Alice Martha Free (1866-1949) and
Edward Angus McCallum (1863-1943)

(last updated 3 March 2020)

2. Children and descendants

Return to 1. Life and times

1. Born at Corack East in 1887, Alice and Edward's eldest daughter, Johanna Victoria McCallum (1887-1987), married a farmer from Narraport, Mathew Osborne Lee (1887-1967), in 1910. They seem to have separated in around 1920. Johanna lived for a time in Melbourne before moving to the central Victorian town of Maryborough where she died and was buried in 1977. Mathew, or Os as he was known as, remained at Narraport, before moving to Newtown near Geelong and then back to Narraport. We believe he died at Swan Hill in 1967. He and Johanna had two children we are aware of:

1.1) a daughter, Margaret Jean McCallum Lee (1911-86), who married William Lawrence Kell (1908-78) in 1932. The 'Kell Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us William was the son of two St Arnaud locals: Walter Laurence Kell (1871-1943) and Annie Elizabeth Hicks (1884-1971) who were married there in 1904. They had four children in addition to William: Vera Florence (born in 1905), Alfred William (1907-80), Sarita Annie Elizabeth (1910) and Corona Mary Kell (1911-91). The Australian electoral rolls show Jean and William, who worked as a hair dresser, lived at St Arnaud and then Melbourne before moving to Maryborough to live with Jean's mother. William died at Maryborough in 1978 and Jean in 1986, a year before her mother. Some Ancestry researchers say they had two children although we have not yet been able to confirm this.

1.2) And a son, Thomas Raymond Lee (1912-81). The DVA's WW2 nominal roll shows VX22374 Thomas Raymond Lee, born at Birchip on 2 November 1912, enlisted in the Australian Army at Caulfield on 5 January 1940. His military record in the Australian Archives shows that Thomas was single and 37 years old when he enlisted, had been working as a shire contractor and gave as his NOK his father, Mathew Osborne Lee. He was allocated to the 2/8 Field Company of the Royal Australian Engineers. After joining his unit on 8 June 1940, he sailed from Melbourne on 15 September and arrived at Palestine on 12 October the same year. He and his unit left Egypt for Greece on 10 April 1941. Thomas' file next marked him as 'missing in Crete' and, on 16 June 1941, as 'a probable POW'. He was officially reported as a POW at Stalag XIIIC on 29 October 1941 and at Stalag 383 on 13 February 1943. Along with hundreds of other 'recovered POWs', Thomas arrived in the UK on 14 May 1945 and left for Australia two months later. He was discharged from the Army at Sydney on 9 August 1945. The Australian electoral rolls show a Thomas Raymond Lee, railway employee, living with his mother, Johanna Victoria Lee, at 31 Argyle Street in Maryborough in 1949, and at 2 Long Street in Swan Hill at the time of the 1963, 1967, 1968 and 1972 elections (over this time his occupation was said to be a contractor). The 1977 roll has him retired and living on Cumming Ave in Birchip in Victoria. The last folio in Thomas' military file contains a letter, written in 1974 to Army Records in Melbourne, by the Secretary of the Maryborough RSL, informing them that Thomas had lost his 'returned from active service badge and requests us to see if a replacement badge is possible. As this member was an ex-prisoner of war for most of the war', the letter added, 'he places a lot of value on this badge'. There is no record of whether and how the request was responded to. We can only hope that Thomas was provided with a replacement badge. We do know that he died at Heidelberg (most likely the Repatriation Hospital there) in Melbourne in 1981 but, to date, have not been able to discover where he is buried. Nor do we know if he was married and had children.

Jack Lowry and Os Lee carting bags of wheat at Corack in the early 1930s.

Australian POWs who were captured at Crete at the German POW camp Stalag XIIIc at Hammelburg in August 1941.
We don't think Thomas is among them although the group includes an unidentified member of 2/8 Field Company
(sixth from the right in the rear row).

2. Donald Edward McCallum (1889-1979). Born at Corack, Don spent his younger years on the family farm there until early in 1918 when he enlisted in the Australian Army. As reported in the Donald Times, he seems to have left the district to undergo training in April of that year: 'A farewell was accorded Privates Ray Barber, Don McCallum, Don Baddock, Fred Baddock, Gordon Grant, and Frank Carlaud on Friday evening, when heaps of wishes for good luck were showered upon them' (4 April 1918). We don't know how long he served in the Army or whether he was sent overseas. His military file in the Australian Archives, while open and available, has not been digitised, and he does not appear on the Australian War Memorial's database. The Australian electoral rolls show that, at war's end, Don was back farming at Corack.

In 1931 Don married a nurse working at Wendouree's Mental Hospital, Ivy Gertrude Crompton (1901-89). According to the 'Ford Family Tree' on Ancestry, Ivy was born at Ballarat, the daughter of Thomas Mathew Crompton (1874-1947) and Jessie Van Every (1873-1954) who were married there in 1898. They had at least eight children in addition to Ivy: James Van Every (born in 1898), Stanley Thomas (1903-70), George Howard (1905), Walter Alfred (1907-69), Dorothy Ellen (1908) and three others. Dorothy Ellen Crompton would marry Don's younger brother, Morris Wilfred McCallum, in 1940 (see below). The Ford family Tree adds that Thomas' parents were Lancashire-born James Crompton (1833-97) who came to Australia between 1861 and 1868 and married Emma Mewburn (1838-1913) at Ballarat. They had seven children in addition to Thomas: Betty (born in 1869), James (1869-70), Alfred James (1870-1945), Hannah (1872-1950), John (1876-1950), William (1879-1951) and George Crompton (1881-2). A dairyman by trade, James Crompton snr died at Ballarat after falling from his horse-drawn cart (Ballarat Star, 9 January 1897). He is buried at the Ballarat New Cemetery (Private D, Section12, Grave 03). A native of Bury in Lancashire, Emma arrived at Melbourne, with her mother and six younger siblings, on the SHALIMAR in February 1855. She died at Miners Rest in Ballarat on 14 February 1913 and is buried with James and their son, George Crompton, in the Ballarat New Cemetery.

