People - midcoaststories.com

Nancy-Bird Walton (1915 – 2009)

Nancy Bird flew into the history pages in 1935 when, at the age of 19, she became the first woman to hold a commercial flying licence in Australia. She was a pioneer in aviation and used this passion to help and inspire others. Nancy was born in Kew, NSW in 1915. After attending school in…

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Carlyle Hospital Wingham: Nurse Phyllis Bidner

In 1929 Fassifern Private Hospital in William Street, Wingham became known as Carlyle Hospital; a residence transformed into a hospital. As a young woman, Phyllis Bidner joined the nursing staff in 1951 and had one week in which to make her two blue uniforms and cap. The life of a nurse in the 1950s was…

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Mud Bishop, birth of the Australian Crawl

You may have heard stories of the recluse and retired policeman, Mud Bishop, who made his home at the entrance of the Manning River at Old Bar from 1923 until his death in 1944. But have you heard of his amazing place in Australian Sporting History? Wallace James ‘Mud’ Bishop was born in 1878 in…

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Missing: Edith Margaret Smith

On 20 July 1930, Edith Margaret Smith, her Pomeranian dog, jewellery and clothes went missing from her Gloucester home never to be seen again. It was not her husband Albert Augustus Smith who reported her missing but her mother who lived in Sydney...

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George Cassimaty: Local hero

George Cassimaty was a well-known business identity in Taree running a fruit exchange and refreshment rooms in Manning and Victoria Streets for many years. Born on the Greek island of Kythira…

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Albert Augustus Smith

Albert Augustus Smith was a baker who owned ‘The Old Bakery’ in Comboyne, and a bakery and the ‘Majestic Theatre’ in Church Street, Gloucester. After his wife’s disappearance...

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Charles Edwards: Purfleet Sportsman and Entertainer

Charles Edwards was a talented man. He lived at the Purfleet Aboriginal mission station four kilometres south of Taree. Charlie was an outstanding sportsman playing both cricket and rugby league...

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Adelaide Hill of Zeal Cottage, Wingham

Everybody loves a ghost story and Wingham has its very own. Zeal Cottage in Queen Street, Wingham is purportedly haunted by the house’s first owner, Adelaide Hill. But who was Adelaide Hill? The daughter of once wealthy parents John and Mary Hooke, Adelaide was born in NSW in 1833 and at an early age…

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Alban Albury Maloney

At the south-western corner of Taree Park stand memorial gates dedicated to the memory of A A Maloney. But who was A A Maloney? Born in Albury in 1888, Alban Albury Maloney was a highly skilled dentist. He settled in Taree circa 1912, acquiring the dental practice formerly conducted by Mr H A Tuck. Following…

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Anne Baxter – Hollywood Actress

On 12 December 1985 the Los Angeles Times reported the death of Anne Baxter aged 62. This followed a stroke suffered some eight days earlier. Anne Baxter was a grand-daughter of the influential architect Frank Lloyd Wright. More importantly she was a very successful American actress with a career spanning her Broadway debut aged 13…

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Captain Jean Benaud

Cricket trivia question: Q: What connection does famous Australian cricketer Richie Benaud have with Taree? A: In 1963 Richie was in the NSW Sheffield Shield team which played against the Mid North Coast in Taree. And…Richie’s great grandfather lived and died in Taree. Jean Benaud arrived from France as an able seaman on the Ville…

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Castor, a man from Madagascar

On 12 April 1856, an African man died in the vicinity of Tarree Estate. His name was Castor, a labourer aged 50 years, who died from heart disease. Witnesses to the burial were Henry Flett, William Wynter Jnr. and Thomas Dyball. His death certificate states he was born in Madagascar but this story begins in Mauritius…

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Edward Langley (Teddy) Whitbread

Edward Langley Whitbread is buried in Woola Cemetery on the outskirts of Taree. The headstone describes his death on the 12th February 1909 as accidental. Look a little closer and you may be able to make out a jockey’s cap and crop incised into the stone. A local lad, Teddy Whitbread was born in 1888 and…

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George William (Gunyah) Green – timber craftsman

The Bulga Plateau, is well known for the quality and abundance of its timber. Large timber mills once provided employment for its menfolk, but one man had a lighter touch...

