A boshter and other postcards from Bob Whiteman to Jack Young

When more than thirty years ago I began researching the family history of my husband Greg I was given some postcards belonging to his grandfather, Cecil Young (1898-1975) which had been handed down to father, Peter Young (1920-1988).

At that time I didn’t know much at all about the people and places mentioned on the cards. They were from Bob. Who was he? They referred to Homebush. Was this the Sydney suburb of that name?

I now know much more. Bob was Cecil’s older half-brother. Homebush was a gold-mining town in central Victoria.

Bob, born Robert Henry Whiteman on 10 March 1883 at Parkes, New South Wales, was the oldest child of Sarah Jane (1863 – 1898) and Robert Henry Whiteman (1839 – 1884), a miner. In February 1884 Robert Henry Whiteman senior died of pneumonia. Bob was eleven months old. His sister Mary was born six months later.

In Melbourne in September 1894 Sarah Jane married John Young, a gold miner. Bob was then aged eleven and Mary was ten. In 1894 Sarah Jane had given birth out of wedlock to another child (who came to be known as Leslie Leister). She left this child in Parkes, where he was brought up by her mother and sister. It appears that Bob and Mary came to Victoria to live with John Young and Sarah Jane.

John Young and Sarah Jane had three children together:

• Caroline 1895-1895, born and died at Timor aged one month
• John Percy (Jack), 1896-1918 born at Bowenvale near Timor
• Cecil Ernest 1898-1975, born at Rokewood

Sarah Jane died of postpartum haemorrhage the day after Cecil was born, leaving John Young a widower with two step-children: Bob now aged 14 and Mary 13, and two infants: Jack, almost two, and the newborn Cecil. John’s sisters appeared to have taken care of these children. Jack and Cecil grew up in Homebush with their aunt Charlotte.

John Young in 1899, his two sons Cecil and Jack, and his two step-children Bob and Mary Ann Whiteman. Photo colourised using the MyHeritage photo tool.

The postcard collection has five written by Bob Whiteman to his half-brother Jack. Jack’s birthday was 24 August; three are birthday cards. All five were written between 1906 and 1911. Most are from Moriarty in northern Tasmania, a small settlement fourteen kilometres east of Devonport.

The post card album

16.9.06
Dear Brother Jack
I think you have been a long time answering that postcard that I sent you. So I think when you get this boshter you ought to write.
Give my best respects to all.
Good Bye for the present.
Your loving brother B. W.

(Boshter’ was Australasian slang for someone or something first-class or impressive. See: Green’s Dictionary of Slang https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/6mealla)

Road near Cora Lynn, Tas. painted by L H Davey. The State Library of Victoria has a copy of this postcard.

Moriarty 21st 9th 1908
Dear Brother Jack
I hope you don’t think that I have forgotten you I have been very busy lately one way and another. I have got my potatoes in I will have to chance what they turn out like now. Hoping you are well as I am myself at present I will say Good Bye.
Bob

Moriarty 8th 12th 1909
Dear Jack I suppose you thought I had forgotten you. We are having dreadful cold weather over here for this time of the year. Wish Aunt and Uncle and Lora a Happy xmas and a prosperous new year for me and accept the same for yourself and Cecil. All this time Good Bye Bob.

(Aunty and Uncle were Charlotte Wilkins née Young and her husband George Wilkins the Lower Homebush schoolmaster. ‘Lora’ was almost certainly Laura Squires, the school sewing mistress. In 1925 she married George Wilkins after the death of Charlotte.)

Moriarty 12.9.1910
Dear Jack
No doubt you will think it funny me sending you a birthday card after letting it pass so long but better late than never I suppose you are both growing fine big boys by this time. I will write you a letter when you answer this so don’t be too long. Have you seen Father lately.
Bob.

Moriarty 8th 1st 1911
Dear Jack, I suppose you were beginning to think I was never going to write but I hope you had a Merry Xmas & New Year. Things were quite enough over this way. How is Aunty & Uncle & Lora getting on wish them all the compliments of the season for me it is rather late but better that than never. I hope you enjoy your holidays. All this time so Good Bye Bob.

Related posts:

• M is for Mary
• John Percival Young (1896 – 1918)
• Cecil Young and family: Cecil’s early life up to end World War I
• Y is for Young family photographs

• For the etymology and meaning of boshter:
  • Lambert, James. “What Makes a Bonzer Etymology?” Green’s Dictionary of Slang News, 3 Sept. 2020, https://blog.greensdictofslang.com/articles/2020/what-makes-a-bonzer-etymology

Wikitree:

• Robert Henry Whiteman (1883 – 1957) – Bob
• John Percival Young (1896 – 1918) – Jack
• Cecil Ernest Young (1898 – 1975)
• John Young (1856 – 1928) – Father (Bob’s step-father, Jack’s father)
• Charlotte Ethel (Young) Wilkins (1861 – 1925) – Aunty; sister of John Young senior and foster-mother to John and Cecil
• George Edward Wilkins (1857 – 1944) – Uncle
• Laura Eliza (Squires) Wilkins (1878 – 1970) – Lora? ; became the second wife of George Wilkins after Charlotte died

M is for Mary

My husband Greg’s great aunt was Mary Ann Nichols, formerly Lack nee Whiteman (1884-1945). She was the daughter of Robert Henry Whiteman (1839-1884) and Sarah Jane Young formerly Whiteman nee Way (1863-1898).