Ivy's mother, Jessie Van Every, was born at Nerring (Bendigo) in 1873. Her parents were John Charles Van Every and Ellen Hurley or Herily who were married in Victoria in 1865. One of her brothers was the well-known NSW regional horse breeder and racer, John Charles Van Every jnr (1869-1941), who died at Wagga. His obituary, published in the Wagga Daily Advertiser on 31 December 1941, provides details of both his and Jessie's families:

The death occurred at the Wagga Base Hospital, after a long illness, of a highly esteemed resident of the Wagga district, Mr John Charles Van Every, at the age of 72 years. He had lately been living at 'The Pines', Tarcutta-road, Wagga, near Forest Hill, and was formerly a resident of Holbrook and Lake Cargelligo, and of 'Copley', Lake Albert-road. He was the eldest son of the late Mr. and Mrs. John Charles Van Every, of Ballarat (Vic.), where he was educated. He married Miss Blanche Cliff, daughter of Mr and Mrs Isaac Cliff, of Holbrook, who survives him. He is also survived by two sons and two daughters, Messrs. John Charles, of 'The Pines', Wagga, and Alexander Robert Van Every, of Holbrook, and Miss Jessie Van Every and Miss Ida Ethel Van Every, of 'The Pines', four grandchildren, Neil Christopher, Pauline Blanche, John Thomas and Pamela Jean; one brother, Mr William Van Every, of Lidcombe; and one sister, Mrs Thomas Crompton (Jessie) of Ballarat. A son, George Thomas Henry Van Every, who served as a private in the war of 1914-18, with distinction, received the Military Medal for conspicuous gallantry at the battle of Mont St. Quentin, died some years ago. Mr. Van Every is also pre-deceased by a brother, Thomas, and a sister, Miss Ethel Van Every, of Ballarat. The deceased followed farming and grazing pursuits at Holbrook and Lake Cargelligo, and was a keen follower of sport, especially horse-racing, having owned many racehorses with which he won many trophies at picnic race meetings in various places in the Riverina. In his younger days he was also a very fine athlete. He was a very obliging neighbour, and his services were often in great demand for the repair of all classes of farm machinery, especially shearing implements. The funeral is appointed to leave St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Wagga, to-morrow, after a short service beginning at 11 o'clock, for interment at the Wagga cemetery.

The Australian electoral rolls show Don and Ivy lived and farmed at Corack until around 1960 when Don retired and they moved to nearby Donald where Don died in 1979 and Ivy ten years later. Carol Judkins' 'Headstone Photographs' on Rootsweb tells us they are buried together in the Donald Cemetery. A photo of their headstone on the 'Billion Graves' website reads: 'In loving memory of Donald Edward McCallum died 2 October 1979 aged 90 years Loved husband of Ivy also Ivy Gertrude McCallum died 13 April 1989 aged 88 years'. We don't think they had any children.

3. As mentioned earlier, Don's younger brother, Morris Wilfred McCallum (1906-79), married Ivy's younger sister, Dorothy Ellen Crompton (1908-2005), in 1940. Like his older brother, Morris was a farmer all his life although he also briefly served in the 15th Battalion of Australia's Volunteer Defence Corps during the Second World War. The Australian electoral rolls show throughout this time he and Dorothy lived on Hoban Street in Watchem where Morris died in 1979. Dorothy lived on until 2005. The family's tribute to her, published in the Melbourne Herald Sun on 30 May 2005, reads: 'McCALLUM (nee Crompton). Dorothy Ellen (Doris) On May 29, 2005 At Wirrim Lodge Nursing Home, Birchip. Beloved wife of the late Morris. Loved and devoted mother of Elaine, Alison (dec.) and Joan. Fond mother-in-law of Ken and Bernie. Loved Nana of Wendy and Jamie, Robyn and Damian, Diane and Peter, Steven and Lyndal; Shane and Donna and Adi; Loved and respected friend of Glenys. Loved great Nana of Jesse, Connor, Ty, Callum, Piper, Elora, Mali and Bonnie. In her 97th year'.

4. Daisy Constance McCallum (1903-87). Born at Donald, Daisy grew up on the family's farm at Corack East and attended the local school there. Reports in the Donald Times and the Mount Wycheproof Ensign showed her to be a regular and energetic participant in the various concerts and other fund raising activities held during the period of the First World War (apparently she and a schoolmate, Marion Willox, were very popular dancers). At an event to celebrate Armistice Day, Daisy's future husband, Norval Keith Madder (1902-77), also recited 'The Sea is England's Glory' to a much appreciative audience. Daisy and Norval were married at Donald on 26 January 1930. The 'Keath' and a number of other family trees on Ancestry tell us that Norval's parents were Ballarat-born Samuel Madder (1873-1932) and a Donald local, Annie Marion Coxon (1877-1968). Married in 1897 they had in addition to Norval, Ray Leonard Madder (1898-1962), who married Florence Hilda Proctor at Corack in 1919, and Clifford Arthur Madder (1909-1999), who married Ada Marion Davidson at Ballarat in 1935. Norval's paternal grandparents were Arthur Samuel Madder (1846-1908) and Geelong-born Mariah Carylon (1852-1930) who were married in 1871 and had five children: Samuel Madder (1873-1932), Emily Perry (1872-1954), Lucy McIntosh (1877-1944), Alfed Arthur Madder (1884-1961) and Ada Elizabeth Henderson (1888-1956).

Together with his siblings and parents, Samuel Madder Snr (1827-73) and Harriet Sherman Barlow (1823-97), Arthur, who was then around 11 years old, sailed from England to Australia as assisted immigrants. Originally from Norfolk they set out from Liverpool on the sailing ship BLACK EAGLE which departed on 1 March 1857 and arrived at Geelong on 6 June the same year. The ship's log indicates they were to join Samuel's father, William Madder, who was then living at Newtown near Geelong. Like many others, the family gravitated to Ballarat where we think Samuel Snr died in a mining accident in 1873. R. P. Falla's mimeo, 'The Selectors in the Parish of Corack East' shows that Arthur S. Madder, said to be an engineer from Ballarat, settled on land at Corack East in 1877 (allotment 5, a 200-acre block of land located northwest of the township, which he had pegged out in May 1876). He obtained the title to the land in 1905 by which time it had on it a five-room dwelling measuring some 24 feet by 30 feet in area. The mimeograph further shows that in 1895 Arthur took over the lease to a block originally belonging to one of Daisy's uncles, James Free. He continued farming in the area until his unfortunate death there in 1908. As described in the Melbourne Argus: 'Mr Arthur Samuel Madder, an elderly farmer, residing at Corack, was found by school children dead on the road yesterday afternoon. He was engaged with horses and removing the bodies of dead beasts. It is surmised that the horses broke away, knocking him down before bolting. The dray was over-turned, some distance from the body, which was warm when found. Madder had a wooden leg, but was an active man' (15 June 1908). Subsequent notices inform us that Arthur willed his land to his widow and children. He and Maria, who died at Corack East in 1930, are buried together in the local cemetery there.

