The Gortmore Pilkingtons.....

I first encountered the Gortmore Pilkington family when I travelled to Ireland with my sister in 2007, visiting the Drumcliffe Old Cemetery in Ennis to locate Pilkington family graves. We successfully found the graves of our great grandfather Thomas Pilkington who died in 1884, his father Thomas Pilkington who died in 1838, his grandfather also Thomas Pilkington who died in 1817, 3x great uncle Francis who died in 1801 and 2x great uncle Francis who died in 1810. We knew who all these people were, but what about those other graves? The ones intermingled with ours, that also had the name Pilkington?  These headstones bore the location Gortmore.

Pilkington of Gortmore grave

                                                       

Drumcliffe Old Cemetery, Ennis, Clare, Ireland
© Kaypilk 2007

Thomas (died 1817), Francis (died 1801) and Francis (died 1810) were all resident at Cragleagh, just out of Ennis, at the times of their deaths. Further enquiry revealed Cragleagh and Gortmore were neighbouring townlands, but we didn't follow up any further at that time. 

* Cragleigh or Cragleagh, and Gortmore, Gurtmore or Gurthmore are interchangeable in the various records.

Drumcliffe parish showing location of Gortmore (20) & Cragleagh (12)

In 2014 I went to Ireland alone for the launch of the Waterpark book I had collaborated on. While there, I had been invited to address the Kilrush & District Historical Society about the history of my family in the west of Clare. This was on my last night in Ireland before flying back to England. After my presentation, I was approached by an elderly man who introduced himself as Tom Pilkington from near Ennis. He said his family were originally from Gortmore and he still farmed some land in the area. We exchanged contact details and promised to keep in touch. I deeply regretted not having a couple more days to explore the connection further.

A few months later I received a package from Tom's wife Peggy, containing a family tree, photos and notes from his family, most of whom had emigrated to America over the generations. We both have quite extensive trees going back to the late 1790's, but no obvious link between our two families.

Tom's family tree goes back from him for three generations to James Pilkington, born about 1796 & died 1833.  Mine goes back 5 generations from me to Thomas Pilkington, born about 1742 & died 1817. Tom's family has been Roman Catholic all the way back, mine is Protestant. Both our families have a Thomas in every generation. Both our families tend to have long generations, with the men mostly not marrying and having families until in their late 30's or 40's.

At my suggestion, Tom agreed to do a DNA test, both autosomal and Y-DNA, and his results showed an autosomal match to me, and to my brother on both tests. So the relationship was proven, but we still had no idea how.

I next visited Ireland in 2016 with my husband. Tom and Peggy picked us up from our accommodation in Ennis one day and took us for a lovely drive, pointing out locations of significance to the Pilkington family, including the original Gortmore House. Tom stated he didn't need a DNA test to prove we were related, because we both had the same eyes!

Ruins of original Gortmore House

© Kaypilk 2016

A couple of years later, I found a hand-written transcript of the 1821 Irish census for county Clare on the genealogy website Findmypast. This showed the household of my 2nd great grandfather Thomas Pilkington (1784-1838), living at Cragleigh. As well as Thomas, his wife Anne, their infant daughter Jane and a nurse, was 25 year old James Pilkington listed as a house servant.

In 1825, the Tithe Applotment Books show Thomas Pilkington holding 225 acres of land at Gortmore and an additional 160 acres at Cragleigh.  James Pilkington was the holder of just 7 3/4 acres at Cragleigh. 

Sometime in the later 1820's, James married Anne Lysaght. The couple had three children that have been identified - Charles born around 1828, Thomas born about 1829 and Ellen born in 1830. Charles remained in Ireland on the family farm, while Thomas emigrated to USA in 1848 and Ellen followed in 1850.

The Clare Journal newspaper of 9th May 1831 reports an attack on the home of James Pilkington at Gortmore by the Terry Alts, a local secret society pushing for agricultural reform. The article reports the house and furniture were damaged and James was ordered to quit the 24 acres he held.

According to the headstone erected on his grave at Drumcliffe Cemetery, James Pilkington died in August 1833.  His wife Anne died in 1866.

