Should one make a dedication to such a small literary effort as this? Perhaps we should do things in proper style. I therefore dedicate this writing to:
My very dear wife
Mavis
Introduction:
A pen, or rather a biro was first put to paper on the 23rd of November 1977. It would be probably over a year ago that Ewen and Maureen had called on us as they frequently do. We were standing in our kitchen just before they were going to depart. Ewen asked me a question relating to the past. After answering his query, Ewen said, "You know Dad, it would be a good idea if you were to write down all you know of our family and events of interest" or words to that effect.
I replied that such a record would be too exciting altogether. However, a seed was sown and from time to time I have thought of doing as Ewen suggested and even considered a brief account of my life. Ewen, you may have started something. May you be forgiven!
I propose therefore to devote a couple of chapters to what I know of the history of my father's family and also of my mother's family, and will then carry on a brief record of the events in my own life. (I believe that my own wife and others who know me well will probably refuse to believe this word "brief")
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Chapter 1 - HISTORY OF THE RANKIN FAMILY
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Unfortunately, I know very little of this history. My grandfather was ROBERT RANKIN and I believe his family came from the Inverness District, naturally from Scotland. I know absolutely nothing about his parents. He must have joined the 79th Cameron Highlanders at a very early age, because he was only 17 years of age when he fought in the Crimean War. This would mean that Robert Rankin was born in 1837 or 1838.
At this stage I think we should refer to the book we have, entitled "Historical Records 79th Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders" published in London by Hamilton Adams and Co. in 1887. This book was presented to my father and the inscription, most beautifully written, says -
Presented to
WILLIAM RANKIN
On the eve of his departure for
Australia: a mark of sincere
regard from a few old friends
Edinburgh 19th October 1887
In this book under "Services of the Warrant Officers" my grandfather gets quite a lengthy report. I think it should be written here verbatim.
"Joined 10th March 1854; colour-sergeant 9th May 1863; sergeant major 16th March 1867. Died at Kamptee on 17th March 1871. He served with the regiment throughout the eastern campaign of 1854-55 including the battle of Balaclava, siege of Sebastopol, assaults of 18th June and 8th September and expedition to Kertch and Yenikale (Medal with two clasps and Turkish medal).
Also served with the 79th throughout the Indian Mutiny campaign 1858-59 including the engagement at Secundragunge, siege and capture of Lucknow, actions of Rooyah, Allygunge, Bareilly and Shahjehanpore, capture of Mahomdie, storming of Rampore Kussia, passage of the Gogra at Fyzabad and subsequent operations at Oude, across the Gogra and Raptee rivers (Medal with clasp). Served in the North West Frontier campaign against the Mohmunds in 1863 (Entitled to a medal).”
Actually, my father applied for the medal referred to at the end of the extract but the Department would not issue the medal posthumously. The other three medals referred to we have framed together with my Grandfather's busby clasp, the plaid clasp and the two crowns worn by a sergeant major.
The following information obtained from the same book may be of interest:-
"The 79th from Portsmouth for the Crimea on 4th May 1854 and arrived at Scutari on 20th May. After the campaign, the troops were notified of the signing of the Peace Treaty on the 2nd April 1856.
The Regiment embarked at Balaclava on 13th June 1856 on steam transport 'Victoria' and disembarked at Portsmouth on 5th July and proceeded to Aldershot. Here they were reviewed by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. On 10th July, the regiment removed to Dover Castle and on 30th September to barracks at Canterbury.
On 31st March 1857, the 79th marched to Stormcliffe and were also in barracks in London for a short time. On 27th June 1857, the regiment embarked for Dublin.
The intelligence of the revolt of several Sepoy regiments was received by the Government and on the 1st July 1857 the 79th was ordered to make preparation for embarkation to India. This embarkation was effected on the 31st July in the 'Walmar Castle' and Madras was reached on the 1st November. The boat then proceeded to Calcutta, arriving on 27th November. The regiment immediately proceeded into action. Then followed the Indian Mutiny campaign which terminated early in 1859."
At this stage I must refer to my Grandmother and again have to admit that I know nothing of her early life except that her name was ELSBETH HAY and that she came from Aberdeen.
My Father was born on 25th March 1865 and this was on his Mother's 16th Birthday. This means that my Grandmother was born on 25th March 1849. I have no idea how my Grandfather and Grandmother met, but can only surmise that this happened after the Crimean War when my Grandfather would have leave. However, at this time, my Grandmother would have only been 8 years old so it would seem that the match must have been arranged in some way and that probably the two families were known to each other.
My Grandmother went out to India to be married and it would seem likely that she arrived in India in the first part of 1864 when the 79th was stationed at Rawal Pindi., The regiment was still stationed there when my Father was born in 1865, but the regiment moved to Roorkee in October 1866 and was stationed there until December 1869 when the 79th moved to Kamptee. The next arrival in the family was AUNT ANNIE followed by AUNT BEATRICE. Both I believe were born at Roorkee and there was approximately two years between each of the three children.
The death of my Grandfather was very sudden and most unexpected. "The Historical Records of the 79th Cameron Highlanders" mentions that at some of the stations there was a considerable amount of fever. My Grandfather must have taken one of these fevers. He said to his batman, who was an Irishman, "Pat, I'm feeling very off colour; would you get a cold bath ready for me". He took the bath and died.
We have a photo of his grave and gravestone at Kamptee. The inscription is as follows -
Sacred
to
The Memory of
Sergt Major Robert Rankin
79th Regiment
Cameron Highlanders
Who died at Kamptee
17th March 1871
Aged 32 years
Leaving a disconsolate widow and three children to
mourn their irrepairable loss.
Erected by the Sergeants of the Regiment
as a mark of respect
My Grandmother and the three children were brought back to Edinburgh by the Army and I understand my Grandmother was in receipt of a small pension from the Army. I feel that, for some time, things must have been very difficult. My Grandmother never forgot her experience in India. She travelled by bullock cart and even on elephants and until she died always spoke of "when I was in the army".
When the 79th was in India, there had been another Rankin in the regiment. His name was ARCHIBALD (I believe) and he had been a private.
We have a photograph (now so faded as to be almost indiscernible) of the 79th building a road in hilly Country. The regiment in working clothes is arrayed on the slopes. One can just see my Dad's Father and step father. The step father looks very like my Uncle Bob with the rather prominent cheek bones which is a feature of many Scots.
Apparently he obtained his discharge and returned to Edinburgh where my grandmother and he met and married. I do not know how this meeting came about. I cannot say what time elapsed before my Grandmother remarried, but it could not have been long.
Dad's stepfather was apparently a very likeable man and my father always spoke well of him. However he had one great fault. He was a periodical drinker and, being a Scot, he drank whisky. Consequently, when he indulged in a drinking bout he apparently got into a very bad condition. He was a coachman and seems to have been employed by a family named White in Edinburgh. They appear to have been rather a nice family. The Rankin family used to tell the story about Aunt Annie. The Whites took a house for the holidays in, I think, the near Highlands and apparently took their servants and their families also.
Miss White, a young teenager made the children into a Sunday School Class. She was apparently speaking about prayer and she rashly asked Aunt Annie what things she would ask God for. My Aunt replied "A new hat and a hymn book".
The first born of the second family was my UNCLE ARCH. The second my UNCLE BOB. Then followed AUNT ELSBETH and the fourth and last was my UNCLE GEORGE.
Dad's step-father died but I am unable to say in which year. My father, being the eldest of the whole family had very considerable responsibilities at an early age. He had to leave school before the usual time. The other members of the family had also to pull their weight as they became old enough.
The Scot is known for his determination to improve his education. At least it was so at that time. Dad went to night school and read a great deal. As he worked until 5 pm on Saturday afternoon, he could not play sport but he went to the theatre in Edinburgh nearly every Saturday night for the large sum of sixpence.
The theatre in Edinburgh attracted all the great actors, opera companies, Gilbert and Sullivan companies etc and this experience added to Dad's education. The result of all this was that my Dad was quite well read and informed.
After doing odd jobs as a boy my father became employed by Patrick Marshall who had a very good class bootshop in Prince's Street Edinburgh.
He was employed mostly in the sales, but he kept his eyes open and learned the art of bootmaking from those employed for that purpose in the shop. Patrick Marshall was, of course a Scot (in Scotland at that time quite a fair percentage of Scots were named Patrick). He was also a very good man and nice to work for.
Here I might mention that in the same shop my mother's cousin was employed as a sales girl, for at that time she must have been quite young. Mum and this cousin were very fond of each other but her name has faded from my memory.
When Dad left for Australia some 3 1/2 years after the Chisholms, this cousin gave Dad a letter of introduction to the Chisholm family. This accounts for a terrible lot that I am trying to write about. Actually, Mum and Dad remember seeing each other in Patrick Marshall's shop, but they had not spoken to each other there.
