THE FOSBERY FAMILY UNTIL 2000

 

                The purpose of this document is to provide all of the children,  grand children and great grand children of Harry and Thurza Fosbery with a brief  family history and some interesting snippets of information..  It is in the scheme of things that we do not have total information and it may well be that someone would like to add other details or snippets.  -- no problem at all,  just call,  fax, EMail or write and we can update the record which has been saved .  We suspect the accuracy of some details.  For instance, it appears that Rhoda Anne Hinde  married Frank Robert Fosbery,  aged 40,  soon after she turned 16.(according to her passport) or 30 (according to her death certificate).  Anything anyone can add  or correct would therefore be appreciated.  Indeed,  if anyone would like a personalised version with more detail on their own situation  --  send the details to Graham.  It may take a while but it will get done!!

 

                Information has been gathered over the years from various sources,  including family members, Thurza's ever reliable little birthday book,  Burke's Landed Gentry of Ireland,  Passports,  death certificates,  marriage certificates,  letters,  Army records,   personal knowledge of immediate family and 'Primary Valuation of Tenements of The Parish of Adare' 1851.  Many details were also found or confirmed during visits to Adare by Noel and Sue Fosbery in 1986 and Graham and Pat Fosbery in late June 1997.

 

            THE NAME FOSBERY is clearly well known and regarded in the town of Adare, Co Limerick, Ireland: appearing in historical records, many times on plaques on the walls of the local St Nicholas Church of Ireland and remembered by the older locals.    We understand that the name goes back to around 1066.  It is a derivation from "John the Forester" and is variously spelt with a "u"  or "rr" or the "e" is omitted..  Families lived generally in the areas of Wiltshire/ Berkshire.  There is a very small village named 'Fosbury',  (about a dozen houses) which Graham and Pat  visited in 1980.

                During the late 17th century at least one family member,  Francis Fosbery,   migrated to Ireland and took up residence at Clorane House near the town of Adare.  Whether he originally bought or leased the property is not clear.  What is clear is that the property was owned by the family during most of the 18th and 19th centuries and the first half of the 20th. century.  In addition,  "Kilgobbin",  a property of 213a 3r 2p,  and "Mondellihy" were leased by the family from the Earls of Dunraven for long periods until the early 1900s.

                Various members of the immediate and wider family have been gentlemen farmers and also builders, County surveyors,  Justices of the Peace,  Ministers of religion and soldiers - among other callings.

                As far as we could determine,  there are presently no people in  the area bearing the name.  We really did not have time to see whether or not there were any descendants bearing other names.  There is however evidence that,  on occasion,  our name has been spelt with a double 'R'.

Later 22/1/2000 Almost all of the geneological information detailed below and a great deal more is now on the Internet on the site titled “Fosbery Roots and shoots” by Dr Desmond Fosbery of  St Kitts,  West Indies.

 

                THE TOWN OF ADARE :- is situated on the river Maigue,  some 11 miles south of the city of Limerick,  Ireland .  It is among the most picturesque villages in all of Ireland;  beautifully kept with many thatched buildings,  Adare Manor,  given to the town by the Earl of Dunraven,  two beautiful churches (one Catholic and the other  Protestant),  both dating back to at least the 13th century,  other buildings dating back through the centuries and even 25 B&Bs.  It is extremely popular with tourists but is otherwise a typical town with a population of say 2000.

                The people we spoke to were extremely friendly,  even by Irish standards, and could not do enough to help us and make us welcome.  The tourist information centre people (Eileen Kelly and Noel Hogan in particular) were most helpful and the local Archdeacon  (Rev Nuttall)  made Church records available at very short notice.

 

            CLORANE HOUSE ;  is situated some two miles north west of Adare.  As far as we could determine,  the property was owned by Fosberys until 1947 when it was sold by Robert George Widenham Fosbery for about 1900 Pounds to Lord Dunraven. While we don't yet know what happened to Frank Robert Fosbery,  we can  only assume that R.G.W. Fosbery inherited the property,  and possibly some debt,  upon the death of either his father,  Frank Robert Fosbery or his uncle,  George Ralph Fosbery,  (who died  5.  1. 39).

                After sale it was leased by Venice Price until 1972 when it was sold to Stan Brown  and Mary M. McClurman.  They in turn sold it to John and Suzanne Kennedy (owners of the Elm Motors Volvo franchise in Limerick)  who are the present owners.  Telephone no is 396524.  A very friendly letter from the Kennedys after we arrived home indicates that they are willing to show any of the family over the property.  Clorane House is quite substantial and  has large quarters attached which we believe  were formerly  used on occasion  for bed and breakfast.  The buildings behind the house were previously staff quarters - and perhaps stables nearby.

                John Kennedy senior (not related to those on Clorane ) lives just opposite the imposing  farm entry and remembers George Ralph JP and Robert George Widenham and his wife Amy and children "Laddie" "Chummie" and "Girlie"(presumably Michael, June and Janet),  quite well.  However he didn't seem to know much about Frank Robert Fosbery.

 

                KILGOBBIN  It appears that Kilgobbin,  along with many other substantial properties,  has always been owned by the Earls of Dunraven  (their family name is Quin - Wyndham incidentally) but was leased to Fosberys at least as far back as 1851. The postal directory of Munster for 1865 listed George Fosbery of Kilgobbin,  JP. and Thomas Fosbery of Kilgobbin,  Co. Surveyor among "Gentry, Clergy, Professionals,  etc." of the town.  It is therefore reasonable to accept the assertion of HGK Fosbery that HTR Fosbery and some of his siblings were born at Kilgobbin.

