Quarterly journal of The Genealogical Society of Victoria Inc Getting It Write Research Corner Adding historical content Putting your ancestors in their place VOLUME 32 ISSUE 3 SEPTEMBER 2014 $9.50 ISSN 0044-8222 A Cheque for a Million Kisses Goldfields Store to Coffee Palace Maiden aunts and Bachelor uncles A Lost Boer War Grave Big Mac Discover a world of family history The Genealogical Society of SEMINARS Victoria Inc Stuck in England? Strategies and Techniques for your research Speakers: Alan Fincher FGSV and Linley Hooper FGSV Friday 7 November 2014 10.00am – 12.30pm Booking with payment essential for both Seminars Make payment at GSV reception or online www.gsv.org.au GSV Members $20.00 / Non-members $40.00 Stuck in Victoria? Resources, Strategies and Techniques to solve your problems Speakers: Lorraine Phelan and Susie Zada Saturday 29 November 2014 10.00am – 12.30pm CORRESPONDENCE The Editor, Ancestor, The Genealogical Society of Victoria, Level B1, 257 Collins Quarterly journal of The Genealogical Society of Victoria Inc. Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000 Volume 32 Issue 3 / September 2014 Phone: (03) 9662 4455 or email: [email protected] EDITORIAL TEAM Bill Barlow Barbara Beaumont Editorial Sue Blackwood Martin Playne The editorial team is hard at work reading the entries to this year’s Writing Jenny Redman Prize. Again, we are delighted with the range and quality of the articles. We are Margaret Vines pleased to be able to include in this issue three articles that were runners-up in Jeanette Wickham last year’s competition – A Cheque for a Million Kisses, Big Mac and Goldfields CREATIVE Store to Coffee Palace. Jeanette Wickham What a treasure handwritten letters and other documents are! Not only do they PRINTER help us with the facts of our ancestors’ lives, but give us an insight into their Blue Star Print Vic personality and somehow bring us closer to those far-off people. In Brenda Ryan’s story, fourteen year old Gerald Ryan writes to reassure his parents that CONTRIBUTIONS life in the theatre in Melbourne is not the den of vice they seem to think it is. We welcome the submission of articles In two other articles, the letters relate to the death of soldiers. Thelma Ragas on family history topics for possible publication. quotes from the letters of Mary Mason to her son’s commanding officer after The editor reserves the right to edit/ her son was killed in action in the Boer War. ‘Big Mac’ was also killed in action, abridge articles to meet space constraints in the Second World War and Jennifer Wells quotes from a condolence letter and editorial considerations. By written by a senior officer who knew him well, which illustrates the high esteem submitting any written material to us for in which he was held. publication you agree that we may edit your writing to satisfy these objectives. Those of us without such resources can glean much from the public record Submissions should be the work of the to piece together the story of our ancestors’ lives. Ray Watson evokes the Author submitting the article and should not have been published elsewhere unless atmosphere of gold rush Bendigo in his article charting the rising fortunes of agreed. his ancestors. Bill Barlow introduces two stories of family members who had no Although we endeavour to take care of all living descendants – Shane Allen records the untimely death of Lizzie Noia in materials submitted for publication, we 1919, while Maria Picyk tells of the harrowing experiences of her ‘Ciocia Tosia’ regret that we cannot be held responsible prior to her arrival in Australia. for any loss or damage. It is advisable to retain original items and Research Corner’s introduction to the library’s resources of London maps will be submit scanned images in high resolution JPG or TIFF file format. invaluable for those with London ancestors. CLOSING DATES MARCH 1 JANUARY JUNE 1 APRIL SEPTEMBER 1 JULY DECEMBER 1 OCTOBER ADVERTISING Advertising space is available. For details contact [email protected] © The Genealogical Society of Victoria. Material in this publication must not be reproduced without consent. The views expressed in Ancestor are those of the Author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of The Genealogical Society of Victoria. Our cover: Soldiers marching down Collins Street during World War I, by Kerr Brothers, from the Harold Paynting Collection. Courtesy of SLV. (H99.100/66) Contents Articles A Cheque for a Million Kisses 3 Brenda Ryan Goldfields Store to Coffee Palace, 3 Half a Century of Family Enterprise 7 Ann Hodgkinson ‘Maiden