When I first started researching our family history Greg and I looked through a postcard collection that his father Peter Young (1920-1988) was given by Greg’s grandfather Cecil Young (1898-1975). At first we didn’t know who the people mentioned on the cards were. Nor did we recognise the place names. When we saw ‘Timor’ on one of the cards we thought it was a reference to the island of Timor to the north of Australia, not – what it was – a gold mining town in central Victoria!

The notes from our research 25 years ago show some of the things we learned from  reading the cards carefully and looking carefully at the postmarks and addresses.

Conclusions from the transcribed postcard collection. This collection was passed from Cecil to his son Peter. The postcards were mainly addressed to Cecil’s brother Jack. From at least July 1906 to after 1911, Jack and Cecil lived with a Mrs GE Wilkens in Lower Homebush. Bob Whiteman (Jack and Cecil’s half brother) referred to them as Aunty and Uncle. He also referred to Lora (a daughter?). Mr George E Wilkens is a teacher at Lower Homebush school from at least 1899 to at least 1916 according to Wise’s Victorian Post Office Directory. In ‘Avoca the Early Years’ a George Wilkens is mentioned playing the cornet. Cecil and Jack’s father, John Young, was not living with his sons. In 1907 he was in Barringhup, Victoria. In 1909 he was at Burnt Creek or Middlebridge. After 1911 Jack and Cecil moved to Clunes. At one stage they are with or near Aunt Harriet and her children. At another stage Jack lived in Service Street Clunes. According to another post card Cecil lived with a Mr Thomas, Fraser Street, Clunes. Bob Whiteman (Jack and Cecil’s half brother) was living at Moriarty in Tasmania at least between 1906 and 1911. Jack and Cecil’s half sister, Mary, lived at Homebush in 1909.

We have since learned much more. We now know that Mrs G.E. Wilkins was Charlotte Wilkins nee Young (1861-1925), who was married to George Wilkins (1857-1944), a schoolteacher at Homebush, Victoria, not far from Avoca. Charlotte was the sister of John Young (1856-1928), father of Cecil and Jack. She was the twin sister of Harriet Richards nee Young (1861-1926) who lived at Clunes.

Mary Ann Whiteman was born 19 August 1884 at Parkes, New South Wales, the second child of Sarah Jane and Robert Henry Whiteman, a miner. Robert Henry Whiteman had died of pneumonia in February 1884, six months before Mary was born. Mary had an older brother, Robert Henry (Bob) 1883-1957).

In September 1894 Sarah Jane married John Young, a gold miner, in Melbourne, Victoria. Mary was then aged ten and her brother Bob aged 11. Sarah Jane had earlier given birth out of wedlock to another child (Leslie Leister) in 1894, but left him in Parkes to be brought up by her mother and sister. It seems that Bob and Mary came to Victoria to live with John Young and Sarah Jane.

John Young and Sarah Jane had three children together:

• Caroline 1895-1895 born and died at Timor aged one month
• John Percy (Jack) 1896-1918 born at Bowenvale near Timor
• Cecil Ernest 1898-1975 born at Rokewood, Victoria

Sarah Jane died of postpartum haemorrhage the day after Cecil was born.

John Young was left a widower with two step-children, Bob aged 14 and Mary aged 13, and two infants: Jack, almost two, and the newborn Cecil. It appears that John’s sisters looked after the children. Jack and Cecil grew up mainly in Homebush, cared for by their aunt Charlotte.

John Young with his step children Bob and Mary Whiteman and his sons Jack and Cecil Young. Photograph taken 1898-9. A copy of this photograph came from the Tunks family (relatives on the Young side) but a copy is also held by the Way family (relatives of the children’s mother).

The post card album

There are four postcards in the collection signed by Mary. It seems that Mary called Charlotte ‘Aunty’ and spent time at Homebush.

It is hard to tell in what order the postcards were sent. Mary, it appears, was living with a Mrs Thomas in Stawell (75 kilometres west of Homebush and Avoca). She was presumably Mrs Thomas’s servant.

Silver Creek Weir is in Kinglake National Park 260 kilometres east of Stawell

My address c/o Mrs Thomas Childe Street Stawell

Dear Jack I am sending you this to let you see that I have not forgotten you, I do wish the you Cecil would write me a letter and tell Aunty to write also I do wish I could see you. I hope to come down at Xmas time. Love to all your loving sister Mary.