The Australian electoral rolls show Norval and Daisy farmed at Corack East from around the time of their marriage until 1977, the year of Norval's death. During this time, Norval served as secretary of both the Corack East gun club and the Watchem and District Cricket Association which had been re-formed in 1937 and involved the Watchem, Donald A.N.A., Watchem West and Corack cricket teams. The DVA's WW2 nominal roll shows that Norval Keith Madder, born at Corack on 13 January 1902, also enlisted in the Australian Army at Donald on 25 May 1942. He was then living at Corack East and gave as his NOK Daisy Madder. He was discharged on 19 October 1945 while serving as a private soldier with the 15th Battalion VDC. His brother, Leonard, also served in the 15th Battalion VDC having enlisted at Wycheproof. After Norval's death, Daisy lived first at Corack and then Donald where she died in 1987. Carol Judkins' index for the Donald cemetery shows she and Norval are buried together there. We believe they had four children: Wilma Madder (1933-65), who doesn't seem to have married, and three others.

Members of the Corack Gun Club at the local rifle range.

5. Lilian Sarah McCallum (1899-1987). Born at Donald, Lilian married Cyril Cousins (1897-1975) in 1925 probably at Corack although that has still to be confirmed. The 'Galloway/Bast' Family tree on Ancestry tells us Cyril was born at Kerang in Victoria in 1897, the son of George Cephas/Cephias Cousins (1872-1911) and Beatrice Smith (1868-1907), who were married in Victoria in 1896. They had at least four children in addition to Cyril: Elsie (1899-1937), Mary Ann (1903-1903), Mary (1905-75) and Herbert Harold Cousins (1904-47). After losing both of his parents, Cyril and his siblings seem to have gone to live with their grandmother, an Irish woman Mary Cousins nee Hook(s) (1851-1925), in the Melbourne suburb of Elsternwick. For this was where Cyril said he was living when he enlisted in the First AIF at Bendigo on 15 March 1918.

Just 20 years of age, Cyril was then working as a railway engine cleaner, gave his grandmother as his NOK, and stated he had previously served nine months in the school cadets. His application was successful and he was allocated to a special draft for Australia's Railway Unit which would embark from Melbourne on the ZEALANDIC on 5 October 1918. As reported in the Mount Wycheproof Ensign and East Wimmera Advocate on 20 September 1918, a 'farewell social was tendered to Privates Cyril Cousins and Fred. H. Willox. Pte Cousins has been on final leave, and Pte Fred. A. Willox goes into camp this week. During the evening Cnr McNabb on behalf of those present, presented both soldiers with a safety razor. Mr S. Madder spoke feelingly of both young men, whom he knew intimately. Mr Fred Perry also referred very highly of those whom all had come to honor'. Cyril fell ill on the boat journey across the Bight and was disembarked at Albany and admitted to the 8th Australian General Hospital. He returned to duty on 16 November 1918 by which time the war had ended. He was sent back to Victoria by rail the following month and was discharged from the Army in Melbourne on 17 January 1919.

The Australian electoral rolls show Cyril worked as a grocer at Corack East for a number of years after the war before returning to Melbourne (the 1924 roll has him back at his grandmother's at Surrey Hills and working as a labourer. Also living there were a William Thomas, mercer, and Florrie Margaret Cousins, shop assistant). After their marriage the following year Cyril and Lilian went to live at Wychitella near Wedderburn in central Victoria where Cyril worked as a grocer's assistant and later a storekeeper. In 1944 Lilian posted the following 'In Memorium' notice in the Melbourne Argus for her father, Edward Angus McCallum: 'In loving memory of our dear father and grandpa, who passed away May 26 1943 (Inserted by daughter Lilian, son-in-law Cyril, and grandchildren Norma and Ted Cousins, Wychitella)' (26 May 1944). The Wedderburn Cemetery burials index includes a Cyril Cousins who died at Wychitella on 24 April 1975, aged 77 years. Lilian died at Bendigo in 1989, the Bendigo Cemeteries Trust records showing she was buried at the White Hills Cemetery on 28 February 1989 (Section MON M1, Grave No 20221). As the 'In Memorium' notice just cited indicates, she and Cyril had two children:

5.1) Norma Alice Cousins (1929-2017). The following engagement was announced in the 22 September 1951 edition of the Melbourne Argus: 'COUSINS - HEAD Norma Alice, only daughter of Mr and Mrs C. Cousins, Wychitella, to George David, younger son of Mr and Mrs Head, Caulfield'. According to the 'Elshaug/Baker Family Tree' on Ancestry, George's parents were an Englishman, Leonard Charles Head (1894-1964) and Mary Forrest Piper (1893-1970) who were married in Victoria in 1919 and had one other child in addition to George, a son, Geoffrey Leonard Robert Head (1920-81). Mary was born at Fitzroy and died at Bentleigh. Her parents were a Scotsman, David Piper (1858-1932) and Betsy Eliza Flora Greening (1863-1926) who was born at Clunes and died at Kew in Melbourne.