 

            THE EARL OF DUNRAVEN : and his wife Lady Geraldine,  who own Kilgobbin,  are a delightful couple who did everything they possibly could to make us welcome and to assist us in finding family history.  Their secretary,  Nellie O'Brien,  recognised the name as soon as we spoke to her in the Earl's office and put us in contact with him in no time.

                Lord Dunraven was a victim of polio as a boy and is confined to a wheelchair.  He is, however, a wonderfully positive man with a very sharp mind and went out of his way -- within minutes of meeting us as total strangers -- to put us in touch with various people. 

 

                St NICHOLAS CHURCH OF IRELAND.  is situated on the Eastern bank of the river Maigue  -- with the Rectory on the opposite side. (telephone no is 396227).  It was formerly an Augustinian Friary and,  no doubt,  was converted to Protestant use after the Reformation.  The walls abound with plaques relating to various Fosberys.  Photographs,  albeit not very good ones,  are in an album and we are happy to make copies available to anyone interested.  Of particular interest is one honouring those who died in WW1, including Harry's brother Frank Sydney Thomas Fosbery.  Others relate to those killed in the Abbots Ripton rail crash in 1876 and another acknowledges the donation of the organ screen by the Fosbery  family.

                By an enormous coincidence,  Ian MacFarlane,  the consulting railway engineer on the Hines Hill  (Western Australia) rail disaster,  addressed the Karrinyup Rotary club on 17th. Sept 1997 on the subject of two classic railway crashes involving systems failure.  The first,  believe it or not,  was the Abbots Ripton disaster, involving the Flying Scotsman, a coal train and a goods train,  which is apparently the standard text on systems design failure for all railway engineers.  Briefly,  all systems were activated correctly but the weather was freezing and the signal arm remained jammed in the "go" position even though the lever had been activated to "stop"—the system failed but not in the safe position.

                Several photographs which we have indicate the general features of the church;  in particular the font where Harry Tudor Raynor Fosbery and the rest of his family were baptised,  see details later in these notes.

                During the late 1980s the church records were consolidated into a single register which is kept by Archdeacon Nuttall at the Rectory.  From it we were able to extract the following details:-

 

                                                                BURIALS

                                                DIED                       AGE                        

Fosberry  Elizabeth                  3.  6.  1827.       14                            Adare

Fosberry  Elizabeth                  13. 9.  1827.       43                            Adare   (Wife of William)

Fosberry  Georgina                  15. 9.  1922.       98                            Clorane

Fosbery  George                      30.  7. 1847.       63/64                       Curraghbridge Adare.

Fosbery  Catherine                    7.  1.  1850.       55                            NR

Fosbery  Elizabeth                   22. 9.  1868.       88                            Kilgobbin

Fosbery  Caroline                     13. 7.  1872.       86                            Blennerville  Tralee

Fosbery  Thomas                     4.  4.  1893.       73                            Kilgobbin

Fosbery  Thomas Frank       28.  5. 1897.       13 months                     Clorane

Fosbery  Standish John Langford.  18.  5. 1902.   1 month                   Adare

Fosbery  Georgina Charlotte 16.  4. 1903.       39                            Kilgobbin.

Fosbery  George Ralph       5.  1.  1939.       84                            Clorane

 

THE MOVE FROM CLORANE, VIA ENGLAND, TO AUSTRALIA

 

                From letters written by 2nd Lt. Frank Sydney Thomas Fosbery  from he battle field to his mother during the period 1916 -- 1918,  it is certain that Frank Robert Fosbery and Rhoda Anne Fosbery separated or Frank died some time prior to WW1. She moved to 32 Lansdown Crescent,  Cheltenham,  England with children  Robert, Frank, Harry, William, Hilda and Rhoda.  What happened to Frank Robert at that stage or since we are not certain but Rhoda Anne's passport issued on 11.10. 1923 indicates that she was a widow at that time. 

                What is certain from her passport is that  Rhoda Anne arrived in Fremantle 8. 12. 1923.  While two children died in infancy,  Frank died in WW1 and Robert stayed in England,  William,  Hilda and Rhoda Amy migrated to Australia in the early 1920s ( if not with their mother in 1923).  Harry arrived in Fremantle on 21.  5.  1923  (passport).

 

                Rhoda Anne spent 3 yrs in W.A.,  2yrs in S.A. and then about 11 yrs in N.S.W. where she died on 22. 2. 1941 and was buried in the C of E portion of the Botany Cemetary at the age of 76 (death certificate) or 62 (passport)

 

                 Rhoda Amy moved reasonably quickly to Sydney and eventually died there in the early 1970s ( she was alive when her mother died on 22. 2. 1941 and a copy of her will is dated 1970.

                Hilda lived at first in WA and then moved to NSW in the early 1930s where she worked as a domestic for some years.  She moved back to WA in the 1950s and lived for a time in the same house as William in Murray St.  West Perth.  She later took up residence at Pilgrim House,  East Fremantle where she lived until several strokes led to her death in June 1991.

**  Sadly it was not known by Harry or any of his family until 1994 that Hilda had born two children,  a girl born in Sydney on 23. 8. 1935.  and adopted out on 25.10. 1935 and a boy born in Sydney on 4. 11. 1939 and adopted out on 9. 1 1942. 

