A Legros - gravure : la solitude, No Restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
In March 1921, my distant cousin Henry Hill published
two consecutive notices in the Worker asking for information concerning
the whereabouts of his half-brother Fred Richards of Ayr Queensland.
Will
FRED. RICHARDS, who is a beneficiary in his late grandfather's
estate, who was last heard of at Winton, previously of Ayr, Queensland, formerly of Yarra Junction, Victoria, or anyone knowing his whereabouts, kindly communicate with H. Hill, Jarvisfield, Ayr.[1]
Their Grandfather who had been a successful miller based in Yarra
Junction, Victoria, had recently died and Fred was a beneficiary.[2]
I don’t want to speak ill of Fred, but he was what Australians might be refer
to as a ‘real character’— mercurial, hard to pin down. His family are still
trying to figure out what happened to him!
The problem of locating ‘missing friends’ in the
Australian colonies was recognised in an editorial published in the Queenslander
in 1877. Drawing attention to the hundreds of published enquiries every year in
the colony of Queensland alone, it called for more to be done about the
problem. While recognising that a certain percentage of cases were likely ‘deliberate’,
the problem was mostly attributed to the premature deaths of men moving
constantly to follow work. The author suggested a remedy could be a government
gazette that would publish a comprehensive annual list of deaths in the colony.[3]
However, even by 1926, the phenomenon of ‘missing friends’ or relations was
still such a numerous problem that New South Wales broadcasters would only
publish inquiries if they had been verified by the local police.[4]
Some notices were clearly heartfelt pleas:
M'Carthy.—M'Carthy
(John) would like to
hear of his brother Jeremiah, who
left Cork forty years ago; last heard of in Australia.[5]
Lawrence
(Arthur Richard) went to New Zealand in 1907, and was last heard of at Dunedin.
Sister asks. Father ill.[6]
Some notices even referred to entire family groups:
William
Barton, care of John Shanahan 6 Sir
Harry's Mall, Limerick, writes to the "Catholic Press" inquiring after a family named Barton, who left Limerick in 1859, having
been sent for by Mrs. Coolagan or Counahan, whose husband was in the timber business.[7]
Information—
to be addressed care of "Reynolds's Newspaper," London— is asked for
in
connection with the following: — Daniel Donovan and his four sons, who left London
38 years ago. Last heard of in Toowoomba, Australia. His sister, Mary Hayes, inquires.[8]
John
Allan, care of W. Jones, 10 William St. Leederville, Perth, would like to know
the whereabouts of the Waugh family who arrived in this State from Newcastle,
England, on April 16, 1914. They are supposed to be in the York district.[9]
Some of these people had been silent for decades. It
is possible that the sudden desire for connection may have often been related
to the dispersal of estates.
BRUCE.—If the children of Alfred Bruce (sometimes
known as Alfred William Bruce and also Alfred John Bruce) will communicate with
the Union
Trustee Company of Australia Ltd., 400 Queen
Street, Brisbane, they will learn something to their advantage. Alfred Bruce
died in Brisbane in March, 1928, but for several years previously was
interested in a sugarcane farm, at Carmila, near Mackay, Queensland. It is believed
he came from Victoria in 1913. Information as to the whereabouts of his
children or other relatives is sought.[10]
And there are occasional indications that there were
genuine fears that some may have fallen victim to misadventure:
Doidge
(William) left Bristol in 1854; last
heard of from gold diggings at Goulburn,
Australia, in 1857. Sisters Grace,
Mary Ann, and Martha seek him.[11]
William Hale Talintyre, 39, grocer, possessing means,
who, while travelling for the benefit of his health, two years and a half ago,
reached Sydney, and has not been heard of since. Talintyre was staying at one
of the leading city hotels, which he left on the morning of April 15, 1900, after
asking whether a person could have a good swim at Manly. His luggage remained
at the hotel, and nothing whatever has since been heard of his movements.[12]
Some are descriptively very vivid and read more like
police circulars:
Joseph
A. Marshall, native of Ireland, age 40 years, a nurseryman, farm labourer, or
milk hand, height 6ft. 1in., stout stooping build, light brown hair, dark
eyebrows, straight forehead, eyes believed to be blue, large mouth, thick lips,
good teeth, short thick fingers, large hands, round chin, large ears, round
smiling face, very fair, reddish thick moustache, friendly in manner, speaks rather
loudly, has the appearance of a new chum, walks with a long crouching stride,
very round shouldered, head down, large feet, dressed in a large check Irish
frieze suit, square cut coat.[13]
And some are just simply amusing:
Chas.
Edward Martyn or Edward Martin, 44 years of age, 5 feet 8J
inches high, dark hair now grey when not dyed golden red or black, grey-green
eyes, thick loose underlip, may be covered with dyed moustache; wears No. 10
boots; fairly well educated and informed generally; plays billiards, cards,
&c., and will not work if possible to avoid it. Inquiry at the instance of
his wife, Emily Martyn, Montrose, Sideup, Kent, England.—I.R.,
1907-163.[14]
Augustus Caesar—described, appropriately enough, as having a Roman
nose—who left Brisbane five years ago for West Australia.[15]
There must have of course been a percentage that had
no intention of being located. With the vast improvements in communication
evident from the middle of the Twentieth Century such public measures became
less common. As in regards to cousin Fred Richards, I personally wonder though how
many of these other historical ‘missing friends’ cases were ever finally
resolved?
- — Dr. Colin Woollcott Mallett, 15 September 2023.
Bibliography
Catholic Press (Sydney)
Daily Mercury (Mackay)
Eastern Districts Chronicle (York)
Evening News (Sydney)
Freeman’s Journal (Sydney)
New South Wales Police Gazette and Weekly Record of
Crime (Sydney)
Public Record Office of Victoria, Wills, 7591.
Queenslander (Brisbane)
Wellington Times (New South Wales)
Worker (Brisbane)
[1] Worker,
24 March 1921, p 15, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71054342 & 31 March 1921, p 13, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71053630
, both accessed 8 September 2023.
[2] Will of William RICHARDS, 1 February 1921, Public Record Office of Victoria, Wills, 7591/P0002, 171/282.
[3] Queenslander, 6 October 1877, p 17, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19762065
accessed 8 September 2023.
[4] Wellington
Times, 7 October 1926, p 9, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article137386472 accessed 8
September 2023.
[5] Evening
News, 2 January 1895, p 7, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article108065566 , accessed
8 September 2023.
[6] Observer, 13 November 1909, p 43, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article168281941
, accessed 8 September 2023.
[7] Catholic Press, 21 August 1913, p 20, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article105155782
, accessed 8 September 2023.
[8] Freeman’s Journal, 20 July 1901, p 18, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article111084148
accessed 8 September 2023.
[9] Eastern Districts Chronicle, 18 June 1915, p 4, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article148576582
, accessed 8 September 2023.
[10] Daily Mercury, 1 February 1939, p 11, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article168812645
, accessed 8 September 2023.
[11] Evening News, 2 January 1895, p 7, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article108065566 , accessed 8 September 2023.
[12] Evening News, 27 October 1902, p 7, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article114504767
, accessed 8 September 2023.
[13] Eastern Districts Chronicle, 30 September 1910, p 4, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article148565909
, accessed 8 September 2023.
[14] New South Wales Police Gazette and
Weekly Record of Crime, 4 September 1907, p 315, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article251635535
, accessed 8 September 2023.
[15] Evening News, 27 October 1902, p 7, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article114504767
, accessed 8 September 2023.
