably at Lorne. Vida is second from right in front row holding a paper & with a billy in front of her. The donor of the photograph, Vida’s niece, Leslie Henderson (1896 – 1982) did not know any of the other people in the photograph. From the State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/242166

There are many more items for me to follow up in the State Library’s collections when I get a chance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Plowright (1831 – 1910)

John Plowright was born 1831 in Kings Lynn, Norfolk to William Plowright (1791-1869) and Sarah Ann née Jackson (1796 – 1864). He was the fourth of eight children of the couple and in addition had an older half-brother from his father’s first marriage.

He was three days old when christened at St Margaret’s Church Kings Lynn on 29 November 1831 as the transcription of the parish register states he was born on 26 November.  His father was a mariner and the family was living at Austin Street, Lynn. (Transcription from freereg.org.uk http://www.freereg.org.uk/cgi/SearchResults.pl?RecordType=Baptisms&RecordID=770159 retrieved 5 August 2013)

On the 1841 census John was aged 9 and living with father, half-brother and six siblings at Austin Street Kings Lynn in the Parish of St Margaret.  His father’s occupation was labourer.  His half-brother William aged 20 was a plumber.(Ancestry.com. 1841 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2010. Source Citation: Class: HO107; Piece: 786; Book: 5; Civil Parish: St Margaret; County: Norfolk; Enumeration District: 6; Folio: 9; Page: 15; Line: 11; GSU roll: 438868.)  None of the other children had an occupation stated.  John’s mother was away from home, one of two female servants in the house of John Ayre a merchant living in Norfolk Street Kings Lynn with his wife. (Ancestry.com. 1841 England Census [database on-line]. Source Citation: Class: HO107; Piece: 786; Book: 5; Civil Parish: St Margaret; County: Norfolk; Enumeration District: 7; Folio: 20; Page: 2; Line: 7; GSU roll: 438868.)

Austin Street has changed significantly from the 1840s but remnants of an old wall are standing based on Google maps street view http://goo.gl/maps/r3DDZ. Norfolk Street was one block away from Austin Street (Google maps link ). More buildings from the 1840s would appear to survive although I have not identified Mr Ayre’s house (Google street view link ).

In 1851 John Plowright was in London, a seaman boarding with a number of other young men also from Lynne in Shadwell in London.  He had signed on as a seaman with the rank of boy at the age of 17.

Merchant Navy Seamen 1835-1857: records of individual seamen that the central British government created to monitor a potential reserve of sailors for the Royal Navy.  Retrieved from FindMyPast.com.au

When he was admitted to Maryborough Hospital in 1873, John Plowright stated he had been in the colony for 20 years arriving on the Speculation.  His occupation was as mariner. The Maryborough hospital collected information on port of embarkation, name of ship, number of years in colonies. This information was collected apparently as part of a disease tracking program.

Shipping Intelligence from The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), Thursday 22 September 1853, page 4 retrieved from trove.nla.gov.au

As there were no passengers I assume he came as crew.  There are no reports that I can find in the newspapers of crew desertion from the Speculation.

John Plowright married Margaret Smyth (1834-1897) on 19 November 1855 at his residence at Magpie near Ballarat.  Margaret had arrived on the Persian in April 1854.  She had been born in Bailieborough, County Cavan Ireland. Her father William Smyth was a farmer.  her mother was Mary née Cox.

There is a description of the Magpie diggings  from the perspective of James Davies born 1846 who arrived in Australia earlier in 1855 with his family and wrote about his experiences some time later:

Among the many fresh fields that were being opened about this time & they were numerous, was Magpie Gully about two miles south of Ballarat in the spring of 1855. This gutter, below its junction with the Chinaman’s Lead, proved to be the richest alluvial wash in Victoria, many of the claims washing up with an average of 8 to 10 oz to the tub. One claim that I knew went over a pound weight to the tub all through the claim. A town sprang up here in three or four days with a main street over a mile ling consisting of business places, hotels, theatres and restaurants, among the latter was one kept by the renowned John Ah Loo, whose table was appreciated by the diggers on many fields. The first hotel was opened by Teddy BRADSHAW, later a business man in Buninyong for many years, & partner at the crossing in the gully & did a roaring trade while the rush lasted. The theatre proprietors introduced an attraction in the shape of a tightrope walker named Madam De La Cass who used to walk a rope fastened at the height of 15 to 20 feet

——————–(Page torn off here)———————

retrieved from http://www.ballaratgenealogy.org.au/art/davies.htm Letter transcripts contributed by Jacqui Cunningham to the Ballarat and District Genealogy Society.