Up to now I have not mentioned Granny Rankin's sister - my Dad's AUNT GEMMELL. I cannot remember her christian name for she was always referred to as Aunt Gemmell. Perhaps it was Annie. Like Granny Rankin, she was married twice and lost both husbands. She too was in India with the 79th. She had one son, WILLIAM GEMMELL who, of course was a cousin of my Dad's. We had a reasonably close association with Bill Gemmell until he died. I believe that Ewen and Margaret will remember him although, in the case of Marge, perhaps not very clearly. Bill Gemmell lived with his mother in Prahran and, after his mother passed on, with Aunt Annie and Aunt Beatrice in Malvern Road, Toorak.
Aunt Gemmell was a nurse and probably through her influence my Aunt Annie started nursing in Edinburgh. Aunt Beatrice, I think, went into service looking after children. Uncle Arch was apprenticed to a tailor in Edinburgh. My cousin RON tells me that his father, my Uncle Bob was running messages for a brewery somewhere in Edinburgh. Aunt Elspeth (always known as Elsie) and Uncle George were too young to work.
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Chapter II - HISTORY OF THE CHISHOLM FAMILY
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When I commenced Chapter I, I wrote that I had never had much information about either side of the Rankin family. The position with the Chisholms should be very different because my Mother lived until I was 39 years of age. She had a very excellent memory and, like all members of her family, a good supply of conversation. Consequently I have been told a great deal relating to her relatives.
Alas! I have not retained most of that information. If my cousin Peg had still been living, I am sure she could have supplied me with a wealth of information about the family. Alas, she passed on in March 1977. This is just one way in which Mavis and I miss Peg. We are sure there are many others who also miss her greatly.
My grandfather was ANDREW CHISHOLM and he was the village blacksmith in the village of Stobo situated on the banks of the Tweed River some 5 or 6 miles, I believe, westerly from Peebles. This district is part of the lowlands of Scotland and both the Chisholms and my grandmother's family, the Scotts, were lowland families. The country in Peebleshire, although in the lowlands is quite hilly and is considered a very beautiful part of Scotland. The country is not nearly so rugged as most of the highlands and therefore the scenery can be described as more gentle. I understand that the highland scenery although often very beautiful can be, under dull conditions, rather grim.
Might I digress a moment here? I have read that the Chisholms have descended from a De Chaisholme (I doubt if that is the correct spelling) who came from Normandy with William the Conqueror.
He was allotted land in the far north of England and branches of the family extended into Scotland. They settled both in the lowlands and the highlands. This accounts for the Chisholm clan and the Chisholm tartan.
I cannot remember full details of Andrew Chisholm's brothers and sisters and parents. I feel that the family must have been on the land for Mum had uncles on both sides of the family who were farmers. My grandfather had a brother JAMES, always referred to as Uncle Jimmy. He had injured his leg by a fall on the ice in the streets of Edinburgh, and he had a wooden leg. He was a supplier of building materials in Edinburgh. He had at least two sisters, the youngest of which was JEAN. He had another brother or maybe more than one. Mother's Aunt Jean came out to Australia and stopped with the Chisholms. She seems to have been very well liked. However, I was too young to remember her.
Later when my brother BOB was at the Great War, this Aunt Jean was very good to him and took him around the Peebles district including, of course, Stobo. He was actually in the room in which our Mother was born. After Bob was gassed, Aunt Jean visited him and was again very good to him.
From every account, Grandfather Chisholm was a very happy and jocular man and seems to have been almost worshipped by his family. I understand his brother James had a somewhat similar character.
My grandmother was ISABELLA SCOTT. Her father, I believe was the schoolmaster at Lamancha which is in the same district. Her mother had been a PRINGLE. One of my granny's cousins on the Pringle side was the minister for some considerable time of the very large and beautiful Presbyterian Church in Dunedin. Mavis and I saw this church on our New Zealand trip.
Readers (if any) may remember that there was a play produced some few years ago called "The Man of La Mancha". Apparently, in the distant past, a Spaniard from La Mancha bought land in the Tweed Valley. Later, apparently, a village was built in this place and called "Lamancha".
At Stobo there was a castle known as Stobo Castle. This castle was occupied by Sir and Lady Graeme Montgomery and their young family.
My grandmother as a teenager was employed by this family as, I believe, a help with the children. I am unable to say if Andrew Chisholm had known my grandmother earlier or if he met her when she was employed in the castle.
The Montgomerys seem to have been very fine people. Lady Montgomery wrote to my grandmother once a year at Christmas time until she died. One of her daughters grew into a very handsome girl and became the Duchess of Buckingham.
The Earl of Linlithgow was the Governor of Victoria before the founding of the Commonwealth and he then became the first Governor General of Australia. His statue stands in St Kilda Road in front of the entrance to Government House. The Earl also came from the south of Scotland. He got the name of being a very good type of man.
I recall that my Uncle Bob (Ron and Arch's father) in his early life was at one time boundary riding at Mr Lascelle's property in the Hopetown district. The Earl was a visitor to this property. He had been out riding on his own and came on Uncle Bob's camp. My Uncle made him a cup of tea and found him easy to talk to, as they both came from Scotland.
I have just woken up that the Earl's title was Lord Hopetown, Earl of Linlithgow, so it would seem certain that Hopetown was named after him.
Whilst the Earl of Linlithgow was Governor of Victoria, the Duchess of Buckingham visited him. She invited my grandmother and her daughters to visit her at Government House and insisted on returning the visit to their house in North Carlton. Much to my grandmother's discomfort, she arrived there in the Governor's carriage.
My grandfather was buried on my first birthday , July 1903. He was aged 59 years. This would mean that he was born in 1844. I believe my grandmother would be about three years younger. They had eight children. I am almost sure that John was the eldest and he died when he was about 4 years old.
Then followed my Aunt JESSIE, my Mother ELIZABETH who was always known as Lizzie or Liz. Then came Uncle ANDY, Uncle JIM, Uncle WILL, Uncle TOM and Aunt ELLA.
I know that my Mother was born in 1870, because she was 14 years old on the "Loch Vennacher" and that was in 1884.
When Peg and Bob had their two overseas trips, they saw the grave of John in the Stobo Church graveyard. They also saw the family house and the smithy.
When Mother was six years old the family moved to Edinburgh and my grandfather went into partnership with his brother James in the trade of building supplies.
Things went very well for some years and the family was fairly prosperous. The children of school age went to the Normal School in Edinburgh. This school was run by the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The family lived in a flat in Castle Terrace. This street ran, I understand, right at the base of the rock at the back of the Castle. The buildings were three stories high with hot water services run by coal dross and, for that time, were very up to date. These flats were only pulled down some five years ago.
Mentioning the Presbyterian Church of Scotland reminds me that, at that time, there were three different Presbyterian Churches in Scotland. Later they united except for a small number of diehards who continued as before.
I believe that here I should mention a rather remarkable thing. We have all seen pictures of St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. By all reports it is rather beautiful, especially the interior.
When the Chisholms were in Edinburgh the Cathedral was actually partitioned inside. On the larger side of the partition was the Cathedral side, and on the smaller side was an ordinary church. It would be a part of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.
Now both my grandfather and grandmother were very good church people. In addition, my grandfather had a very good ear for music and he was given the position of presentor in the Church. In other words, he led the choir. My Aunt Jessie and Mother both had quite nice voices and although only very young, did sometimes sing with the choir. I have read that this partition was removed in 1886.
Earlier I mentioned that both James and Andrew were easy going men. Whilst things were prosperous the business went along nicely, but because of their easy natures, they apparently allowed their outstanding debts to become too great.
At this time, 1883, a depression or recession occurred and because they could not collect a lot of these debts, they could not carry on. They did not go insolvent but they had to close down.
My grandfather decided to make a new start overseas and actually decided to go to Canada. However he and their baker were friendly and this man, who had been at sea in his young life, persuaded my grandfather to go to Australia, principally because of the much better climate.
The only member of the family who had commenced work in Edinburgh was Aunt Jessie who had a little experience in dressmaking. Before closing this chapter and writing about the migration of the two families to Australia, I would like to say that I have very wonderful and happy memories of my relatives on both sides of the family. As a child and indeed in later life they were always great to me.
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Chapter III - THE MIGRATION TO AUSTRALIA
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As the Chisholms left for Australia some 3 1/2 years before my Father, I will write about them first.
The family consisting of the father, mother, seven children and granny's mother (Mrs SCOTT) - 10 in all, sailed from Greenoch near Glasgow in January 1884 in the "Loch Vennacher".
At this time might I digress to speak of this line. I believe there were about sixteen or more vessels in this Loch line. I believe they were all three-masted sailing ships. They were all painted white with a black key pattern and they did look very smart. On one occasion when my Uncle Jim took me down the bay when I was quite young, I can remember seeing three of this line in the Yarra.
