Colin Mitchell (1869-1922)
and Agnes Emily Lane (1874-1958)

(last updated 13 June 2023)

Children and descendants

1. William James Mitchell (1892-1948). Born at Tighe's Hill in Newcastle, William travelled with his parents and younger sister Ilma from Australia to New Zealand in around 1895. He was working as a farm labourer in New Zealand's Northland region when he married Catherine Eva Mendoza (1888-1934) at Dargaville in 1915. The following report of their wedding was published in the New Zealand Herald on 14 September 1915: MITCHELL - MENDOZA. On April 1 1915, at Dargaville, by the Rev Speer, William J. Mitchell, elder son of Colin and Agnes Mitchell of Port Stephens, New South Wales, late of Taita New Zealand, to Catherine Eva, elder daughter of Frederick and Christina Mendoza of Auckland'. The 'Kerryn Singer Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us Catherine/Katherine was the eldest daughter of Frederick Henry Mendoza (1865-1932), who was born in Sydney and died in Auckland, and Christina Hund (1868-1949), who was born at Grafton in NSW and died at Onehunga in Auckland. Married in NSW in 1886, Frederick and Christina travelled to New Zealand soon after. They had four children in addition to Katherine: Aaron John (1890-1957), Frederick George (1892-1968), Horace Granville (1893-1946) and Pauline Muriel Mendoza later Nannestad (born in 1896). Frederick's parents were London-born Aaron Mendoza (1817-83) and German-born Christina Beckmann (1838-95) who were married in New Zealand in 1864 and both died in Auckland.

The New Zealand electoral rolls show William James, who worked as a farm and general labourer, and Catherine/Katherine Eva Mitchell - pictured on the right - were living at Te Uku outside Raglan in the Waikato region to the west of Auckland in 1919 and 1922. At the time of the 1928 and 1931 elections, they were at Ngatea and nearby Turua to the southeast of Auckland in the Thames-Coromandel District of Waikato where Catherine died in 1934. Her death notice, published in the New Zealand Herald on 20 June 1934 reads: 'MITCHELL (nee Mendoza) - On May 24 at the Thames Hospital (after a long illness), Catherine Eva, beloved wife of W. J. Mitchell, elder beloved daughter of C and the late F H Mendoza, of Auckland and sister of Aaron, Fred, Horace and Pauline'. The Find a Grave website tells us she was buried in the Totara Memorial Park Cemetery at Waikato. Father: Frederick Henry Mendoza (1865-1932). Mother: Christina Mendoza nee Hund (1868-1949). Inscription: 'KATHERINE EVA MITCHELL (nee MENDOZA) 23rd July 1888 - 24th May 1934 Dearly Loved Wife of WILLIAM and devoted Mother of nine'. These were said to be: Eva Agnes Richards; Gunner James William Mitchell; Christina Marie Pauline Colquhoun; Grace Ella O'Connell; Elsie Louise Dalziel; Samuel Colin Alfred Mitchell; June Mary Pallette; Mrs Burgess (Mitchell) and Warren Nelson Mitchell (it indicates Catherine had also had a still-born child). The New Zealand electoral rolls show William James Mitchell, farmer, living at Waerenga in the Hauraki ward of the Waikato District in 1943 and 1946 (along with Christina Marie, spinster and Colin Alfred Mitchell, farm hand in 1946). The Find a Grave website tells us William died in Auckland on 13 October 1948 and is buried in the Waikumete Cemetery and Crematorium (Nonconformist C Row 25 Plot 46). It lists William's siblings plus his and Catherine's nine children - the same as detailed above for Catherine - and states William's cause of death was 'suicide by gunshot' (we have not yet been able to corroborate that). What of his and Catherine's nine children and their descendants? We know nothing of their youngest daughter Mrs Burgess and relatively little about two other daughters and their families: June Mary Pallette, born in 1927 and died in the Franklin Memorial Hospital at Waiuku in Auckland on 2 March 2004, and Christina Marie Pauline Colquoun (1919-99). Detailed below is what we know of William and Catherine's other six children who between them provided their beloved parents with at least 26 grandchildren we know of:

1.1 Eva Agnes Mitchell (1916-83) married Leslie Harold (Les) Guillard (1907-76) in around 1937 probably in East Auckland although that is still to be confirmed. According to the 'NZ Guillard Family Tree' on Ancestry, Les was the illegitimate son of Edith Maude Augustine Guillard (1886-1913) who was born at Taranaki and died at Rotorua in NewZealand's North Island. Edith's parents were a Frenchman, Pierre Louis Guillard (1847-1928), and a Londoner, Jane Jessie Jacob (1845-97), who were married at Napier in New Zealand on 12 July 1877. Two years after Les' birth, Edith married Stewart George Richard King (1885-1982) with whom she had five children. The New Zealand electoral rolls show that after their marriage in 1937, Les and Eva Guillard lived first on King Edward Parade and then at 109 Kupe Street in Tamaki in East Auckland. After they separated in around 1961, Les continued to live at 109 Jupe Street until his death there on 26 September 1976. He was cremated at Waikemete five days later and his ashes taken by his son. Eva married a widower and fitter by trade, Harry Huia Richards (1907-83). The electoral rolls show them living at 65 Norfolk Street in Auckland Central in 1963 and at 6 Cremorne Street Grey Lynn at the time of the 1966, 1969 and 1972 elections. Both died in 1983 and were buried at Waikemete, Harry with his first wife and, as noted earlier, Eva with her parents.