While the children of the boy will not permit contact,  the girl,  Dulcie King,  lives on Lord Howe Island and has done for most of her life.  She is a wonderful person,  the image of her mother,  is happily married to Les King and they have three children,  Tracey (husband Wayne),  Stuart (wife Joanna),  and Hayden (wife Lea),  all of whom are doing well in life.  Dulcie and Les paid a visit to Western Australia in 1995 and met most of the family. In turn, Graham and Pat spent two weeks with them on beautiful Lord Howe Island in 1997. The Island is tropical, very small and has a population of less than 300 people.  They are wonderfully hospitable and look after tourists (particularly relatives very well indeed. From our point of view it was great and we feel that the sound bond now in existence should be nurtured and expanded if possible.

                William lived in West Perth and had various occupations including a King St.  business servicing oil lamps and later assisting at UWA in the Geology department.  It is also believed that,  at one time,  he had a permit to trap rabbits in nearby Kings Park!

                Harry   arrived in Fremantle on 21. 5. 1923.  and worked at one time for the Piesse family in Wagin and the Holden Motor Company in Adelaide before coming back to WA.   Among other jobs at that time he worked on the 6WA wireless tower at Minding near Wagin.  After he and Thurza,  (known to all as 'Polly'),  married,  they ran a dairy farm at Muchea.  The success or otherwise of that venture is uncertain but there could be little doubt that they suffered in the world depression of the day.  Harry then worked for Alan Herbert on "Ballagin" farm near Piesseville for 3 yrs  prior to commencing war service on 4. 9. 1941(WW2).

                He joined the Army,  (WX 41442)  and served in the North  of  WA (as far north as Noonkambah) in the Royal Australian Army Service Corps. He was at one stage part of the support team searching for HMAS. Sydney.  Further north they were carrying bombs for the aircraft flying out to Timor to try and forestall the bombing of Australia by the Japanese. Thurza moved into Wagin at that time  and lived in houses in Khedive St and Narrogin Rd opposite the Showgrounds.with her then seven children.

 

WAGIN DAYS RECALLED

 

                While we always had a warm bed and sufficient to eat,  life was a little different from the 1990's.  For instance, wages were around three pounds  ($6) per week,  with the price of goods similarly pitched.

                Floods  At the time Kathleen Annie was born in 1939 the family was living at "Ballagin" farm near Piesseville. Towards the end of July that year it rained heavily for several days .  As a result the Arthur river,  which flowed between the farm and Wagin, became  flooded and spread over the countryside.  On July 29 Thurza greeted Harry with the news that she was about to give birth to their next child.  Discovering that the flooded river had risen over the bridge, a decision was made that the only way to get to the hospital was to travel in the horse and cart the 10 or so miles .  One can only imagine their feelings as they approached the water with only the bridge railings visible. As it happened the old horse took them safely accross  --some times swimming and most of the time up to its  belly in water  -  and in to Wagin where Kathleen was born.

 

                Thrift   Clearly there was no room in the family budget for waste and Thurza was adept at making use of every resource available (In reality she had little choice anyway).  Alan Herbert, the owner of "Ballagin"  was a very tall man and heavily built and thus a pair of heavy navy serge trousers which he had discarded was manufactured into a very nice heavily pleated skirt for Kathleen.  The story didn't end there because Graham’s wife Pat dismantled that same skirt and made it into a pair of trousers for Geoffrey when he was about 3-4 years old.  Thy don't make cloth like that any more!!!

 

                Wartime rationing  While Australia could produce most of the necessities of life,  even in those days,  the need to support the servicemen and women meant that those at home had realisticly to accept the concept of government rationing of essential goods.  While it is difficult to recall precise details of amounts allocated it is certain that items rationed were petrol,  butter,  tea,  sugar,  clothing, and meat.  Although hostilities ceased in 1945 some rationing was still in place as late as 1948.

 

                Early school days.  Colin and Graham started their education in 1941 at Arthur River in the small one room school.  They walked there each day in freezing weather from "Fair View"  the farm belonging to Thurza's father,  Robert Orr.  Thurza was one of the first pupils at the school and Colin and Graham among the last before school buses were introduced to take students to the much larger school at Wagin each day.  The only evidence of the school today is the brick chimney base in the long grass near the current Shell service station.  The children old enough then spent the time until 1948 at the Wagin State School after which time Graham went to Albany High School and the others to Pingelly.  Cost for Graham at Norman House,  Albany was 19 pounds ($38) per term plus one and sixpence (15 cents) per week pocket money.

                The wood heap  all heating and cooking was by way of wood fires.  Harry being away at the war it therefore fell to the older boys to cut the wood.  That they did with a great deal of effort and a very poor axe,  fortunately with little damage to themselves!  While George Kelly delivered some good wood with his horse and dray, one supply consisted of wandoo railway sleepers.  Nothing in the world is as tough as wandoo to cut or split but the boys persisted and "gnawed" through enough to keep the family warm and fed.

                Toilets  In line with the custom in those days,  toilet facilities consisted of an outdoor  "lavatory" or "dunny" .  As the waste container  (a 10 gallon open can)  was removed by a 'nightcart' only once each week,  it was situated some 50 yards away from  the house.

                In one memorable incident, Herbie Turner, who owned the horse drawn night cart,  was driving his heavily laden machine at his usual breakneck speed around a corner near  our home when it overturned,  spilling the contents of about 50 full "dunnycans" on to the road!!

                Graham even recalls his first brush with "one of those new fangled flushing toilets".  Thurza was taking the children by train for a holiday at Busselton in 1944.  During a halt at Collie, Graham had a need to use the toilet and,  upon completion,  dutifully "pulled the chain" on the overhead water supply.  This triggered off a terrible gush of water which didn't stop even after he let the chain go!!!!!!!! Being a quick thinker and believing something terrible had gone wrong,  he hightailed it out of there and on to the train in the hope that someone would fix the thing without discovering who had "broken it'!!!  A true story.