James was succeeded by his son Charles, who raised a family of 8 children at Gortmore with his wife Margaret Corry.  There is no record of Charles Pilkington or his mother Ann occupying land at Gortmore in the Griffith Valuations records during the 1850's. Thomas Pilkington from my family is still recorded as occupying 208 acres.

In 1877, The Freeman's Journal newspaper (June 27th 1877) carried a report of the bankruptcy of Charles Pilkington of Gurtmore near Ennis.  Charles was described as the brother of Thomas Pilkington (my great-grandfather), who was claiming the sum of £280 in rent arrears. The article stated Charles had acted as a steward for Thomas. A later newspaper report (July 11th 1877) corrected the relationship between the two Pilkington men, stating they were unrelated. 

Whatever the actual relationship was, and undoubtedly there was one, I have so far been unable to discover it. I have a couple of possible theories which I am continuing to explore, but it is difficult with the absence of so many records for that early time period in Ireland.

Tom and I share 11.4cM of DNA. My potential theories would make us either 4th cousins x1 removed, or half 3rd cousins. Both of these relationships are consistent with the amount of shared DNA.

My "cousin" Tom & me in 2016

© Kaypilk 2016

Tom passed away a few years ago, but I was very glad to have had the opportunity to know him. I will continue working to determine our exact relationship.

The Dewar Family bible...

This post explores the family my great-grandfather James Dewar left behind in Scotland when he came to Australia as a young man.

The following document is all the information we had about that family. It is a certified transcript of family details from the Dewar family bible. This is a photocopy given to my family many years ago by a cousin of my fathers, who held the original. The document, certified in 1886 by his brother Alexander in Scotland, was sent to James in Australia. I’d love to know if any distant family member retains possession of the original bible.

The document is witnessed by R.M. Mitchell, Bailie of Glasgow on April 29th1886.  A Bailie was a legal position similar to magistrate or alderman, a bit like a Justice of the Peace in todays terms. If anyone knows what the initials D.R. represent, please let me know.

This piece of paper has been the basis of my research on the Dewar family in Scotland. Secondly, DNA testing has enabled me to trace James' siblings through matches with their descendants. 

James' parents were James Dewar, born 1st November 1792 to parents Adam and Margaret Mellor,* and Margaret Abercrombie, born 5th September 1795 to parents John and Isabella (nee Wails or Walls).

*Adam and Margaret's marriage entry lists her maiden name as Drysdale but this would appear to be an error since all other documentation records it as Mellor.

I am very grateful to another Dewar descendant, a DNA match and distant cousin in Scotland, who found Margarets parent's names in the Poorhouse Records in the Paisley Library in Glasgow and transcribed them. These documents are not available online.

Margaret Abercrombie's family were originally from Sterlingshire, but had moved to Lanarkshire by the time of her birth.

James and Margaret were married 6th July 1816 in Airdrie, New Monkland, Lanarkshire. The parish record indicates they paid 3 shillings & 6 pence to the parish. Like his father before him, James was a baker. The children were born in Kincardine, a village on the northern Forth shore in Fifeshire. By the 1841 census James was listed as a baker in the larger town of Dunfermline a little further along the Forth. 

 

Priory Lane, Dunfermline.
Location of James Dewar's bakers shop.

                                             © Katrina Vincent 2016      

By the next census in 1851, he was still a baker but they had moved to the village of Calderbank, Old Monkland, Lanarkshire.  This region was rapidly industrialising with coal and ironstone mining and the landscape was criss-crossed with private railways operated by the mine owners. In 1856 at the age of 65 while working as a surface worker for the Calderbank Private Mineral Railway, James was hit by a railway locomotive and passed away. His body was interred in the Wellwynd Churchyard in the nearby town of Airdrie.

Old Wellwynd Churchyard

                                   photo from Flickr         

According to the 1861 census, widowed Margaret was working as a cotton-winder and living alone in New Monkland. Her 1870 application for poor relief stated she had been a pauper for 4 years, being partially disabled due to her age of 75 at that time. This record also stated she had recently moved to Glasgow from Paisley. 

The 1871 census recorded Margaret as an unemployed winder. Living with her was 8 year old Jane Dewar, listed as niece, but actually her grand-daughter.  Jane was the daughter of Margaret’s son Alexander.  Margaret died at Springburn 25 July 1872, cause of death listed as old age.

Now for what I have found out about each of these siblings and their families.