We don't think Eva and Harry had any children. The 'NZ Guillard Family Tree' tells us she and Les had four boys: Cyril Arthur (1936-2014), Louis Henry (1940-2009), Leslie John (1941-2005) and one other (Cyril's death notice, detailed below, indicates they may have had seven children in all). The January 1942 issue of the New Zealand Police Gazette contains a warrant for a Cyril Marshall, alias Charles Morrison, alias George Whitmore 'for failing to comply with the terms of a maintenance order for the support of his illegitimate child of whom Eva Agnes Guillard is the mother'. The entry does not tell us who the child was or when and where he or she was born. We do know that Les and Eva's eldest son, Cyril Arthur Guillard, died at the Waipuna Hospice at Tauranga on 4 September 2014. His tribute, published in The New Zealand Herald two days later, reads in part: 'Most dearly loved husband of Noeleen (nee Boyd) for fifty four years and best friend and mate for sixty years. He was the loved eldest son of the late Eva and Les Guillard and much loved son in-law of the late Nora and Fred Minus and the late Rae and Ces Boyd. Loved big brother of Harold, Katy, Morrie, Allie and the late Lou and Leslie. Very dearly loved brother in-law of Sonia and George Butcher (Pukekohe) and Judy and Brian Small (Omokoroa). Loved uncle of his many nieces and nephews. Cyril had led a busy and enjoyable life . . . [and] was involved with volunteer work such a Legion of Frontiersmen, A Squadron Auckland; Sea Scouts Auckland; Coastguard Waihi Beach and Waihi St John Committee. His passions included sailing, ballroom and square dancing and gardening especially fuchsias.

1.2 James William Mitchell (1917-94). The New Zealand WW2 Army Nominal Rolls, 1939-48 include 24649 Gunner James William Mitchell - pictured on the left - who enlisted at Fort Takapuna in Auckland (his nominated NOK was a Mr W J Mitchell of Turua) and served in the 29th NZ Field Artillery Battery. In 1950 James married Marjory Florence Prier (1924-2007), daughter of Edgar Hammond Prier (1891-1971) and Sarah Janet Bishop (1896-1941) who were married on 8 December 1920 and had two children in addition to Marjory: Gordon Archibald (1921-92) and one other (female). Gordon married Frances Ellen Elizabeth Whitworth (1925-2008) in 1949. The New Zealand electoral rolls show James, a plumber by trade, and Marjory lived at 82 Rawhiti Road in the Auckland suburb of Onehunga from the time of their marriage until at least 1981. Registed with them in 1980 was a Janis Rae Mitchell who was working as a librarian. The 1981 electoral roll shows a Janis Rae, librarian, and Martin Stanley Bishara, carpenter, living at 61 Marsden Ave in the adjoining suburb of Mount Eden. We believe James William Mitchell died in Auckland in 1994. The Auckland City Council cemetery records show Marjory Florence Mitchell died on 2 August 2007 and was cremated. Her ashes were deposited in the Waikumete Cemetery (Service Persons Ash Burial Area K, Row 10A, Plot 30) on 10 June 2010.