 

OFF TO THE PINGELLY FARM.

 

                After being discharged from the Army on 17. 6. 1947, Harry worked for a time as a ganger  on the railways until,  in April 1948,  he moved with his family to East Pingelly where he had been allocated a War Service Land Settlement farm. The property allocated had no buildings as it was part of a larger farm known as "Yenellin" and the other half had been allocated to William Goldsmith.  Upon arrival in the area the family lived in a house,  known as 'Brewers' and later 'Cameron's',  between Pingelly and the farm,  pending the building of a house and sheds on the farm which was soon to be known as  "Clorane"  --  surprise, surprise!!

                The War service Land Settlementscheme,  under  which the farm was allocated to Harry,  followed a similar scheme set up after WW1. As the Australian economy depended so heavily at the time upon agricultural exports,  it was considered essential to quickly resettle as many returned servicemen as possible on the land.

                To that end,  W.S.L.S. bought up many farms which had been abandoned during the great depression and other farms around Australia.  These were allocated to selected returned servicemen on the basis of a perpetual WSLS lease.  "Rent" as it was called,  was paid on a half yearly basis at about three and three quarter% of the unimproved capital value of the land.  Stock and plant were funded through a "stock & plant" advance at reasonable rates of interest and had to be repaid  in half yearly instalments over a period of about 10 years. Buildings, fencing, water and other structures were funded by a "structural improvements" loan,  repayable over 30 years.

                In most cases working capital was advanced in quarterly moieties against a carefully prepared budget  and repaid in full each year,  along with half yearly payments on rent, stock, plant and structures.  Once Harry was able to carry  on without a working capital advance  (about 1952) he was much happier managing his own affairs. (A pound a pound for wool in 1950 or 1951 must have helped a great deal).

                Although subsequent events and inflation might indicate that terms were extremely favourable,  such was not the case at the time properties were taken up.  Rather it was a scheme designed to re-establish people on the land without unreasonable cost to the community.

                The scheme was administered by the Rural  and Industries Bank of WA  on behalf of the Government.  While Bank managers were not all that popular at times due to the very conservative nature of the Goverment directives under which they operated and the need to "draw the line"with one or two farmers with inventive systems of accountability,  very few if any WSLS farmers failed.

 

                Details of the farm were:-

                Lease No  P448,

                Farm No. A43a

                Williams Location 13896.

                Area 1799 Acres and  10 Perches.

                Half yearly rental   originally 59 pounds 16 shillings and 6 pence then  89.  5.  3.from 12. 12. 1951

                Cost of house, "humpy" and machinery/shearing shed =                                                      1611 pounds

                Cost  of 5 soaks,  1 well,  1 bore,  1 mill, 3 tanks, 4 troughs and 40 chains of piping. =                              392 pounds

                Cost of 1396  chains of fencing =                                                                                                  906 pounds,

                Cost of sheep dip and yards   -  materials only  erected by Harry =                                                   215 pounds

 

                The"Humpy"  some months before the house was completed Harry and Thurza  moved with seven of their children into a shed,  known affectionately as "The Humpy":   an unlined,  timber framed asbestos building which was 32 feet by about 12 feet and divided into two rooms;  with a verandah  on  one side.  Most of the children slept in tents outside through at least a summer and a winter.  Drinking water came from a small tank,  washing water from a nearby well,  there was no fly wire,  the "dunny" was out in the paddock,  superphosphate had to be stored under the verandah and the clothesline was strung between stacks of seed wheat or oats.  Life was not easy in the freezing winter and hot,  dusty summer!

 

                Educating a large family.  It is interesting to note that,  even though Harry and Thurza certainly had neither substantial means ( Harry's deferred pay upon discharge was 547 pounds 16 shillings and 8 pence. ($1095.67))  nor support from family and already had 8 children,  they managed to fund boarding school to matriculation standard for most of their children  -  beginning from just prior to taking up the farm.  As many as three children were away at any one time.  No doubt  Thurza and some of the children raising 'chooks',  milking cows,  raising pigs and the children trapping rabbits for pocket money all helped.  The property  was farmed very successfully before it was sold in 1972 to a nearby farmer,  Horace Giles and his family.

 

                Civic involvement.  While obviously busy with farming and family,  Harry found time to assist in town affairs.  Of particular note was his leading role in helping to establish a Pingelly St. John Ambulance service:  for which he was honoured with Life Membership of the Association on  13. 5. 1952.  He was also involved in the swimming pool development, bushfire board and tried unsuccessfully for election to the Roads Board.  Lawn bowls became his sporting love over many years and it was perhaps significant that he should have died of a massive heart attack during a game at Albany Bowling Club on 7 November 1976.

 

SOME NOTES ON DAYS REMEMBERED

 

                The house and sheds were completed in the very early 50s and, while adequate, were by no means palatial.  With building materials in short supply, a 3 bedroom house with a lounge, kitchen, pantry, bathroom and an enclosed verandah on one end, supplemented by a detached  wash house (laundry in modern language) and an engine room for the 32 volt power plant,  provided comfortable shelter. The boys occupied the sleepout  and slept on "cyclone" stretchers with rather thin mattresses and grey army rugs to keep warm.  It was great to be curled up in bed with the rain crashing down on the corrugated iron roof directly overhead.