Ancestry's UK Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960 shows a Leonard Head, an 18 year-old clerk, sailed from London on the BALLARAT on 7 September 1912 bound for Melbourne in Australia. His military file in the Australian Archives shows that Leonard Charles Head, aged 21 and born at Dulwich in London, enlisted in the First AIF at Melbourne on 6 July 1915. He was then working as a book seller's assistant and gave as his NOK his father George Robert Head of 14 Birkbeck Place Dulwich. Allocated to the Australian Army Medical Corps, he served a number of postings in Australia - at Seymour, Sandringham and Broadmeadows - before embarking from Melbourne on the MEDIC on 10 December 1916. He disembarked at Plymouth on 18 February 1917 and proceeded to France via the AAMC Training Depot at Folkestone. He arrived in France on 21 May 1917 and, after spending some time in hospital, reported for duty with the 7th Australian Field Ambulance on 20 August 1917. He was wounded in action on 24 October 1917 and returned to England three days later. He returned to France and served with the 7th Australian Field Ambulance until September 1918 when he was again wounded in action (a GSW to the left forearm). Sent back to England, he returned to Australia in February 1919 as part of the nursing staff on the H T BAKARA and was discharged from the Army on 16 March of that year. His return address was said to be 535 Rae Street North Fitroy.

The Australian electoral rolls show that Leonard and Mary lived in Melbourne after the war where Leonard worked variously as a storeman and bookseller (the 1949 electoral roll shows a George David Head, supervisor, living with them on Oakwood Avenue in Brighton). Leonard Charles Head, son of George Head and Jenny Marks, died, aged 70 years, at Box Hill in Melbourne in 1964. His son George, who worked in sales, died at Surrey Hills three years later. The Ryerson Index shows a Norma Alice Head, aged 87 years, died on 31 March 2017. Tributes to her, published in the Melbourne Herald Sun by her family and her sister-in-law, read: 'HEAD (Cousins) Norma Alice 5.5.1929 - 31.3.2017 Loved mother of Len and Kathy and their partners Heather and Albert, adored Grandma of Laura, Gavin and Charlotte', and 'HEAD - Norma Alice. Our thoughts and best wishes are with Len, Heather, Kath and Albert at this time. We will all miss Norma and the easy way a laugh would light her face. All of us have great memories of our families at home and at Wychitella. Will be sadly missed by sister-in-law Margaret. Loved aunty to Patricia, John, Peter, Don, Annette, Marie, Jane and Johanne' (3 April 2017).

5.2) Edward George Cousins (1930-88). The Australian electoral rolls show an Edward George, grocer, and Margaret Ann Cousins lived at Surrey Hills in Melbourne until at least the early 1980s. The 'McDonald Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us Edward died in 1988 and is buried at Andersons Creek Cemetery at Warrandyte in Victoria (confirmed by the 'Find a Grave' website which shows his DOB was 4 October 1930, date of death was 26 November 1988, and burial site is Jones Lawn, grave 62). The photo of his grave site also shows that Edward and his wife, Margaret, who were married in 1953, had eight children: Patricia, John, Peter, Donald, Annette, Marie, Jane and Johanne Cousins.

6. Robert Granville McCallum (1901-76) and his brothers, Norman and Morris, were farming their 2000-acre property near Watchem when he married Grace Alice Pearce (1903-83) in 1927. Grace was the daughter of Herbert Watts Pearce (1868-1954) and Elizabeth Sands (1867-1913) who were married at Corack on 11 October 1899. The 'O'Brien Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us that Herbert was born at Dundas and died at Litchfield in Victoria. His wife Elizabeth was born at Corack and died at Sea Lake. They had three children in addition to Grace: James Scott (1900-77), Alma Jean (1906-28) and Elizabeth Ann Pearce (born in 1908).

Herbert's parents, who were married in Victoria in 1855, were William Pearce (1821-81) from Dover in Kent and Ann Watts (1833-96) who was born at Bexwell in Norfolk. Elizabeth's parents were Robert Sands (1826-95), who came from Renfrewshire in Scotand, and Janet Scott (1829-87) who was born at Glasgow. They were married at Liverpool in England in 1853 while en route to the colony of Victoria. R. P. Falla's 'The Selectors in the Parish of Corack East' shows that Robert Sands snr, a 49 year-old farmer from 'near Beaufort' and his son Robert Jnr (18) selected 210 and 320 acres of land at Corack East in March 1875 (the titles to their blocks were awarded in 1887 and 1895 respectively). In 1887 Robert snr also acquired the lease to a 320-acre block that had heen originally owned by an Ann Vaught.

After their marriage in 1927, Robert and Grace McCallum lived initially at Wilkur near Birchip. In 1935, Robert and his brother, Morris, who were then trading as 'McCallum Brothers, share farmers of Watchem', were forced into bankruptcy by 'unseasonable wheatgrowing conditions and the drought in 1929, encumbrances on land and high rates of interest' (Melbourne Argus, 20 March 1935). Robert and Grace moved to Watchem where they remained until the mid-1960s. The DVA's WW2 nominal roll shows that Robert Granville McCallum, born at Donald on 25 April 1901, enlisted in the Australian Army at Birchip on 3 June 1942. He was then living at Watchem and gave as his NOK Grace McCallum. He was discharged on 19 October 1945 while serving as a private soldier with 15 Battalion VDC. Both during and after the War Robert continued to work as a farmer until his retirement in the mid-1960s when he and Grace moved to Donald. Robert died at Donald in 1976 and Grace at Ballarat in 1983. They are buried together in the Watchem cemetery (Plot Pres 11). The inscription on their gravestone tells us they were the parents of Rob and Ian.

The 'O'Brien Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us Ian Watts McCallum (1931-2013) - pictured on the left - married Beryl Jean Maynard at Charlton in 1954 and had four children. As noted in his tribute published in the Herald Sun, Ian, or 'Macca' as he was known as, died 'peacefully at Inglewood Hospital on June 7, 2013, aged 82 years. Beloved husband of Beryl for 59 years. Loving father and father-in-law of Lynne, Kerry (dec), Dale and Donna, Neil and Leanne. Very proud Grandad of Sharna and Nolan, Jaymin, Ashleigh, Trent (dec) and Nic. A champion who has run his last race'. A second tribute, from the Board and management at HRV mourned 'the passing of a true harness racing legend in Ian McCallum. Ian committed his life to the trots and was the inaugural winner of the sport's highest honour, the Gordon Rothacker Medal' (awarded in 2002). Ian's distinguished trotting career was also reviewed in Harness Link on 8 June 2013 which informed us that Ian 'had been associated with the sport for a lifetime and was a regular competitor at most Victorian tracks until a horrific fall at Maryborough in 2008 put an end to his career'. The recipient of numerous training and driving premierships throughout the state, Ian 'loved nothing more than competing at his beloved Mildura, Nyah and Ouyen meetings. Involved in many racetrack falls, Ian McCallum must have broken nearly every bone in his body over the years, but bounced back every time. Two of the very best horses to enter the stable were Toffee Gent which went through to open class in the pacers' ranks and the trotter Beleva which gave him one of his biggest thrills by winning the Mildura Trotters Cup in 2008 only a week or two prior to the Maryborough accident'. Ian's son, Neil McCallum - pictured on the right - is also a well known and regarded horse trainer and reinsman.