1.3 Grace Ella Mitchell (1921-73). According to the 'Harris Family Tree' on Ancestry, on 16 January 1941, the then 19 year-old Grace gave birth to a little girl, Gweneth Mary (Gwen) Mitchell later Harris (1941-2018). It adds Gwen's father was Ian John Douglas Fraser and cites Ancestry's New Zealand WW2 Army Nominal Rolls, 1939-48 which show 28744 Gnr Ian John Douglas Fraser, a labourer from Nelson In NZ's South Island (father H. McK Fraser) had enlisted at Auckland and was allocated to the NZ Artillery reinforcements. We think Ian was born at Murchison south of Nelson in 1915, the son of Murdoch Hugh McKenzie Fraser (1881-1957) and Mary Emma Buttress (1873-1929) who were married in Auckland in 1904. After his WW2 service, Ian returned to the South Island where the electoral rolls show him farming land at Riwaka northwest of Nelson until his death at nearby Motueka in 1988. The New Zealand 1943 electoral roll shows Grace Ella Mitchell, spinster, living at 109 Kupe Street in the Auckland suburb of Remuera - the address of her older sister Eva Agnes Guillard - as well as at a nurses' home in Wanganui on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. In 1946 Grace was working at Wellington and living at 3 Jessie Street in the city centre (probably with a Hubert Morris/Maurice O'Connell, an electrician, who was registered as living there in 1949). Grace and Hubert were married in around 1949 and went to live at 1 MacDuff Terrace in the Wellington coastal suburb of Island Bay. Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, they lived in Hubert's home town of Palmerston North where Hubert worked as a shop assistant and Grace died on 16 September 1973. The NZ Cemetery Records, 1800-2007 on Ancestry show she was buried in the Kelvin Grove Cemetery in Palmerston North (Section P, Block O4, Plot 044). Her gravestone inscription reads: 'In loving memory of Grace Ella O'CONNELL . . . aged 52 years, a loved wife and devoted mother and grandmother'. The New Zealand electoral rolls show that after Grace's death Hubert, who was now a manager, continued to live at 11 Birmingham Street in Palmerston North. Also registered there in 1978 was Grace's younger sister, Elsie Loui Dalziel (1923-2003), who Hubert married the following year. Hubert Maurice O'Connell died at Palmerston North on 8 January 2000 and was buried alongside his first wife, Grace Ella, at Kelvin Grove Cemetery (Plot 046) his grave inscription tells us he was 'a loved husband, stepfather and poppa'. We don't think he had any children of his own.

The New Zealand electoral rolls show a Gwenyth Mary and Perry Colin Harris, farmer (and New Zealand international rugby player), were living on Penny Road Manawatu near Palmerston North at the time of the 1972 and 1978 elections. The 1981 roll has Gwenyth Mary Harris, homemaker, at 2 Acourt Street Sanson in Manawatu. We have yet to determine whether this is our Gwen. The 'Harris Family Tree' tells us Gwen died at Palmerston North on 13 April 2013. Her tribute, published in the Dominion Post the next day reads: HARRIS, Gweneth Mary (Gwen): On Friday 13th April 2018, at Arohanui Hospice, peacefully in her sleep surrounded by all her loving children. Aged 77 years. Dearly loved and devoted mother of Allen and Michaela, Jeanette and Archie, Ian and Kristen, and Andrew and Rachel. Adored and cherished Nanny of Alex and Jaimee, and Josh and Kristina; Jack, Connor, and Maddie; George, and Josie'. The 'Memories and Condolences' posted with the tribute included the following: 1) 'Our thoughts and deepest sympathy go out to Allen, Jeanette, Ian, Andrew and families. A loving cousin who we will all miss very much. Oh what fun we all had growing-up during school holidays. Freedom and fun. Loving memories. All our love from the Guillard family, late Auntie Eve, Uncle Les, Cyril, Lou, Les and Harry, Kath, Morrie, Allie and families'; 2) I shall miss you my great-hearted Gweneth Mary, you always were and always will be a very much loved cousin. I will cherish my memories of our years together, especially your infectious laughter and wonderful sense of humour. You devoted your life to your children and grandchildren, whom I know have repaid you with all the care and love they have. Our thoughts, love and deepest sympathy Allen, Jeanette, Ian, Andrew and families. Kathrine Harper (Australia) Janine, Michael, Tracy and families'; and 3) 'Noeleen Guillard, wife of the late Cyril sends loving thoughts to Gwen's family. I will miss our telephone calls, Gwen when you would tell me what you had been up to over the past few weeks. Gwen was a lovely, thoughtful person so proud of her family. You are at peace now Gwen. I will really miss our telephone chats'.

1.4 Elsie Louise/Loui Mitchell (1923-2003). Before marrying her widowed brother-in-law, Hubert Maurice O'Connell, at Palmerston North in 1979, Elsie had been married to Hamilton-born George William Dalziel (1922-96). According to the 'Dalziel Elliott Families' tree on Ancestry, George's parents were a Scot, John Dalziel (1894-1967), and a Kiwi, Emily Hoad Elliott (1898-1964), who were married in New Zealand in 1919 and had six children (George was their first-born). John died at Papakura in Auckland on 25 July 1967 and Emily at Te Awamutu, south of Hamilton, on 4 June 1964. It adds that two of their grand-daughters are the twins 'Lynda and Jonls Topp, [who] are well-known in New Zealand for their music. Their album,' Flowergirls and Cowgirls' a tribute to their grandmother Emily. The New Zealand electoral rolls show that after their marriage in 1946, Elsie and George were living with George's parents on the latter's farm at Waerenga in the Waikato Region until the early 1960 and then in Auckland itself until they separated in around 1972. During this time they had four children: Alison Dalziel (1956-65) who died at Huntly north of Hamilton and three others (two boys and a girl). As described above, after divorcing George in 1979, Elsie Loui, as she then called herself, lived with her second husband at 11 Birmingham Street in Palmerston North until sometime after his death there on 11 January 2000. She then returned to her birthplace of Auckland where, the council burial records show, she died on 23 March 2003, aged 79 years, and was cremated at the Manukau Memorial Gardens.