Adam:

Born 28 October 1817 in Kincardine, Fife. Adam was the eldest son and became a baker, like his father and grandfather.

Adam married Lilias Beveridge, in 1843 in Crossford, Fifeshire.  The couple had five children born between 1844 and 1856. Lilias died from consumption in 1859.

The following year Adam married again, to widow Jane Chalmers nee Hunter. Jane had an infant daughter, Isabella, who was listed with the family in the 1861 census.

Adam and Jane had two sons born 1863 and 1867.

According to census records, Adam appears to have moved back and forth between Glasgow and Dunfermline several times over the years. By 1893, the couple were back in Glasgow where Adam applied for poor relief. Adam passed away in the Glasgow Poorhouse on 21 July 1894 due to cerebral apoplexy – a stroke, as we know it today.

His wife Jane was admitted to the poorhouse in January 1895, wholly disabled due to rheumatism and bronchitis. She died there in 1897.

John:

Born 20 Oct 1819 in Kincardine, Fife.  He was baptised in 1822 at the same time as his sister Isabella (b1821) in Tulliallan parish.

John became a tailor, and in the 1841 census was living in Airdrie with his uncle Robert Abercrombie and family.

John married in 1843 to Mary Muir.  They had two children – Marion in 1844 and James in 1846. Marion appears to have died young as no further evidence of her found. James went on to become a Minister of Scottish Free Church.

According to the bible document, John died 10 October 1846.  I have not been able to locate a death or burial record for him.  His wife Marion subsequently had two more children with unknown father(s).

I have a DNA match to a descendant of John via his son James.

Isabella:

Born 5^th September 1821 Kincardine.

Married 13^th Nov 1844 in Edinburgh to John Ure.

Isabella and John had no children of their own, but they seem to have taken on the care of her niece Mary Buchanan, born 1856, who appeared with the couple in the 1861 & 1871 Scotland census. Mary and her husband James Brownlie were still living with Isabella & John in the 1881 census, and in 1883 both couples emigrated to the USA.  The Brownlies and the Ures settled in New York.

Isabella was widowed sometime before 1902, but I have not been able to pinpoint an exact time. She remained with the Brownlie family until her own death in 1909.

I have a DNA match to Brownlie descendants in the USA.

Margaret:

Born 6 October 1823 in Kincardine.

Married December 1846 to Michael McLauchlan, a railway worker.

The couple lived in various locations around Glasgow. They had 6 children but it appears only two daughters, Isabella b 1855 and Agnes b 1858, survived to adulthood.

In her later years, Margaret was living with her nephew Samuel Dewar, a son of her brother Alexander. Date of death possibly 1912, but not confirmed.

Janet:

Born 1 August 1825 in Kincardine.

No further confirmed information regarding Janet.

Given that there is no death listed for her in the family bible it is reasonable to assume she was still living at the time the transcript was made in 1886, when she would have been around 60 years old. 

There are a couple of potential marriages for a Janet Dewar, and a couple of census records for a single Janet Dewar, but nothing which will conclusively identify the correct Janet. I’m hoping one day another DNA match will appear! 

Mary:

Born 8^th June 1827 in Kincardine.

Married 16 Dec 1848 to Alexander Fordyce Buchanan in Paisley, Renfrewshire. Alexander was a printer.

10 children identified.

The family emigrated to New York, USA in 1866, where their youngest child Thomas was born.  

Alexander obtained employment in an oil cloth factory, eventually taking over and forming the company A.F Buchanan & Sons in Westchester, New York.  The village of Buchanan was named for the contribution made by the Buchanan family to its development.  History of the Village of Buchanan.

Mary outlived her husband by 2 years, dying in 1902.

I have several DNA matches to Buchanan descendants.

James:

My great-grandfather, born 20 April 1929 in Kincardine.

You can read his story in my previous blog here.

Became a weaver in Scotland, according to his mother’s poor house relief application.

James migrated to Australia in about 1852. He married Margaret Hill in 1859 in Geelong, Victoria.  They had 8 children. He became manager of Lime kilns in Waratah Bay. I’ve written about the Waratah Lime Works in another post here.

James died in 1907, and is buried with his wife Margaret in a little bush cemetery in Walkerville, Victoria.