The so called "humpy" in which the family lived in the early days was eventually transported to the new house and acted thereafter as a garage for the car and a storeroom .

 

                Farming  consisted of sheep, a few cattle, occasionally some pigs, "chooks' (they certainly were not chickens) and cropping wheat, oats and barley.   In the early fifties Harry imported several bags of "Gumenia" wheat from NSW.  For the first few years it was all sold as seed and would certainly have been at least part of the base from which millions of tons of that type of wheat were grown  across Western Australia in the succeeding 30 or so years.  One of his customers was Syd Cliff,  his son in law,  who grew the stuff for well over 20 years.

Wool was exciting in the early 50s as prices went "through the roof"  In 1950 or 1951 Harry received over a pound  ($2) per pound (greasy) for his best wool.  Even all these years later that wouldn't be a bad price.

                Farm animals Horses owned in the early days were Puddles, (a fine cart horse ) and Belle ,a saddle hack of somewhat dubious disposition. and May, another cart horse. One remembers the day during seeding when Graham was working the tractor in the house paddock and a huge thunder cloud came overhead  Harry arrived in the truck to take him back to the house and, just as he arrived, a deafening thunderclap sent them scurrying. Rain was crashing down so that they could not leave the truck until well over an inch of rain had fallen in about half an hour. In the meantime poor  old Puddles was left in the cart and tied to thre fence.

                Dogs included Rusty, a fine Kelpie who served as the farm sheep dog until he died at the age of about 17. Others were Tiger, Nigger, Shep, Rough and several  others. None was ever as good as Rusty.

                Cows were a motly lot but some stand out.  Coral was a large red shorthorn who is remembered by Frank in particular in terms which I cannot print.  Eleanor was a very tall shorthorn, Rose, May and Buttercup were others Generally they were suppliers of milk and cream for the large family but also provided a source of pocket money when spare craem was sent to the butter factory.

                Pet lambs (Sherry, Plonk and Whisky come to mind) were nearly always about the place. Plonk in particular would follow Carolyn around everywhere. On  occasion Carolyn would use him as a leader to take flocks of sheep through gates and around the yards.

                Thurza always had a number of chickens, ducks and turkeys.  They provided eggs for the family and also income from sale of eggs to the co op. They also provided Christmas dinner most years.

                Pigs were raised in modest numbers and provided much needed cash from time to time through the year.

 

                The first farming implements  After sharing a small Massey Harris tractor with neighbour, Bill Goldsmith,  for a year or so,  a brand new International W6 became available and served us well until more powerful machines came on the market. 

In those days almost every major piece of equipment, including motor cars,  was available only on a 'wait your turn' basis-- a far cry from today.  An 8ft ground drive Sunshine stripper harvester,  a 10 disc Sundercut plough, a 17 run Sun Duke scarifier and a 20 run, iron wheeled combine made up the cropping equipment.

                 Farming operations.  While all of the boys drove tractors and operated machinery from a very tender age and few if any safety devices were in place, there were no serious injuries - although they all had one or two narrow squeaks from time to time.  Memories of repairing a tractor  tyre and pumping it up by hand in the blazing sun on a scorching hot day are not easily forgotten.

The older boys will recall the first time we stripped 100 bags of wheat in one day.  It was in a crop of 'Gluclub' down in the Long Paddock in about 1950 or 1951 --pretty exciting stuff in those days!!

The original truck was a lease - lend Chev of some vintage and that was followed over the years by a Bedford and a very nice International.

                Paddocks were all named,  largely due to a feature.  "The 80 acres",  "The Humpy paddock" (named after the 'humpy' mentioned earlier), "The Clover paddock",  "Shipley's",  "The Long paddock",  "The Two Soak paddock",  "The House paddock",  "The Rocky Hill",  "The Rough hill".

                The family car  Harry always had a liking for Ford motor cars,  his final pride and joy being to drive the famous Fairlane.  His number plate from day one at Pingelly was PN 414. 

                Post Box Number was  60.

                Currency.   was in pounds,  shillings and pence. A pound consisted of 20 shillings and a shilling was made up of twelve pence.  Coins were 2 shillings (2 bob), 1 shilling (a bob),  sixpence (a zac),  threepence (a tray),  1 halfpenny,.and 1 penny.  Notes were  10 shillings  ( 10 bob),  1 pound (a quid),  5 pounds (a spin)  and 10 pounds (a brick).

In converting to the current decimal currency on 14. 2. 66. a pound was simply converted to 2 dollars,  a shilling became 10 cents and the penny amounts changed to the nearest cent.

                Rabbits were in absolutely plague proportions and ate substantial areas of grain crops in the early years.. At sundown some evenings the Rocky Hill paddock almost appeared to move into the rocks as the rabbits were disturbed by cars driving along the road.  On the positive side,  they provided a means of children earning pocket money by trapping them and selling the carcasses to the Rabbit'o who drove by each day in his open sided van.  Health regulations were not as strict in those days! A local character, Ernie Watson, used to trap rabbits to supplement his income. He caught up to 200 pairs per night from tim e to time.

In early 1955 the myxomitosis virus was introduced in an endeavour to take some control of the introduced pest.  As luck would have it,  floods,  caused by over 7 inches of rain that February,  provided the ideal breeding ground for the mosquito which carried the disease from one rabbit to the next.  Thus they were brought under control in a matter of three months and kept there with later developments in '1080' and the like.

 

                Drinking water came from tanks adjacent to the house while water for the bath,  toilet and laundry came from a bore about half a mile south of the house. For many years the steel pipe lay above the ground and the water sometimes froze in winter and was near boiling in summer.