1.5 Samuel Colin Alfred Mitchell (1925-96). Born in the Thames-Coromandel District of Auckland's Waikato Region, Colin Alfred, who worked as a farm-hand, driver and eventually a commercial fisherman, was twice married. His first wife was Betty Callesen (1930-63) with whom Colin had ten children between 1947 and Betty's unfortunate death in Auckland on 14 March 1963. As reported in the New Zealand Press, on that day a 'mother of 10 children collapsed and died in a dentist's chair in Dominion road this afternoon. She was Mrs Betty Mitchell, aged 33, of 554 Richardson road, Mount Roskill. Mrs Mitchell's children are aged between one and 14. Her husband, Mr C. A. Mitchell, is a commercial fisherman'. The 'Kerryn Singer Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us Colin's second wife was Lynette Faye Stephens nee Pook, daughter of Frank John (who died in 2011) and Margaret Winifred Pook (1931-2014). It adds that Lynette had also been twice married: first to a Stephens with whom she had four girls and one boy (Tre Blayde Stephens) and to a second person with whom she had two girls and two boys. She and Colin were said to have had two children: Charlene Rachel (1973-2022) and one other. The Auckland Council burials database shows Samuel Colin Alfred Mitchell, retired fisherman aged 71 years, died on 13 December 1996 and was cremated at the Waikumete Cemetery three days later.

1.6. Warren Nelson (Tunny) Mitchell (1930-2007). Born at Turua in the Hauraki Plains District south of Auckland, Tunny worked as a farm assistant in different places in the Hauraki and Waikato regions before marrying Olive Jean Mulligan (1931-2020) in around 1962. Robin O'Leary's 'Mulligan Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us Olive's parents were Hugh Mulligan (1899-1966), who came from County Armagh in Northern Ireland, and Mary Hannah Mason (1909-47), who was a native of Durham in England. They were married at St Aidan's Church of England in Remuera in Auckland on 16 September 1930 and had two children, Olive Jean and Hugh Allen Mulligan (1935-2017). The Waikumete Cemetery records show Mary Hannah Mulligan died on 8 May 1947, aged 38 years, and was buried there two days later (Anglican K Row 4 Plot 35). Her husband, Hugh Mulligan, is also buried at Waikumete. The New Zealand electoral rolls show Warren Nelson and Olive Jean Mitchell, both described as storekeepers, were living at 37 Eastbourne Road in Murrays Bay in North Auckland during the 1960s and on Albert Road in the suburb of North Shore during the 1970s and early 1980s (Tunney was then working as a public servant). Registered with them in 1981 was a Warren Hugh Mitchell, student. The Auckland City Council website shows Warren Nelson Michell, aged 77 years, died at Devonport on 7 September 2007 and was cremated at North Shore Memorial Park. Olive Jean Mitchell nee Mulligan died in 2020. Her tribute in the New Zealand Herald on 14 April 2020 reads: 'MITCHELL, Olive Jean (nee Mulligan). Born July 6, 1931. Passed away on April 6, 2020. How can this be! Olive is gone and the world keeps turning! Wife of the late Tunny, Sister of the late Alan, the super stylish mother of Warren, fabulous grandma of Jasmine and close friend of Linda passed away this week. The lock down prevents a date being set but we'll celebrate her life at Waikumete when we can'.

Hugh Allen and Olive Jean Mulligan.

Olive and Warren Nelson (Tunny) Mitchell.

2. Ilma Gervaise Mitchell (1894-1961). A year after her birth in Newcastle, Ilma travelled with her parents and older brother William from Australia to the Northlands Region of New Zealand's North Island where her father and three uncles worked as bushmen and farmers. While her parents and younger siblings returned to Australia in 1912, Ilma remained in New Zealand where in 1913 she married Oliver Thomas Newlove (1884-1950) at Dargaville in the Kiapara District. According to the 'Newlove' and a number of other family trees on Ancestry, Oliver was born at Takaka near Nelson in New Zealand's South Island, the fourth of eight sons of a Yorkshireman, Leonard Newlove (1848-1915), and his Melbourne-born wife, Mary Ann Hitchcock (1854-1932), who were married at Takaka on 22 March 1876. Three of their sons, Leonard Charles, Edwin and Leslie Malcolm Newlove, died in 1917 at the battle of Passchendaele in Belgium during the First World War. Three eventually worked and died on New Zealand's North Island: George Thomas at Kumea, Albert Ernest at Taranaki and Oliver Thomas Newlove at Dargaville. The remaining two brothers, Alfred Horace and Herbert Francis Newlove, lived out their lives at Nelson. The 'Newlove family Tree' also tells us Leonard's parents were John Barry Newlove (1816-1879), who was born in Lincolnshire in England, and Margaret Cordiner (1817-1893) who came from North Yorkshire. They both died in the Canterbury Region of New Zealand's South Island and are buried in the Ellesmere Public Cemetery at Leeston to the southwest of Christchurch (Prebyterian; Block 5; Row 2; Plot 117). Mary Ann's parents, Thomas Hitchcock (1826-1903) and Elizabeth Emily Everett (1830-88), were both from Buckinghamshire in England where they were married in 1849. After living for a short while in Australia, they relocated to Takata in New Zealand in around 1855 and are both buried in the local cemetery there (block A, plot 25).