aunts’ and ‘bachelor uncles’ and others without descendants 11 Bill Barlow, Shane Allan and Maria Picyk 3 A Lost Boer War Grave in the South East Transvaal 14 Thelma Ragas Big Mac, the Story of a Remarkable Soldier 40 6 Jennifer Webb Regular Features Editorial 1 6 About the GSV 16 How can we help you? (Bookshop and Research Services) 17 At the GSV Bookshop 18 Reviews 19 11 Research Corner 20 Pen of the President 22 What’s On - talks, classes and courses 23 What’s On -Calendar of Events 24 What’s On at our Member Societies 26 14 GSV Member Societies 27 Around the Groups 28 Jottings... and library news 29 Additions to the Library 30 20 Q&A - Brick Wall Corner 34 Members Queries 36 Getting it Write 38 News from the Royal Historical Society of Victoria 44 News from the State Library of Victoria 45 40 News from Public Record Office Victoria 46 Genies on the Web 47 GSV News 48 Wish List 48 47 Volume 32 Iss ue 3 / September 2014 2 • © The Genealogical Society of Victoria Inc A Cheque for a Million Kisses by Brenda Ryan On February 8th, 1902, young Gerald RYAN wrote if there is anything wrong about the theatre to his mother in Maryborough, Victoria. He was and its customs I will gladly leave. But one of two months short of his 15th birthday. the best actors in the piece says I have a future before me on the stage. The author Brenda Ryan Dear Mama, can be contacted at I have a great memory lately for plays as I can [email protected] Yours just to hand. I am not forgetting you at repeat off all the plays played for months at the all Mama and all letters I have written have Princess. They say that everybody at a theatre been to both Papa and you. has a stage fever but this is no ordinary fever as I have been rehersing [sic] the plays for It is not easy to get work in the day as you hours for the last four months. I will be able to think and as for the stage being bad it is wrong save if I keep on the programmes as well and as nothing is allowed at the theatre but what is I have written to Sydney to Mr Herzog and perfectly right. will have them most likely. Mr Herzog has the programmes for the theatre. We have a I am on the stage in Sweet Nell of Old Drury as matinee today so I must stop. page to King Charles II which commences on next Saturday night. I don’t know the salary Hoping you are all well with love to all. yet but fancy about 15/- as I have very little to I remain your fond son, do. Gerald When Papa comes down he can enquire and PS: Papa can interview Mrs Simmons who I am stopping with and ask her her [sic] opinion of the stage. Address my letters G. Ryan, Princess Theatre, Melbourne. Gerald Patrick RYAN was born in Warrnambool, Victoria, on 4th April 1887. He was the second of seven children born to John James RYAN and Abigail Matilda RYAN, née KIRK.1 He died in Sydney NSW, on 1st June 1924, aged 37, as the result of an accident. As if he had a presentiment that his was not to be a long life, he gave free rein to his stage fever, following wherever it led, with unremitting focus and commitment. His stage fever was not entirely born out of those early days at the Princess Theatre. It might almost be said that he ‘caught it’ from his father, who, when a member of the Warrnambool Volunteer Artillery Regiment, served as Manager of the Garrison Dramatic Club. A photograph of Gerald as a young boy in costume, taken by Image 1: Gerald Ryan circa 1902 - Thinking of Home All images from the author’s collection. Volume 32 Issue 3 / September 2014 © The Genealogical Society of Victoria Inc • 3 Image 2: Gerald Harcourt - Yours Posing 1915 photographer Thomas GALE of Maryborough, indicates that his role as page boy at the Princess Theatre was not his first experience of treading the boards, albeit in amateur dramatics. In a newspaper interview in the United States, later in his career, Gerald provided his own perspective on what had prompted his interest in a life on the stage: At the age of 12 I was placed in a printer’s shop to learn the trade. It was there that I received the inspiration to become an actor. We were printing a book filled with the portraits of famous players, and it seemed to open a new world to me. I used to pore over that volume by the hour, with the result that I became hopelessly stage struck.2 Events moved quickly for Gerald. He adopted the stage name ‘Gerald HARCOURT’ in appreciation of the help and encouragement provided to him by actor Harcourt Beatty, who played King Charles II in ‘Sweet Nell’, and who was, no doubt, the person mentioned in his letter, who had encouraged him to believe he could have a future on the stage.