7. The following report in the Bendigo Advertiser on 6 June 1912, indicates that Alice and Edward's third son, Samuel Norman McCallum (1891-1951), may have had a near death experience as a youth: 'A young man named Norman McCallum, 18 years of age and residing at Corack, was accidently shot with a pea-rifle. The injured youth was removed to Birchip for examination by the X-rays. His condition is considered to be critical'. Norman survived and six years later married Alice May Blyth (1890-1953), daughter of Daniel Blyth (1855-1913) and Helena Risschumiller (1856-1953). According to the 'Harris/Blyth/Lovell Family Tree' on Ancestry, Daniel was born at Emerald Hill and died at Majorca (near Talbot) in central Victoria, while Helena was born at Creswick and died at Ballarat. They were married in the Melbourne suburb of Carlton in 1876 and had eight children in addition to Alice. Helena's parents, Hermann George Risschmuller (1836-65) and Johanna Hobbel (1838-1926), both came from Germany. Daniel's parents were both English, a cattle dealer Charles Blyth (1818-71) and Sarah Butcher (1823-98), who were married at Colchester in Essex on 7 June 1848. Together with their first four children, they emigrated to Melbourne on the WANDSWORTH in 1853. After residing for a time at Emerald Hill, they went to live at Prahran where Charles died in 1871.

The Australian electoral rolls show that after their marriage Norman and Alice lived at Wilkur where Norman was elected President of the Wilkur South Football Club in 1933 and again in 1935 (the team played in the East Borung Competition). On 20 November 1942, Norman enlisted in the Australian Army at Birchip, where he and Alice, who he gave as his NOK, were then living. He was discharged on 19 October 1945 while serving as a private soldier with the 15th Battalion VDC. At the time of the 1949 election, Norman, who was still working as a farmer, and Alice were back at Corack East (their daughter, Heather, who had also been registered there, was said to have moved to Violet Town). Norman died at Corack East two years later, and family members placed the following notices in the Melbourne Argus on the 15th and 18th of August 1951: McCALLUM - On August 8, at Corack East, Samuel Norman, beloved husband of Alice, and loving father of John, Heather, Jean, Norman and Morris. McCALLUM - on August 8, at Corack East, Samuel Norman, beloved husband of Alice and loving father-in-law of Mary, and grandfather of Judith and Gillian. MCCALLUM - On August 9 (suddenly) at his residence, Corack East, Samuel Norman, loved son of the late Mr and Mrs E. A. McCallum, loved brother of Johanna, Donald, Edleen, Lillian, Robert, Daisy, Morris and Eric - One of the best. Alice McCallum nee Blyth died at Corack on 22 May 1953 and was buried with Norman at the local cemetery. Both the 'Brady' and 'Blyth' family trees on Ancestry tell us they had five children all born at Donald:

7.1) Born at Donald in Victoria, John Daniel (Jack) McCallum (1920-91) was working as a farmer and living with his parents at nearby Birchip when he enlisted in the Australian Army there on 25 March 1941 (NOK Samuel Mccallum). He was discharged on 5 April 1943 at which time he was serving as a private soldier in the 19th Machine Gun Battalion. He re-enlisted in the RAAF at Melbourne on 6 April 1943 and served until 28 February 1946 at which time he was a Flying Officer with 9 Aircrew Holding Unit. On 12 April 1947 the Melbourne Argus announced the approaching marriage, at St Paul's Church of England in Birchip, of 'Mary, daughter of Mrs Young and the late Mr Young, Birchip, to John, eldest son of Mr and Mrs S. N. McCallum, Corack East'.

Mary was Sarah Mary Young (1921-94), a bookkeeper, who was living with her mother and siblings on Duncan Street in Birchip. The 'Ellet Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us her parents were Robert James Young (1870-1933) and Emily Jane Harrowfield (1883-1961) who were married at St Arnaud on 10 June 1908 and had five children in addition to Sarah: Jessie Esther (1910-99), William James Stewart (1912-85), Dorothy Emily (1914-76), Robert Alexander (1917-72) and Rachel Jean Young (1923-59). Robert, who was born at Smythesdale near Ballarat, but was a long-time resident of Birchip, was the co-proprietor of the town's 'Blue Store', a combined grocery store and coffee shop which, in the early 1900s, had behind it stables at which the district's farmers left their horses and buggies when they came into town to shop and yarn. Robert's parents were two Scots, William Young (1834-99), from Renfrewshire, and Mary Anne Smith (1838-1923) from Glasgow, who were married in Melbourne in 1859 and had twelve children.

The Australian electoral rolls show that, as did his parents and grandparents, Jack worked all his life as a farmer, in the Morton's Plains area between Birchip and Watchem. We think Jack and Mary eventually retired to Echuca were he died in 1991 and she three years later. The Ryerson Index and Ancestry's Victorian death index shows they lost their youngest daughter, Meredith Jean McCallum, in 1975. Her death notice, published in the Melbourne Age on 1 September 1975, reads: 'MCCALLUM - On September 24th (result of accident) Meredith Jean, much loved youngest daughter of Jack and Mary, loved sister of Judith (Mrs J. Stewart), Jillian (Mrs J. Davis), Roslyn and Margot, loved sister-in-law of John and Jock. Aged fifteen years.'

7.2) Heather McCallum (1923-2018) who married Robert Stanley (Bob) Sands (1921-2011) in 1949. Bob was born at Geelong on 26 September 1921, the son of Edward Robert (Ted) Sands (1889-1983) and Colina May Barber (1896-1963). Like his aunt, Grace Alice McCallum nee Pearce, Bob was a descendant of an original Corack settler, Robert Sands (1826-95), who, along with his son, Robert Sands jnr, pegged out blocks there in 1875 (Bob is a grandson of Robert Sands jnr). On 25 April 1943, Bob enlisted in the Australian Army 'in the field' in Queensland. He was then living and working at Corack East and gave as his NOK E. Sands. He was discharged from the Army on 19 March 1945 while serving as a private soldier with 159 General Transport Company.