James Dewar
from Pilkington Family Collection

Alexander Jaffery:

Born 22 September 1832 in Kincardine.

He married in 1855 to Elizabeth Baillie in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire.  The couple had seven children before Elizabeth died in 1868.

Alexander then married Elizabeth’s younger sister Janet in 1871 and had seven more children with her.

Alexander worked as a furnaceman for the ironworks.  He died in 1892 in Glasgow.

Interestingly, the list of James and Margaret's children indicate that the family followed a traditional naming pattern, with the first 4 children named for each of the grandparents, the next (James) after his father, then two girls Janet and Mary named for James and Margarets sisters. Only youngest child Alexander Jaffray is an outlier and was possibly named for a family friend or person of influence.

The Short Sad Life of Sweet Baby Jane ...

Little Jane Gardner was my maternal grandfather's baby sister.  She was born at home in Evelyn St, East Brighton, Victoria, on 13th September 1905, the day of parents Jane and Charles 11th wedding anniversary. Jane was her mothers' 9th child, the 8th with Charles, but at the time of her birth, only her half-sister Elsie and four of the Gardner children were still living - my grandfather Will and his siblings Vera, Emmy and Arty.  

Five days later, Jane senior died suddenly, leaving baby Jane motherless.  On the 19th September Charles Gardner registered both the birth of his daughter and the death of his wife. I wonder if the baby's name was always going to be Jane, or if this was a last minute change to honour her mother?

Jane Gardner (nee Postlethwaite) was 37 years old. She had buried 3 of her 9 children. There is no inquest for Jane's death, but according to her death certificate she died suddenly from pneumonia and heart failure, certified by the Coroner.
 

Jane Gardner, nee Postlethwaite 1868-1905

Jane Gardner Memorial Card

What of sweet baby Jane? Her father left a widower with 5 young children and a newborn baby, plus a business to run, would have needed some help with the family.

Baby Jane was taken in by a neighbour in the area, a Mrs Elizabeth McCurry. In baby Jane's inquest report, her father states Mrs McCurry took the child the same night her mother died, and kept her for almost 4 months, without payment. Charles acknowledges the help and assistance provided by Mrs McCurry and others in a public notice placed in the local newspaper after Jane's funeral.

    Family Notices (1905, September 23). Brighton Southern Cross (Vic.: 1896 - 1918), p. 5. 

                                                                    Retrieved December 29, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article165445479                                            

Elizabeth McCurry nee Lindsay was born in 1849, the daughter of one of the original settlers in the Brighton area. She married in 1866 to Henry McCurry and between 1867 and 1891 the couple had a family of 12 children. Electoral Rolls for the period 1900-1910 record Elizabeth as a nurse, Henry as a market gardener. Elizabeth's youngest children would have been approaching adulthood by the time baby Jane was born, so it would be unlikely that she would have been wet nursing the baby.

The Victorian Government had enacted the Infant Life Protection Act in 1891 in an attempt to regulate the activities of "baby farmers" who would take illegitimate or orphaned babies for payment. For some time there had been extensive discussions regarding the higher than expected infant mortality rate amongst children left in this type of care.

The Act required that all houses where such children were cared for were required to be registered, and the care-giver registered as a resident at that address. Oversight was given to the Chief Commissioner of Police. The details of the Act are provided here: Infant Life Protection Act 1890

I have been unable to establish if Mrs McCurry was a registered provider, although the fact that she describes herself in Electoral Rolls as a nurse would make it likely. 

In order to care for his older children, Charles Gardner found a housekeeper. Margaret Mary Miller Fielding was a young woman of 21 years with a small child of her own. It would have been a bit daunting taking on the Gardner household and becoming instant mother to Jane's children. She must have been doing a good job, because on 22 January 1906 she and Charles married, making her a permanent feature in the family home.

According to the Inquest statements, baby Jane was returned to the Gardner home by Mrs McCurry about 3 weeks prior to her death. This was probably around the time it became apparent that Maggie Fielding was there to stay. The baby was reported to have been healthy at this time.

In those days prior to refrigeration, feeding a baby anything other than breast milk was problematic. Unmodified cow's milk was not easily digestible by human babies (not surprisingly, since its purpose is to nourish baby cows!) Although pasteurisation had been shown to reduce microbial contamination of milk, it was not compulsory in Australia until the 1950's.

