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Almost Forgotten is a project to identify all people buried in the Colac Cemetery pre 1900. Initiated by the Colac & District Family History Group Inc.
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NOT THE FULL STORY Both Elizabeth PRICE (nee HAYES) and Morgan PRICE's death certificates stated "no issue" but a little further investigation unveiled a different and tragic story. Elizabeth, the daughter of John HAYES and Mary GOUGH came to Australia as a two year old in1852. In1867, aged17, Elizabeth married 23 year old Morgan PRICE. Two years later a daughter was born prematurely and lived just seven hours. The following year Elizabeth gave birth to a son, Walter PRICE. Sadly Walter also only lived for one day. Elizabeth was pregnant with her third child when she endured a four day, "complex labour", which neither Elizabeth or the child survived. She died on April 22, 1872 and was buried in the Colac Cemetery two days later. Morgan PRICE, having witnessed the deaths of his wife and three babies, left Colac to be near his brothers and their families at Terrick Terrick. Sadly only eight months later news arrived that Morgan had also died. Elizabeth and her first child are known, through death certificates, to be buried in the Colac Cemetery yet there is no marked grave. It is not known yet which cemetery little Walter PRICE is buried in. None of the burials are recorded on the Colac Cemetery database.
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ENDURING COLAC CONNECTION Charles Harris and Amelia Gumbley emigrated with their five children on the Crusader from Birmingham in May 1870. After the birth and untimely death of a baby girl in Melbourne, and the birth of another son, Charles decided to move the family to Colac where he worked as a brewer. He later established his own brewing business, the first advertisements appearing in the Colac Herald in late 1875. By March 1876 their tenth child was born in Colac, nine were still living. In an unimaginable series of events over the 20 weeks between the 6th of December 1876 and 20th April 1877, five of the children died from various illnesses. Ten year old Charles and fourteen year old Harry died on the same day in December, followed two weeks later by four year old William who died on Christmas Day. Then there was a break of three months before the little twin girls, born in Colac the previous year, Clara Violet and Anne Lily, died, shortly after their first birthday, and just three weeks apart. In February 1879 Charles, by this time the proprietor of the Victoria Hotel in Birregurra, was declared insolvent with huge debts, citing his inability to work due to a severe accident, deaths and sickness in the family. Charles died in Melbourne of tuberculosis in 1888 and his remains were brought to Colac for burial. When Amelia died in 1921, 33 years later, she was also buried in the Colac Cemetery. Colac residents, Mr Morrow and Mr & Mrs Belsar were publicly thanked for their kindness, showing that the bond the family had with Colac had endured more than 30 years. Other surnames associated with the family are MENCE, PARSONS, McGILL, HICKS, PARKER and OST Images: The church where Amelia and Charles were married in 1858 in Aston. & Notice in the Argus thanking Colac friends.
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BABY DIES, ANOTHER CHILD ADOPTED Charles ROSCOE was a long time resident of Colac East where he occupied a store on the corner of Murray and Church Sts. It seems that in 1888 he visited England for a short time and later that year returned to Australia on the same ship as Mary Grace WIDLAKE, a relative of Mary PRESCOTT, wife of townsman William PRESCOTT. Charles would have been about 45 and Mary 40 when they were married in 1890, and in 1891, their only child was born. Sadly, Arthur William ROSCOE had only reached the age of 12 weeks when he died from convulsions and was later buried in the Colac Cemetery. Both of Arthur’s parents are named on a small headstone which sits at the foot of the PRESCOTT grave and although Arthur’s name is not included, it is believed that he is buried in the same location. After Arthur’s death, Charles and Mary adopted Claude Arthur GRAINGER. He was later exempted from service in the First World War because he was the sole support for his adopted mother. In 1918, Claude, whose address was "Braunton", Colac East, married Clarice McEVOY, daughter of Colac’s Isabella BEAT and Walter McEVOY.
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LIVED FOR 18 YEARS AFTER SERIOUS ACCIDENT John Hester VESEY worked in a variety of jobs to support his wife Sarah Ann DENMEAD and their eleven children. In 1881 he was helping to move a house with a bullock team and while checking the building, one of the sides fell on him, pinning him face down on the ground. The bullocks dragged the house over John and miraculously he survived, although it was doubted that he would properly recover. It was some 18 years later when John died while undergoing an operation for a brain abscess that had been troubling him for six weeks. He left a wife and ten children ranging in age from 7 to 33 years, one child had died shortly after birth and his eldest daughter was the only one who was married and she died the following year after giving birth to her third child. Other names associated with the VESEY family are YATES, PELL, PINNE, WILSON, PATRICK, GRAY, BAKER, HITT, LAWSON, GAYLARD
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WORK ACCIDENT CLAIMS YOUNG FATHER John LEE was erecting a new building for local coachbuilder George GALLOP between his home and his workshop in Gravesend Street when a serious accident caused his death. John had sensed the trouble shortly before his death and called a warning to his assistant, Frank BELL before gust of wind brought down the frame he was working on, killing the 38 year old carpenter. Frank BELL, George GALLOP and George RAYNOR tried to save John and Robert TROTTER immediately rode to get Dr WYNNE, who, on arrival, pronounced that death had been instantaneous. It was three days after Christmas in 1894, which John and his wife Margaret (nee DEANS) had celebrated with their one year old child. Margaret was several months pregnant and the new year held the excitement of their second child being born. Margaret LEE had not seen her husband on that fateful morning as he was in the habit of leaving the house early to go to work. The last time she had seen him alive was seven o’clock on the night before his death and he was in good health and good spirits. Her father delivered the news that John had died at quarter to eleven in the morning and shortly afterwards his corpse was brought to their home in Corangamite Street. Margaret and John had only been married for two years at the time of his death and she never remarried, raising their two sons on her own. She had been a widow for more than 50 years at the time of her death in 1945. They are buried together in the Colac Cemetery with both of their sons. The family together for eternity.