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Hannah Webster

On 12 November 1913, Hannah, daughter of Mr and Mrs John Wallis, was married at her father’s homestead “Ellerslie”, Bulga. The bridegroom was Benjamin Webster, a timber worker many years her senior. Hannah and Benjamin settled into life on the Plateau. However, over the years relations between them soured and, notwithstanding their large family, they…

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Toki Simon: The smiling assassin

Toki William Simon was a Biripi man born in Forster, NSW in 1915. When he was young, Toki worked with his family to craft cabbage tree furniture at Forster. He also played rugby league for Cape Hawke being regularly identified as one of the team’s best players. In 1939 Toki married Joyce Dungay from Taree. World…

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Trooper Percy Lyon – 7th Light Horse Regiment

Generally speaking, the names inscribed on war memorials indicate that the individual has experienced the horrors of the battlefield, but this is not always the case. For these exceptions, their stories are, nevertheless, poignant. Percival Ernest Lyon was born on 22 November 1891, the fourth son of James and Alice Lyon. His father was a…

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Westcrag Lodge of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows

The Grand United Order of Odd Fellows was conceived as a friendly society which provided financial support to its members in need and promoted their moral, social and intellectual development. It was established in Australia in the 1840s. Lodges proliferated in Australia and even small communities were able to generate sufficient numbers to form local Lodges…

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A Glimpse Into The Good Old Days

This true life anecdote from Mitchell’s Island happened in either 1920 or 1921. It was told to me by the late Rosalie Cardow (nee Mudford) in her ninetieth year. The heartbreaking poverty of farming families in those days is hard to comprehend now.

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The Man in the Hut

Around the 1940s an unassuming man moved into a hut on the edge of the ocean at Crowdy Head. At times he worked in the Fishermen’s Cooperative, becoming well known to the locals. With no electricity or modern conveniences, he lived a simple, hermit-like lifestyle.

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Father Patrick O'Regan

Patrick O’Regan was one of three Irish born brothers who were ordained as priests and joined the catholic ministry in Australia.

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The New Manning Valley Pioneers

Around about 2003, we three couples were on the cusp of retiring from Sydney. We knew that as retirees we might have difficulty adjusting to a major move. So we thought, let’s move together...

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James Hickey Stevens

James Hickey Stevens, known as ‘Jim’ to all, was the second son of George and Eliza Stevens of ‘Killarney’, Dyers Crossing...

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Strange coincidence: Brown sisters

Behind the humble façade of this Tuncurry Cemetery headstone lies the extraordinary coincidence of the Brown sisters’ death...

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'Joker' the cattle dog

'Horrie the War Dog’ is a well-known Australian novel documenting the true story of Private Moody and his dog during World War II. But did you know that Old Bar had its own war dog? His name was Joker...

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George Stevens of 'Killarney' Dyers Crossing

George Stevens was 79 years of age when he died at ‘Killarney’, Dyers Crossing surrounded by family. He had been active until four months prior to his death.

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Eliza Stevens nee Hickey

Eliza Hickey married George Stevens in 1889. After living their first two years of marriage on the Myall River, they moved to 'Killarney', Dyers Crossing where she lived for the next 49 years with her family.

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Andre Majerszky and the ‘Iron Chief’

In April 1928, while Andre Majersky was working as a photographer at the Manning Studios in Taree, an unusual opportunity presented itself…

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Tommy Boomer / Bulmer

Tommy Boomer / Bulmer was born at Dingo Creek in 1865. He was a very good fisherman and diver, catching up to 10 lobsters each time...

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William Oscar Ryan

Following rowdy melees at the 1923 Boxing Day Regatta at Croki, William Oscar (Spike) Ryan was convicted of the manslaughter of Frederick Smith. Narrowly avoiding a jail sentence, Ryan turned his life around and is remembered as a highly skilled boat builder.

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Harry Wilfred Webster

Harry Wilfred Webster was born in Essex, England in 1885 and undertook his architectural training there...

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Private Willie Alway

When you find a personalised photo in your Aunt's collection from someone you have never heard of before, your curiosity can't help but get the better of you...

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Geoffrey Blake Hammond

Geoffrey Blake Hammond was born 1898, Wingham and served in WW1. He was granted land under the Returned Soldiers Settlement Act of 1916...

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Nurse Avery’s Private Hospital, Tea Gardens

In 1927, Mabel Avery completed her training in Midwifery in Sydney before opening a private hospital in the large house called ‘Glengarry’, Myall Street, Tea Gardens...

