Hoarder? Collector? Keeper of Memories?

 Did you know that the days & dates in 1966, 1977, 2005, 2011, and 2022 align?  

My father recently located a number of old calendars.  I immediately put the 1972 calendar on the wall thinking that it matched this year (2022).  However, I turned the page today and realised that 1972 was a leap year!  So the calendar is only useful January and February in 2022!  And what are the chances, but I am missing the years that I could use!  Darn!

I shall keep the calendar on the wall until the end of February 2022

Around every corner in our home, is a different memory.  EVERYTHING on display in our home has a meaning or memory. 

No longer are collections hidden in the cupboard.  They are on display for our enjoyment.

For years the badges were in a container in the cupboard,
but they are now on display

The bookcase below is older than I am.  Mum always had medical encyclopedias in it. Now it contains World Book encyclopedias.  My inlaws invested in these encyclopedias in 1972 to assist my husband and his brother with their learning. 

I am extremely grateful to my cousin for giving me the beautiful ruby block butter dish.  It is EAP Glass which was produced from 1850 to 1914.  This one is estimated to be from 1894. I suspect that this may have been a 40th wedding anniversary gift, passed down through several generations.  Perhaps a gift from my Great Grandparents Ambrose and Mary Walker (nee Mottram) to my Great Great Grandparents Alexander and Ellen Walker (nee Rowe) who celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on 20th July 1908.  Or was it a gift to Mary's parents, my Great Great Grandparents, Samuel and Elizabeth Mottram (nee Gourley), who celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on 27th January 1915?

My father has made me two replicas of this bookcase for side tables in the loungeroom

Every time that I look at the pair of candelabra I think of a deceased friend, Bill Terhorst.   Bill was an engineer and very clever.  He learned blacksmith skills from one of his relatives and made two of these, with the assistance of my husband.  

The good luck charm was purchased in China while I was on a trip with my daughter.

Hand-made by Bill Terhorst.

The small tea-pot belonged to my Nanna.  Several of her grandchildren remember cups of tea being made in it.
The kettle with the green lid was always on our stove growing up.  The fruit bowl (full of knick knacks) belonged to my nanna also.

The tea tin was a container for cereal when we were children.
The canisters were purchased from Bendigo Pottery when we visited friends.
The coffee grinder belonged to my husband's parents (and is of German origin)
The scales were from my days as a bank teller before coin-counting became digital.

The crystal cabinet belonged to Great Grandma Walker and was given to me by another cousin for safekeeping.  It was one of the first things I saw when I walked in the front door of my grandparents.  Nanna always had jelly beans for us, hiding behind a picture on the crystal cabinet.

The dancing doll in the bottle is another beautiful memory of my nanna, who would wind it up for me over and over again when I was a little girl.

The above barometer is one of a large number of pigeon flying trophies. 
My father in law won the VHA Long Distance Average in 1977

The dining room is full of memories. These are only a few examples.
On our honeymoon, we were chased down the road by a vendor eager to sell his wares.  We ended up purchasing the hand-carved cobra walking stick for $5, to stop him from following us.
The ice bucket and trays are VHA pigeon racing trophies.
The cup was given to my parents upon my birth by the masonic lodge.
The crockery is part of a set that belonged to my maternal great grandmother, Mabel Pilgrim (nee Geyer), but it has been broken up and shared among the family.
The goblets belonged to my mother in law.  They were always on display in her wall unit

The purple lamp was used on the kitchen table by my grandmother prior to electricity.
The iron lamp was a wedding present to my Great Grandparents,  Ambrose and Mary Walker, from the bride's father, Samuel Mottram.
The copper picture brings back memories of my grandfather, Gordon Walker, as it was on the wall of my grandparents home when I was a child.
Just out of view is a picture from Disneyland, a scent lamp which a gift from past colleagues/friends, and an urn from a visit to Turkey.

The knitting machine and cupboard belonged to my maternal grandfather, Allan Scott, who purchased them when he returned from World War II, to make socks for the soldiers.
The piano accordion (in the case) was my mothers when she was a child.
The hat was from when my husband was in the army.
The handbag belonged to my mother-in-law.
Mum made the tablecloth with hobbytex

I have given you a small taste of our eclectic style.  Some may think that I am a hoarder.  Others with say that I am a collector.  But I consider myself to be the keeper of memories. I have a book of photographs of all the memorabilia, which includes a description of its origin.  If something happens to me, others will also know the significance.

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This post was inspired by Sepia Saturday 606.

It started with calendars but finished with memorabilia!