The shed and sheep yards were built some 150 yards away and stood the test of time.

 

                Family health was reasonable and all of the children grew up to be "sound of wind and limb".  However,  one or two incidents bear recording.  In the early 50s there was an epidemic of measles and virtually all of the children and Thurza were sick in bed at the same time.  Eva Fraser,  Thurza's sister,  came from Wagin to help and carried on marvellously,  cleaning up after blood noses, emptying sick buckets,  doing the washing,  preparing meals and bathing sick children. Even Harry abandoned his traditional avoidance of housework and pitched in to help.

                Not long after  the birth of Jennifer in 1954 Thurza became very ill and required major surgery which very nearly cost her her life.  Although the children were not keenly aware of the details or the seriousness of the problem at the time, some well recall Harry returning from Narrogin hospital one evening clearly outwardly distressed and showing very rare signs of emotion.  By good fortune Thurza finally regained a reasonable level of health and lived for another 42 years.

 

                Christmas Day was always spent at the farm.  Somehow there was an appropriate gift for each child under the Christmas tree (cricket bats. tennis racquets, scooters and the like were often there), a hot roast (sometimes even a 'chook') in the oven regardless of the weather,  a hot Christmas pudding and plenty of soft drink.  Boxing Day and/or New Year's Day often meant a trip on the open tray of the truck to a community  picnic/sports day at Pumphrey's Bridge or Lake Yearlering. Although hot and dusty sometimes, those were great community days

 

                The school bus  travelled by every day to take the children to Pingelly school some 11 miles away along a gravel road. Other families to travel were the Giles’, Hills, O’Briens, Camerons, Innocents, Thompsons, Chopping, Goldsmiths, and several others who don’t come readfily to mind.

                                Kathleen has finally admitted to occasionally throwing her lunch  out of the window of the bus so that Thurza would believe she had eaten it!

 

THE MOVE TO ALBANY

 

Before selling the farm,  Harry and Thurza built a substantial home at 180 Middleton Rd Albany  (adjoining Strawberry farm)  where they lived until Harry died in November 1976..  Thurza stayed on there until 1981 when she sold the property and took up residence at Glenn Craig Retirement Village,  Albany,  where she lived until her death in  April 1996.  Both are buried in the same grave at Allambie Park cemetery,  Albany.

 

                                The trip to Europe  Harry had always wanted to take Thurza on a substantial trip so,  on May 27  1976 they set sail from Fremantle on the luxury liner Galilao bound for Europe via Melbourne and Panama.  The trip took them to Sydney,  Aukland,  Noumea,  Tahiti,  Acapulco,  Balboa,  Panama City,  Christobal,  Cuacao,  Malaga, Messina,  Naples,  Genoa,  Pisa,  Siena,  Rome,  Florence,  Venice,  Milan,  Innsbruck,  St Mouritz,  Maloja Pass,  Stresa,  Simplon Pass,  Geneva,  Paris,  London,  Scotland and parts of England.  All of that from May 27  to August 11 at a total cost of a little over $2500 each.  A certificate on file indicates that they crossed the Equator on 18th June 1976.

 

OTHER SNIPPETS OF INFORMATION

 

                Fosbery  Court  is a short street in the middle of Wanneroo,  just West of Wanneroo Road in outer Metropolitan Perth  On checking with the Nomenclature Committee at the Department of Land Administration it was confirmed that the name was taken from the "Fosbery of Clorane" entry in Burke's "The Landed Gentry of Ireland".  Clearly our family.

 

SUMMARY AND FOLLOW ON FROM BURKE'S LANDED GENTRY OF IRELAND.

 

FRANCIS FOSBERY  of Kilcooly Co Limerick whose will is dated 20. 5. 1700. left issue by his wife Mary

                1  FRANCIS

                2  William.

                (1) Sarah

 

1.  FRANCIS FOSBERY   of Clorane Co Limerick,  said to have migrated to Ireland in 1690 and whose will is dated 18. 6. 1717,  left issue by his wife Bridget four sons and five daughters.

The third son;

 

3. WILLIAM  FOSBERY   of Kildimo Co Limerick married Jane, dau. of Frank Evans, and had issue;

                1  Francis                                                                 born                         12. 2. 1738.

                2  GEORGE                                                                 ???

                3  Francis.                                                                                                ???

 

 

2. GEORGE FOSBERY  of Kildimo m  20. 10. 1782.  Christina Mary, (died 1813) only dau. of Thomas Rice  of Mt Trenchard Co. Limerick and died 11. 7. 1791. leaving issue,

                1  GEORGE                                 born                         23. 10.                 1783.

                2  William                                    died young

                3  Thomas Rice                                            born                         23. 2.                 1788.

                4  John Francis                                     born                          ?  11.                 1790.

                (1) Mary Rice                                         born                          7.  11.                 1784.

                (2)Jane                                                     born                         25. 12.                 1785.

                (3)Christina                                            born                         22 12                 1786.

 

1. GEORGE FOSBERY of Clorane and Curraghbridge Co. Limerick JP. married 4. 5. 1805. his cousin, Elizabeth Christina  dau of Francis Fosbery of Curraghbridge and died July 1847 leaving issue,

                1  George                                                 born                         23. 3.                 1806.

                2  Francis                                                 born                         18. 6.                 1807

                3  THOMAS                                 born                         1.   5.                ???

                (1) Elizabeth Philippa.                                   born                         ???

