Wild Bull Hits Woman, 76

My grandmother, when aged 76, made it to the front page of the “Herald”, a Melbourne afternoon paper at the time. The heading of this post was the headline in the paper.

Two Brahman bulls went on a rampage  at the Bendigo saleyards on 19 October 1976. The bulls escaped when they were being loaded into a railway car near the saleyards.

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One of the bulls , a 750 kg Brahman was chased two kilometres along the railway line, after escaping from a railway car near the saleyards.  It had scattered buyers and sellers at the saleyards before workers were able to corner it and return it to the railway car.

The other  bull smashed through the side of the railway car and onto  the siding, escaping up the railway line, chased by about six saleyard workers.  One of the workers had fired about 10 .22 calibre bullets at the bull but failed to slow it down.

This bull smashed through the back fence of my grandmother’s house.  It careered through the garden and bowled her over.

The bull then came back through the fence where it was cornered and shot.

The ambulance was called.  My grandmother suffered bruising, but otherwise was not hurt.  Being a somewhat feisty woman, there was no way known she would stay in hospital despite her injuries.  

One of the saleyard workers was injured after being kicked.  He was taken to the Bendigo Hospital with severe bruising to the lower spine.

As I sit here writing this anecdote, I get a mental picture of something like the Three Stooges in fast motion…………………. A comedy of errors!

It was a serious matter.  My grandmother was not badly injured though, and was able to relate that story to many of her descendants over the next 24 years.

Just some little asides - the newspaper at the time cost 8 cents, and the temperature in Melbourne on 20 October 1976 was 17 degrees C at 11 am that morning

GLEN GORDON POPE & VERA MYRTLE nee POLLARD

Glen Gordon Pope and Vera Myrtle Pollard are my paternal grandparents.  

Vera Myrtle Pollard was born  in Bendigo, Victoria on 10 August 1894, the 6th child of 10 children of James William Pollard and Sarah Burton nee Morris.  

Her siblings were James Burton, Elizabeth Rosetta, Bertram Benjamin, William John, Leslie Robert, Eileen, Stella, Joseph Franklin, and Muriel Agnes.

Vera’s father, James William Pollard was born on 7 February 1858 in St Just in Penwith, Cornwall, England.  He and his family arrived  in Australia in 1868.  

James Pollard married Sarah Burton Morris in 1882.  

James worked as a mine manager, and as such the family moved around with the work. I know at one stage they lived in Woods Point.

Sarah Burton  Morris was born in 1862 in Moliagul, Central Goldfields, (Dunnolly) Victoria.  This is a photo of her (on the left at the back)with her mother, sister and two sisters-in-law.

Her parents were Benjamin Morris and Elizabeth (nee Forrest). (photo below of Benjamin & Elizabeth Morris). Elizabeth died August 29, 1928, just 3 months after her husband died.

Vera  worked as a laundress, and during World War 1, she was a pen friend and prolific letter writer to many servicemen serving in WW1, including her brothers and family members, and their friends.

Glen Gordon Pope, is the 6th child (5th son) of 8 children of  Benjamin Pope and Emma Ferguson. He was born on 25th August 1895 in Kensington, South Australia.  Siblings were William Peter, Keith Ferguson, Emma Verity Caroline, Albert John,  Benjamin, Lydia Sarah, and Arthur Laurence.

As a teenager he had joined the Salvation Army along with his younger sister, Lydia Sarah.  He worked as a gardener.

Glen Gordon Pope enlisted at Adelaide, SA, on 21 January 1916.  Private G.G. Pope 4496 embarked the HMAT "Shropshire" 25 March 1916 and saw duty in Etaples, France.  He returned to Australia 2 June 1919 aboard the "Beltana".

When he returned from war, he worked at the Morris Bros. Dairy in 370 Montague Street, Albert Park.

I have not been able to work out how  Vera met her husband to be as he was a South

Australian lad, and she lived in Victoria.  I do suspect, however, she might have met him at a rehabilitation centre for injured servicemen, perhaps at Greensborough?.

Glen Gordon  Pope and Vera Myrtle Pollard were married on 15 November 1924.

Glen and Vera had 3 children together, Emma Bettine (Betty), Sarah Burton (Sadie) and Leslie Gordon (my father).

Glen Gordon Pope succumbed to his war injuries in July 1929, aged 34 years, when Leslie was just three months old.