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She had the light of battle glimmering in her eyes

MOE's OLDEST FILM FAN WILL BE THERE

Experienced picturegoer
 Mary Walker
From silent films, to 'talkies, to  colour
widescreen.

In the long queue that tensed as the box office opened to book the first reservations for the new Civic Theatre, Moe, on Tuesday, there was the oldest and keenest movie fan in the district, and perhaps, all of Gippsland.

With the lively intention of getting a seat in a position most closely alike to the one she had occupied in the old Mechanics' Institute picture show for 30 years, she had the light of battle, should it be needed, glimmering in her eyes.

Mrs M. Walker, a film-lover to be respected, of the Princes Highway, who was 78 years old on January 20, knew what wanted and got it.

Before being satisfied with picked positions offered by the theatre staff, Mrs Walker several times inspected the actual seats and finally had the assistance of the proprietor himself, Mr Rex Hamilton.

He ensured that Mrs Walker secured an end seat that pleased her, on her chosen aisle, where she will be as contented and considerably more comfortable than in "L-1" in the Mechanics Pictures.

"I think this is something beautiful" said Mrs Walker to an "Advocate" representative, as she looked happily around.

The old lady became a regular customer early in the same seat very soon after the opening of Moe's first picture show; and having seen through 'twenties', occupying the same [seat, she has seen] stars come and go on the silent screen and sat through the development of talkies, and now will see the wide screen usher in a new era.

Asked what films she preferred, she replied, "I like religious pictures, and romantic ones, but I don't think much of those that have a lot of shooting."

So tonight, when Moe sees its first Cinemascope widescreen film in color in the town's new, modern, airconditioned theatre, there will be among those present the little lady who admits her greatest love is the 'movies' and who probably knows as much about them as any picturegoer in Gippsland.

She'll be there alone - but just exactly where, we are not telling.

Source: Narracan Shire Advocate - March 18th, 1955

Mary Walker (nee Mottram) is my great grandmother
Born 20th January 1876, Timor, Victoria, Australia
Married 21st May 1902, Havelock, Victoria, Australia to Ambrose Walker
Died 1st July 1958, Yallourn, Victoria, Australia

This post was inspired by Sepia Saturday
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Samuel Mottram married Sophia Lillian Walker

Walker Siblings married Mottram Siblings.

Samuel Mottram is the brother of my Great Grandmother, Mary Mottram.
Sophia "Lillian" Walker is the sister of my Great Grandfather, Ambrose Walker

Samuel Mottram
circa 1904

You can read more about Samuel in my B is for Buried alive post.

Sophia "Lillian" was born at Balaclava, near Maryborough, Victoria Australia on the 25th June 1886. 1 (Can anyone tell me exactly where Balacava was? I suspect it was a mining area rather than a town.)

Lillian was the 11th of the 15 children of Alexander and Ellen Walker.

She married Samuel Mottram junior at Alma (also near Maryborough, Victoria) on the 27th March 1907.2

Samuel was killed in a mining accident on 27th February 1918 3.  He was 35 years old.  Lillian was left to care for their three children, aged 10, 5 and 3.  At the time, two of the children were in hospital "suffering from infantile paralysis" 4 (polio).

Lillian married George Allan Sewell in 1937 5 and was widowed again on the 4th January 1963 6.

Lillian was 97 years old when she died at Clarendon House, Maryborough from a "Chest Infection and Vascular Disease" 6.  She is buried with her first husband at Timor cemetery.

Alexander and Ellen Walker and family
The original (which hung on my Aunty's wall) was unnamed.
I cannot be certain of who is who (except my great grandfather Ambrose) but based on other photos and their ages, I have been able to identify many of them and make educated guesses as to others.  I am very confident that Lillian is one of the two sisters on the left but cannot be certain which one.  Lillian is two years younger than Emma.  

Sources
1 Birth Certificate
2 Marriage Certificate
3 Death Certificate
4 "MINING FATALITY" The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 - 1924) 28 February 1918: p 6. Web. 22 Apr 2016 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154724294.

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Elizabeth Sarah Mottram (nee Gourley)

Elizabeth Sarah Mottram

Elizabeth Gourley was born on the voyage from UK to Australia, but died soon after arrival.  She was nearly two months old.

Her sister, My Great Great Grandmother, born two years later in 1854 was also named Elizabeth. Elizabeth Sarah Gourley was born on the 30th July 1854 at Collingwood, Victoria, Australia, the youngest child of William & Margaret Gourley.  Elizabeth never knew her father, who died soon after on 23rd October 1854.