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Just a child: Private John Lancelot Andrews

John Lancelot Andrews enlisted in December 1916 to fight with the Australian Imperial Forces in World War 1. Within three months he was a private in the Lewis Machine Gun Section of the 54th Battalion and encamped in England...

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Lionel Stephen Whitbread

Lionel Stephen Whitbread was born in 1885 and lived his early life at Sidebottom (Koorainghat). Son of Taree town clerk and school teacher mother, Lionel was known for his integrity and honesty...

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Record-breaking cricket partnership

This is the story of two close friends who on the 9th March 1940 made cricket history...

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Private Maynard Basham, Tinonee

Of the 19 Tinonee men who enlisted in WW1, 12 were killed in action. Two of these men were awarded the Military Medal, one of those was Private Maynard Basham...

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Hector Holmes Service No. 3555 – POW

In November 1917, in the midst of the Great War, newspapers nationwide carried the heartening news of two Australian escapees from a German prison camp. One of these combatants was Hector Holmes...

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Alfred Cavalchini: Baker, Confectioner and Photographer

Italian born Alfred Cavalchini arrived in Sydney at the age of 16 in 1900. During World War I, Cavalchini took photographic portraits of young men as they headed to war in their uniforms...

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Nicholas Boyaze

Nicholas Boyaze (Voyatzis) was born in Crete and settled in Bohnock, a small township on the Manning River, where he managed oyster leases for the Comino Brothers…

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Violet Isobel Jobson: 1912-1934

On the morning of 12 April 1934, Violet Jobson, a young waitress at the Harrington Hotel, started her shift about 6.30am, but was too ill to work…

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William Robert Hill Franks

William Robert Hill Franks came to Australia with his mother in 1876. Soon afterwards his mother died leaving 12 year old William alone in Sydney…

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A Tinonee Tragedy

On 12 January 1910, George Gollan, son of Captain Hector and Margaret Gollan married Harriett Mary Ann Polley (known as Artie). Making their home in Tinonee, they had three children...

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Vincenzo Fazio (1865-1962)

Driving around Tuncurry, you may notice iconic sites such as The Great Lakes Cinema, the abandoned BI-LO, and the Rockpool. But one lesser known locale is Fazio’s Transport and Bricks…

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A sawmiller and beef farmer

When Trevor Newell inherited 160 acres in 1974 from his parents Royden and Florence Newell, at Strathcedar on the Mooral Creek Road, it was going back to tea tree scrub and weeds...

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Taree's first town clerk

Born and raised in London, Horace Beeton trained as a draper’s assistant and at the age of 21 decided to try his luck in New Zealand…

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A successful farmer with a wooden leg

After losing a leg due to an accident with a cricket ball, Royden Robert Newell made use of a wooden replacement…

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Tom L Dudgeon – Stonemason

Born in 1884, Tom Dudgeon followed in his father’s footsteps and became a stonemason…

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Henry Woodward, Oyster Merchant

Henry Woodward has been called ‘Father of Australia’s oyster industry’ after he was granted the first ever oyster lease in 1884. The lease was No. 41 in Breckenridge Channel, Wallis Lake – just off Little Street, Forster...

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Fred Williams: Father of Australian waterskiing

As the grandson of Captain Peter Williams and son of Frederick Williams, Forster marine engineer, it is no surprise that Fred Williams has had a lifetime’s association with water…

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Graham Barclay: Water ski champion

As a young man, Graham Barclay played professional rugby league football before a serious knee injury ended his career…

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Eliza and George Stevens' Sons

Dyers Crossing pioneers, Eliza and George Stevens, had nine children. Below are brief details of three of their five sons...

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Eliza and George Stevens' Daughters

Dyers Crossing pioneers, Eliza and George Stevens, had nine children. Below are brief details of the lives of their four daughters...

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David Stirling Sharpe: Surveyor

David Stirling Sharpe was a land surveyor who worked for many years in the Manning region...

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It's the way we have in Tinonee.....

John Martin Waterman’s talent was apparent when in 1929 he was awarded a special prize in a state wide essay writing competition run by the Dickens Fellowship…

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Stevens Brothers’ Letters Home WW1

The following extracts are from letters brothers Jack and Jim Stevens wrote home to their family at Dyer’s Crossing during WW1…

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Bombardier John Daniel Stevens

John Stevens, known as Jack to all, was the eldest son of George and Eliza Stevens of Dyers Crossing…

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Don Athaldo: Taree’s Strongman Connection

In 1935 Lewis Gorton and his brothers played in the Failford Football Club. As there were no gyms at the time, training was difficult, so Gorton wrote to Don Athaldo…

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John Cassimaty: Café owner

John Cassimaty opened his first cafe in 1911 in Victoria Street known as the ‘Elite Refreshment Rooms’…

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Nigel Kennedy and Fotheringham’s Hotel Taree

Nigel Kennedy is an English violinist, famous for bringing classical music to the masses when he sold over two million copies of his above album in 1989. But did you know of his connection to Taree?