In order to modify the risks associated with feeding a baby raw cow's milk, it was common practice to scald the milk.  Scalding involved heating the milk until just below boiling point, then allowing it to cool. This killed off any bacteria, and also modified the bovine proteins, making it more easily digested by babies.

Even after treating milk in this manner, storage was still a problem. Given that Jane died in January, mid-summer in Australia, this would have been a significant concern. There is no record in the Inquest papers of how this milk was stored, but a common solution was to use a Coolgardie safe. This was a metal or wooden framed box with hessian sides. The box stood in a tray of water, and another tray of water on top into which the hessian was attached. It was often hung or placed outside in the shade of a tree. The process of air flow over the wet hessian caused evaporative cooling, thus providing safer storage for perishable food items.

Charles Gardner reported at the inquest that he had obtained the baby's milk that morning from a local dairyman. The milk was always scalded, and the baby was fed a mix of half cold milk and half water by a bottle. He stated that baby Jane slept in the same room as he and his new wife. The baby had been a little restless the night before, and had taken a bottle of milk at 4am, then another at 10am. Up to that point he had not noticed anything to be wrong with little Jane. 

Maggie Gardner fed Jane again at 3pm, but this time she vomited the milk back. By 4pm she was looking unwell and Maggie called for Charles to come home from his nearby blacksmith shop. When Charles arrived, he said Jane was looking "blue and glassy". He immediately sent for a doctor, but Jane died about 10 mins later, before the doctor arrived.

Dr. Joyce, of South Brighton, examined baby Jane and samples of her milk. His conclusion was that she died from acute milk poisoning, but he declined to certify the death. Consequently, an autopsy was held and inquest.  The post-mortem exam found that Jane died from acute inflammation of the bowels caused by fermentative changes in the milk.  It was also noted that there were no marks of violence and no evidence of suffocation. Baby Jane was otherwise healthy and of average weight for her age.

Jane Gardner was laid to rest with her mother and older brother Charles Allen Gardner who died in 1903 at Brighton Cemetery. Interestingly, another child also named Charles Abram who died in 1904 at 2 months of age is buried in a different plot. The grave was unmarked until 2008, when my cousin Brendon organised a plaque and memorial service for descendants of Jane and Charles. Coincidently, when I went back to my files to check what year that event was, I found that today, 29 December, is the anniversary of the memorial service!

Little Jane Gardner did not have much of a life. I was heartbroken to read the inquest papers where she was always referred to as "the child", "it or its", rather than Jane, she or her. Even her father's deposition referred to her as it. I hope Mrs McCurry was a kind woman, and that Jane was shown some love and attention during her time with her.

Photo courtesy of V. Pilkington

References:

DENNETT RH. THE USE OF BOILED MILK IN INFANT-FEEDING. JAMA. 1914;LXIII(23):1991–1996. doi:10.1001/jama.1914.02570230001001

Australasian Legal Information Institute
Infant Life Protection Act 1890

Public Record Office Victoria

Inquest Deposition Files

VPRS 24/P0000, 1906/113

Butterworth, Lee Throwing the Baby out with the Bathwater: The Infant Life Protection Act 1905

Paper given at the Australian Social welfare History Workshop, University of Tasmania, 10-11 February 2014

(DOC) Throwing the baby out with the bath water: The Infant Life Protection Act of 1905 | Lee Butterworth - Academia.edu

KOKODA....

For my ANZAC Day post this year, I thought I would share some modern history - my 2008 trek on the Kokoda Track.

What an amazing experience that was!  After 6 months of intensive training - every weekday at the gym, every weekend off hiking somewhere - Wilsons Prom, Arthurs Seat, Mt. Donna Buang, Mt. St. Leonard - in all weather conditions, my daughter and I joined a group of 19 organised through my local gym and arrived in Port Moresby on 6th September to begin our adventure.

Kokoda Topography map - Anzac Portal (dva.gov.au)

The Kokoda Track runs from Owers Corner, about 40 km north of Port Moresby, across the Owen Stanley Range to Kokoda. It is a distance of around 96 km, made up of mostly single-file walking track up and down steep terrain through mud, tree roots and frequent river crossings.