Source: www.trove.nla.gov.au

Elizabeth was orphaned before she turned four years old.  Her mother Margaret was only 34 years old when she died in a tent on the Goldfields of Heart & Liver Disease. It seems that Elizabeth's mother had gone to the gold fields to make money to support her children, who were likely living with other family members.

Elizabeth could sign her name, but did not know the correct names of her parents, when at 20 years of age, she married Samuel Mottram at Bet Bet, Victoria, on the 27th January 1875.

Elizabeth Sarah Mottram was 80 years old when she died from senility, myocardial degeneration and uraemia, at her daughter's home in Richmond, on 16th September 1934.

circa 1904 - Mottram Family
Back: Mary, Samuel, Sam, Jack, Fred
Front:  Eve, David, Henry, Elizabeth, Madeline

Elizabeth & Samuel Mottram
Dundas Road, Maryborough - before July 1928

Mary Walker, Elizabeth Mottram, Madeline Mottram
Children: Betty and Bob Walker
circa 1933

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The Women In My Life

Agnes Scott, Rita Walker, Mary Jane Walker, Elizabeth Mottram,
Charlotte Drayton, Danielle, Ellen Walker
Mary Ann Scott, Me , Joy, Eva Scott
Jane Warrick, Mary Ann Pilgrim, Edith Geyer, Mabel Pilgrim

Girls commencing work today would not believe how things have changed in the past 30+ years!

When I started working, what we today know as "discrimination" was accepted as normal practice!

As a junior,  I made the coffee for all the men in the office every morning and afternoon.  It was an accepted part of my role to be the "gopher".  In the days before every branch had a photo copier, it was my job to run across the road to get any photocopying done!  I didn't mind as being a smoker back then, it gave me the opportunity to have a cigarette, as females were not allowed to smoke in front of customers (but the men could).  In the early years of banking,  I remember being disciplined for coming to work in trousers!

I was ambitious from a young age but had many doubters.............and they were not afraid to tell me either!  That just made me more determined!  When I was 20 , I was told that I could not have a supervisors role because "You are female and under age 21" even though I had been successfully relieving in the role for months!   Hard to imagine today!

A male colleague actually laughed at me one day and told me that I would never be a manager as I would "just get married and have babies".  I did get married and have babies but continued working! I achieved my ambition to be a Manager before I was age 30 and am proud that I was the first female branch manager in Gippsland.  How I hated playing golf after manager's conferences!  However, it was something that I needed to do to be considered an equal.  In reality,  I feel that I had to work twice as hard as my male colleagues to be considered equal!

I do not write this to complain but instead to highlight how things have changed. We have come a long way but unfortunately we still have a way to go until men and females are equal in the workplace.

However, I have had it easy compared to my female ancestors pictured above. Every one of the ladies above (except my daughter) has a story of adversity and courage.

My Great Great Great Grandmother, Jane Bound, was 39 years old with 8 children and another on the way when her husband died.  Jane was too old to come to Australia from England, but did not take "no" for an answer and successfully applied for a special dispensation from the Queen to bring her family to Australia in 1878.  That took courage!

When I chose to be a working mother, I did not realise that my Great Great Grandmother, Edith Geyer, was one of the first working mothers.   After her husband died of typhoid in 1899, she needed to work to maintain custody of her seven children.  The family faced further adversity and nearly died when the family went by wagon to Mildura to pick fruit.  You can read about it here.
Nurse Edith Geyer later built a successful private hospital business (with no formal education).  She was certainly an early survivor and entrepreneur.

March is Women's Family History Month and Tuesday March 8th is International Women's day. I would like to take this opportunity to remember and thank the strong women in my family.  I am proud to come from a long line of determined and resourceful women.  Maybe I have inherited my resilience, determination and work ethic from my fore-bearers?

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"Gunyah" one Sunday Morning 1930

Sadly, I don't actually remember my grandfather smiling.  He didn't seem to have much time for children.

Therefore the photos below have always appealed to me.   In the first photo, my grandfather, Gordon Walker, has a half smile on his face; a gentle look.  To me, it seems that the lady must be someone he knows well and respects or cares for.

I cannot remember who allowed me to copy the photo but my notes indicate that on the back of the photo was written "Gunyah" one Sunday Morning 1930 and then in another person's handwriting "Gordon and Frank Walker"

Do you think the unknown lady didn't want her photo taken? Or was she shading herself from the sun?

Gordon and Frank Walker
"Gunyah" one Sunday Morning 1930

I wanted to know more about "Gunyah", which is aboriginal for a humpy or small shelter made from bark and tree branches, according to wikipedia.