The New Zealand electoral rolls show after their marriage in 1913, Oliver and Ilma Newlove lived first at Maopiu in the Northlands' Kaipara District, where Oliver worked as a butcher, and from around 1920, on a dairy farm they had acquired at nearby Mamaranui and where they would remain until their respective deaths in 1950 and 1961. Reports in the Northern Advocate and other newspapers show that over this time Ilma was much involved in the formation and activities of the Mamaranui branch of the Women's Institutes (WI) - later the Federation of Country Women's Institutes (CWI) - which sought to develop and improve community life in New Zealand's rural areas by bringing country women together to discuss matters of shared concern. The Mamaranui branch of the WI was established in 1931 and Ilma elected as its inaugural president. Under her guidance and support, it ran local competitions to encourage such activities as needlework, clothes-making and repair, and gardening. It also held card and other social evenings to raise funds to support the local school and related area services. A keen and accomplished gardener, Ilma helped judge such floral events as the annual chrysanthemum and produce exhibition run by the Ladies' Guild of the Otahuhu Holy Trinity Church.

During this time Ilma and Oliver also had three boys - Oliver John (Jack), Leonard Colin and Douglas Leighton Newlove - all of whom, on completion of their schooling either worked or helped out on the family farm. On 7 January 1937, the New Zealand Herald informed its readers of the engagement 'of Oliver John, elder son of Mr and Mrs 0. T. Newlove, of Mamaranui, Northern Wairoa, to Evelyn Louise, only daughter of Mr and Mrs F. M. Righton, of Katine, Northern Wairoa'. Evelyn or Eve as she was known as, was born at Tokatoka in Northland's Kiapara Region. Her father was a native of Devonshire, Ferdinand Michael (Fred) Righton (1875-1957), who sailed from England to New Zealand on the RUAPEHU in 1894. Her mother was Florence Mary Glanville (1881-1960) who was living at Kaukapakapa north of Helensville when she married Fred in 1908. The 'Righton Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us Florence and Fred had four children in addition to Evelyn: Douglas Huntley (1909-92), Colin Glanville (1912-74), Mildred Mary (1914-18) and Henry Ferdinand Righton (1916-2004). In 1938 Jack and Eve Newlove, who were living with Jack's parents on their farm at Mamaranui, had a little girl, Jacqueline Anne, for her grandparents to fuss over. Sadly, as reported in the Waikato Times, Jacqui died a few days before her second birthday: 'DARGAVILLE, Wednesday. The two-year-old daughter of Mr Oliver John Newlove, of Mamaranui near Dargaville, was found in a drain under a road bridge opposite her parents' home last evening . . . The child, who had been missed a few moments before by her mother, was to have celebrated her second birthday on Friday' (1 August 1940).

In the same year Oliver and Ilma's youngest son, Douglas Leighton Newlove, married Esther Margaret Ganderton who was working as a relief teacher at Woodville near Palmerston North. Born in 1917, Esther was the only daughter of a Londoner, Frederick Alfred Ganderton (1880-1964), who sailed from Plymouth in England on the RUAPEHU on 2 November 1904 bound for New Zealand. The electoral rolls show he settled in Christchurch where he worked as a mechanical engineer and married Kathleen Sylvester (1881-1969) in 1915. They continued living in Christchurch until the mid-1920s when they moved to Waipukurau - halfway between Napier and Palmerston North on the North Island - where Frederick had successfully tendered for the picture showing rights at the town's new Town Hall. They spent the rest of their lives at Waipukurau and, along with their only son, Walter Patrick Gerald Ganderton (1920-49) - who worked as the theatre's projectionist - are buried in the local cemetery there. As reported in the Hawkes Bay Tribune, Esther attended the Waipukura District High School where in 1935 she 'passed in the first section (English) for the Bachelor of Arts Diploma' (28 December 1935). The following year she attended the teachers' training college in Christchurch and by 1939 had begun her teaching career. After marrying Douglas in !940, Esther, like her sister-in-law Eve, lived on the Newlove farm at Mararanui. We don't think she returned to teaching.