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Taree’s Volunteer Air Observers Corps

Tom Dyball was not only science master at Taree High School during World War II, he was Zone Commandant of the Volunteer Air Observers Corps (VAOC) in Taree…

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Alice Ann Withycombe – an exemplary seamstress

A finely carved headstone in Woola Cemetery, near Taree, marks the final resting place of Alice Ann Withycombe…

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The McAskill Murders, Booral Wharf

In January 1878, the Booral Wharf store was alight and there was no sign of the wharfinger Alan McAskill or his wife Mary...

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Arthur William Mackenzie Mowle – Architect and Dairy Cattle Enthusiast

Arthur was born at Bondi on 27 October 1894, the eldest son of William Stewart Mowle and grandson of Mr A K Mackenzie of “Boonara”, Bondi...

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Dorothy Hayter Memorial and 2BOB Radio Station

On 29 July 1949, 4 year old Dorothy Hayter was playing in Railway Parade, Chatham just near the Peters Creameries Factory with her sisters and other children from the street…

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The Changing Fortunes of Algar and Cath Bunyard

A headstone in Wingham Cemetery marks the final resting place of Algar Bunyard. He died in Taree on 22 July 1910 of cirrhosis of the liver, aged 47 years…

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Not all wartime tragedies happen on the battlefield

On the Bulga Plateau, in the Wingham hinterland, a small number of blocks were set aside for selection by returned service personnel after their repatriation following World War I...

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Married in a Military Hospital

A corporal on the ‘seriously ill’ list married his fiancé Sister Elsie ‘Billie’ Heyne in the Yaralla Military Hospital, Sydney on 30 June 1942...

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Louis Debreceny – Entrepreneur

Allen Street, Deb Street, Louis Street, Eric Street, Georges Lane, etc, have you ever wondered about the origin of these Taree street names? Read on to find out...

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Richard Stoddart – buried far from home

Richard Stoddart did not die a lonely death. He was surrounded by friends, with, presumably, no thought that his life was about to be cut short...

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Mrs Maude Scharkie

In April 1906, Maude Hall married John Edward Scharkie in Newcastle, NSW. The early years of their marriage were marred by the death of their three year old son…

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James Arthur Winney – music teacher and journalist

James Arthur Winney was born in London on 18 July 1859. He received a musical education at the Tonic Solfa College in London and as a young man was…

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Charles Hugh Algie

If you have ever driven through Haberfield in Sydney you may have noticed ‘Algie Park’. Ashfield Council unanimously decided in 1911 to name it after Charles Hugh Algie…

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Orara Kendall

The Australian born poet Henry Kendall was born in 1839. Never physically robust…

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New Years Day 1911

The Christmas holiday: traditionally a time for families to get together. Such was the case for Bartholomew Lyons...

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The Browns and The Big Hairs

Each year on the third weekend in August in Montana USA, the Crow Fair begins. In 1992 during the Crow Fair, the Brown family from Taree were adopted into the Al and Ruby Big Hair family...

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From the Manning to Majdanek

I never did meet Max although he was known to my parents. Max was often discounted as “odd” but after reading what he endured during WWII I understand why – it was horrific...

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Olaf Harris – a quiet achiever

Olaf Harris was a younger brother of the well-known children’s illustrator and author, Pixie O’Harris. He executed seven of the twenty-five paintings…

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Daphne Cross (nee Trotter) - A caring mother and outstanding teacher

Daphne Trotter was born at Pampoolah to Clarence and Victoria Trotter, a descendant of Manning River pioneers Thomas and Mary Trotter...

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The Davey holiday home, Hawks Nest

Tea Gardens and Hawks Nest were sleepy little villages when Joyce Davey first ventured there in the 1930s. Hawks Nest was the main area but not much more than a few bush tracks...