Unknown Lady with Frank and Gordon Walker
Gunyah 1930

I soon found that "Gunyah" was the home of Gordon and Frank Walker's grandparents, Samuel and Elizabeth Mottram.  The death of Samuel Mottram was reported in the Maryborough Advertiser two years earlier.

The Maryborough Midlands Historical Society provided me with the following;

Maryborough Advertiser

Friday 27th July 1928

Death - Mottram 

Old Resident Passes - At his residence, 'Gunyah', Dundas Road, Maryborough, the death occurred yesterday of Mr. Samuel Mottram, who had attained the advanced age of 83 years.  The deceased, who was well known, resided at Havelock for many years, in which district he was associated with mining pursuits.  He leaves a widow and adult family.  The funeral will take place this afternoon at 3 o'clock for the Timor Cemetery.

The probate notice then gave me a more precise address; 19 Dundas Road, Maryborough.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic: 1848 - 1957)
Thursday 14th March 1935 - page 1
Source: Trove

The old miners cottage remains;

19 Dundas Street, Maryborough
Source:www.onthehouse.com.au 

So is the lady in the top two photos Elizabeth Mottram?  

By 1930, both Gordon and Frank Walker were living over 300 kilometres away in Moe, Victoria.  Therefore it seems that it may have been a family function?  Frank does seem fairly well dressed and Gordon likely rode up on his motorbike (I know it is his motorbike from other photos and the number plate).  Or was Frank and Gordon's mother there too?  Mary Walker (nee Mottram) is the eldest daughter of Elizabeth Mottram.

Is this Elizabeth Mottram?
Or is it her daughter Mary Walker (nee Mottram)?

Mary Walker (nee Mottram), her mother Elizabeth Mottram, sister Madeline Mottram
Grandchildren Betty and Bob Walker (children of Frank Walker)
Approximately 1933 based on the ages of children
Elizabeth was living with her daughter Madeline before she died in 1934, age 80.

Do you think that either Mary Walker (nee Mottram) or her mother Elizabeth Mottram (nee Gourlay) look like the lady in the first two photos?

Elizabeth and Samuel Mottram
Pre July 1928

This post was prompted by Sepia Saturday

The Humble Hanky

This Hanky has seen better days.  It is over 100 years old.

Did my Great Great Grandmother, Elizabeth Mottram, embroider it as a gift for the marriage of her first child? 

Or was it handed down as "something old"?

The answers to these questions are lost forever unfortunately.  

This embroidered handkerchief is over 100 years old.
It originally belonged to my Great Great Grandmother, Elizabeth Mottram (below).
It has been carried by 7 brides over the years

My Great Great Grandmother
Elizabeth Mottram (nee Goulay)
The original holder of the handkerchief

In times gone past, it was a common tradition for a bride to wear a handkerchief, which was often handed down from one generation to another.  

We know that the above hanky originally belonged to my Great Great Grandmother, Elizabeth Mottram, and was worn by each of her three daughters (pictured below) and four of her great granddaughters on their wedding days.

Ambrose Walker married Mary Mottram
in a "private house" Havelock, Victoria, Australia
Wednesday 21st May 1902

My Great Grandmother, Mary Mottram, was the first daughter to wear the handkerchief on her wedding day, to Ambrose Walker.

I have previously written about their wedding and the gifts received.

Mary did not have any daughters to wear 

the hanky but four of her granddaughters wore

the handkerchief on their wedding days.

Madeline Mottram married Bill Batty
Havelock, Victoria, Australia
Tuesday, 23 March 1909

Eve Mottram married Jack Bilton
at St Margaret's Church, Mildura, Victoria,  Australia
on Saturday 29th May 1920

Eve passed the handkerchief to my Aunty Phyllis who was the guardian until her death in 2008,
when it was given to me for safe keeping.

My Aunties in 1957 and 1958

Four of my Aunties wore the handkerchief as "something old" on their wedding days.  One day soon, I shall track down wedding photos of the other two Aunts.

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This post was inspired by the fabric and lady sewing in this weeks Sepia Saturday theme picture.

The Children of Samuel & Elizabeth Mottram

Losing one child would be devastating.  I cannot imagine how crushing it would be to lose four children.

My Great Great Grandparents, Samuel and Elizabeth Mottram, parented ten children, five girls and five boys.  

