Phyllis WINTER. Forever young.

Ursula ‘Phyllis’ WINTER was my Auntie, my mother’s sister. She died in 1955 at the age of 47. I didn’t know her as she died the year before I was born, but I heard about her as I was growing up. She was always spoken of with great affection and regard by Mum and her READ MORE

A Tribute to Teddy

31 Aug 2014. Teddy WINTERS Co.Cork, Ireland. Author’s private collection. Teddy Winters died in Ireland on Tuesday 12 March 2019. He was 92. Teddy and I were members of the WINTER clan, my mother’s paternal line. We met in Ireland for the first time in 2014 and I caught up with him again, just a READ MORE

ANZAC Day 2018 – Private Bertram John Vivian WINTER

Considering that this year’s Anzac Day, 25th April 2018, marked the centenary of the battle to reclaim the village of Villers-Bretonneux in France, I thought it timely to relay the story of Private Bertram John Vivian WINTER, my maternal grandfather’s cousin, who died on the Western Front in 1917 and is commemorated in the Commonwealth READ MORE

100 today…well, she would have been.

Today, Mum, Teresa Bernadette Coghlan née Winter (1917-2010)—known as Berna—would have been 100 years old. Wow. Hard to imagine. To commemorate her ‘centenary’ I’ve put together some research regarding her nursing training in Melbourne (1939-1942) during WW2. The story goes that Mum gained no pleasure from working behind the bar at her aunties’ hotel, the READ MORE

Edward WINTER witnesses the hanging of three bushrangers

In my last blog post, Edward WINTER, Mary REIBEY and the $20 note , I spoke of the wonderful legacy Isaac BATEY left in the form of ‘Notes, 1840-1850‘—recollections of European colonial pioneers in Sunbury, Victoria and surrounds—available to be viewed in the State Library of Victoria (SLV). This post deals with another reference BATEY READ MORE

Edward WINTER, Mary REIBEY and the $20 note

Isaac BATEY (1839-1928) left an invaluable memoir of recollections of life in the pioneering days of Sunbury, Victoria, and its surrounds. Several of his stories relate to Edward WINTER (1812-1869)—his father in law and my great great grandfather. The stories are surprising, exhilarating and previously unknown—to my present day clan anyway. They’re what every family READ MORE

Sitting next door to Alice

Amongst Mum’s repertoire of schoolgirl memories was the oft-repeated story of Alice and her lollies. Alice sat next to Mum in the one and only classroom, consisting of Grades 1 to 8, at St. Joseph’s Convent School, Cora Lynn, West Gippsland. The story went something like this: “Alice’s parents had a shop in Nar Nar READ MORE

My Blog is turning 1!

Today is my blog’s 1st birthday! Time for a review… Site Stats: Since going online on 28 October 2015, there’s been 24 blog posts, 5,249 views, 1799 visitors, and 183 comments. The blog post with the most views? Back to the Main Drain-Cora Lynn, Vervale and Iona. A car trip around the Koo Wee Rup READ MORE

Where did I get that hair…Mary Jane CAMERON?

I have a lot of hair. It’s thick and curly. As a child my mum attempted to train its unruly behaviour by giving me frequent ‘trims’. She skilfully wielded those sharp scissors over my head as a I dutifully perched on the high, yellow stool. The result: a short style with ‘room to grow’, which READ MORE

‘Duty nobly done’: two WINTER brothers KIA in France.

In ‘travels with my forebears’ I came across the deaths of two WINTER brothers, killed in action, in the First World War: Private Herbert William WINTER (c.1888-1917) Private Bertram John WINTER (c.1891-1917) They were the sons of John WINTER (1850-1902) and Margaret FOX (1859-1930) of Lake Rowan, a small town in northern Victoria between Benalla READ MORE