Family tree online
I’ve uploaded family tree information to this section of my site. The default tree is Gorey. To get the Wassenberg tree, hover your mouse over Welcome or follow this link .
I’m using PhpGedView . It was very easy to install and upload the gedcom files. I’ll experiment with design tweaks and other features over the next few weeks.
I apologise to those people who were registered on the old site. They will need to re-register, I’m afraid. Registration is required to see the complete trees and make edits.
The Day we went to Bangor
I started high school at St Paul’s College, Traralgon, in 1979. For music, students had a choice of learning the recorder or guitar. I chose the recorder, with a view to later learning the clarinet, which I began in form two (year 8).
I made good progress with the recorder and can still play tunes today. Our teacher introduced us to a range of music from classical to jazz and popular.
The point of this post is to remark that two of the “popular” songs we learnt in 1980 were Paul McCartney’s Mull of Kintyre and The Day we went to Bangor by Fiddlers Dram.
The former will be familiar to many readers, albeit nostalgically. The latter was a brief foray into the mainstream charts by an otherwise obscure British folk group.
Funnily enough, the tune has stuck in my head for nearly three decades and I frequently visit YouTube for a fix. Unfortunately the film clip version has been removed from YouTube. The audio is here.
It’s like getting a song stuck in your head that just won’t go away, except this one recurs.
PCLinuxOS
I went for a couple of months where I hardly used Linux at all. I had Suse on my laptop and Puppy, but for various reasons I stuck mainly with Windows XP for that period.
I think I had less time and no inclination to experiment. By the time I did want to revisit Linux there were problems with my Suse upgrades, so I checked out Distrowatch and the visit there coincided with a new release of PCLinuxOS.
I’ve used this Mandriva-based distro before and liked it. The CD is packed with useful software and more can be added easily through Synaptic.
My only issue at the moment is that fonts look a little furry. I’m trying various things to fix this, otherwise I’m a happy user. A full-size screenshot is here.
Small fry
The doctor weighed Jim this week to work out what dose of antibiotics to give him for a throat infection. He was 15kg or 33lb. I measured him today and he is 99cm tall or 39″.
Maggie weighs 11kg and is 95cm tall (24lb, 33″).
I found this site to obtain the average weight and height for children. The twins are nearly three and a half years old, but I’ve gone with the three-year-old stats for comparison.
- Jim 33lb, 39″ (average boy 34lb, 39″)
- Maggie 24lb, 37″ (average girl 33lb, 38″).
Without even taking into account the fact they are five months older than the benchmark, it’s obvious both are small for their age.
James is close to the average on both counts. Margaret’s height isn’t far short of the mark but her weight is significantly lighter (4kg or 9lb).
I really notice the difference now when I pick them up.
Mathemagic Computer Tutor
We had a visit today from a salesman for the Australian Institute of Mathematics who demonstrated the company’s Mathemagic computer tutor software for children.
When Juliet told me about the appointment I understood it was a government program to test children at maths, so I was immediately wary and defensive when I learnt it was a commercial product.
I’ve got no opinion on the software. From the demo I would say it clearly has some value and could even be useful. At the quoted price tag of $7530 though (for the complete package) I have no intention of buying it. Read more
Beaten in the fun run
I wrote a few weeks ago that Michael Jnr, aged 11, was starting to get the better of me, aged 40, in sporting events.
In the earlier article I described how Michael beat me over 25 metres in the pool and I bravely stated that “I would expect to hold the upper hand in athletic and cycling events for the time being”.
Well, today that theory came unstuck when he finished ahead of me in the GMF Health Fun Run. Results haven’t been posted yet, but Michael thinks he covered the 4km distance in about 18 minutes and I’m tipping 21 minutes for myself.
Last year I came sixth in the event with a time of about 19:30. There were a lot more competitors this year and I’m not as fit.
Young Michael had never run over that distance before (school cross countries are 2km for him at the moment) and had plenty of energy to spare at the finish. Next year he should complete the event in about 16 minutes, is my guess.