The Track was the location of the Japanese advance from their landing on PNG's northern beaches in July 1942 and their subsequent withdrawal under attack by Australian forces, ending in January 1943.

During this campaign, 2019 Australians lost their lives with a further 3,533 wounded.  Many more would have been incapacitated by diseases. Japanese losses are estimated to be 5000 killed, 5400 wounded.

(source: Field Guide to Kokoda Track - a historical guide to the lost battlefields, by Bill James, Kokoda Press 2006)

DAY ONE - Port Moresby to Goodwater:

Our day began early, leaving Port Moresby for a bus trip out to Bomana War Cemetery. This beautiful and very moving cemetery contains the graves of 3,824 service personnel from the Kokoda, Milne Bay and Bougainville campaigns. Around 700 of these are unidentified - their headstones marked Known only to God. Many of these are British Royal Artillery prisoners of war who died of malnutrition and disease in the Solomon Islands. On a hill overlooking the cemetery is the Rotunda where 750 servicemen who have no known graves are memorialised.

(Source: Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery | Cemetery Details | CWGC)

You can read my previous post about my father's role in the Bougainville Campaign here.

Bomana War Cemetery
©Kaypilk 2008

 

Then back on the bus and out to Owers Corner for lunch and the beginning of our trek.  Owers Corner is the end of the road, and official starting (or ending) point of Kokoda Track. 

                                                            Owers Corner - the beginning

                                                                     ©Kaypilk 2008

  

We walked for about 3 hours the first day, with a slippery descent to our first river crossing over the Goldie River, arriving wet & muddy to our first campsite at a place called Goodwater. A quick wash in the river, dinner and into bed by 7.30pm.

DAY 2 - Goodwater to Ioribaiwa village:

Up at 5am and left camp by 7am.

First rest stop was at Imita Ridge, reached by a steep climb up the Golden Stairs.  Imita Ridge was the southern-most point of the Australian retreat, from where they fired their 25 pound guns at Ioribaiwa Ridge where the Japanese were entrenched.  From there, we had a very tiring, long, steep descent down to the Ua Ule Creek.  The track then followed the creek valley, crossing over and through the creek about 20 times. One of our group slipped and badly injured her ankle, needing the porters to rig up a bush stretcher and carry her to our campsite.  The climb up out of the valley included several very steep sections. We arrived at our camp in Ioribaiwa village at 3pm, having covered a distance of only 7.5km for the day.

Sunset from Ioribaiwa village

©Kaypilk 2008

DAY 3 - Ioribaiwa Village to Agalogo village:

A long hard day, beginning with a climb up Ioribaiwa Ridge to explore the trench-lines and fox-holes of both Australian and Japanese forces. A short break for a moment of reflection with reading of poem and a minutes silence. Then a steep descent down into a valley and river crossing of Ofi Creek, climbing up the other side to our very welcome lunch stop. In the afternoon lots more climbing and descending, including a particularly steep bit known as the Japanese Ladder, then a short stop at New Nauro village where we met some cute little kids and enjoyed spectacular 360 degree views. We had another steep descent down to cross the Brown River via a log bridge, and then a lengthy flattish walk through an awesome thunderstorm to reach our camp for the night, where we had a very welcome river bath.

DAY 4 - Agalogo to Efogi 1:

Today commenced with an almost vertical climb up what is known as The Wall.  Even our porters claim not to like this section of the track. We walked through the village of Menari and on to lunch at Brigade Hill, which on 8 September 1942 was the scene of one of the most intense battles between the Aussies and the Japanese. 62 Australians fell during that battle and the subsequent withdrawal.

We spent some time here, having a short memorial tribute to the fallen and some beautiful singing by our PNG porters. Then a 2 hour afternoon walk to our camp for the night at Efogi 1 village.

The Track

©Kaypilk 2008

DAY 5 - Efogi 1 to 1900 Camp:

Possibly the most difficult day of the trek for me. More climbing and descending, plus a longish walk through open country in direct sun. One of the men in our group called it quits when we stopped for a rest in the village of Naduri.  We left him behind awaiting a helicopter to take him back to Port Moresby.  After stopping again for lunch at Kagi Gap, we took a side trip off the track in the afternoon to view the remains of an American B-25 Mitchell bomber which had crashed near Myola village, with the loss of 7 American airmen. There is still an unexploded 230kg bomb embedded in the ground there.