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Breach of Promise of Marriage…

“I could kiss you to death.” “I am going to fill this letter with kisses…” The letters from James Campbell Summerville to his fiancée Margaret Charlotte Challinor were filled with these endearing statements…

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Young Ping

Although Young Ping was born in Yokohama, Japan in 1860, his family were likely of Chinese origin. Ping came to Australia in 1879 aboard an American mail boat…

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Breckenridge Scandal

This painful scandal played out across NSW newspapers in 1899. Thomas Breckenridge was a storekeeper at Forster who worked with his sister Mary. When Thomas’ fiancée Jane Ann Benson became pregnant...

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The accidental death of John Nicholson, shipbuilder

The day Nicholson died he was travelling from Raymond Terrace to Port Stephens in a horse and cart (having moved to Karuah). The morning was wet as…

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Ian David Redman – a little boy’s handprint

The story of a little boy’s handprint in the cement of a shed at 101 Bungay Road, Wingham has touched people’s hearts. Thanks to community input the sad ending to this tale has been uncovered…

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Emmeline Ann Everingham - a right to vote

In the Port Macquarie Museum is an ‘Elector’s Right Residential Qualification’ for Emmeline Ann Everingham. In 1902 the Australian Parliament passed the Commonwealth Franchise Act giving women over the age of 21 the right to vote...

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Jeanette Elphick aka Victoria Shaw: Model turned Actress

In 1985, Hollywood actress Victoria Shaw returned to Australia in failing health to live with her sister Margaret McDonell at 37 River Street, Taree…

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41 Florence Street, Taree

I have always admired the lovely house that sits on the corner of Florence and Wynter Streets, Taree. The property was part of the original Taree estate granted to William Wynter in 1834…

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Rushby Casino

Vic Rushby had a secret. During the week he was the ‘mild-mannered’ manager of Rushby Shoes, while on the weekend he unleashed his superhero powers on Old Bar…

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“Mimosa” 25 Edinburgh Drive, Taree

“Mimosa” is a beautiful brick home built in 1920 and brings together two of Taree’s most industrious people from the turn of the 20th century…

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“Uncle Lou” Waterman

Louis Augustus Waterman was born in Balmain in 1877. He came to the Manning with his brother Harry where they became farmers at Tinonee...

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Walter Brunton Brownlee – a determined Scottish Lad

Among the names inscribed on the Nabiac War Memorial, most of which have connections to local families, one may be unfamiliar – Walter Brunton Brownlee…

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Edward Cannon: Bight Cemetery

Edward Cannon was one of many British teenagers assisted to migrate to Australia between 1911 and 1939 under the Dreadnought Scheme…

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Sauzier’s “Sanitarium House”

One of the earliest buildings in Old Bar, apart from the Pavilion, was John Sauzier’s “Sanitarium House”. It was a wooden guesthouse that catered for...

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Albert George Chapman – Champion Rower

In 1886, the Balmain Working Men’s Rowing Club established itself just a few hundred metres from the Balmain Rowing Club. In these early days a working man…

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Maud Mabel Wilkes

In June 1917 Maud Mabel Wilkes married the Cape Hawke Regatta Champion Rower Albert George Chapman...

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Daphne Irene Chapman: A flair for hair

Growing up between two world wars Daphne Chapman knew what it was like to go without. Using her flair for hair styling she realised she could…

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Mervyn Chapman

Mervyn Chapman was born in 1918. His trip from Taree Hospital to his home on Chapman Island in the Wallamba River was a perilous journey on the back of a motorcycle…

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George Albert Chapman

George Albert Chapman was born in Raymond Terrace and in 1880, aged 23, he walked up the beach to the Wallamba looking for a place to settle…

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Alfred Baker: Baker of Taree

While Alfred Baker was born into a shipbuilding family, his taste and skills for baking was stronger...

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“Mr Hockey”: Allan Taylor

Allan Taylor had many titles over his life “King of the respirator kids”, “Mr Hockey” and “Tate”. No matter what he put his talents to he led and inspired…

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Bessie Irene Bastin

Bessie Irene Bastin was an attractive young lady who married John Thomas Forwood after he returned from fighting in WWI…

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Gunner Forwood on HMS Endeavour

Stephen Forwood, born abt 1737, was the Gunner on Captain James Cook’s HMS Endeavour during its epic journey of discovery…

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Leslie Hopetoun Osmond-Dreyer (1901-1959)

Leslie Hopetoun Osmond was born in 1901 in Marrickville. At the age of 10 years he was orphaned and, with his sister, was taken in by Mr and Mrs Dreyer at Koribar (Dyer’s Crossing)…