The Australian electoral rolls show that Bob and Heather lived and farmed all their married lives at Gowangardie near Violet Town in central Victoria. The Ryerson Index shows that Bob died at Gowangardie in 2011 and Heather in 2017. Their respective tributes, published in the Melbourne Herald Sun, read: 'SANDS - Robert Stanley. 26.09.1921 - 05.06.2011. Formerly of Corack and Gowangardie. Son of Edward and May. Older brother of Elsie, Max and Alan. Husband of Heather. Father of Robert, Elizabeth, Andrew and Donald. Grandfather of eight' (7 June 2011); and 'SANDS (nee McCallum) - Heather Gowangardie. Passed away April 7 2017 Aged 94 years. Wife of Robert (dec). Mother and mother-in-law of Robert and Helen, Elizabeth and Philip, Andrew and Claire (dec), Donald and Judith. Grandmother of Anita and Katrina, Alexander (wife Jacinta) and Georgia (husband Will), Robert and James, Callum and Lachlan. Friend of Elizabeth and Luke' (13 April 2017).

7.3) Jean Blyth McCallum (1924-88). Born at Donald on 30 October 1924, Jean enlisted in the Australian Army at Melbourne on 14 September 1943. She was then living at Birchip and gave as her NOK G. McCallum (probably her sister Gillian). She was discharged on 12 March 1946 while serving as a private in the Australian Womens Army Service. It is likely that while serving in the Army, she met her future husband, Thomas Ianson (Tom) Gellibrand (1908-81), who she married in Victoria in 1947. Tom was born at Nuwara Iliya in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), the only son of then Captain, later Major-General Sir John Gellibrand (1872-1945) - pictured on the right - and his London-born wife Elizabeth Helena Bruel (1869-1949) who he married at Ilkley in Yorkshire in 1894. John was born at Ouse, in Tasmania's Lachlan Valley, and educated at King's School Canterbury and the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. He served as a junior officer in the Boer War with the 1st South Lancashire Regiment and in Ceylon with the Manchester Regiment before resigning his commission in 1912 and, with his wife and family, returning to Tasmania. John later served with distinction in the Australian First AIF where he quickly rose through the ranks to be the commander of the Australian 3rd Division. After the War, he served as the Public Service Commissioner in Tasmania, the Chief Commissioner of Police in Victoria and the GOC of the 3rd Division of Australia's permanent miltary forces. He was also a driving force behind the establishment of Legacy. John died at his country property at Murrindindi near Yea in Victoria in 1945, leaving his widow, Lady Elizabeth Gellibrand, their son Tom and two daughters; Joan (Lady Battershill, wife of Sir William Battershill) and Miss Cynthia Gellibrand.

As his obituary, written by his friend and colleague, W. Roy Wheeler, shows, Tom Ianson Gellibrand's early life experiences were not greatly dissimilar to those of his father. After being privately tutored as a young person, he attended:

. . . Geelong Grammar. His great interest was farming particularly in sheep and he was a jackaroo on Western Victorian properties and he also took a course on wool-classing at the Geelong Gordon Institute. Whilst he was farming at Murrindindi in north-east Victoria he joined and was commissioned in the Light Horse. At the outbreak of World War 2 he transferred to the 2nd A.I.F. and served in the 9th Division at Tobruk and both battles of El Alamein and later on the Kokoda Trail in New Guinea. It was here that his health became permanently impaired and he was discharged from the Army. In 1963 Tom became Secretary of the R.A.O.U. [Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union] and continued until 1968. It was during these years, during which I became President, that I came to know Tom well. He was one of nature's gentlemen, a tall quietly spoken man with great dedication and purpose.

Before the War, Tom had married a Joyce Mary Wise at Casino in Sydney in November 1930. In April the same year he purchased, from an Eric Boldfield, some soldier settlement blocks close to the old Ginninderra Homestead in Charnwood in the Australian Capital Territory. He sold the blocks in 1935. In August 1949, Joyce issued divorce proceedings against Tom on the grounds of adultery. The brief report of the case, published in the 9 August edition of the Melbourne Argus, suggests they had had two children. Tom married Jean later the same year. The Australian electoral rolls show them living at 22 Vincent Street in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern in 1949 and at Dunrobin at Teddywaddy near Charlton in central Victoria in 1954. Their first daughter, Helen McCallum Gellibrand, was born at Teddywaddy in 1951. By the time of the 1963 election they were back in Melbourne where Tom was working as a draftsman in 1963, an antiques restorer in 1967 and an antiques dealer in the 1970s. The Ryerson Index shows that Thomas Ianson Gellibrand died at Lachlan Vale, The Ouse in Tasmania on 15 November 1981. The administration of his estate was granted to his two daughters, Helen McCallum and Vanessa May Gellibrand, both of whom were then living at The Ouse and had been appointed the joint executrixes of his will. The 'Blyth (Helen)' family tree on Ancestry tells us that Jean Blyth Gellibrand nee McCallum died in Tasmania in July 1988.

Taken at Tripoli in Syria in April 1942, from L/R: Lieutenants N. V. Weekly. T. I. Gellibrand and
A. D. Wallace of the 24th Australian Infantry Brigade (AWM 024124).

Taken at Egypt's Western Desert in July 1942, from L/R: Lieutenant J. T. Cook and Captain T. I. Gellibrand,
24th Australian Infantry Brigade HQ, and Lieutenant E. T. Pearce poring over a map
in the battle area west of El Alamein.