 John and Margaret had six children and also adopted one child:

• William John born 1859 at Alma (four miles west of Maryborough)
• James Henry born 1860 at Homebush (about 10 miles from Alma)
• Ann Jane born 1862 at Four Mile Flat (Homebush)
• Frederick Edward born 1865 at Avoca
• Samuel Joseph Smyth born 1868 at Homebush
• John Plowright born 1872 at Homebush and died the same year
• Frederick Harold born 1881 was adopted. No birth record found. In the probate file of John Plowright he is described as adopted son and no blood relation.

In 1872 Margaret was admitted to Maryborough Hospital. John was admitted a year later in 1873 and again in 1884.

In 1878 tragedy struck the family when Frederick died while cutting down a tree.  He died on 24 April and a magisterial inquiry was held the day after.  The file of the inquiry contains statements from John and his daughter Ann Jane.

Statement by John Plowright to magisterial inquiry touching the death of Frederick Edward Plowright held at Avoca on 25 April 1878 from inquest file held by Public Record Office of Victoria VPRS 24 number 372 of 1878 (male).

Statement by Ann Jane Plowright on 25 April 1878 presented to the magisterial inquiry into her brother’s death. Ann Jane was 15 years old. VPRS 24 1878/372 (male)

The death of Frederick was widely reported; mentions appeared in the Wagga Wagga Advertiser, the Launceston Examiner as well as the Argus.

John’s wife Margaret died of Brights Disease, dropsy and exhaustion in 1897.  She is buried in the Avoca cemetery.

Bereavement Card for Margaret Plowright.  The card was rescued by Lenore Frost and I found a mention of it on her site http://members.optushome.com.au/lenorefrost/prnews.html

In the last years of his life John continued to live at Lower Homebush and had a carrier business.

John died at Homebush Lower on 8 January 1910.  The cause of death was given as pneumonia syncope. Pneumonia is a “Lung inflammation caused by bacterial or viral infection.” Syncope is “Temporary loss of consciousness caused by a fall in blood pressure.” He had been ill for six days and Dr Charles G Grimm had last seen him the same day he died.

The death certificate informant was John’s son William John Plowright of 27 Hannover Street, Windsor.  He gave John’s occupation as miner.  He stated that John’s father was William, a tailor. He didn’t know who John’s mother was.  He knew John was born in Lynn, Norfolk, England and stated he had been 55 years in Victoria, that is arriving about 1855.

John was buried at Avoca cemetery on January 10th.  The undertaker was J. Classen.  The minister of religion was Reverend Tuckfield, a Methodist minister.  Coincidentally Tuckfield is related to another branch of the family tree.

John had made his last will in 1902.  He divided his estate into sixths.  Each child received a sixth except for Samuel Joseph Smyth Plowright who received two one sixth shares. His two oldest sons were appointed executors.  His estate did not have any real estate but personal effects amounted to £204 11 shillings one penny.  This was mainly in cash with the exception of furniture valued at £12.  Probate was granted 2 April 1910.   (Probate files held by Public Record Office of Victoria reference 114/702).

Cecil Young and family: Cecil’s early life up to end World War I

Cecil was the grandson of one of the earlier miners of the Avoca district.  He served in World War 1.

George Young, a miner, had arrived at the Lamplough Rush near Avoca in about 1859 with a wife and two young children.  A third child had been born and died at Beechworth.  John had been born in 1856 at Dunolly and Alice in January 1859 at White Hills near Maryborough.  Twins Charlotte and Harriet were born in July 1861 at Lamplough. Although the rush was moving on, perhaps the burden of four young children including new born twins persuaded George and his wife Caroline to settle.  George took up a small portion of land and continued to mine at Lamplough.  He and his wife had thirteen children.  She died in 1879 at the age of 43 leaving 8 children, the two youngest being one and three years old.  It would appear John, who was then aged 23, took on some responsibility for helping with his siblings while probably working as a miner locally.  His sister Alice was married a year later, Harriet and Charlotte married in 1881 and 1882 respectively, and Maria was married in 1884.

It seems that between about 1887 and 1894 John Young was working in New South Wales.  At Parkes he met the widow of a miner, Sarah Jane Whiteman.  They married in Melbourne in 1894.  She already had two children Robert and Mary Anne aged about eleven and ten at the time of her second marriage.  John and Sarah Jane had one daughter who died in infancy and then a son John Percy (Jack) was born at Timor in 1896.  A second son, Cecil,  was born at Rokewood in 1898 but Sarah Jane died in childbirth.