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Dee, Me and Three

I was born after WWII. We lived in a reasonably modern home at Shalimar built by my father. We bathed in a tub in front of the fuel stove…

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The remarkable life of Lloyd Haig Moule

Lloyd Haig Moule was captured just west of Tobruk in 1941 and was interned in the POW Camp No 57 Grupignano, Italy…

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Driving Miss Maisie…Philp

Maisie started work on the Forster-Tuncurry-Taree bus service owned by Brien Ivens as the conductress in 1941…

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Boyle Holden: Last of the bullockies

In 1959 Andrew “Boyle” Holden drove a team of bullocks across the newly opened Forster-Tuncurry Bridge. Not only was Boyle one of the last bullockies of the Mid North Coast…

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Guy Prior – A Young Boy’s Hero

Only my parents would have a greater influence on my early life than Guy Prior…

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Gerard H B McDonell – Award Winning Architect

Gerard H B McDonell, born in 1908 at Cundle Plains, was the fifth son of John Joseph and Emily Mary McDonell (née Bussell)…

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Dr Joan Margaret Redshaw, AM (1921-1994)

Joan Margaret Redshaw was born in Sydney in 1921 and studied medicine at the University of Sydney where she graduated with honours…

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Mary Bulmer: Forster High School Senior Administration Manager

In June 1998 the staff of Forster High School was heartbroken at the news of Mary Ann Bulmer passing away suddenly…

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Harold Robert McCormick

Harold Robert McCormick was born in Taree on 3 October 1911 to parents Robert and Margaret. After school he went to Rotorua, New Zealand…

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Postcards from the muddy trenches of France

On 10 January 1916, three brothers from the Gorton family - Tom, Fred and Herbert - enlisted in WWI…

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William 'George' Sawyer and his 1934 Dodge Tourer

After the Dodge was sold a letter arrived at Connie’s home together with a photograph of the restored vehicle...

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Warren ‘George’ Perkins, OAM

Warren ‘George’ Perkins was born 25 November 1927 and would become a highly respected builder, sportsman and community leader in Forster…

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Joseph Graham’s Dinghy

Joseph Daniel Graham was born on Cabbage Tree Island in 1882 and 1965 aged 83 years. He lived on the island all of his life following…

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The Mustard Gas Men: Ross Ashley Bryan

A photograph of a carved rock inscription outside a disused railway tunnel reveals a Taree man’s involvement in a top secret operation in WWII…

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Wilsie Wilson 1905-1986

Wilsie Wilson was always a generous, hardworking woman. Born on Dumaresq Island in 1905…

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Norman Barry Pritchard: a life cut short

Norman Barry Pritchard was the son of Beryl and Henry (Harry) Pritchard and brother to Beverley, Sandra and Gordon. In 1953 the Pritchards lived in the Wallamba Cabins situated on the River at Darawank…

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Cynthia Chapman 1921-2006

Born in 1921, Cynthia was the first daughter of Albert and Maud Chapman of Chapman Island. She was a demure, softly spoken girl who was her father’s pride and joy...

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Bushman

After the war, Mervyn and his family moved back to the Wallamba where he cut fence posts, palings and firewood for use by guesthouses, bakeries and the slaughterhouse…

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A Life on the Ocean Waves: Hugh McColl McCrindle

In the 19th century, the Scottish city of Glasgow was a centre of shipbuilding. It was here, in 1880, that Hugh McColl McCrindle was born…

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William Archibald Ambrose Bryan

William Archibald Ambrose Bryan known as “Ambrose” was born in Taree in 1890. Ambrose worked as a motor driver in his younger years before enlisting with the AIF in WWI…

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John Wylie Paton Breckenridge

John Wylie Paton Breckenridge Senior (1818–1899) emigrated from Scotland with his wife Lilias Reid (1826–1870) and two children John Wylie Junior and Agnes on board the “Nimroud” in 1859…

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Percy Sotheron: The Sailor and the Siren

On the evening of St Patrick’s Day 1884, Percy, a seaman from the “Renard” was approached by a young woman in King Street, Sydney…

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John Wylie Breckenridge: The Laird of Failford

John Wylie Breckenridge (1846-1917) was the eldest son of John Wylie Paton Breckenridge of Forster...

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Josiah Miles

In 1885, Josiah and his brother Thomas took over the Forster sawmill and shipbuilding yard which fronted Wallis Lake...