I understand that the line was quite well run. Every vessel was named Loch-something and I can remember some of these names - Vennacher, Tay, Etive, Slough, Ryan, Ness, Lomond and of course the Loch Ard which was wrecked near Port Campbell and after which the Loch Ard Gorge is named.
The record of the voyage to Australia alone is of very considerable interest and my Mother, who as I have observed before, had a very excellent memory and who thoroughly enjoyed the voyage recalled very many details.
On the trip was a family by the name of Souter. Mr Souter owned a very high class toy shop in Edinburgh. It had been left to him by his father, but this Mr Souter was apparently not a good business man and the recession which I have spoken about earlier was the breaking point for him. The Souter's eldest child Chrissie had also gone to the Normal School and was about the same age as Aunt Jessie.
On the boat the three girls were always together and they were the only ones who could be described in fairly modern language as "flappers".
Consequently they were given a great deal of attention. The Captain had them to his cabin for afternoon tea in good weather. The apprentices also gave them a great deal of attention. The crew were mostly very friendly.
The sailors who did duty on manning the wheel became very dexterous at letting the wheel "go" slightly and then bringing the wheel back so that the side of the vessel would strike a wave and ship water on the right spot. They got this attention so often that during reasonable weather the girls were seldom dry.
I cannot help devoting some space to this voyage. On moving-pictures, T.V. etc, we have all seen plenty of pictures of sailing ships and life on them. However, they have mostly been sensational -such things as mutinies, pirates, wrecks etc. I therefore feel that comparatively few people would have much idea of an ordinary voyage on a reasonably well-run windjammer. I, therefore, make no apology for going into some detail.
When the vessel left Greenoch the direction was westerly over the north coast of Ireland. They were of course used to the greenness of Scotland but Mum at 14 years believed that Ireland was even greener. They had sailed only a short way when a very black cloud covered the south and westerly sky and soon they ran into a very severe storm. It lasted about six days. There was, of course a lot of sea-sickness and Mum was in bed for some 7 days. After that she was never sea-sick again in her life. After riding out the storm they were some way down the Atlantic in warmer weather. The crew found that a considerable amount of the iron work on the masts etc had been broken or strained. The Captain would have returned to Greenoch except that Grandpa, who of course had been a blacksmith, volunteered to repair these parts provided the sailors could bring the parts down to him. There was a portable forge on board and he was able to do the work.
The Captain's name was Bennett and he was with the Loch Vennacher for many years. He was a Cockney and dropped and added his "aitches". Mum often amused us with some of his expressions. I believe Ewen and Marge will recall how he always referred to the ship's carpenter as that "lazy 'ound". A sailor named Henry was often on duty at the wheel, so that quite frequently the Captain would call "'ows 'er 'ed 'enry?" He was not a bad sort however.
When the Loch Vennacher was lost in 1906, I think Captain Bennett had been ill and another Captain took the vessel from Melbourne to Scotland. The vessel disappeared and all souls were lost. One body was washed up on Kangaroo Island and also some wreckage.
It was not until some four or five years ago, I believe, that the vessel was discovered submerged and wedged between rocks on a very wild part of the coast of Kangaroo Island. In Adelaide there has been formed a Loch Vennacher Exploration Society.
Naturally the exploration is under water, but the wild coast and bad weather make exploration difficult. Captain Bennett lived in Melbourne until he reached 88. Every year, on his birthday, the "Herald" gave him quite a write-up.
To return to the voyage. The vessel sailed down the Atlantic until becalmed for a week near the equator. There were five other sailing ships within sight. One morning they woke to find the ship bowling along before a good breeze and no sign of the other five ships.
The crew numbered about 40 and there were about 44 passengers. Timber was the main cargo. The cabins were only temporary and were taken down to find room for wool on the voyage to Scotland.
Those on board had to make their own amusement, so in fine weather the crew would give a concert to the passengers and the passengers in return would give a concert to the crew. Sailing down the Atlantic, the winds were not very favourable, so the vessel was driven far west. The Captain considered they would be within sight of the coast of South America. He sent a sailor up the main mast with a telescope and he reported seeing land. It was considered to be in the vicinity of Buenos Aries.
Soon they had the south west trade winds behind them, but apparently because of being so far westerly, the vessel was sailing further south than usual and they were looking out for floe ice.
The vessel was thus right out of the usual shipping lanes, therefore excitement was great when the sailor on look-out called "Ship Ahoy!".
It was a small two masted barque which was travelling towards the Loch Vennacher and looked as though it would cross the ship's bows. It was getting too close to be comfortable. The boatswain called through a megaphone informing the barque of the ship's name and time out from Greenoch etc. No answer was forthcoming. The barque did cross the bows of the Loch Vennacher. It was close enough for the people to see on to the deck of the barque. Not a soul was to be seen and they could see that the wheel had been roped in position. Mum said that it was quite an eerie experience.
As the Southern Ocean goes right around the world unbroken it is said that the highest waves are to be met with there. Aunt Jessie and Mother slept one above the other in their temporary bunks. Aunt Jessie woke Mum and said "Lizzie, we're sinking!" The girls sat up greatly perturbed whilst they felt the vessel shaking and apparently sinking. Suddenly there was a lurch and more shaking, and then the vessel appeared to be rising. The girls said "we're alright now" and went to sleep.
Next morning the Captain told my grandfather that the boat had very nearly gone down. The sailor at the wheel was apparently young and not too experienced. The high waves must have affected his nerves for he left the wheel and ran. The vessel swung into the trough of the waves and was starting to settle, but of course others on duty rushed to the wheel, brought it round, and luckily the vessel responded.
The ship was bringing out quite a number of Shetland ponies from Scotland. They were consigned to one of the Chirnside families. They were in small stalls on the deck. They must have had a bad time in rough weather. When the weather was fine, the passengers would give the kiddies rides on the ponies - round the deck.
When the ship was so far south, the passengers found it very difficult to keep warm. They would don overcoats and scarves and, weather permitting, walk briskly round the deck and between the pony stalls, the men raising their hats to the ladies and the ladies bowing to the men.
And so they reached Port Phillip Bay and anchored some distance off Port Melbourne pier. The steward on board was a Swede and he was very unpopular. It was fully believed that he was putting away food which should have been used for the passengers and crew. He intended to sell this food in Melbourne. The crew had been unable to find where this food had been hidden. However a member of the crew found the cache after the ship had entered the Bay and the sailors promptly threw the lot overboard.
Captain Bennett gave Grandpa a letter of introduction to a Mr Smith who was owner of the Collingwood Coffee Palace. The family was taken to the wharf by rowing boat; they took the train to Flinders Street Station. They made their way to Bourke Street where they took a cab to Collingwood. They found the solid and still pavements disconcerting after 3 months of rolling or pitching decks.
Mr Smith was a good friend. After a couple of nights at the Coffee Palace, they took a house in Carlton. It was a poor house and they did not unpack. They only stayed a week and then obtained a single-fronted but quite nice and roomy house in Canning Street, North Carlton.
They almost immediately joined the Presbyterian Church in Carlton, and did not want for friendship in the new land. Grandpa asked a blacksmith in North Melbourne if he could work for him for nothing for a week to get his hand in.
After a pretty bad time with blisters on his hands, one of the men from the Church introduced him to a friend in the farm machinery line and Grandpa was immediately given a job as salesman. Aunt Jessie had some sewing experience in Edinburgh and she got a place in Georges Ltd (then George and George). The family was by now very short of money so Mum worked in a small factory in Melbourne for about six months. The factory turned out printed labels for tins, bottles etc. The girls there were rather mixed. Some were rather rough and others very nice. Mum made some good friends there.
After about six months, she went as an apprentice dressmaker to Robertson (or it might have been Robinson) & Moffatt in Bourke Street. They were next to the Post Office. The site would now be occupied by Myers Mens Store. The other members of the family went to school except Uncle Tom and Aunt Ella who would be too young.
Grandpa Chisholm continued with the farm machinery selling and he was very successful. Most of the time, his headquarters were in Ballarat. He seems to have had a permanent booking at Craig's Hotel. Mavis and I had dinner there on the three day bus trip we had to the Grampians, Warrnambool and the rough coast at Port Campbell in 1973. Later, Uncle Andy took a clerical position with George and George and Uncle Jim became a packer with Griffiths Teas Ltd. After some time, Mum left Robertson and Moffatt and also went to George and George.
We will now turn to the migration of my Father. He left Scotland in October 1887 and sailed, I believe from London on the S.S. Orient. This was the original S.S. Orient of the Orient Line. Dad was aged 22 years, but on the boat there were few of his age group and the men he got to know best were mostly considerably older.
