Child falls from a carriage
I again discovered something tonight on the National Library of Australia’s digital newspaper archives.
Here is a story from The Argus (Melbourne) dated October 5, 1893:
An accident happened on the Colac railway this afternoon, between the Pettavel Road and Germantown stations. Violet Gorey, aged 3 and a half years, a daughter of Mr John Gorey, of Rathdown Street, Carlton, who was travelling with her mother in a second class carriage of the tram from Colac, fell out of the carriage through the door suddenly opening. She was playing with the handle of the door at the time. The train travelled nearly a mile before it was stopped, and went back. The child was found lying face down wards and unconscious. On arrival at Geelong, Dr Max Wall examined the child, and said that no bones were broken but that she was suffering from slight concussion of the brain. Mrs Gorey, with the child, proceeded to Melbourne by train shortly after 6 o’clock.
John Gorey was my great-grandfather Edward’s brother, meaning Violet was my grandfather’s cousin. (more…)
Top text correctors acknowledged
I’ve written before about the National Library of Australia’s wonderful digitisation program.
Hundreds of historic newspapers are having their pages converted to searchable electronic copies.
I’ve already used the resource for family history research.
The text appears garbled in most cases. Hence the NLA has asked volunteers to correct digital records as they discover them.
I’ve fixed up a few paragraphs; it’s rather time consuming.
Today I received this media release, which I’m reproducing in full out of admiration for the volunteers who have gone the extra mile: (more…)
Family history update
I haven’t done much offline genealogical research since 1999, but I occasionally browse online sources on public holidays, like today.
These sources are much more plentiful than they were 10 years ago and most didn’t exist in 1999.
Today I checked old digital copies of The Argus on the National Library’s archive. This is a wonderful resource. Some items I discovered:
- James Gorey (my great-great-grandfather) was an elector in South Bourke in 1856 who supported the successful candidate Sidney Ricardo to represent the “agricultural interests” of Heidelberg (now a suburb of Melbourne).
- James Gorey helped unsuccessfully to extinguish a fire at the Harvest Home Hotel, Boggy Creek, according to the Kyneton Guardian, reprinted in The Argus on March 3, 1874: http://ax.lv/15.
- Michael Gorey was the licensee of the Royal Mint Hotel, Little Lonsdale Street, in 1884 (http://ax.lv/16). I’m not sure if this is the eldest son of James Gorey (my great-grandfather’s brother), but I’ve never come across any other Michael Gorey in Victoria during this era. Little Lonsdale Street was Melbourne’s brothel precinct at that time.
I have also reactivated a Google Group for discussion and questions.
New photographic site
This is a picture of my great uncle Peter Wassenberg. He served in the Dutch Army in the 1930s.
The Dutch were neutral in the First World War, but Hitler wouldn’t let them claim that privilege in the second. The Netherlands were easily overrun in the early days of the war.
The fact they were riding horses while tanks rolled through the country might have had something to do with it. (more…)
Digital newspaper archives
I discovered today the National Library of Australia has begun digitising millions of old newspapers from microfilm. These archives are progressively being made available online.
What a wonderful project and how tremendous it will be for researchers.
I spent days browsing microfilm while studying the family history, often picking dates at random. Now it’s possible to search for names.
A quick look tonight for “Gorey” revealed these extracts:
5 March 1930: The Argus
Re: James Herbert Gorey (Bert)
“Sub Inspector Gorey, who until his recent promotion was officer in charge of the Collingwood police district, was entertained on Tuesday afternoon at the town hall by the citizens of Collingwood, on whose behalf the mayor (Councillor WF Angus) presented him with an inscribed gold watch.”
Comment: I never knew Bert was such an important officer or that he was based in Collingwood. This would have been during the John Wren days as well. Fascinating.
There were several other references to Bert Gorey making arrests and giving evidence in court.
He was my grandfather’s cousin, which I think makes him my third cousin.
Another one of my grandfather’s cousins, also James Gorey (a common name in our family) died in a mine disaster at Marvel Loch and that was reported in the Melbourne Argus.
I wrote briefly about this in February 2006 while living at Kalgoorlie, which was where James was from. I read the more detailed reports at that time in the Kalgoorlie Miner. Here is what The Argus published.
19 May 1915
Re: James Gorey
“PERTH, Tuesday – The Minister for Mines (Mr Collier) visited Marvel Loch on Tuesday and presented a miner, Frank Mazza, with the departmental certificate for bravery. In November last James Gorey, Frank Mazza and Michael O’Brien were tributing in the Marvel Loch mine, and while engaged in the work of taking out stone a heavy fall of earth occurred in a stope over them, instantly killing Gorey and pinning O’Brien in a position which rendered him unable to extricate himself.
“Mazza, at great personal risk, and even with the ground crumbling all around, and though twice driven from his task, succeeded in the third attempt to release his remaining mate just in time to avoid a further fall of earth, which would have overwhelmed them both. Making their way to a sounder part of the mine, the two were subsequently imprisoned for 8 1/2 hours before a rescue party, working under extreme difficulty and in immediate peril, effected their rescue.”
Here was another sad discovery, involving my grandfather:
2 April 1932: The Argus
Re: Michael John Gorey
FARMERS’ RELIEF
IS THE ACT INCONSISTENT?
“LANG LANG, Friday – At the Lang Lang Court before Mr RH Down PM, Michael John Gorey, farmer, of Dalmore, applied for protection under the Farmers Relief Act.
“The applicant stated that he was a potato farmer, and that his debts were approximately £1600 and his assets £2000. He was on a closer settlement block of 60 acres. Some of his creditors were pressing him for payment. It would be to his advantage to obtain a protection certificate.
“Mr Marsland, who appeared for several creditors to object to the application, submitted that the act required that the interests of creditors should be considered. The plan of distribution of income under the act permitted new creditors, such as fertiliser and jute merchants, to take preference over storekeepers who had carried the farmer for years.
“Mr Down said that he felt obliged to agree with Mr Marsland. It appeared that Parliament had overlooked the aspect placed before the Court, and that protection certificates would be difficult to obtain. The application would be refused.”
Comment: This was during the Great Depression. My grandfather subsequently left Dalmore with his wife and 11 children to carve a farm out of virgin bush at Fumina near Mount Baw Baw.
My father was the 12th and final child born. He would have been interested in this article.
Grandfather Michael was 48 in 1932. I can’t imagine the difficulty of having to start life again with a large family at that age.
Aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney
Concluding the mini series on ships on which my Uncle John served in the Korean War, today I look at the aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney.
Launched as a Royal Navy ship HMS Terrible in 1944, Sydney was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy in 1948.
Sydney was the first conventional aircraft carrier in the RAN.
Sydney was so named in memory of the previous HMAS Sydney, which was sunk in battle in 1941. The naming also carried £427,000 courtesy the HMAS Sydney replacement fund. (more…)
HMAS Tobruk (1)
Continuing to look at ships on which my Uncle John served, the destroyer HMAS Tobruk is not quite as illustrious as the cruiser HMAS Shropshire, but distinguished nevertheless.
Tobruk was commissioned at Sydney on May 8, 1950.
According to Australian Government archives, John was aboard in the Korean War from August 31, 1951 to February 22, 1952. (more…)