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Joseph and Ada Tolhurst

Joseph Tolhurst and his sister Ada share a gravestone in a small park at the end of Angel Close, Forster. Joseph was just 18 years old when he was killed at the Breckenridge Sawmills…

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Pietro Muscio’s diary

In the twilight of Pietro Antonio Muscio’s life he sat down to write his ‘little story’ over a fortnight in November 1922. Using a fountain pen, exercise book and in English (his second language) he wrote his life story in 43 pages…

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Robert Clyde Smith and the Dalfram Strike

No. 4 Jetty at Port Kembla was the scene of a shocking fatality on 7 November 1938. A young man from Tea Gardens, Robert Clyde Smith, was crushed to death while unloading pig-iron (wrought iron) on to a ship bound for Japan…

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Clyde Smith and the SS Reliance

Following the war, Clyde returned to Tea Gardens where he worked on the passenger steamer “SS Reliance” owned by Thurlow and Co. He held both an engineer’s ticket and master’s ticket so at times captained the ship…

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Captain Cromarty buried at Carrington Cemetery

During a storm in 1838, a steamer lost its smaller boat which was stranded at One Mile Beach. Cromarty was asked to retrieve the boat and row it back to Port Stephens…

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John “Wylie” Breckenridge Third

Like his forebears, Wylie Breckenridge was a boat enthusiast. He had an idea for making the sport of motor boat racing popular at Cape Hawke and set about designing a speedboat...

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Robert Croker and the Nabiac War Memorial

Robert Croker was awarded the contract to build the memorial and hired other war veterans to help him. The dedication service was on ANZAC Day 1932 and some 60 returned soldiers marched to the new memorial...

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Alfred Basham and Jane Middlemiss

In the Angel Close Historic Cemetery at Forster lies the remains of Alfred Basham and Jane Middlemiss. While these two youths were not related nor did they die together they were nevertheless connected...

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William Baird

This photograph from the 1960s shows the headstone of William Baird at the Angel Close Historic Cemetery in Forster. William Baird was born in 1851 in Sydney…

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John Gardiner, MC

John Gardiner was born near Glasgow, Scotland in 1894. At age 17 he enlisted in the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) as part of the Territorial Forces. With the start of WWI…

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When John Gardiner met Ruth Cameron…

They spoke for seven years before they met face to face. Mervyn Machin decided to play matchmaker and reportedly said to John who had a reputation for being a man of few words…

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Christina ‘Ruth’ Gardiner

Christina ‘Ruth’ Cameron was born 31 March 1909 at Wingham to Alexander and Agnes Cameron and is believed to have been the first baby born at Nurse Cameron’s Private Hospital…

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Adolph and Charlotte Ohma

Adolph Ohma was born in 1892 in Sydney to an Australian mother and Norwegian father. As a young man Dolph left Sydney on a steamer to work at Wright’s shipyard, Tuncurry…

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Granny Rennie

In 1852 on the ship “Argyle”, Mary Keleher aged 19 left her native County Clare, Ireland to become one of the first assisted immigrants to arrive directly into Moreton Bay (Brisbane), Qld...

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Nurse Jane Mayers

At the age of 16 Jane De Lore married Joseph Mayers of Mayer’s Flat, Bungwahl, riding 30 miles on horseback to Maitland to be married…

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Joseph De Lore

The tattoos of this young romantic, Joseph De Lore (Dolleur), were recorded when he was arrested in Montreal, Canada in 1837 for housebreaking…

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George Garlick Godwin

George Garlick Godwin was born around 1803 in Wiltshire, England. He was given a life sentence for pig stealing and transported to Australia on the convict ship ‘Burrell’ in 1830...

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Harry Combo: The Valley’s Greatest Showman

At the age of 42, buck-jumping champion Harry Combo from Dingo Creek, was considered the “old man” as he took centre stage at the 1920 Wingham Show. With the grandstand full to overflowing…

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Matthew Hopwood – Convict and Sydney Duck

One of the convicts assigned to the Port Stephens estate of the Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) was Matthew Hopwood. Matthew, a 21 year old, illiterate...

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Alexander Croll

Alexander Croll learned the trade of shipwright. During his apprenticeship he shared quarters with another youth named John Wright, the pair ultimately shared life and business together…

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Miss Vera Abbott’s Cricket Team

In 1933, Miss Vera Abbott was Wingham’s candidate for the Upper Manning Agricultural and Horticultural Association’s Popular Girl Competition…

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