The voyage out appears to have been uneventful, except for their experience in Naples.
The food on the ship was awful, at least in third class. A party of about 5 or 6 went ashore at Naples, engaged a guide who of course was an Italian. He showed them the sights as time permitted. They then adjourned for dinner and took the guide with them. Dad said he never forgot the beautiful Italian style bread after the shocking bread on the ship. They ordered wine with the meal. At that time very little wine was drunk by the ordinary people of Britain. In their ignorance, they either drank too much or the wine was highly fortified. The result however was certain. They were all badly affected and they believed that if it had not been for the guide, they would not have got back to the ship. Dad was very abstemious and actually alcoholic drink always seemed to upset him.
At that time the mail boats berthed at Williamstown and Dad used to recall that, on the train from Williamstown to Flinders Street, his spirits dropped to a very low ebb. Even today this trip is not the most beautiful and at that time it was a great deal worse. He wondered what kind of country he had come to. Dad obtained board in Carlton, not far from the house that the Chisholms had occupied for a week. He got a job in a very short time with a good class bootshop on the Block in Collins Street.
The peoples name was Burston and Dad seemed to be quite happy with them. He only knew one person in Australia. He went to Sunday School with BOB WILSON and they had hiked together in Scotland. Bob Wilson had come to Australia some time earlier and was a tailor in Traralgon. Dad went to Traralgon for the week end to see Bob Wilson and he was due to start the new job on Monday or Tuesday.
Bob Wilson took him to Callignee and introduced him to DONALD MACKINNON who was a Scots-Canadian and was teacher at the Callignee School. Callignee is 13 miles southerly from Traralgon and situated in hilly to mountainous country
Donald MacKinnon was later transferred to Gymbowen School in the west Wimmera. He later bought land about 6 miles from Miga Lake and it was there that my brother Bob went as a guest for 6 months after he returned from the 1914-18 war. Bob had been gassed. He had poisoned glands removed from his neck in a very big operation. Doctors were afraid of TB and said he must go to the country into pure air. Donald MacKinnon's property was called "Jilpanger".
Being taken to Callignee was quite an adventure for Dad who, of course had not been in the Australian bush before. Bob Wilson had apparently arranged the transport to Callignee but had not realised that Dad had to get back to Traralgon and to Melbourne so soon to start his new job. Dad got up in the middle of the night, strapped his bag around his shoulders and walked into Traralgon. Of course he saw the sunrise and the wild life and he never forgot the experience.
As mentioned before, Dad had a letter of introduction to the Chisholms. He was, of course, given an exceedingly good welcome. When Dad got settled, he sent for the family. At this stage, I applied to Ron for help. He did not know very much but he found a Bible which Aunt Beatrice had given to Ron's father, my Uncle Bob, on leaving for Australia. Apparently Aunt Beatrice stopped in Edinburgh and came to Australia later. I cannot remember about this. The inscription in the Bible is dated February 1889. That would be less than 15 months after Dad's arrival in Australia.
Neither Ron nor I know what boat they came out in or anything about the voyage. I feel almost sure that the family lived somewhere in Carlton for some little time. They moved to Caulfield to Malvern Grove quite close to the Malvern Railway Station. They had a semi-detached cottage, the last in Malvern Grove.
There was just a vacant building block between the house and Inkerman Road, so that from their living room, they could overlook part of the Caulfield Park. By this time, the Chisholms had overcome their settling problems and financial worries, and they were most helpful to the Rankins. This, of course, brought the two families very close together and there was a deal of friendship between the families and between some individual members. This, of course was strengthened by the friendship and later marriage between Mum and Dad.
Aunt Annie continued her nursing, Uncle Arch his tailoring. I must find out from Ron about his father. Aunt Elsie and Uncle George would be at school. This brings us to the end of this chapter. Until now it has been quite a happy experience to set down what I know, because events and facts have been rather clear cut. From now I feel that a lot of events and facts will not always be so clear and the entering into the picture of myself will, I believe, make future writing more complicated.
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Chapter IV - Short Histories of my Relatives - the Rankins
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As hinted in the conclusion of the last chapter, I approach writing from now on with some diffidence. I will be writing of relatives, their lives, their marriages, their husbands or wives and their work. Naturally this means that one must write in a more personal strain. I believe that this will be rather difficult as I do not like making judgements. However, the fact that there are no very serious skeletons in the cupboards will be of great help.
At first my intention was to write in order of time. However, a lot happened before I was born or during my very early life and about which I have no memory. Also a lot has happened within my memory but has now been forgotten. I will therefore give a brief account of the lives of each of my relatives.
A good deal has already been written of my grandfather Robert Rankin. My Father's memory of him was somewhat hazy, but what memory there was made one believe he was a very good man. Later, in Scotland, Dad met a few of his associates in the 79th and he was very impressed by the calibre of these men and the respect they had for his father.
As already mentioned, Grandpa Chisholm was a very happy and good-natured man and a good mixer. His family were all exceedingly fond of him; in fact they thought him just wonderful. Naturally he did very well as a salesman of machinery. He was also quite a religious man and all his life was an "Elder" in the Presbyterian Church.
My Grandmother Rankin was rather a quaint mixture. She had a good sense of humour. In many ways she could be regarded as easy going with a lot of likeable qualities. However, when something upset her, she did have a very sudden and strong temper. This seems to have been reserved for her own family.
My Mother, of course, was her daughter-in-law. One might expect that she would have been the target of some of my Grandmother's temper.
However, I feel sure my memory is correct when I recall Mum saying that she never had a cross word with her. I think she was about 84 when she died.
Grandma Chisholm was a very good character. She was deeply religious, very conscientious and hospitable. However, she was a rather serious woman, although she could enjoy a joke in a rather quiet way. We have some photos of her and she looks quite severe. This is largely because she had thin lips, and if not smiling her mouth was very set. Mum inherited, to some extent, the same thin lips but she was much more vivacious than Granny, and her expression was very far from being severe.
When I was a child, widows nearly always wore a bonnet. It was generally mostly black with some white trimming and small flowers, which were not too gay. At the same time, ladies skirts were worn practically to the ground. Widows' dresses were black or grey.
When I was about 7 years old, I had been given a football (a small one I expect) and, of course, had to show it to Granny. Even at that early age I must have been impressed with the humour of my Grandmother, dressed as described above, with her bonnet tied under her chin, playing kick-to-kick with me in the back yard.
After nearly seventy years, I still have a clear mental picture of this rather incongruous event. Granny lived to about 84 years.
We will now turn to the aunts and uncles, starting on the Rankin side. After Dad came Aunt Annie. I always regarded her as a very fine woman and aunt.
She impressed me as being very solid, the kind who would take responsibilities upon themselves, and perhaps members of her family may have depended on her to some extent. She also had a good sense of humour. I believe that even when I was comparatively young that I felt a shade sorry for her. However, I'm sure she was never sorry for herself. As mentioned before, she started nursing in Edinburgh and continued at the Melbourne Hospital I believe.
About the year 1908 or 1909, she opened her own maternity hospital in Kooyong Road Armadale calling it "Roorke" where Aunt Beatrice and she were born in India. About the time she started the hospital, she took in an orphan girl to help in the kitchen etc. This girl was called Florrie. She was gentle and ladylike and she was with Aunt Annie until she gave up the hospital. She continued as a personal friend until my aunts died. Later, Aunt Beatrice joined Aunt Annie. Granny too lived at the hospital. After they closed the hospital, they moved to Malvern Road, Toorak into one of those houses that are built right on to the pavement at the corner of Beatty Avenue.
The three lived together there and later when Dad's Aunt Gemmell died, about 1923, Bill Gemmell came to board with them. I remember that Aunt Annie told me about a boy friend she had in Edinburgh. He went out to one of the outposts of the Empire, as many young men did at that time, and sadly he died by contracting some disease. Aunt Annie lived until she was about 83 years old.
Now to Aunt Beatrice. As mentioned before, she did not come to Australia with her family and I believe was engaged looking after children. Here I might say that Aunt Beatrice had a very pleasing personality and I think she must have been very fond of children. She was always a very good aunt to me. I believe she might have inherited a little of Granny's temper.
She was more volatile than Aunt Annie and could bite a little if something was said to which she did not agree.
Later, about 1900 to 1902 she met a Mrs Staughton. Mr Staughton was quite a wealthy man who owned a large station called "Ainsbury" just out of Melton. He had died very early in life, before his son Simon was born. Mrs Staughton engaged Aunt Beatrice as a companion and children's nurse. They apparently got on very well and Aunt Beatrice was with her in Australia and in England and had, I believe, two or perhaps three trips to the Continent. Mrs Staughton liked Italy and Germany in particular. It might, I believe, be interesting to record my aunt's opinion of the position in Germany at that time.