 

3. THOMAS FOSBERY ; County Surveyor  of Kilgobbin and Clorane Co Limerick  married 25. 3. 1852. Georgina , dau. of Sr George  Smith of Greenhills near Drogheda and died 1. 4. 1893. leaving issue,

                1  George Ralph.                                      born                         25. 9.                 1854.

                2  FRANK ROBERT                                  born                         1. 9.                 1857

                (1) Mary Elizabeth.                                 born                         ?

                (2) Catherine Matilda.                                   born                         ?

                (3) Jane Phillippa.                                 born                         ?

                (4) Georgina Charlotte.                  born                         ?

 

2. FRANK ROBERT FOSBERY  married  22. 11. 1894.  Rhoda Anne, (passport says b 19. 10.  1878. Montreal Canada although death certificate indicates that she was 76 when she d Sydney 22. 2. 1941, indicating b 19.10.1864.  That may be unreliable as the certificate also indicates Ann  and that her husband  was Frank Ralph,  both of which are incorrect)  eldest daughter of Surgeon Major General Sydney Langford Hinde (CB) and Mary (Standish) Hinde and had issue.

                                                                                BORN                      BAPTISED

                1  Thomas Frank                                         14.  4.                  1896.       6.   5.       1896.                died                  26. 5. 1897.

                2  Frank Sydney Thomas.                      21. 10.                 1897.                17. 11.                1897.                2nd Lt. 2/47 Machine Gun                 company  Killed in action  21. 3. 1918.  Epe'hy  France  unm

                3  Robert George Widenham                    17.  4.                1899.                16.  5.                  1899.                died late 1980s 3 children

                4  Standish John Langford                  27.  2.                1902.                31.  3.                  1902.                died                12. 5. 1902.

                5  HARRY TUDOR RAYNOR                     21. 12.                1904.       8.   3.       1905.                died Albany WA. 7. 11. 1976.

                6  William Edmund Vincent.                   8.  4.        1906.                21. 5.                  1906.                died Perth  1. 11. 1975..unm.

                (1) HILDAGARDE GEORGINA KATHLEEN15. 9.                1900.                18. 10.                1900.                died Perth     June 1991 unm

                (2) Rhoda Amy                                        6.  6.                   1903.       7.  7.        1903.                died Sydney    NSW unm

 

5. HARRY TUDOR RAYNOR FOSBERY  married at Wagin 8. 2. 1933.  Thurza,  (b Wagin  25. 10. 1912,  d Albany WA. 29.  4.  1996)  dau of Robert (b South Aust. 9.  2. 1875 )and Annie (Ruscoe b 23. 10. 1879, Birmingham England)  Orr,  farmers  of Arthur River WA. and had issue,

                1  Colin Harry                                       b Midland                 30.  7.                  1933.

                2  Graham Laurence                                  b Wagin                   18. 10.                 1934.

                3  Keith Raynor                                     b Wagin                   11.  3.                  1936.

                4  Brian Clive                                        b Wagin                   19.  7.                  1941.

                5  Franklyn John                                          b Narrogin                  1.   11..                  1942

                (1) Elaine Hazel                                       b Wagin                     6.  12.                 1937.

                (2) Kathleen Annie                                        b Wagin                   31.  7.                  1939.

                (3) Carolyn Kaye                                           b Wagin                   12.  1.                 1947.

 

                1  COLIN HARRY FOSBERY married in Perth 17. 11. 1973, Maureen May  ( b 26. 11. 1946 ) dau  of Frank and Stella Nichols,  farm managers, of Kojonup. WA. and had issue,

                (1) Vivianne Stella Maureen                   b Kojonup   16.  4.                 1974.

                (2) Alison Thurza May                             b Katanning                   9.  1.        1977.

 

(1)Vivienne Stella Maureen Fosberyand Mick Harvey had issue,

                (1). Sarah Jane Maree                                               b Perth                      26.   2.                1999

                (2)Alison Thurza May Fosbery and Brett Andrew Harper  ( Farm hand) had issue

                (1)Chloe Celine                                                      b Albany                    2. 5. 2001

2  GRAHAM LAURENCE FOSBERY married at Fremantle, 19. 4. 1958,  Patricia June  ( b 5. 6. 1937) only dau of  Geoffrey Wilfred Bordoni. (Killed in action 7. 5. 1945  Wewak  New Guinea.  His grave is in the War Cemetery in Lae) and Rose Marjorie Bordoni  (nee Clatworthy) of South Fremantle and had issue,

                1  Geoffrey Graham                                     b East Fremantle                  1.  2.        1959.

                2  Noel Laurence                                  b Geraldton   4.  7.                  1961.

                3  Lindsay Robert                                      b Wagin                    28. 10.                 1963.

 

                1. Geoffrey Graham Fosbery (BSc. Ag..(Hons) UWA) married  at South Perth on 23. 7. 1983, Allison Mary  ( RN.  b 21. 11. 1961)  dau of Alex and Mary (nee Frane) Roy of Victoria Park  and had issue;

                1 Matthew Alexander                                 b Perth                    9.  6.                  1986.

                2 Cameron James                                        b Perth                    22. 9.                  1989.

 

                2. Noel LaurenceFosbery (B. Pharm. M.P.S. Curtin )  married at South Perth 28. 1. 1984, Susan Elizabeth (B. Pharm.     M.P.S. Curtin  b 11. 11. 1961) dau of Brian and Rosslyn  (nee Heuston) Francis of South Perth.and had issue,

                I. Daniel Francis                                     b Perth                    12. 5.                  1989.

                2. Michael Graham                                       b Perth                     2.  11.                 1991.

                3. Benjamin Noel                                         b Perth                    2.  3.                  1995.

 

                3. Lindsay Robert Fosbery  (B. Ed. Edith Cowan  and Senior Commercial Pilot  Royal Flying Doctor Service) married at Broome WA. 29. 10.           1994,  Lynda Jane Wishart, ( b Albany 6. 8.  1970)   and had issue,

                (1) Emily Rose                                         b Port Hedland    7. 10.                 1996.