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YOUNG WIDOW BECOMES EVANGELIST Charles BAEYERTZ was settled into the life of a country bank manager in Colac when a tragic gun accident ended his life in 1871, aged just 28 years.. Born in Wadsworth, England, Charles was 22 years old when he married Emilia ARONSON in Christ Church, Hawthorn. Their first child was born in Richmond in 1866 and the family was living in Colac when their second child, Marion, was born in 1869 and baptised at Christ Church, Birregurra that same year. Some months after his death, the local community called for a subscription to raise funds for a headstone for Charles. Even though he is buried on his own and no other members of the family remained in Colac, Charles’ remains are in a large grave with a substantial headstone, surrounded by an ornamental iron fence. Emilia, the daughter of wealthy Jewish parents, had initially come to Australia to help overcome her grief following the death of a fiancé. Soon after Charles died, the young mother and widow converted to Christianity and spent the rest of her life as an evangelist, undertaking missions throughout Australia and New Zealand and later Britain and North America. In her final years, Emilia lived with her daughter Marion KIRKLAND and died in Streatham in 1929 aged 87. Photograph from Billion Graves The headstone still stands proudly although the engraving has worn away over time. Perhaps one day a descendant of Charles BAEYERTZ might visit Colac to see his grave. Researched by Jill
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HONEST AND UNASSUMING FATHER OF EIGHT George LESLIE, his wife Ann McDONALD and daughters Margaret aged 2, and baby Isabella boarded the Palmyra in London in April 1848 with 250 other immigrants, bound for a new life in Victoria. George, who was classed as a labourer, was assigned to Mr Robert SUTHERLAND of Geelong for 12 months at a wage of 30 pounds. In 1852 twins were born in Colac , and by 1865 the family had grown to eight children. George, described as an “honest and unassuming character”, died in 1899 at his son’s residence on the Gnarwyn estate. He was eighty years old and had spent 50 years in the district, one of our oldest residents. At the time of his death only three of his children had remained in the Colac district. Margaret, (Mrs Alfred BEAL), Alex who had married Charlotte ERLANDSON and Kenneth who had married Jane WHITSON, both from local families. The rest of the family were scattered throughout Victoria, Isabella (Mrs Alexander ATKINS), Terang, Ann (Mrs Thomas MORRIS), Ballarat, Johanna (Mrs Angus McINNES), Melbourne, William had married Sarah EDWARDS and was living in Melbourne and George remained unmarried and lived in NSW. Ann died in Colac four years after her husband’s death and they are buried together in the Colac Cemetery. Image is from: portphillipdistrict.info/Ships to Port Phillip 1838-51
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POSSIBLY MORE RYMER CHILDREN Elizabeth SPOKES was just seventeen years old when she married Charles RYMER at St Andrews Church, Colac in May 1870. The following year the first of their eleven children was born in Geelong, but sadly he died shortly afterwards. Three more children were to die in their infancy and at least one, Charles John RYMER, is buried in the Colac Cemetery. It is also possible his younger brother Thomas and perhaps a sister Deborah Eliza, who died at Birregurra, are buried there too. Charles mainly worked as a blacksmith and a carpenter and was willing to take on other work as well. He entered into an arrangement to borrow the hearse of Thomas SHARROW, Colac undertaker, and advertised as Charles RYMER, carpenter and undertaker, offering all services required for the family of the deceased. After about 20 years of marriage, and shortly before their last chlld was born, Charles and Elizabeth separated and Charles moved to Birchip where some of his siblings had settled. In 1897 an article appeared in the Colac Herald advising that Elizabeth was selling her comfortable Birregurra property “containing one rood with residence thereon" and furniture and effects. Following the sale, Elizabeth moved to Melbourne and later married Michael GOOLD. The family ties to Colac remain strong, however, with descendants of the SPOKES family still living in the Colac district. Other names associated with the family are: DENHAM, GOOLD, PEACH, RICHARDS, HARRIS, GEORGE (WA) If anyone has a copy of a death certificate which includes either Thomas RYMER who died in 1874 (Reg No 1099) or Deborah Eliza RYMER who died in 1889 aged 4, (Reg No 15230), it would help solve the mystery of where they are buried.