Kalgoorlie-Boulder buildings
Today was my first chance to try out my new Lumix DMC-TZ3 camera. As mentioned in the original post, I was interested in this camera for its compact size, low price, powerful zoom and wide-angle capability. The wide-angle feature is a real winner (see below).
I would not have been able to take these photos of buildings with my other camera. Here’s a look at some of the heritage architecture in Kalgoorlie-Boulder:
Boulder Town Hall
Kalgoorlie Town Hall
Exchange Hotel
Palace Hotel
Kalgoorlie Miner (my office)
Official Gorey seal
I was browsing with StumbleUpon this morning. Stumble is a web discovery tool that takes you randomly to sites according to your preferences.
Mine are focused on internet, politics and graphics, an odd mix you will agree. Anyhow, I was taken to the Official Seal Generator and 10 minutes later I had created my own.
A family has to start somewhere in creating its symbols. Imagine the ancient clansmen sitting around a peat fire on the edge of the bog saying they had to get their own crest because the McJones mongrels had one.
Better, I think, to have a risen sun than a hog’s head or mallet.
The phrase Is uaisle am breid na toll is Irish for “A patch is better than a hole.”
Supernatural experience
I’m something of a sceptic when it comes to people describing supernatural encounters. I have experienced only one myself and, prior to now, I have only told two other people.
In 1999 I spent many hours researching my family history. I focused on my great-grandparents Edward Gorey and Sophia Evans, and their children.
The project involved trips to Melbourne, Whroo, Rochester, Shepparton and Echuca. Whroo is a haunting place, a former gold mining district where hundreds of people died, especially children.
Edward Gorey had a farm near Whroo and spent some time gold mining himself. Read more
Margaret Gorey
The life of great-aunt Margaret Elizabeth Gorey was sadly cut short in tragic circumstances.
Born at Corop on March 1, 1876, Margaret was the eldest child of Edward and Sophia Gorey. Soon after her birth she was taken to be baptised at the Catholic Church in Heathcote on April 16, 1876.
She was living with her parents and new brother Charles at Torrumbarry when she fell into a pot of boiling tea and subsequently died of burns.
A Coroner’s inquest was held, and the surviving statements provide a graphic account of the accident. Reports were published in the Rochester Express and the Riverine Herald. The Herald’s report was published on January 11, 1879 under a headline of “Scalded to death”.
“A terrible accident, which resulted fatally, occurred at Torrumbarry on Tuesday to a child named Margaret Elizabeth, aged two years and 10 months, daughter of Edward William and Sophia Gorey, of that place,” the paper reported.
“It appears from the evidence adduced at the inquest, that at about one o’clock on the day mentioned the men and others employed on the farm had been called to dinner; one of the men was in the act of bringing in a piece of timber about 10-feet long for the purpose of constructing a temporary seat, and in turning round one end of the timber was in danger of striking the little girl, who to avoid the blow walked backwards and fell into a boiler of scalding tea which had just been removed from the fire.
“The mother, drawn to the spot by the child’s screams, removed it on the instant. As may be imagined the injuries were of a frightful nature, extending from the back of the neck down to the thighs. Flour, the only remedy at hand, was applied and up to six o’clock the little sufferer appeared to be getting on very well, but at this period a change for the worse set in, and the parents determined to take her to a doctor at Echuca, a distance of 18 miles.
“They, however, had only reached Wharparilla, seven miles on the road, when the little girl was found to be dead. The inquest was held at Gregory’s Kyneton Hotel on Wednesday night by Mr R. Strickland, the district coroner, and a verdict of accidental death, in accordance with the evidence, was returned. Much sympathy is felt for the parents who untimely have been deprived of a pretty and interesting child.”
Margaret is buried at the Rochester Cemetery, Catholic section, site 43A. Her burial was number 187 out of more than 4000 at the cemetery.
I visited the grave in 1999 and left some flowers. I named my second daughter Margaret after her.
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