Because they went back to Italy and Germany two or three times, my aunt got to know quite a few servants in the different hotels. They told her in straight language that Britain was decadent and that Germany was going to take the place of Britain as the World's great power. Their jealousy of Britain was very deep. I can imagine that my Aunt would bite over that. She used to declare when I was just a young boy that nothing could stop the Germans from declaring war when they felt they were strong enough.
I am not able to state definitely during which years they visited Europe, but I feel it must have been between 1903 and 1907.
I cannot but reflect how this straight forward statement and opinion of my Aunt's differs from some of the complicated and far-fetched opinions that have since been expressed by writers and historians relating to the cause or causes of World War I. My Aunt died in her early seventies.
Before passing on, might I point out that the Kaiser of Germany and a considerable number of the ruling class were known to be intensely jealous of Great Britain. This was realised during the period when my Aunt was visiting Germany, and I have never heard this belief contradicted since.
We now come to the eldest of Granny Rankin's second family - my Uncle Arch. Might I say here that the three sons in this family were all very lovable men, and I have the happiest recollections of them. As mentioned before, they were all fond of the beer and this caused some complications in their lives. The three uncles were all comparatively small men, possibly a shade taller than myself, but not quite so solid. A remarkable thing about them is that, although they drank, they were all very slight all their lives.
To return to Uncle Arch. He was a somewhat unusual personality, but very likeable. He started tailoring in Edinburgh and continued in Melbourne. He later started his own business. From my earliest recollection he had his business on the east side of Swanston Street, some little distance south of Collins Street. Later he moved to Stewart Dawsons Buildings.
This site is now occupied by the Manchester Unity Building. My Uncle's room on the 1st floor looked right at the Town Hall portico.
About 1906, he married Celeste King, who was always known as Aunt Cis. They were married at the Hawksburn Church of England. The reception was held in a vacant shop in Glenferrie Road near the Malvern Station. In those days, people had to make their own amusement and my Dad recited quite well. He was asked to recite on this occasion. At the age of 3 or 4 I got a bit bored with the recitation and going close to my Dad said "Oh, Dad, give it a bone!"
Aunt Cis was quite a good looking girl, but the family did not seem to find her very dependable. There was no actual breach, but the different family groups did not visit much. I used to call to see Uncle Arch at his business premises during lunch time and it was always a pleasure to do so. Occasionally we had a drink together.
They had three children - Charles, Frances and Anne. Charlie was fair and had a pleasant personality. He enlisted in the Second World War and was taken prisoner by the Japanese. Unfortunately he died whilst a prisoner of war. Frances, who was darkish, suffered from asthma. She worked for a few years with the Australian Estates as a typist etc. However, the Estates brought in some rather stupid regulation that they would not employ more than one member of any family group, so poor Frances had to go. Apparently the asthma must have taken a toll on her health and she died fairly early in life.
Anne, who was a blonde, seemed a very nice girl, but we did not see a lot of her. She is married, has a family and lives in Kew. However we have got quite out of touch. It is many years since I have seen her.
We now turn to Uncle Bob. He also was a very lovable man, and could be described as something of a character. He had a keen sense of humour. He had a very varied life. He was apprenticed to a pattern maker. This was during the boom years and, when the boom burst, his firm closed down. He went boundary riding at the Lascelles' property near Hopetown (as already mentioned). He worked on the construction of the rack railway which served the mines at Queenstown, Tasmania. Both Uncle Bob and Uncle George enlisted as Light-horsemen in the Boer War. Both served for some considerable time. Later, he was with the Mt Lyall works at Yarraville.
Uncle Bob was married about 1905 to Miss Annie Wilson who came from Milton, near Dunedin, New Zealand. Aunt Annie was a very good looking girl with a gentle and calm manner and was liked by all. Both she and Uncle Bob had the facility to make you feel exceedingly welcome in their home without fussing over you.
This reminds me that, when Ron and Jessie were married, I had the privilege of proposing the health of the Bridegroom's parents. It was a great pleasure to propose this toast.
Uncle Bob also enlisted for the Great War and was with the 8th Light Horse. This was very soon after the outbreak of the war and he was the first man to be made a sergeant in the Broadmeadows Camp. The 8th Light Horse went, I believe, to Egypt. Later, the horses were taken from them and they went to Anzac. Uncle Bob was at the Lone Pine charge, where many men were killed or wounded. He was wounded in the foot. He lay for a very considerable time before he was taken to the casualty clearing station. By this time his foot was in a very bad way, I understand, with gangrene.
Most of the doctors at Lemnos and later at Malta thought that the foot should be amputated, but Uncle Bob always declared that the foot was saved by the consistent efforts of a Scottish doctor.
Uncle Bob and Aunt Annie had four children, all boys - Ron, Bobbie, Arch and Alan. Unfortunately Bobbie died when he was three or four years old and this was a great blow to his parents.
People said that in our earlier life, Alan and I were considerably alike in appearance. I have always declared that Ron, in profile, is very like my brother Bob. This is rather remarkable, for, to be technical, we are only half cousins.
Alan worked in the office of Richardson Gears Ltd in Footscray. One of the men in the office had tuberculosis and Alan contracted this disease. He had been keeping company with a girl, Doreen Young. They decided to get married and live in the country in the hope that this might help Alan. They lived in Kyneton, but their hopes were in vain and Alan did not live long, although I am sure he fought very bravely.
It has always been a great pleasure to have been associated with Ron and Arch and later with their wives, for they both made such good marriages. Ron married Jessie and they have one daughter, Sandra. Arch married Sadie and they have three children - Margaret, Peter and Ross.
At this stage, when I was writing my rough notes I set down my own beliefs or credos. However, after consideration, I believe that these opinions should be reserved for the concluding chapter. However, at this stage might I refer to what Lord Macaulay writes in the introduction of his "History".
Referring to the two political parties in Britain in the 1850's he says that both have much to be proud of and, unfortunately, a considerable amount to be ashamed of. Both parties produced men of the highest calibre, but again unfortunately, men who were far from good. He finished his thoughts with these words - "however, this much is certain, the great men of both parties invariably came from the centre".
We now come to Aunt Elsie. Actually, she was baptised Elspeth which was Granny Rankin's name, but she was always called Elsie. She married very early in my life Harry Lee-Lewis. He had a dairy farm at Buffalo in South Gippsland.
The result was that I saw comparatively little of her. However, on one occasion when I would be about 9 or 10 years old, my Mother, Aunt Annie, Aunt Elsie and her daughter Elsie (2 or 3 years younger than myself) and of course myself had a holiday at Carrum. The house (long since pulled down) was about 300 yards on the Melbourne side of the Patterson River and faced the Beach Road. The land went right on to the beach front.
There was plenty of ti-tree and Carrum was, in those days, untouched by any form of pollution. The beach was wide, clean and beautiful. The water was crystal clear.
My recollection of Aunt Elsie leads me to believe that she was a rather gentle and kindly woman. Possibly, from what I have heard, her marriage was not a very successful one, for Uncle Harry was rather bluff and perhaps a bit rough, and therefore quite different to my aunt. They sold their farm in Buffalo and came to Melbourne. However, my aunt died shortly after. Later, Uncle Harry married again and moved, I think, to the Western District.
They had three children - Elspeth (also called Elsie), Jack and Albert. Elspeth has been a widow for a long time. She had no children. She lives in Newport on the coast between Sydney and Palm Beach. Jack went to Sydney, but he died many years ago. Albert, who was a Bank Manager, is retired. He and his wife are still living, but I have not seen them for very many years.
We now come to the last member of the Rankin family - Uncle George. He appears to have been the wild one of the family, although he too, like his brothers, had a keen sense of humour and was very lovable. He was also a beer drinker, but unfortunately when he drank too much his whole character changed so that he was something of a Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
I might mention here that my Mother had a very warm spot for my Uncle George. I believe it was because of the trouble he gave to the family that, after serving in the Boer War as a light-horseman, he went to Townsville and obtained a job as a ganger in the Queensland Railways.
There he married a girl called Mary. She was a Roman Catholic and she was a very kindly, nice woman. Eventually, Uncle George settled down and became, I understand, very interested in one of the religious sects: possibly it was the Christian Scientists.
They had four children - Arch, Elspeth, Anne and Enid. They are all very nice to know. All except Enid have been to Melbourne on one or more occasions.
In 1951, when wool was selling at such high prices, the Australian Estates gave all personnel with 30 years or more service a sea trip to Cairns or Perth.
Mavis and I chose Cairns. We took Ewen, then only 4 years old, while Marie looked after Margaret, who was about 13 months old.
Uncle George had passed on before that, but we met the others except Elspeth, who was married and away. Aunt Mary lived to be about 90 and died about 1974. They all married. Anne has no children. The others all have children, but we do not know particulars and names.