7.4) Norman (Bill) McCallum (1927-74); and

7.5) Morris (Skid) James MCallum (1931-93) who died at Ballarat, married Joan Barber and had three children

8. Edleen Mary McCallum (1893-1975). Born at Corack East, Edleen married a Litchfield farmer, James Henry Green (1884-1951), at nearby Donald in Victoria in 1914. The 'Kenny' and a number of other family trees on Ancestry tell us that James' parents were Henry James Green (1857-1928) and Catherine McDougal (1856-1924) who were married in Victoria in 1881 and had eight children. Henry and Catherine both died at Donald and are buried in the local cemetery there. Henry's parents were Thomas Henry Green (1827-65) who was born at Tottenham in Middlesex and died at Avoca, and Mary Ann McCallum (1833-1920) who was born at Aberdeen in Scotland and died at Bowenvale in Victoria. They were married in 1851. James' older brother, John Dougal Green (1887-1941), enlisted in the First AIF at Melbourne on 18 May 1916. Allocated to the reinforcemants for the 57th Battalion, he sailed from Melbourne on the A9 SHROPSHIRE on 25 September 1916 and arrived at Plymouth on 11 November the same year. He joined his battalion in February 1917 and, after being wounded in action in France in October 1917, returned to England for a stint in hospital. While in England he transferred to the Australian Flying Corps and served out the war with 4 Squadron. He returned to Australia on 6 May 1919, married Clarice Flora Hart in 1922 and died at Donald in 1941.

The Australian electoral rolls show James and Edleen lived and farmed at Massey in the Donald West district of Victoria until the 1930s when they moved to Watchem and then, in around 1950, to the Melbourne suburb of Lilydale where James died the following year (we think he is buried at Donald). A notice, published in the Melbourne Age on 12 February 1953, stated the executor's of James' will were his two children, Ian James Green, a farmer of High Street Portarllngton, and Laurie Lillian Imbesi, a married woman of Lilydale. After James' death, Edleen lived with her daughter Laurie at Lilydale until sometime after 1972 when they moved to Ballina East in the northern rivers region of NSW. Edleen died there three years later, the 'Find a Grave' website informing us she is buried in the East Ballina Cemetery (Plot Ang A5 2) where her gravestone inscription reads: 'Edleen Mary Green died 31 August 1975 aged 81 years "Mum to all"'. Edleen and James had three children we are aware of, Ailsa Alice Green, who died at birth at Donald in 1922, and the two mentioned above:

8.1) Ian James Green. The DVA's WW2 nominal roll shows Ian James Green, born at Donald on 13 August 1920, enlisted in the Australian Army at Point Lonsdale in Victoria on 28 October 1942. He was then living at Point Lonsdale and gave as his NOK J. Green. He was discharged on 11 December 1945 as a Corporal in Brisbane's Fixed Defences. The J. Green he gave as his NOK was probably not his father but his wife, Jean Mary Belcher, who, the Victorian index of BDMs show, he married in Victoria in 1942. The Australian electoral rolls show Ian James, a clerk, and Jean Mary Green, then a munitions worker, living at 'The Rest' at Port Lonsdale in Victoria in 1949. They were at High Street Portarlington in 1954 (Ian was an assistant superintendent) and Duneira at Mount Macedon in 1963 (Ian was again a clerk). At the time of the 1968 election Ian, now a grazier, and Jean were at Glen Hazel Bundarra (near Armidale) in the northern tablelands of NSW (also registered there was a Rodney James Green, station hand). Only Ian and Jean were registered there in 1972. We have not been able to trace them after that.

8.2) Laurie Lillian Green (1925-2019). A notice in the Melbourne Argus dated 15 April 1944 tells us that 'Laurie Lillian, only daughter of Mr and Mrs J. H. Green, Watchem, was engaged to Laurie (Pat), eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Imbesi, of Lilydale'. The Australian electoral rolls have Laura Lillian Imbesi living on Main Street in Lilydale - the same address as Pat's parents - in 1949 and on Victoria Street in Lilydale in 1954 (both rolls have a Natalie Imbesi, an entertainer, at Lilydale's Coffee Palace). The Victorian index of BDMs shows Laurie re-married in 1954, to an Ormond Maxwell Quinn, a manager who was also living in Lilydale in 1954 and died there on 8 April 1962. After Ormond's death, Laurie, who was working as a hairdresser, continued to live at Lilydale until sometime after 1972 when, with her mother, she moved to East Ballina. The 8 August 2019 edition of Lismore's Northern Star newspaper reported: 'QUINN, Laurie Lillian. 26. 01. 1925 - 04. 08. 2019 Passed away peacefully in the loving care of Crowley Nursing Home, Ballina. Beloved Wife of Orme (dec). Loving Sister of Ian (dec), caring Aunt and beloved friend of many'.

9. Eric John (Joe) McCallum (1909-83) was working as a farmer at Corack East when he married Gwendoline Gladys Mereweather (1909-96) at Kyneton in Victoria in 1938. The happy occasion, which would have been attended by Eric's parents and siblings, was reported in the Argus newspaper as follows:

WEDDING AT KYNETON. Sunday. A bridal gown of magnolia windswept satin was chosen by Miss Gwendoline Mereweather, eldest daughter of Mrs and the late Mr W. Mereweather of Dunkeld, for her marriage on Saturday at the Taradale Methodist Church to Eric John McCallum, youngest son of Mr and Mrs E. A. McCallum, of Balnachiel, Corack East. The bridegroom was supported by his brother, Mr M. McCallum and Mr R. Lee, and the bride was given away by her brother-in-law, Mr W. Funk. The Rev. A Bligh, of the Kynrton Methodist Church officiated.

Born at Dunkeld, Gwen was the eldest daughter of William Mereweather (1974-1918) and Jane Macintyre who were married there in 1909. William was the eldest son of Joseph Francis Mereweather (1848-1909) and Catherine McFayden (1852-1928) who were married in Victoria in 1873. According to his obituary, published in the Hamilton Spectator on 2 March 1909, Joseph was 'a native of Bristol, England, and landed at Belfast [Port Fairy] by the ship Birmingham in 1855. In the same year he, with his parents, settled in Dunkeld, where he resided till the time of his death, thus being a resident of the town for close on 50 years . . . . Mr. Mereweather was a brother of Mrs. Gow, of Melbourne, formerly of Brie Brie. He leaves a widow, three sons, and two daughters, all of whom are well and favourably known in the district'. In his own reminisciences of that time, published in the Hamilton Spectator on 20 December 1910, Joseph tells us:

. . . we landed at Port Fairy in January 1855. In February we came by bullock dray to Dunkeld, then known by the name of Mount Sturgeon. For seven or eight hours while on the journey from Port Fairy the bullocks crept slowly along surrounded by bush-fires. So intense was the heat that a dog which was tied to the dray dropped dead. In 1855 Dunkeld consisted of four private houses, one store, and a hotel called the Woolpack Inn . . . Dunkeld was used as a camping place by those travelling overland from Adelaide to the diggings. The Chinese came over in great numbers, one company consisting of 1100 Celestials, and the local store did a thriving trade in rice and sugar . . . Owing to the scarcity of water the women of Dunkeld had to do their washing at a place known as Dickie's Waterhole, on the banks of the Wannon. Tubs, boilers, and clothes lines were left at the spot for this purpose. in summer the mails were brought by means of a spring-cart, but in winter a pack horse had to be used.