The funeral left his residence Yuanga, 117 Page Street, Albert Park on Thursday 18 July 1929  arriving at Fawkner Cemetry.  He is buried with his sister-in-law Elizabeth (Lizzie) Rosetta Pollard who had pre-deceased him in 1923.

Benjamin Pope, enlisted at Oaklands, SA on 22 January 

Benjamin Pope

1915. aged 23 years.

Private B. Pope embarked HMAT "Geelong" on 31 May 1915.

Private B. Pope embarked the "Alexandria" 4 September 1915 to join MEF, Gallipoli.

He was promoted to Lance Corporal on 20 November 1915.

Returned to Australia 2 May 1919 aboard the "Port Macquarie

Vera married her brother-in-law, Benjamin,  in 1935.  It seemed to be a moral obligation and was the done thing in those days for the brothers to look after their widowed sisters-in-law.   

Benjamin was a loving father to the children and brought them up as if they were his own. He worked for the Post Masters General Department as a technician.

Shortly after, they moved to West Preston where they lived for the next 26 and half years. Ben kept a beautiful garden. As well as growing delicious vegetables in the backyard, I can remember he grew stunning gladiolus and pansies. The front yard always looked so pretty. This photo does not do it justice. Sadly, this house is no longer there. It was purchased, then demolished to make way for a multi storey apartment block.

This photo is one during a holiday they had in Queensland.

Benjamin passed away on 11 December 1961.

Vera passed away in January 1970.

The Beeby and Stinton Branches of the family.

Peter George Dewsnap and Grace Speed arrived in Australia in 1857. Peter George Dewsnap came to work as a Station Master on the Railways.

The family first went to Geelong, where daughter Harriet (b. 18.4.1859) was born. They then moved to North Melbourne and daughter Grace (b.14.11. 1861) was born while they were living in a railway tent there. The family later moved to Footscray.

Grace went on to marry Samuel Beeby of Beechworth Junction on 3 July 1889 at Wangaratta.

There were 7 children:- Samuel Henry (b. 3 May 1890); Lillian Grace (b. 22 October 1892); Walter John (Jack) (b. 17 April 1894); Rose Alice (b. 7 December 1896); Victor Charles (Bob) (b. March 1898); Ethel Frances Anne (b. 25 July 1900); and Hilda Agnes (b. 26 July 1903).

Harriet went on to marry Arthur Stinton on 5 April 1879. There were 7 children:- Ethel; Alice; Grace; George; Claude; Albert and Hilda.

Ethel Frances Anne Beeby married Claude Leonard Stinton (a first cousin) on 20 October 1920 at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Wangaratta. Claude had been recently widowed when his first wife, Nell, was killed in a car accident).

Claude, a carpenter, built the family home, a 2 storey house, at 55 Spring Street, Preston in which they lived for 17 years.

There were 6 children:- Ethel May (Et) (b.1 July 1922); Arthur Leonard (Lenny) (b.20 October 1923); Samuel Victor (Vic, Dusty) (b. 17 April 1926); Henry Charles (Harry) (b. 4 August 1927); Helen Grace Mary (b. 26 June 1930); and Hilda Rose (b.3 December 1935).

Following the death of Lenny, Ethel and Claude separated in 1939.

I am the daughter of Helen Grace Mary, and grand-daughter of Ethel Frances Anne Stinton.

And so the two branches of the family are forever intertwined.

John Beeby/Beebee

John Beeby/Beebee

Family History Research

I had always been interested in investigating the family history of my grandmother, Ethel, along the paternal line.  We were always told that her father, Samuel Beeby, was an orphan.  

No-one in the family seemed to know anything further of his family, or if they did, the information wasn’t revealed.

We did know that  my grandmother’s  father, Samuel Beeby, lost his mother, Elizabeth Charlotte,  at the age of 2.  She had died suddenly.  The inquest records show the cause as “visitation of God” which means the authorities had no idea as to the cause of death.

Samuel Beeby was later orphaned at the age of 12, when his father died following a dray accident.  His father, John Beeby/Beebee suffered a broken thigh, and several fingers were amputated, eventually dying from tetanus in 1860.