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Chapter V - Short Histories of my Relatives - The Chisholms
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The eldest of the Chisholms, I believe, was John. He died at the age of three. When Maureen and Ewen were in Scotland, Ewen took a photo of his grave in the Stobo Churchyard.
Aunt Jessie followed. She was some 18 months older than Mum. She never married and perhaps could be described as the odd one out in the family. She was kindly and quite clever in many ways. She played the piano very well and was a first class dressmaker. Perhaps one could say that she had quite a lot of extraordinary sense, but was lacking in the old-fashioned common sense. However, again, personal memories are very pleasant.
Mum came next and after her Uncle Andy. He did not marry and he died at the age of about 29 years in 1900 or about 2 years before I was born. He seemed to be a remarkable man. His family dearly loved and looked up to him. When I was growing up, I noticed that members of the Rankin family always spoke of him in a tone approaching reverence. I remember that Bob Wilson (Dad's friend in Scotland) once told me that my Uncle Andy was the finest man he ever met.
He seems to have had a wonderful character coupled with a remarkably keen and puckish sense of humour. The whole family looked up to him and seem to have always consulted him.
He was a clerk in George & Georges Ltd and he had a very unhappy experience. The accountant, with whom Andy was very friendly, was being dishonest. Andy should have reported him, but could not bring himself to do so.
Georges apparently felt that they could not keep Uncle Andy on in Melbourne, but they obtained for him a position with a comparatively large firm of drapers etc in Warrnambool. This firm is still in business, but I cannot recall its title. He was very happy there, but he contracted Brights Disease. He had to come home to die a rather slow death. He did, in fact, just waste away. He must have been a fine man with a wonderful personality.
Now we come to Uncle Jim. His life could be described as something of a tragedy, although he was, especially in his earlier life, a very happy person.
It would seem that he was destined to be a rather strong and well-made man but, at the age of twelve, fatty lumps started to appear under his skin. My grandparents sought medical advice. The disease was known, but apparently nothing was known about it. There was no knowledge of the cause. I believe the only suggestion was that he might have picked up some germ whilst having a haircut.
The result, however, was quite definite. He ceased to grow physically and of course was quite short. However, he still looked strong and virile. Fortunately the fatty growths did not affect his appearance in his earlier life. He was always spotlessly clean, rather dressy and rather good looking.
It is difficult to say if these growths had much effect on his brain. When I was young, he was exceedingly alert. However, being so short, he could not mix well with men of his own age and perhaps he could be described as being somewhat boyish in his outlook. He was a tea-packer with Griffiths Bros Ltd who were merchants in teas and coffees.
Their name was a household word in Melbourne. Their trade-mark was a railway signal and they had enamel signs on the railway fences with their name, their railway signal and so many miles to Griffiths Bros for first class teas and coffees.
Uncle Jim's boyish outlook meant that he liked taking us kids for outings. I can remember him taking me down the Bay on two or three occasions. Quite often, he took me into Melbourne and through such places as Coles Book Arcade where we saw the monkeys, the fernery, the funny mirrors, heard the orchestra as well as the million books. Also through the Eastern Market which at that time was a dirty and rather disreputable place. The site is now largely covered by the Southern Cross Hotel. At that time Bourke Street toward the eastern end was a line of side-shows, shooting galleries and booths.
Uncle Jim was really a fine little man, but as he got older, the fatty growths got larger and they dulled his brain and, pressing on his optic nerves, made him almost blind.
My Uncle Will is next on the list. He seems to have been of a technical turn of mind and he was employed by Hornsby and Co who later became Ruston, Hornsby and Co. As he went to Sydney, to the head office of that company, I did not see a great deal of him. Also the company sent him to their factory in England for experience.
The comparatively little I saw of him was, however, a wonderful experience. One could not imagine a happier man, full of good humour and naturally funny. To add to this, he was exceedingly fond of children and his patience with them was boundless. With us three kids his patience was just unbelievable.
Like the rest of the family, he had a very good musical ear.
After my brother Bob, Uncle Will was the tallest of my relations. He was quite good looking also. However, such is the peculiarity of us humans that he married a girl in Sydney, and his family was not very happy over the match.
From my own memory and observation, I feel that the family was right. She was not even good looking. However, the marriage lasted alright and they had six children, the first four girls and the last two boys.
The eldest of the family was named Eileen after, I believe, my sister. When we went to Cairns in 1951, when Ewen was 4 years old, Eileen and her husband Wal Palme were very good to us whilst we were in Sydney. Uncle Will had died a considerable time before this trip. Uncle Will's wife, Una, was still alive. Mavis and I met her and Mavis was not impressed either.
Both Eileen and Wal Palme have been dead for some time. I believe the other five cousins are living, but I am afraid we have not kept in touch with them.
In line with age, Uncle Tom comes next. When I first remember him he would be in his middle to late twenties. The younger men at that time were generally much more dressy as was the case in my time, or is the case today. I can remember Uncle Tom wearing a fancy Luckerback waistcoat with a flower in his buttonhole. Uncle Tom was a turner and fitter and in his younger life worked for a firm in North Melbourne.
He was very fond of music and had very catholic tastes for, from his early life, he appreciated all forms of music from the Music Hall and Harry Lauder to the Classics and Grand Opera.
He was very fond of the latter and saw practically every opera company that came to Melbourne. He had a fair singing voice and was a member of the Philharmonic Society Choir for many years. It was there that he met the lady he married - Florence Boardman.
Uncle Tom was very fond of football and took my brother Bob to the football quite a lot. They both barracked for Fitzroy. He was also an exceedingly good uncle to me. As I grew up, I found that we seemed to have quite a lot in common, and altogether I had a very great regard for him.
One might mention that, although my relatives were all fully Scottish, yet they were by no means particularly careful of their money. Uncle Tom was rather the exception, so that some time after his marriage, he must have saved enough to buy a news-agency business in Lygon Street, Carlton. He did not look back and did rather well.
My Dad and Uncle Tom were both interested in photography in a quiet way. They got on well together and in their younger lives they went cycling together and did a little photography.
Tom and Flo only had the one child - Leslie. Les is married to Marjorie and they live in Black Rock. They have three children, Jillian, Fiona and Hugh. As I write in May 1980, the two girls have both married recently and Hugh is in his 4th year of medicine.
We do not see a great deal of them but we always keep in touch. Les, Marjorie, Jillian and her husband visited us just a few weeks ago.
Uncle Tom died at 75, not long after we moved to Ashwood. Flo lived to over 90 and died about 4 years ago. Les was a very good son and is a good citizen.
The youngest of the Chisholms was Aunt Ella. I am told that my Grandfather was, by the time she was born, becoming tired of naming children. He took a short cut and registered her as Isabella Jane. Isabella was my Grandmother's name, but I do not know where the Jane came from.
Aunt Ella was always referred to as Aunt Ell and this seemed to come down to "Auntell". She would only be 13 when Eileen was born so she was young enough to be very interested in and close to us kids. She had a very pleasant and happy personality and got the giggles quite easily. She too had a very good musical ear and she learned the piano in her young life. However, I believe she had a rather lazy streak and was inclined to sit and do fancywork etc. She did such work exceedingly well. Her music teacher told Granny that she considered she could go far with the piano, but she would not persevere.
At this stage, may I be forgiven if I break off writing of my Aunt Ella and write of an episode in her life which has always impressed me greatly and is, I believe, well worth putting on record.
You will remember when writing of my Uncle Will that he went to Sydney to Hornsby & Co. The people he boarded with treated him like a son. This family had a daughter who had just become engaged to be married. Her parents were both worried and horrified, for they just could not stand the man. At this time, the mother remarked to Uncle Will that she did not know what she had been thinking about.
She said, "your sister Ella and our girl are about the same age and I have never thought to invite Ella here for a holiday". She immediately wrote, inviting Aunt Ell to Sydney for a holiday.
I believe my family would agree that my thoughts and conversation do not run towards the mysterious or the occult. However, the following story, the facts of which I can guarantee, has so impressed me that I have always had a rather open mind on such matters.
The Sydney girl suggested that they go to a fortune teller, a woman who was apparently making herself quite notorious in Sydney. Now Aunt Ell was always a very religious person, and I do not think she would have been very interested in fortune telling. However, she went along.
The Sydney girl went in first, and the lady told her she had taken off her engagement ring and put it in her bag. She then described the ring in every detail. The fortune teller then said to the girl that she was very sorry, but she could not tell her fortune.
Aunt Ell was, of course, next. The lady told her she could see two fairly recent deaths in her family. She believed one was her father and the other a brother. She also said the brother had died of a wasting disease. She said they were having some business worry at the time (They were having difficulties in obtaining my Grandfather's assurance from Scotland).