The onset of the Second World War saw all of Oliver and Ilma's sons called up to serve in either New Zealand's territorial Army or its overseas expeditionary forces. In November 1940, Oliver sought successfully to have the call-up of his youngest son, Douglas, deferred on the grounds that Oliver 'was trying to farm 600 acres on which 60 cows were milked and 200 head of dry stock carried' (Northern Advocate, 20 November 1940). His and Ilma's second son, Leonard Colin, was not so fortunate and was directed to proceed to the Papakura Camp on 8 January 1941 as part of the fifth reinforcements for New Zealand's overseas forces (Northern Advocate, 24 December 1941). The following year their eldest son, Jack, was called up for military service with the territorial forces. Although still to be confirmed, we think neither Jack nor Leonard served overseas. The New Zealand Online Cenotaph shows that 273243 Douglas Newlove eventually enlisted in the Army at Dargaville in 1943 (his NOK was a Mrs E. M. Newlove, PO Box 16, Waipukurau). Allocated to the 21st Infantry Battalion he served overseas until January 1946 when, as a Warrant Officer Class 2, he arrived back at Wellington on the troop ship OTRANTO (Northern Advocate, 11 January 1946). The following year, the same newspaper told its readers how Douglas had received a Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM). 'Warrant-Officer Newlove was company sergeant-major of C Company of the 21st Battalion on the Senio River [in Italy] in April 1945. The company was digging in on the bank when the enemy suddenly attacked and a fierce grenade fight ensued. He hastened to the platoon position then being attacked and personally took charge of a section which he led in a brilliant counter-attack, and in the ensuing grenade fight, with a total disregard for his own safety, he stood on the stopbank and caused terrific havoc among the enemy with grenades. After the action the enemy laid a heavy mortar concentration over the whole company area, but Warrant-Officer Newlove walked freely around the positions and personally carried supplies of ammunition to the posts requiring them. Over a long period of time he showed himself to be a fine leader of men and displayed courage of the highest order' (16 April 1947).

The 1946 electoral roll shows Oliver and Ilma, Jack and Eve, Douglas and Esther and Leonard Newlove all living at Mamaranui where Oliver, Jack and Douglas were working as farmers and Leonard as a labourer. Oliver and Ilma both died at Mamaranui, he on 26 January 1950 and she on 10 June 1961. Both are buried at nearby Dargaville, Oliver in the Old Mount Wesley Cemetery (Block 4, Lot 164) and Ilma in the New Mount Wesley Cemetery (Block Y, Plot no. 168). What of their three boys? Their oldest son, Oliver John (Jack) Newlove (1914-97) was still farming land at Mamaranui at the time of the 1981 election. He and his wife Evelyn Louise (Eve) Newlove nee Righton (1910-91) died at Dargaville and are buried/memorialised in the Old Mount Wesley Cemetery there. Their gravestones tell us they had four children: Jacqui, Jenny, Donna and Rae Newlove. The 1949 and subsequent electoral rolls show a Leonard Colin, carpenter and later a builder, and Ruth Newlove living at 28 Vine Street Mangere in East Otahuhu/Manukau in Auckland. The City Council's burials database tells us a Leonard Colin Newlove (1916-96) was cremated at the Manukau Memorial Gardens. Oliver and Ilma's youngest son, Douglas Leighton Newlove (1917-96) and his wife, Esther Margaret Newlove nee Ganderton (1917-96), were farming land on Kairara Road Mamaranui at the time of the 1981 election. As well as Douglas' older brother, Colin, and his sister-in-law, Eve, the electoral roll included: Ross Douglas, farmer, and Merle Elizabeth Newlove, married, 2 Cobham Ave Dargaville; Barbara Jean Newlove, nurse, at Ornamari Road Ornamari; Thomas Leslie, Loader/operator, and Marilyn Joy Newlove, secondary school teacher, 9 Kauri Crescent Snells Beach; and Thomas Edward Newlove, farmer, Babylon Coast Road Bayly's Beach. His entry on the NZ Online Cenotaph tells us Douglas died in Auckland on 8 May 1996. Although still to be confirmed, we think Esther Margaret Newlove nee Ganderton died on 27 May 1996 and she and Douglas probably had four children: Ross Douglas, Thomas Leslie, Thomas Edward and Barbara Jean Newlove.

Victor James (Jim) Mitchell (1912-95) - pictured on the left - was born at Dargaville in the Kiapara region of New Zealand's North Island. Not long after his birth Jim and his parents and siblings returned to Australia where they farmed land at Anna Bay near Port Stephens in the Hunter region of NSW. Jim was probably still at school when he lost his father and two older brothers, Colin and Samuel Mitchell, in the early 1920s. He would have gone with his mother to live in the Newcastle suburb of Stockton after the family farm was sold soon after. The Australian electoral rolls show Jim living at Werris Creek near Tamworth and working as a labourer in 1935 and 1936. He was labouring at the Bobialla Station near Merriwa to the south of Werris Creek when he married Olive Green (1915-2004) at Merriwa in 1937.