We then walked through the eerie Moss Forest, full of giant Pandanus palms with huge buttress-rooted trunks, and Beech trees draped in trailing columns of moss, to our camp at 1900 campsite.  We were told that the porters say this place is full of spirits and will often not sleep while they are here.  It was a very intense place, with the sound of the wind through the Pandanus palms, and crickets making a continuous high-pitched almost screaming noise. The porters built a huge bonfire and we spent the evening sitting around it listening to them singing with their beautiful harmonies.

Camp 1900 bonfire

©Kaypilk 2008

DAY 6 - Camp 1900 to Eora Creek:

On this day we reached the highest point on the Track - a ridge of Mt. Bellamy at 2190 metres, and then a long steep downhill walk with several river crossings to the Eora Creek campsite. Very hard on the knees, especially since it was slippery mud most of the way.  Eora was a village which became an Aid Station during the war.  It was also the scene of very heavy fighting and losses on both sides during the withdrawal and advance.

Crossing Eora Creek

©Kaypilk 2008

DAY 7 - Eora Creek to Isurava village:

We spent the morning exploring the surrounding ridge which had been a Japanese encampment, with a big gun trained directly on Eora Creek village. The remains of the gun with lots of ammunition, some of it still live, are still there. Another village visit meeting the local children, and then on to Isurava battlefield and Memorial site.  On arrival we had a magnificent view from the memorial looking down the valley towards Kokoda, but within minutes the cloud came down and there was no view at all.

The Isurava Memorial is very impressive - four massive granite blocks representing Courage, Endurance, Mateship and Sacrifice.  We had a short memorial service there before the rain really set in and we had a very wet walk down to Isurava village for our camp for the night.

Isurava Memorial

©Kaypilk 2008

DAY 8 - Isurava village to Kokoda:

Our last day on the Track! Set off in the rain, which hadn't let up all night. The walk required total concentration for every step. By mid-morning the rain had eased, but still heavy cloud cover prevented us from seeing the reportedly spectacular views from the village of Deniki. The afternoon was a long straight and mostly flat walk into Kokoda.  96 kms, or 156,569 steps in 8 days - not sure where I got that number from, but it is what I wrote in my diary at the time.

One of the men in our group went to the general store and bought a slab of beer, so we all sat round and enjoyed the most welcome beer I have ever had. 

After a welcome bush shower and change into clean dry clothes, I and another nurse in our group collected up everyone's left over first aid items and took them across the road to the local Kokoda Hospital, where the nurses were happy to show us around. They were desperately short of even basic supplies.

Finished the day with a delicious traditional PNG meal of chicken cooked in the ground with ginger and lime, sweet potato, sweet corn and greens, cooked by our porters who also entertained us with more of their amazing singing.

The end of the Track

©Kaypilk 2008

DAY 9 - Kokoda to Port Moresby:

Explored the Kokoda memorials and the small museum there in the morning, then a 45 min walk out to the airfield which was located next to a large palm oil plantation. Very hot down in the valley, with no breeze to cool down.  Time to risk my life boarding a 52 year old, 18 seater twin prop aircraft operated by Airlines PNG for the short 35 min flight back to Port Moresby - and hot water, clean clothes and a good foot massage!

Homeward Bound

©Kaypilk 2008

This trip was amazing, challenging, confronting, informative, inspiring, humbling, fulfilling and a whole lot more.  The heat and humidity, the mud and the wet, the lack of facilities tested us every day.

And we had the luxury of modern, light weight fabrics(which still were constantly wet) and hiking gear, carried a day pack while our porters carried our main packs, and the only shots we took were photos.  I cannot imagine how our Diggers did what they did in the conditions they endured. It must have truly been hell on earth.  

LEST WE FORGET.

Holidays...

January ... Christmas over and done with and on to the serious business of Summer holidays!

As a child, the long summer break seemed to stretch endlessly in front of us. I've written about our childhood summer holidays previously in The Shack. 

Being a clergyman, Christmas was a busy time of year for Dad, but come Boxing Day he took his three weeks annual leave, loaded up the car and the family headed off to Sandy Point.  We've continued that tradition as adults, spending time at Sandy Point every year.