The two young boys were brought up by their aunt Charlotte who had married a schoolteacher George Wilkins. George was headteacher at Homebush near Avoca.  John Young continued as a miner at Barringhup then Burnt Creek and later Betley.  The two boys stayed in contact with their half-brother and half-sister.  Postcards from Tasmania reveal that Robert Whiteman moved to Tasmania and married there.  Later he moved back to Melbourne.  Mary Ann lived for a time at Homebush (1909) and after marriage in 1911 lived in Melbourne.  From 1911 the two boys were living at Clunes with their Aunt Harriet (Charlotte’s twin) who had been widowed in 1904 and whose youngest child was the same age as Jack and Cecil.¹

As the head teacher of Homebush George Wilkins played an active role in the community: he was on the local cricket team; he played the cornet in the local band; he was frequently called to take on the roll of MC at local gatherings.  George was Lieutenant in charge of the local cadets.² During the war George Wilkins took on a leading role organising the Soldiers’ Comforts Fund of Homebush. After the war he helped to form the local branch of the Returned Soldiers’ League.

Cecil enlisted in the AIF in December 1915.³ He was only seventeen and a half but he advanced his date of birth by one year.  He described his trade as a butcher but was not an apprentice.  He declared he had served with the senior cadets at Footscray for 9 months (no kit had been issued as the annotation stated it was an exempt area).  He was only a small man: 5 feet 5 1/4 inches tall weighing 123 1/2 lbs (just under 9 stone or 60 kg).  He had two tattoos: a ship and two clasped hands on his left forearm, a rose with “Myrtle” on his right forearm.  In April 1916 he was appointed to the 24th Battallion, 13th reinforcements.

Cecil Young, photograph from Noel Tunks

He embarked from Australia in July 1917 arriving Plymouth, England in September and departing Folkestone, England in November 1916 and taken on strength in France 21 December 1916. He was with the 24th battalion reinforcing the second division. He was sick with scabies in hospital in mid-June 1917 and rejoined his unit at the end of the month.  He was wounded in action on 20 September 1917 with gunshot wounds to his right ear and his right thigh.  He was transferred to an ambulance train and three weeks later to hospital in England.  In January he was discharged to furlough and later that month he was admonished by a major following disorderly conduct and refusal to obey an order given by the Military Police. In April he was returned to Australia disembarking in early June and he was discharged from the AIF at Melbourne as medically unfit on 26 July 1918.  The last stamped annotation to his AIF file is  “Application for war service leave gratuity passed Feb 28 1919”.

Battle of Menin Road – wounded at side of the road. The 24th battalion’s battle honours include Menin Road. This battle occurred on 20 September 1917 so it is possible that the conditions Cecil experienced are similar to those in this picture taken by Frank Hurley.4

By August 1918 he was in Homebush staying with his aunt and uncle George and Charlotte Wilkins.  There he entertained a large number of guests together with Pte Allen, a friend of his from his war service, at the Public Hall, Homebush.  Guests were mainly members and supporters of Homebush Soldiers’ Comforts Fund.  The object of Privates Young and Allen “being to show their appreciation of the good work that is being done by the above body”.

Cecil’s brother Jack also served in World War I.  He enlisted in Melbourne on 3 October 1916. He was twenty years old. He trained as a signaller, and went to France in January 1918. He was wounded in action, gassed, in August 1918. In November 1918 Jack Young died of pneumonia in England. He is buried at Brookwood War Cemetery. John Young, his father, completed a card for the Roll of Honour of Australia.

Cecil and Jack are remembered locally on the Homebush Honor Roll unveiled in 1917 and on the memorial placed at the Homebush school in 1993. They are not remembered on any of the other local Avoca memorials.

Cecil is my husband’s grandfather.

The school at Lower Homebush where Cecil and Jack Young lived with their aunt Charlotte and her husband George Wilkins.  The Avenue of Honour can be seen.  Photographed September 2011.

The plaque at the Avenue of Honour at Lower Homebush School.

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<sup>1. In the 1960s Cecil passed a collection of postcards to his son Peter. These postcards helped us to develop the family tree and understand the family history of the early twentieth century.↩
2. Postcard concerning uniforms for two cadets from the firm Alfred Bowley addressed to Lieut. G.E. Wilkins in 1907. ↩
3. National Archives of Australia: Australian Imperial Force, Base Records Office; B2455, First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920; Young Cecil Ernest : SERN 5115 : POB Rokewood VIC : POE Melbourne VIC : NOK F Young John ↩
4. Picture retrieved from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_of_Menin_Road_-_wounded_at_side_of_the_road.jpg 20 April 2013. This image was in turn saved from the State Library of New South Wales: Exhibition of war photographs taken by Capt. F. Hurley, August 1917- August 1918. The caption for image 35: The Battle of the Menin Road. Walking wounded returning from the battle and by the roadside a relay of seriously wounded. The battle is still raging in the background. http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemDetailPaged.aspx?itemID=423850 retrieved 20 April 2013. ↩</sup>