Addressed to Master J Young c/o Mrs Wilkins Post Office Lr Homebush

….

Dear Aunty Just a line to let you know that I will be coming down to see you on Friday morning. Mr T is in Avoca and Mrs T is going down so she is going to pay my fare and I am coming down to see you. Hope all are, love from Mary.

….

My dear brother Jack. Just a card hoping you are all well as it leaves us all nicely at present, how do you like being at Clunes. I think that you will like it better than Homebush. It will be livelier for you, give our love to Harriet and all the children, how did you spend Xmas. Well dear wish you all a happy new year, with love from Jim and Mary.

[In 1911 Mary married James Theodore Lack (1887-1971) at St Arnaud, 60 kilometres north of Avoca. I assume this is Jim.]

….

The fourth card is to Miss Eva Hogan (1889-1913). She lived at Homebush and in 1910 married James John Cross (1886-1963), also a relative of Greg’s, his great uncle, but on a different branch of the family.

Dear Eva Just a line hoping you all are doing well, & did not get washed away. Tell dad Gus wrote to Charlie to give him a show if he gets it, that is all we know at present. When are you coming to see us. Give love to all from all yours Mary.

Addressed to Miss E Hogan Bromley near Dunolly and postmarked 6 August 1909.

[I have not yet worked out who Gus and Charlie are or what “give him a show if he gets it” could refer to.]

….

 

Mary and Jim Lack had three boys.

In 1925 she and Jim Lack were divorced. In the same year she remarried Henry White Nichols (1873-1959), a widower. They had one daughter.

John Young lived with the Nichols family in Melbourne for the last years of his life. He died at the age of 72 in 1928.

In 1945 Mary died aged 63.

John Young and Mary Nichols are buried together in  Footscray cemetery.

The unmarked grave of John Young and Mary Ann Nichols, Church of England section, Footscray Cemetery FO-CE*D***755

 

Related posts

• Y is for Young family photographs
• Trove Tuesday: Obituary for John Young (1856 – 1928)
• W is for George Wilkins writing from Western Australia
• Cecil Young and family: Cecil’s early life up to end World War I
• John Percival Young (1896 – 1918)

 

W is for George Wilkins writing from Western Australia

Greg’s grandfather Cecil Young (1898-1975) had a small collection of postcards that he had collected when young. He passed it on to Greg’s father, Peter.

When I first started our family history research I looked at those postcards and tried to work out who was writing to whom and why the cards had been collected.  They contained important clues. I’ve spent many years working on the family tree they make a lot more sense now,  but they are still worth revisiting for new insights.

Two of the cards were sent from Western Australia, I think from Cecil’s cousin George Wilkins (1884-1909). Cecil and his brother Jack lived at Homebush near Avoca, with George’s parents, George Wilkins senior (1857-1944) and their aunt Charlotte Wilkins née Young (1861-1925). These two postcards were addressed to Charlotte Wilkins.

 

The cards show Fremantle Harbour and Kings Park, Perth. Both cards are postmarked Meekatharra, a town in the mid-west of Western Australia.

An article in the Avoca Free Press of 10 March 1909 mentioned a memorial service for George Wilkins who had died 30 January 1909 in Meekatharra.

Cemetery records show that George was buried at Nannine Cemetery.  Nannine is 35 kilometres south-west of Meekatharra, 735 kilometres north-north-east of Perth. It is now a ghost town but in the early 1900s it was a gold-mining centre.

When I was thinking about researching this post I decided to look up the Victorian probate index. Although George did not die in Victoria there was a chance his affairs had been administered there. George died intestate but he had a block of land and there is a file containing letters of administration.

• George E Wilkins occupation School Teacher residence Maryborough date of death 30 Jan 1909 file number 115/855 VPRS 28/P3, unit 130 VPRS 7591/P2, unit 447

The file contains an affidavit by George’s father concerning the search for the will. It mentions a William Baker of Meekatharra, who had been an intimate friend of George’s. Baker stated there was no will and there was no will found in the effects forwarded to his parents by the police. Nurse Cameron of the Meekathatta hospital attended George in his last illness and stated he had made no will despite being urged to by his attendants. George Wilkins senior also stated that Nurse Cameron had said George had been asked

if he had any message to leave. He replied that he had told Willy Baker all that he had to say except what he would tell his mother. His mother did not see him as he died before news of his fatal illness arrived. For all of which reasons I am fully satisfied that deceased left no will. (VPRS 7591/P2, unit 447, pages 15-16)

The letters of administration dealt with 20 acres of land at Homebush Lower and associated fencing.

I don’t know how long George Wilkins had been in Western Australia. The postmarks are not clear and I can’t read the dates.

Related posts

• T is for teachers’ records