As mentioned, Joseph died at Dunkeld in 1909. His wife Catherine died in October 1928 at her residence, Mount View Dunkeld, the 'relict of the late Joseph Francis Mereweather, and loving mother of William (deceased), Alice, Dolly, Albert, and Frank (deceased), aged 76 years' (The Australasian, 10 November 1928). She and Joseph are buried together in the Dunkeld cemetery.

The Mereweather family at their Mount View home at Dunkeld (from Jeremy Lee's 'The Mereweather Brothers from Dunkeld',
ABC Southwest Victoria, 13 April 2015).

As reported in the Hamilton Spectator on 3 August 1908, their eldest son, William, who was named after his paternal grandfather, married Jane Macintyre in 1909: 'A pleasing occasion took place on Wednesday at the residence of the bride's aunt Mrs J. M. M'Intyre, when Mr William Mereweather the eldest son of Mr J. Mereweather, of Dunkeld was married to Miss Jane M'Intyre, only daughter of Mr John M'lntyre, of Broken Hill, N.S.W . . . The bridesmaid was Miss Olive M. Gordon . . . [and] Mr F. A. Mereweather acted as best man. The ceremony was performed by the Rev J. Jeffrey, under the verandah, which was prettily decorated for the occasion . . . The happy couple left by the evening train for the metropolis where the honeymoon is to be spent. The bride's travelling dress was navy blue, with hat to match'.

Seven years and four children on, William, aged 42 years, enlisted in the First AIF at Hamilton. His application form shows he was then working as a shire inspector and ranger and had previously served in the Australian mounted militia (see the photo below). Allocated to the second reinforcements for the 39th Battalion, he sailed from Melbourne on the RMS ORONTES on 16 August 1916. After undergoing training in England he proceeded with his unit to France where he was wounded in action - a GSW to the right leg and right eyelid - on 2 June 1917 (probably at the battle of Messines in Belgium). He was repatriated back to England where he spent time in the 3rd Australian Auxilliary Hospital at Dartford before being shipped back to Australia on the DEMONTHENES. Declared permanently unfit for general service, he was discharged from the Army with a disability pension of 15 shillings per fortnight - which was divided between himself, his wife and four daughters: Gwendoline Gladys, Catherine Annie, Mavis Janet and Constance Alice Mereweather. He returned to Dunkeld where, on 9 October 1916, he and a Private John Cameron, who had been badly wounded in the right leg, were formally welcomed home. Having survived the War, William died in a unfortunate and tragic accident six months later. As related in the Port Fairy Gazette on 7 May 1918:

. . . Mr Mereweather was engaged in cutting chaff at the residence of his mother when the belt came off the oil engine he was using. Mr Mereweather was about to stop the engine when his left hand was caught in the belting and he was pulled round the fly-wheel and killed instantly, his head being nearly severed from his body. A sad feature of the accident, which occurred about 6 p.m., was that deceased's mother and sister witnessed it. The deceased was a married man, 43 years of age, and leaves a widow and four young children, for whom the deepest sympathy is expressed. Mr Merewcather had recently returned from the front after two years' active service. The remains were interred in the Dunkeld cemetery on Friday afternoon.

As reflected in the 'In Memorium' notices published for many years after the War, William's death was not the only one the Mereweather family had to endure. His younger brother, Frank Allan Mereweather, who was born at Dunkeld in 1885 and also enlisted in the First AIF in April 1916, died in France in November 1917 from wounds received while serving with the 3rd Heavy Trench Mortar Battery. He is buried in the St Omer Cemetery at Longuenesse, Nord Pas de Calais. And their 'cousin', William Frank Mereweather, of 'Dunkeld', Salisbury Street Moonee Ponds and son of the late Robert and Elizabeth Mereweather of Ascot Vale, died in a work accident in Melbourne in November 1917. We think Robert, who worked as a carpenter and sailed to Australia with William's father on the BIRMINGHAM, and William were not related but their respective wives were although that has still to be confirmed.

Also from Jeremy Lee's 'The Mereweather Brothers from Dunkeld', the photo on the left is of William Mereweather in his Light Horse uniform at the front gate
of his home at Dunkeld. The one on the right is of William's younger brother, Frank Mereweather, in France during the First World War.

Jane Mereweather and her four daughters continued to live at Dunkeld after William's death in 1918. She died and was buried at the Dunkeld cemetery in 1951, aged 68 years. Unlike William, she lived long enough to see all of their girls marry: Catherine Annie, to Walter Ferdinand Funk in 1935, probably at Dunkeld although that has still to be confirmed; Mavis Janet to Eric Alfred Chauncy at Bullahdelar in NSW in 1942; Constance Alice, who was then a Captain in the Australian Army Nursing Service, to Maurice John Teather in Melbourne in 1945 (both Constance and Maurice, who was a gunner in the Australian Second AIF, had served in the Middle East and New Guinea); and, of course, Gwen to Joe McCallum at Kyneton in 1938. The Australian electoral rolls show that Gwen and Eric lived and farmed all their married lives at Corack East and then Watchem where Eric died in 1983 and Gwen in 1996. The 'Billion Graves' website has a photo of their joint gravestone in the Watchem Cemetery on which is written: 'McCALLUM In Loving Memory of ERIC JOHN "JOE" 15-1-1909 2-7-1983 and GWENDOLINE GLADYS (nee Mereweather) 3-6-1909 2-10-1996 Devoted parents of Hugh & Christine [Norma]'. We think Hugh Mereweather McCallum took over the running of the farm following his father's death in 1983.