The 'Green Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us Olive - shown in the school photo below - was born at Yea in Victoria, the eldest of seven children of Ormond Charles Green (1894-1971) and Olive Garlick (1889-1979) who were married in Victoria in 1914. Ormond was born at Reedy Creek near Chiltern in Victoria, the son of two Victorians, Edward Green (1858-1935) and Isabella Sarah Scott Butcher (1857-1935) who were married in 1880 and had 16 children between then and 1899. Both Edward and Isabella's fathers hailed from Darrington in Yorkshire.

His record in the Australian Archives shows that Ormond Charles Green - pictured on the right - served in the Australian Army during both World Wars. Born at Kerrisdale near Seymour in central Victoria he was working as an engine driver when he enlisted in the First AIF in Melbourne on 2 August 1915 (NOK Olive Green of Yea Victoria). After proceeding overseas with the 6th reinforcements for the 24th Battalion he was transferred to the 7th Battalion in Egypt and travelled on to France where he was accidentally wounded in June 1916 and spent time in hospital in both France and England. After returning to France in April 1917 he was transferred to the 23rd Battalion where the following month he was again hospitalised this time suffering from shell shock. He served out the war with the 23rd Battalion and was promoted to Corporal prior to returning to Australia in February 1919. With the onset of the Second World War, the 40 year-old Ormond who was then farming land at Redesdale Junction near Kyneton in central Victoria, enlisted in the 2nd AIF on 3 April 1940 and served in various training and support appointments until January 1947. In July 1946 he was awarded the Australian Efficiency Medal. Both Ormond Charles and Olive Green nee Garlick died at Seymour in Victoria, he in 1971 and she in 1979, and are buried in the local cemetery (Lawn, Row A, Grave 18).

The Australian electoral rolls show that Jim and Olive Mitchell lived at Merriwa after their marriage until at least 1943. According to the DVA's WW2 nominal roll, during this time NX94030 Victor James Mitchell, who was born at Dargaville in New Zealand on 12 November 1912, enlisted in the Australian Army at Paddington in Sydney on 31 March 1942. He was then working as a 'station hand', living at 'Mervinwa' (probably Merriwa) and gave as his NOK Olive Mitchell. He was discharged on 22 January 1946 at which time he was serving as a private soldier in the 2/5th Australian Transport platoon. His military file in the National Archives shows he was then living at Redesdale Junction [near Kyneton] in Victoria [and where Olive's parents were farming land] and, in addition to Olive, had two dependants under the age of 16. His record adds that he had worked in the Army as a mechanic and served for over a year in New Guinea. The Australian electoral rolls show James and Olive continued to live and work in Victoria after the War: initially at Emerald in the Dandenong Ranges, then on a farm at Lyons north of Portland in the southwest of the state, and, from the early 1960s until the early 1970s on land at Henty west of Hamilton.

We have not been able to trace them after that although we do know that Victor James Mitchell died at Millicent north of Mount Gambier in South Australia in 1995. His gravestone, pictured on the find a Grave website, reads: 'In Loving Memory Victor James (Jim) Mitchell 12-11-1912 - 19-4-1995 Beloved husband of Olive Loving father of Val and Bev and families'. According to the Ryerson Index, Olive Mitchell, 99 and late of Millicent, died on 12 September 2014. A copy of her tribute, published in the Melbourne Herald Sun on 15 September, reads: 'MITCHELL (nee Green) - Olive. Late of Millicent. Passed away peacefully on Friday, Sept 12 2014. Aged 99 years. Loved wife of Jim (dec). Loved mother of Val and Eddie, and Bev and Alan. Dearly loved Gran to Scott, Adam and Daneile, Brett and Lisa. Loving Great Gran to James and Ella, Tarj, Jaiah, and Ileda'.