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SUPPORTED WOMEN'S VOTING BUT DIED TOO EARLY Ann BOYLE was just 22 in 1863 when she sailed from Liverpool for her new life in Australia. Born in Co Cavan, Ireland, Ann had secured one month of work as a general servant with Mrs SUMMON, the second wife of Isaac SUMMON, at 170 Stephen Street in Melbourne. Advertisements for a general servant had appeared for some time before Ann’s arrival, and it is not known how long she stayed with the SUMMON family but within months the advertisements began to reappear. Ann was living in Queenscliff when she married Edward RICHES who was a labourer on the Stony Rises Station and they settled in the Barongarook /Irrewillipe area after some time at Ondit. In 1891 Ann joined many other Colac women and signed the petition supporting women’s right to vote in Victorian elections. Sadly she died ten year before it passed parliament and was never able to have her say in the political process. Ann and Edward had seven children, five were still living when she died in 1899. A beautiful headstone erected by Edward marks her resting place in the Colac cemetery. He later remarried a widow Elizabeth ARMSTRONG nee DUNN. Other surnames associated with the family are STEWART, FITZGERALD, SMITH, LAWRENCE, LEBATT, WAXTER, HAWKSFORD, and O'CONNOR(NZ) Photograph: The Women's petition and Ann's signature.
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CONSTABLE OLNEY'S DAUGHTER DIES When Constable James Summer OLNEY and his wife Charlotte left Colac in mid 1900, they were not only leaving many good friends, they were leaving their little daughter Grace Edith who had been born, and three months later in 1898, died in Colac, and was buried in the Colac Cemetery. James was a popular young Constable who had come to the district in 1892, the year before his marriage to Charlotte HARMER. He soon established a fine reputation for the way he carried out his work, which being a constable in a country town, was ever-changing. James had to deal with drunken and sometimes abusive people, investigate theft, fire, and animal cruelty or neglect. He attended accidents, cases of neglected and abused children, conducted searches for people missing in the lake and was also the Rabbit Inspector and Electoral Inspector. When James was rewarded with a promotion, which meant a transfer to Macarthur, the family were treated to a largely attended farewell dinner and presented with fine gifts. Constable OLNEY was reported to be “deeply affected at leaving Colac” when a large number of people gathered on that final morning to farewell James, Charlotte and their two children as the train departed.
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A SAD LOVE STORY On a wintery day in July 1890, Elizabeth VESEY, domestic servant, married Frank YATES, farmer, at St Mary’s church in Colac. In April the following year the happy young couple were looking forward to the birth of their first child, when Frank was blinded in a serious blasting accident. His workmate, James GAYLARD was also blinded and lost one arm. A report on the circumstances of the men a few months later stater that “Mr YATES is totally destitute...his first child is only about two months old. He is totally blind with no hope of recovering his sight, he does not know what he had better do to make a living, but would like, if possible to keep a few cows and sell milk...” The community organised a fund to support both of the men and their families and Frank was able to purchase the goodwill of Mrs P NEYLON's customers for supplying milk. Elizabeth died of septicemia in 1899, a week after giving birth to her third child. The obituary in the local paper indicated that after Frank was deprived of his sight “a loving and devoted wife had done for him all that woman could do, and through indomitable energy and hard work, mainly on her part, they were a fair way to prosperity”. The year after her death, Frank was still grieving when he placed a memorial notice in the Colac Herald, which included this verse: Darling Lizzie how I miss thee, None but a husband’s heart can tell; Earth has lost thee, heaven has gained thee, Darling Lizzie fare thee well.
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HOTEL PROPRIETOR BURIES WIFE AND SIX OF HIS CHILDREN Mary Ann GLEESON was just nine years old in 1864 when her father, Thomas GLEESON died leaving his wife Ann to raise their two young daughters and continue operating their business, Colac’s Victoria Hotel. In 1872, eighteen year old Mary Ann GLEESON married James ANTHONY and eight children were born by 1885, five girls and three boys. Sadly all three boys had died before reaching their first birthday, one tragically drowned in a backyard tank. Mary Ann contracted tuberculosis and died in 1888 after more than a year of suffering. Her mother died the following year, leaving James to raise his five daughters without support. Four years after his beloved Mary Ann’s death, James ANTHONY, who had become the owner of the Victoria Hotel, married Susannah Helena SMITH but there were more sad times ahead. Five children were born in that marriage, and one of those children as well as a 20 year old and 13 year old daughter from the earlier marriage died between 1896 and 1899. James ANTHONY died in Birregurra on November 29, 1901, having witnessed the burials of his first wife and six children before 1900. The beautiful headstone erected in memory of Mary Ann, James and their children now lies broken and in need of care. Other names associated with the family are RYAN, GLEESON, CAHILL, KINANE, LYONS, SMITH, LUCAS, LLOYD, BYRNE, SAUNDERS, MACAW. Photograph of the headstone and grave by E. McHARDY.
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