                (2) Lauren Elise                                             b Port Hedland    5.  5.                1999

 

3 KEITH RAYNOR FOSBERY  married at Perth WA. 1.  11. 1975, Christine Catherine Smith b (5. 1. 1935), dau of Robert Clark Smith,                  Grocer,  and Christina Mc Queen McAlister Smith of Campbeltown Scotland.

 

4. BRIAN CLIVE FOSBERY  married at Perth WA.  8.  4.  1989,  June Rookledge  (b 6.  6.  1939). dau  of Ernest and Margaret Pollard,    Laundry worker,  of Leeds Yorkshire.

 

5. FRANKLYN JOHN  FOSBERY  married at Mourambine WA. 27. 11. 1965, Lillian Daphne Sonners (Stone)( b 21. 8. 1946), dau of                  ----Sonners, Eva Stone of Pingelly and had issue,

                1.   Darryl John                                         b Narrogin                  20. 11.                1966.

                (1) Suzanne Marie                                          b Pingelly                                  4.  2.                 1968.

1. DARRYL JOHN FOSBERY  and Robin ? had issue

(1)     Rachel Elizabeth                 b.New Zealand        13. 9.        1988

 

(1) ELAINE HAZEL FOSBERY  married  1stly at Narrogin WA. 23. 7. 1960,  Roy John Hynes,  son of Donald and Muriel Hynes,                           of East Pingelly and  died at Albany 10. 11. 1988,  having had issue,

                1.  Neville Graeme                                    b Narrogin                  25.  1.                 1961,  drowned at sea in a storm off Pt.                 Moore, Geraldton while crayfishing with his father,  5.  8.  1977.  Buried Geraldton cemetery.

                2.  Gregory David                                          b Narrogin                  28.  4.                 1962,  died in car accident near Nyabing on                 his way home from football training 6. 8. 1988.  Buried Allambie Park Albany.

                2ndly at Albany WA. August  1985- John Rowe  having issue,

                (1) Michelle Ann                                           b. Albany                 12.  7.                 1972

 

(2) KATHLEEN ANNIE FOSBERY  married  at Pingelly WA. 25.  3.  1961, Sydney Dennis Cliff,   (b 24. 6. 1936), second son of Harry                 and Maud Cliff,  Farmers of Cuballing WA.  and had issue,

                1. Neil Robert                                      b Narrogin 25. 10.                 1969.

                (1) Julie Rhonda                                    b Pingelly                                30.   5.                  1962.

                (2) Helen Maree                                      b Narrogin                  17. 11.                 1964.

                1                Neil Robert Cliff married at Stoneville on 3.10.1998     Elizabeth  Frances   Hutt                  (b           ) dau of Robert and Pauline  Hutt of  Stoneville.

                (1) Julie Rhonda Cliff  married at Perth WA. 26. 11. 1983, Gregory Morris (b 31. 7. 1959) son of Morris and Pat Ellson of Perth and had issue,

                1.  Reilly James                                       b Perth                    26. 11.                 1991.

                (1) Ashleigh Simone.                                     b Perth                    18.   4.                  1987.

                (2) Caitlin Maree.                                     b Perth                    10.   6.                  1989.

 

(3) CAROLYN KAYE FOSBERY married at Brookton 15. 2. 1969, Graeme John (b 10. 4. 1948),  son of Archibald and Josephine                 Whittington ,  farmers of Brookton WA. and had issue,

                1. David John                                         b Albany                    8.  3.                  1975.

                (1) Sonia Lee                                           b Albany                    9.  5.                  1972.

 

               

 

(1) HILDAGARDE GEORGINA KATHLEEN FOSBERY  Had issue

                1. Anthony John                                          b Sydney                  4. 11. 1939.

                (1) Dulcie                                                                 b Sydney                  23. 8. 1935.

 

 

 

 

(1) DULCIE was not named by her mother but was adopted on 25. 10. 1935 to       and Hilda West of Lord Howe Island.  She                 married at Lord Howe Island on 2. 4. 1959  Leslie Allen King (b 30. 8. 1921)  and had issue;

 

                1.  Stuart Henry                                       b Sydney                  10. 6. 1962.

                2.  Hayden Leslie                                          b Sydney                  21. 6. 1964.

                (1) Tracey Lee                                           b Sydney                  16. 2. 1960.

 

                1. Stuart Henry King               Married  10. 12. 1993 Joanne Papalexandris and had issue;

 

                1. Dylan                                                   b Sydney                  17. 7. 1995. (Stillborn)

                2. Jessy Dylan                                       b Sydney                  2. 10. 1997.

 

                2.Hayden Leslie King                Married  3. 4. 1993  Leanne Gay Freeman (b 13. 2. 1964)  and had issue;

 

                1. Mitchell Leslie                                         b Sydney                  5. 12. 1996.

 

                (1). Tracey Lee King       Married  2. 4. 1995  Wayne Krause  (b 14.2. 1960)  and had issue;

 

                (1). Jessica Lee                                               b Sydney                  23. 8. 1997.