The fortune teller then spoke of the future and told Aunt Ell that she would marry a dark man and that his initials would be A.A. At this time, Aunt Ell would be about 20 or 21 years of age and she did not meet Andrew Adamson until about 4 or 5 years later.
He was very dark in his early life and, of course, the initials were correct.
With regard to the Sydney girl, she would not heed her parents and she married. The husband turned out to be an absolute cad. The girl died (if my memory is correct) about 8 months after her marriage.
Although it was not sheeted home to the husband, all the girl's relatives declared that she had been slowly poisoned by the husband.
Let us return to Aunt Ell. She married Andrew about 1909. I would be about 7 years old. Andrew came from the fishing village of Pittenweem in Fifeshire. He was a carpenter and our family and myself always found him a really nice man. However, it is said that the Fifers are probably the most dour of all the Scots. If Andrew liked you, he was a real good friend. If he took a dislike to a person, that person was a perfect write off.
When Aunt Ell and Andrew came to see us, we often finished up with a real silly half hour.
They had two children, Roy and Margaret who, of course, was always called Peg. Roy would be about 9 years younger than me and Peg about 10 1/2 years. Roy and I got on very well, although some people did not find him easy. We did a lot of swimming together. Although he was not so good as Peg scholastically, yet he had the best memory of anyone I have met. They were both school teachers.
Roy married Ercil Cameron. They lived at Black Rock and had two children, Sue and Andrew.
Unfortunately, Roy did not have the best of health and he died possibly nearly 20 years ago when the children were quite young. Sue married at the end of 1979.
As you know, Peg married Bob Fleming and their children were John, Peter and Margot. There is no need of me to go into further details relative to these three. Peg died suddenly in bed in March 1977 and you know of Bob's tragic death some two years later.
Peg and I were, for cousins, always rather close. She was just two months older than Mavis and the two girls got on very well together. Consequently, the four of us were on very close terms. Mavis and I miss them greatly.
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Chapter VI - Events in the family before I can remember
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At the end of Chapter III, I wrote that, when Dad left Scotland, he had a letter of introduction to the Chisholms and, of course, he met Mum. They were married on 11th April 1894 by the Presbyterian Minister at Carlton, the Rev. W.M.M. Alexander. The marriage and the reception were both held in the Chisholm's house, 549 Canning Street, North Carlton. We still have the beautiful and large Bible which the Rev. Alexander gave to Mum and Dad. The Rev. Alexander was most highly loved and regarded. It has occurred to me that, on today's values, this Bible would cost a tidy sum.
They came to live in one of a terrace of houses on the Malvern side of Kooyong Road, opposite and not far south of the house where later Aunt Annie conducted her hospital. The house proved to be damp, so they moved to St James Street. This was between Kooyong Road and the railway line.
Eileen was born on 15th February 1895 and her full name was Eileen Elizabeth. Bob was born on the 18th September 1896 and his full name was Robert Chisholm.
You will remember that Dad was in Patrick Marshall's boot-shop in Princess Street, Edinburgh. Later, he was in Burston's boot-shop in Collins Street, Melbourne. Dad could also make boots and shoes, including surgical boots for crippled people. He therefore decided to open a shop in High Street, Malvern and obtained a rented shop with dwelling nearly opposite Mercer Road. His idea was to set up as a boot-maker, to do repairing, and also to keep stock.
For some time the venture was quite successful. Dad was making boots, he employed a man to do repairs, and sales of stock were going well.
At that time, shops were open until 8 pm at night. The shop was on the fringe of Toorak and very many of the homes had cooks, housemaids, coachmen, gardeners etc.
Dad's shop was too small to cater for the wealthy people as far as the stock was concerned. However, between 6.30 and 8.00 pm he did a fairly brisk trade with the servants. He bought a block of land in East Malvern and hoped to build there. Shortly, however, possibly about the time I was born, it was realised that 8.00 pm was too late and the State Parliament brought in a Bill making the closing time 6.00 pm.
Of course the Bill was really a progressive one, but in most change, somebody is hurt. Dad found his buyers were cut out and sales fell right away. The boot and shoe company or companies would not take any of the stock back, so Dad had to sell at a great loss. It was necessary to sell the block of land and he went back to scratch. From then on he continued making and repairing. Dad was a very conscientious man who hated to overcharge, consequently, from then on, he made just a bare living.
I was born in this dwelling on the 15th July 1902. At that time, Eileen would be over 7 years old and Bob nearly 6 years.
Might I write here that I consider myself to have been greatly blessed having been born of my parents. Both showed to me a great deal of love and affection. Both had a pretty keen sense of humour. Mum, in particular, had a very keen and rather puckish but always kindly sense of humour. Both had a fairly keen sense of the beautiful in all departments of life. I was indeed fortunate.
Because of the difference in our ages, I was always the "little brother" to Eileen and Bob. Eileen through all her life could be difficult, as Mavis very well knows, yet generally, they were both good to me.
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Chapter VII - My own recollections to the time I left school
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My earliest recollection is of a holiday that Mum, Granny Chisholm and I had at Lilydale. A Mr and Mrs Robson had a farm somewhere out of Lilydale. Mr Robson came from Stobo and the Chisholms had known him there. The holiday would be a break from the usual routine, so it would stand out. We would be there about October, for I can remember the magpies being quite vicious and swooping down on us. I presume they would be nesting. I can remember hiding myself in Mum's skirt. At that time, skirts reached almost to the ground and were quite full. There was therefore, plenty to hide in.
Mr Robson was a very kindly man. He seemed to take a lot of notice of me and when he came in for meals always held me up to give a carrot to his horse. One might mention that Lilydale was, at that time, right in the country.
Our next door neighbours in High Street were both called Smith. On one side a dairy produce shop and on the other an upholsterer.
I grew up with Fred and Harold Smith, one son from each family. However, two doors away was a confectionery shop run by a Mrs Fleming, and George, one of her sons and I were very close and grew up together. There are photos of us together in one of Mavis' albums.
Some time after Mum and Dad were married, the Chisholms moved from North Carlton to Armadale, I believe to be closer to Mum. They lived in Auburn Grove, just off High Street.
As already stated, the Rankins lived in Malvern Grove in Caulfield. The Chisholms would be about a three quarters of a mile away and the Rankins about one and a quarter miles.
At that time, a two-horse bus ran in High Street from the Malvern Town Hall to the Prahran Town Hall. The bus, of course, passed our shop and Auburn Grove and was, therefore, very convenient.
Incidentally, the reader may see that my claim to have been born in the horse age is not ill founded. People were much better walkers than is the case today. Such distances as 3/4 or 1 1/4 miles were as nothing, even for children. Consequently, visits between the relatives were frequent.
Possibly my next remembrance is of a holiday at Carrum. The peoples name was Hamilton and the husband, Sam, was a fisherman in the Bay. Their home, quite an old weatherboard, was perched on a smallish sandhill on the corner of the beach and the Patterson River. As I believe already noted, Carrum was unspoilt, there was plenty of ti-tree, a beautiful clean and wide beach and clear water. I would be about 4 years.
The Electric Tram Sheds and Offices in Malvern are situated in Coldblo Avenue, off Glenferrie Road. At this time the street went through vacant allotments. At the back of the Salvation Army Citadel there was a well-formed circle and, when a travelling circus came to the district, it always settled at this place, using the circle for its display. Dad took me to one of these circuses. Of course I thought the circus was great and, being excited, did not even notice Dad paying entrance fees.
In the next street to the Chisholms (Sutherland Road) was the Armadale Presbyterian Church. The Chisholms were loyal members. I think Eileen and Bob went to Sunday School there. A family called Morrison attended the Church. The father was rather old and, in common with a lot of older men, had a long beard.
The beard was pure white and he looked quite patriarchal. He was a fine old man.
Some time after the circus, we all went to a service in the Church. After the service, as we were about to leave, the old chap leant over the pew and asked me how I liked the Church. I replied "It wasn't half as good as the circus"! He lived for some years more and every time I met him in the street he always had a grin.
And, of course, the time eventually came for me to go to school. Kindergartens were, I believe, virtually unheard of at that time. Eileen and Bob took me to school. I believe I did not like being separated from my parents, so at play time I ran like mad until I could run no longer and came home. Mum asked me what I was doing home so soon. I replied "I don't like school and I've ducked home". Eileen and Bob took me back after lunch and I must have settled in.
Again I was fortunate. Spring Road State School was a really nice school with the Malvern gardens on three sides of the grounds. The teachers were a good to excellent lot of people and the children mostly great kids. You will see from the conclusion of Chapter VI and from the contents of this chapter just how blessed I had been in my early years. If you read further you will see how my blessings continued.