Born in New Zealand, Nelson Mitchell (1906-73) and his younger brother, Alfred John Mitchell (1910-90), spent their later childhood years back in Australia, at Anna Bay in the Hunter region of NSW. They married two sisters, Sylvia Myrtle Goddard (1911-2002) and Eileen Sarah Goddard (1909-99), at New Lambton in Newcastle in 1927 and 1934 respectively. Eileen and Sylvia's parents, who were then living at New Lambton, were Walter Henry Goddard (1880-1957) and Sarah May Wilson (1880-1952). Married in Sydney on 13 January 1905, they had eight children between then and 1925: Madeleine Josephine Rebecca (Madge) who was born at Paddington in 1905, May Veronica (1907, Paddington), Eileen Sarah (1909, Camperdown), Sylvia Myrtle (1912, Cessnock), Walter Henry jnr (1913, Kurri Kurri), Joyce Dulcie (1916, Hornsby), Victor (1919-20, Marrickville) and Blanche Doris Goddard (1921-21, Redfern). Eileen and Sylvia's father was born at Wollombi southeast of Cessnock and lived much of his life at Gunnedah. According to her obituary, published in the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners Advocate on 23 August 1952, their mother was born at Carcoar in the central western region of NSW. After spending a number years at Auckland in New Zea!and she lived in Sydney and then Newcastle where she and Walter resided at New Lambton and Belmont. The obituary adds that 'Mrs Goddard was a member of the Belmont Baptist Church. She leaves a son, Mr Walter Goddard (Weston), and five daughters, Mrs R. Lightfoot (Cessnock), Mrs A. J. Cox (Belmont), Mrs A. Mitchell (Nelson Bay), Mrs N. Mitchell (Stockton), and Mrs K. H. Guest (Belmont), [as well as] 17 grandchildren'. The NSW index of bdms shows Walter Henry Goddard married a Julia Bennett at Belmont in 1953. He died there on 14 May 1957 and is buried with his first wife, Sarah May Goddard, in the Baptist section of the Belmont Cemetery.

The Australian electoral rolls show that Alfred John and Eileen Sarah Mitchell lived at Anna Bay from the time of their marriage until at least the early 1980s. During this time Alfred worked first as a labourer and, from the early 1960s, as a professional fisherman. He died in Newcastle in October 1990 and is buried in the Nelson Bay Cemetery where his parents, brothers Colin and Samuel Alfred Mitchell, and Eileen, who died at Nelson Bay on 15 December 1999, are also buried. Alfred and Eileen Mitchell had three children we know of:

1) Colin Alfred Mitchell who was born in 1936 and in 1957 married in Newcastle's Hamilton registration district a native of Lancashire in England, Ruth Hampson. The Australian Electoral Rolls show Colin Alfred, car dealer, and Ruth Mitchell, hd, living at 178 Fullerton Street Stockton in Newcastle in 1963 (the address of Colin's uncle Nelson and his wife Sylvia Mitchell) and at 13 Corriston Crescent in Adamstown Heights in 1972. By the time of the 1980 election, Colin and Ruth had relocated to the Cairns suburb of Bayview Heights in Northern Queensland where Colin was working as a fisherman. The 'Pauline Spencer family tree' on Ancestry tells us they also had a daughter, Sharlene, who was born in 1965.

2) Cynthia Mitchell who was born in 1940 and married John Vines in the Hamilton RD of Newcastle in 1960. The Australian electoral rolls show Cynthia and John, who worked as a carrier, lived on Tomaree Street and later Stockton Road in Nelson Bay from 1963 until 1980 (the 1980 roll shows a Nandina Agnes Vines, shop assistant, also living on Stockton Road). The 'Pauline Spencer family tree' on Ancestry tells us Cynthia and John had three children: Nandina Vines/Calderwood (born in 1960); Amanda Vines/Sproule (1961) and Christopher Vines (1965).

3) Daphne May Mitchell who was born in 1942 and married a member of the RAAF, Bruce William Rolls, at Raymond Terrace in 1967. Daphne was then working as a clerk and living at Nelson Bay while Bruce was at the RAAF Base in Williamtown. The Australian electoral rolls show them living at North Ipswich in Queensland in 1968, and then back at Nelson Bay at the time of the 1972, 1977 and 1980 elections (Bruce continued to work for the RAAF over this time).

After their marriage in 1927, Nelson and Sylvia Myrtle Mitchell also lived at Anna Bay where Nelson worked as a labourer and then with Alfred as a fisherman. The electoral rolls show they moved into Newcastle in the early 1950s and resided at 178 Fullerton Street in Stockton until Nelson's death there on 2 March 1973 (the 1954 roll has a Clyde Nelson Mitchell, fisherman, living with them there). The Find a Grave website tells us Nelson is buried in the Nelson Bay Cemetery. A few years later Sylvia re-married, to Reginald Fabian Adolphson, a gardener by trade, and was registered as living with him at 30 Corriston Crescent in the Newcastle suburb of Adamstown in 1977 and 1980. The Find a Grave website tells us Sylvia died on 2 July 2002, probably at Newcastle although that has still to be confirmed, and is also buried in the Nelson Bay Cemetery. Nelson and Sylvia Mitchell had two children we know of: 1) Barry Mitchell and 2) Clyde Nelson Mitchell who, as noted earlier, was working as a fisherman and living with his parents at 178 Fullerton Street in Stockton at the time of the 1954 election. He married Merilyn Vesta Sinclair in Newcastle in 1956 and, after living and working for a time at Nelson Bay, moved to 7 Marjorie Street in Mooloolaba on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Registered as living with them during this latter period were Helena Emilia Mitchell, hd, Brett Clyde Mitchell, fisherman and Craig Phillip Mitchell, concrete carter.