In birth order;

1.   Mary Mottram  1876 - 1958 (my great grandmother)

2.   Jack Mottram 1877 -1955

3.   Margaret Mottram 1879 - 1882

4.   Elizabeth Mottram 1880 -1884

5.   Sam Mottram 1883 - 1918

6.   Madeline Mottram 1884 - 1972

7.   Fred Mottram 1887 - 1964

8.   Harry Mottram 1889 - 1917

9.   Eve Mottram 1891 - 1981

10. David Mottram 1894 - 1986

circa 1904
Back:  Mary, Samuel, Sam, Jack, Fred
Front: Eve, David, Harry, Elizabeth, Madeline

In 1904, Charlie Farr took photos of the pioneers of the Maryborough area.
Maybe he was paid handsomely for his pioneer photos as he reportedly sold the business later in 1904 ????

The first to die was Margaret, who died in 1882 of Diptheria when she was 3 years old.  Her death was followed two years later by Elizabeth who also died from Diptheria when she was 3 years old.

Henry (known as Harry) was 28 years old when he died from wounds sustained at Polygon Woods, Belgium, during World War 1.  Within 6 months, his brother Samuel, was smothered to death in a mining accident.

Mottram sisters
Mary Walker, Madeline Batty, Eve Bilton

Mary is my Great Grandmother.  She was the only one of 

the three sisters to have children.  She was 82 years old when she died of a "Cerebral haemorrhage and senile atherosclerosis"

Madeline was 87 when she died from "Pneumonia & Chronic Renal Failure"

Eve was 89 when she died from a stroke, after suffering from senile dementia for many years. 

Unknown, Eve and Madeline Mottram

The hats in this weeks Sepia Saturday prompt reminded me of those worn by my
Great Grand Aunts  in the final photo, prompting this post. The unknown lady on the left in my photo also
looks similar to the lady on the right in the Sepia Saturday prompt photo.
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Harry Mottram

Breaking a long tradition

This pin cushion belonged to my Great Grandmother,
Mary Walker.
Can any one tell me more about it?

It is interesting to see how traits and traditions continue through several generations of family. Do you have occupations, traditions, interests or similarities that have repeated in several generations?

My sister & I in dresses that
our mother made.
The photo may be  black and white
but I remember that my sisters
dress was pink while mine was navy blue

I come from a long line of knitters and sewers on several "branches" of the family. We grew up with home made clothes and jumpers (pullovers for American readers). As a young child I really liked my new dresses and clothes. I can remember going to the shop with Mum and picking out fabrics, ribbons and buttons so she could make a new outfit. By the time I was at High School, I was making my own school uniforms. It was great that I had school dresses that fit me perfectly, compared with many of the girls whose uniforms were too big or too small. However, I always wanted a shop bought school jumper rather than the home knitted jumper.

Source: http://museumvictoria.com.au
During War Times, knitting for the
soldiers was encouraged.

My mother knitted by hand but she also had (still has) a knitting machine that had belonged to her father, Allan Scott. The knitting machine was purchased by her father in about 1943 after he returned from Active Service in the Middle East. It seems unusual that a man would purchase a knitting machine. Perhaps the knitting was rehabilitation and something to keep my grandfather busy? Maybe it was also a way for him to give something back to the troops?

1828 Post Office Directory

My 3X Great Grandfather, Adam Bisset Scott, was a
tailor in Leith, Scotland

My mother made the wedding dresses for two of her daughters. Did she get her sewing talent from one of 

her Great Great Grandfathers, who coincidentally 

were both tailors?

Maryborough Hospital Admission Records
Another 3X Great Grandfather, Samuel Drayton, was also a tailor.  However he was from USA.

My Grandmother, Eva Scott, made all the clothes for the "nips". She also knitted. She made some incredible(and well loved)toys for me when I was a child. I wonder what ever happened to them?

My other Great Grandmother, Mabel Pilgrim (nee Geyer), hired/purchased a Wertheim Sewing Machine in 1905.
The cost of £11:15 in 1905 would be equivalent to approximately AUD $1600 today.  

Wertheim Sewing Machine Payment Card
1905-1907

Did you know what this is?

My daughter had no idea.

Today if we have holes in our socks or jumpers,

we tend to throw them out and buy new clothing.

However in times gone past, there was no such

wastage.  Clothing would be repaired by darning.

This darning egg belonged to my mother in law, 

who was a seamstress.  

Somewhere I also have a thimble but can't quite

locate it at present.

Unfortunately neither of my children sew so the tradition of sewers in the family has ceased sadly.  Maybe I will have a granddaughter that I can teach to sew.

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So could you pick the connection to this weeks Sepia Saturday picture?

My very first photo is an unusual contraption with wheels, from the past.