Samuel Beeby was then taken in by the Simpson family in North Wangaratta where he lived.  My grandmother did not know if any adoption had ever taken place.  When old enough to fend for himself,  Samuel had a garden on the bank of a creek at North Wangaratta growing fruit trees and vegetables.

What I have been able to ascertain is that John Beeby/Beebe was born 28 January 1798 in Castle Donnington, Leicestershire, England.  He was the son of John Beeby and Dorothy Bosworth.  

On 18 August 1821 at the Warwick Assizes John Beeby/Beebee was sentenced to 7 years for felony, for stealing a cow belonging to a man named Hart.

The convict ship “Sir Godfrey Webster” sailed on 4 August 1823  arriving in Van Diemen’s Land on 13 December 1823.  It carried 182 passengers, male convicts only.  There were 96 who carried life sentences.  The average sentence was 9 years.

John Beeby/Beebee was 29 years old and 5’4” tall.

John Beeby/Beebe  married his wife, Elizabeth, 20 years later in 1843 after making his way to Melbourne.  Their son, Samuel,  my great grandfather, was born in 1849.  Elizabeth, his wife then died when their son was aged  two.

I know there was an incident or two from when my grandmother was a girl that there were “skeletons” in the cupboard, as the saying goes.  My grandmother was not open to talking about such things, even in later years.  In fact, she became distressed and agitated if someone did try to broach the subject.  These days people wouldn’t even blink an eye!

A Surprising Reaction.

So, what to do with this information??   Mum said she had no idea about the family history.  I was hoping it would not be like a “closed shop” as her mother had done.

I worried over it for a couple of weeks, and in the end I thought you cannot change what is in the past.

So next time I was talking to Mum (not knowing what her reaction would be)  I said. “I have some good news and bad news.  The good news is that I have been able to trace your great-grandfather and have found his date and place of birth in England.  The bad news is that he arrived in Australia as a convict.”

Her reply utterly astounded me.  “Oh goodie, I’ve always wanted to have a convict in the family.”

Peter George Dewsnap & Grace Speed

PETER GEORGE DEWSNAP & GRACE SPEED

My grandmother’s maternal grandparents are Peter George Dewsnap and Grace Speed.

Peter George Dewsnap was born in 1826 , in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.  the son of John Joseph Dewsnap (b.1800) and  Agnes Watnough (b.1800).

Grace Speed was born on 25 January 1829, in Mansfield Woodhouse, Sheffield,  England.  She was the daughter of David Speed and Ann Hardstaff.  

David Speed (b.1802) was the son of Thomas Speed (b.1770) and Mary Rawson (b.1770).

Ann Hardstaff (1801-1874) was the daughter of William Hardstaff (1754 to 1840) and Grace Nightingale (b. 1773).

It was the Nightingale link that my grandmother was convinced  Florence Nightingale was a relative.  These were her notes:

“Grace Dewsnap, her mother Grace Speed, and her mother Nightingale (whose brother was Florence Nightingale’s father)”.

Whilst there are Nightingales in our ancestry, and Florence’s relatives did come from the same area in Derbyshire, it has not yet been proved conclusively that they are related.

Peter George Dewsnap married Grace Speed in the Parish Church at Sheffield in 1849.  They had 3 children born in England, Agnes (b. 1851). John Joseph (b. 1856), and Anne (b. 1857)  before arriving in Australia in 1857.

Grace Dewsnap (nee Speed)

Peter George Dewsnap  came to Australia to work as a Station Master on the railways.

The family  first went to Geelong, where daughter Harriet (b.18.4.1859) was born.  They then moved to North Melbourne, and  daughter Grace (b. 1861) was born while they were living  in a railway tent there.  The family later moved to Footscray.

Other siblings were Peter George (b.1864), Albert (b.1866), Henry (b.1870) and Walter (b.1872).

Peter Dewsnap was later a Station Master at Malmsbury when the Bendigo line went through. Later still,  he was Station Master at Beechworth Junction when the branch line to Beechworth was laid.

Peter Dewsnap 

The tradition of  working on the Railways, continued with their sons.  John, the eldest child, was a station master, Walter a signalman, Harry a goods train guard, and Albert a shunter.  Albert, at 19, was killed in a shunting accident at Spencer Street just 16 days after starting work for the railways.

Grandpa Dewsnap

Peter George Dewsnap died in 1896.   Grace Dewsnap died in 1908 in Footscray, Victoria.