Probably the next recollection was a holiday at Hepburn Springs with Granny Chisholm, Uncle Jim and Mum. I remember having a little weep as we parted from Dad at the Station. I would be 7 years old. We stayed at a guest house "Locarno" run by an Italian family called Pirani. They came from the north of Italy. The two daughters had golden hair in plaits. A nicer family we could not possibly meet.
Mavis and I spent a night at Hepburn Springs about 1978. Apart from the place looking smaller and the trees in the park much larger, the place had not altered greatly. The spa water from the "Kia Ora" spa was, I thought, beautiful.
Somewhere about this time I saw the first aeroplane flight in Melbourne. It took place from the Caulfield Racecourse. As our shop and dwelling was two storeyed we saw the flight from the window of the upstairs room at the back.
About this time we moved two doors towards the Malvern Town Hall and now our shop looked right up Mercer Road. The new shop and dwelling was in a different group, each of three shops, and this lot was considerably better built and somewhat more comfortable.
It would probably be a little later, when I may have been about 8 years old, that the electric tram lines were laid in High Street. The reader will know that Melbourne had, for many years, been rather well serviced by cable trams. They were efficient even if rather slow. The inner and northern suburbs were well served by these trams, as were parts of the eastern suburbs. They also ran along St Kilda Road to St Kilda and for some way along Brighton Road.
The electric tram along High Street was, I believe, the first in the suburbs south of the Yarra. The line ran from St Kilda Road up to Tooronga Road (later extended to Glen Iris). At the Malvern Town Hall a branch ran down Glenferrie Road to Wattletree Road where it turned east and went on to the Central Park at Bourke Road.
Of course to us kids this work provided quite a deal of excitement. On vacant allotments there were heaps of screenings and road metal. In those days, motors had not reached the stage of hauling heavy loads, so the rails were brought on long jinkers pulled by either four or six horses. Then when the trams started there were fireworks off the overhead line and even more splendid fireworks off the tar etc on the rails.
George Fleming was 8 months older than I and one class ahead. We went to Sunday School together to the Malvern Presbyterian Church in Wattletree Road. One of our teachers was Mr Reid. He was Howard Reid's father and, except that he wore a beard, was exceedingly like Howard. Writing in 1980, I would point out that I have known Howard for about 68 years.
Mother and I with Aunt Annie and once with Aunt Elsie and her daughter Elsie had a couple of holidays with people called Mudge at Carrum. Their house was some three hundred yards on the Melbourne side of the Patterson River. The house was an old weather-board but rather large. The land went right back to the beach. There was a great deal of ti-tree.
On one of these holidays, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and his wife were there. Their name was Mason. The old chap was very nice to me, but it was his wife that I will always remember. She was a real lady. She had been a concert singer of some note and, as she became older, had her face enamelled. When the enamel wore off, it left her skin shockingly wrinkled. One night, to her own accompaniment, she sang Gounod's "Ave Maria". I have never forgotten it!
When at Carrum on the other holiday, the news came through that Amundsen had reached the South Pole. He was, of course the first man to do so, and beat the British expedition under Scott.
Events seem to have gone on smoothly for some time. Eileen became a stenographer etc and after a while was with a Mr Rogers, an importer and exporter. He was a nice man and Eileen was with him for a great number of years. Bob became a dental mechanic and worked for a Mr Storey, a dentist in Collins Street. He was there until he enlisted.
Following a period of little news, George Fleming and I were coming home from Sunday School and we were amazed to see nearly everyone with a small newspaper in their hands. This paper contained the news that Britain had declared war on Germany.
I look upon this day as one of the most important in history for conditions and outlooks were never the same again. Unless my memory is misleading me to a very great extent, I believe that most people were happier before that time. They certainly did not expect so much from life, they were generally speaking more contented and far less selfish. I would be 12 years old at this time and Bob would be 17 and turning 18 years in the following month.
And now, of course, we went through a period of strain, especially for the grown-ups. Uncle Bob enlisted in the Light Horse immediately and, because of his record in the Boer War was immediately made a sergeant.
I believe I have already mentioned he was the first man to be made a sergeant at the Broadmeadows camp. His experiences at the war have already been briefly detailed.
Some years before the war, the Australian Government had a system of compulsory military training. Lads at 14 years were taken into the Cadets and then at 18 years into the Citizen Forces. They were trained for the defence of Australia and therefore service for overseas had to be by voluntary enlistment.
My brother Bob had been in the Cadets and had been very enthusiastic. At the age of about 16, he became a Lieutenant and he actually trained a squad that won a drilling competition for the district. He therefore knew drilling procedure very well and, on enlistment, was immediately made a sergeant-major.
I cannot remember the actual date on which he enlisted, but I think he was about 18 years and six months. Because of his knowledge, he was needed for training and was in camp in Victoria for some nine months, mostly at Royal Park. He had to fight hard before he at last got permission to go overseas. He was the ship's sergeant-major, that is senior N.C.O. on the boat. It was quite a big job for a nineteen year old and it was made more difficult by sea sickness which lasted throughout the voyage.
On arrival in England, he was drafted to the huge camp at Salisbury Plains. There he was again occupied in drilling, physical exercises and bayonet fighting. Such was the need for trained men that he was kept at Salisbury camp for about a year. Again he had to fight to get a posting to France.
Let us return home for a while. Early in the war, events did not go well for the Allies. We received a lot of bad news, coupled with the news of men we knew being either killed or wounded and this made for worry and sadness. However, in most respects, we in Australia hardly knew we were born.
I continued at Spring Road school very happily for both teachers and the boys and girls were a great lot. When I reached 14 years I had to join the Cadets and drilled at the Armadale Drill Hall. At school, on reaching the 8th grade, I was taught by Miss Hurry. She was a fine woman and noted for her teaching abilities. She got a rather high percentage of the 30 Government Scholarships which were issued each year for Victoria. The upshot was that I obtained one of these scholarships, finishing 17th in the list of 30.
Sport has not been my strong point. However, in the 7th grade at Spring Road I played several games in the football team and in the eighth grade played the full year.
The scholarship entitled one to 4 years at a Public School, so I went to Scotch College which was then situated in East Melbourne where St Andrew's Hospital now stands. At that time, Mr W.L. Littlejohn was the Principal and Mr Ingram was the Vice-principal.
Whilst I was at Scotch, Bob returned from the war, arriving home on his 21st birthday. Bob had gone to France as a member of the 60th Battalion and he was in France for about 5 months. Most of this time was winter and it was said that this winter was the worst for 40 years. Bob was made a second lieutenant shortly after going to France. He was later promoted to first lieutenant, but did not hear about it until some time after his return to Australia.
Bob did his active service in the north of France and in the five months saw a considerable amount of service. For some time before enlisting, if Bob did anything strenuous, the glands on the right side of his neck would show up slightly. However, in every other way, he was very fit.
Bob was in the very big engagement at Bullicourt. The Germans used shrapnel shells which also contained poisonous gas. Bob was scratched with the shrapnel and the gas not only affected his lungs, but also poisoned the defective glands.
In hospital in London, he lost all the skin on his face and neck. Later he was sent to a rest home for officers at Glen Isla in Scotland. I believe this place is some distance inland from Dundee in very beautiful country.
The medical authorities decided he should be sent home and have the necessary operation in Australia. When he arrived home on the 18th September 1917, he looked the picture of health.
However, the glands in his neck were very swollen and protruding. After some days of leave, Bob had to report to the Caulfield Military Hospital and there he was operated on by Dr Moore, who was a prominent surgeon of that time and also regarded as a fine man.
Strangely enough, Bob had been in the same class at school with a George Webster. They both had good voices and both had sung in a school cantata. Both also sang in the choir of St George's Church of England in Glenferrie Road, Malvern. George Webster had not been passed medically fit for active service, but had apparently volunteered for home service. He became a medical orderly and was on duty during the operation.
The operation was successful. Bob had a cut from his chest right along his neck and partly up his head. The doctor apparently cut a sinew and afterwards Bob could not raise his arm in all positions. However, Bob rather dramatically fell in weight from 13 stone to 9 1/2 stones. The doctors were afraid of TB and Bob was told it was essential for him to go to the country for purer air.
Here I must make an apology. In Chapter III I wrote a rather garbled account of the circumstances that led to Bob's visit to Jilpanger for six months. In the same chapter I wrote that, very shortly after arriving in Australia, Dad went to Traralgon to visit Bob Wilson.
Bob Wilson took him to Callignee and introduced him to Donald MacKinnon, the school master. Later, Mr MacKinnon had been transferred to Gymbowen and whilst there had obtained quite a fine estate quite cheaply. He called it Jilpanger.
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Note: When Andrew Rankin died on 29th September 1980 aged 78 years, the above document was left unfinished. With his death, the world lost a wonderful, kindly, happy, Christian gentleman. All those who knew him were better people for the experience. JMF
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