This year, for a couple of reasons, there will be no Sandy Point summer holiday for me.  That's a whole other story for another time (maybe). In honour of summer holidays, I thought I would reproduce a story written by my mother about a holiday journey many years ago before I was born.

Between 1951 and the end of 1954, my father was the Vicar of St James Anglican Church in Orbost, in East Gippsland, Victoria.  Orbost was a remote township, almost 400 kilometres from Melbourne, and 300 kilometres from Sandy Point, so it was a long drive to undertake in the heat of summer with small children on board.  Roads of the 1950's would have been a lot more challenging than they are today.

I'm not sure from Mum's account which year exactly this event took place, but she would have either been pregnant and with two small boys aged 3 and 1, or they would have had 3 children under the age of 5.  Here is Mum's story:  

On one memorable holiday we packed the car full to overflowing with children and belongings, besides a trailer which Father managed to borrow from a friend and set off. Oh, the joy of freedom!  We had travelled a considerable distance when we realised that all was not well with the trailer.

A tyre had burst. Father changed it and we set off once more only to find another tyre gone not long afterwards.  We called in to a garage where repairs were made and set off on the longest stretch between civilisation, late in the afternoon.  Before long, we had another trailer blow-out.  This was too devastating, for we were miles from anywhere, and besides all garages were shut by then.

We considered our fate, and thanked God for the kind friend who had lent us a tarpaulin - at least THAT could not go wrong! Fortunately, Father's scout training stood us in good stead.  He made a nice little fire in true bushman's style, then went hunting for some water in what I considered a most unlikely spot, whilst I set about cooking some tea. Oh, how fortunate we had some provisions with us.

Afterwards, Father rigged the tarpaulin up beside the car where we curled up for the night.  The children had beds made up in the car, so we were all reasonably comfortable.

Next morning, after a little breakfast, Father decided to unhook the car and drive back to the nearest town, six miles away.  The loaded trailer could not be left unattended, so the children and I stayed along the roadside with it.

After a while the novelty of the situation began to pall.  There was nothing for the nips to do, and the day was becoming increasingly hot. Something had to be done to remedy the situation until Father returned.

Suddenly I remembered I had my violin in the luggage.  What a blessing! We then played gypsies. I fiddled nursery rhymes whilst the children sang lustily at the tops of their voices.  When we had gone through the repertoire of children's songs, we started on hymns.

Being on an inter-state highway, the reaction of passing motorists afforded much amusement.  I'll bet there were a lot of cricked necks that day - they were still looking backwards as they drove out of sight!

In due course Father returned, and we set off without further mishap until we approached our destination. Here we became bogged in sand 14 times over the last mile.

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This story was originally published in a weekly column titled 'Within the Vicarage Walls' which my mother wrote for "The Anglican" newspaper in the late 1950's and early 1960's.

My mother aged 18, 1941
Pilkington Family Collection

That last mile or so of the trip was literally a sand track bulldozed through the bush. Becoming bogged was a matter of when, not if, up until the mid-60's when a gravel road was made.

The road to Shallow Inlet
Pilkington Family Collection

A Marriage made in Heaven.......

 Yesterday, 11th June, was the 75th anniversary of my parents' wedding.

The engagement of Dorothy Gardner and Charles Dewar Haughton Pilkington was announced in The Argus newspaper on 22nd February 1947.   

Mum's engagement ring as described on the receipt was a "diamond and blue sapphire ring set in platinum".   Dad had purchased it second hand for £25 a couple of weeks prior.

Originally the ring was a single narrow band, but as the years rolled by and the band wore very thin, Mum had it re-modelled and set into the split band pictured here.

Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved Mum's ring. I remember begging her to let me try it on.  I'm now the proud owner of her ring, and it rarely leaves my finger.

My parents met at Mum's local church, St. John's Church of England, East Bentleigh, where Mum taught Sunday School.  Dad was a Curate assisting the Vicar of the Parish after recently completing his theological studies at Ridley College.  At the time Mum was engaged to another man, and Dad became friends with both of them.

In February 1944, Dad enlisted as an Army Chaplain and was sent first to Mt. Isa and then to the Pacific Islands to serve.  During this time he maintained correspondence with Mum.  At some point Mum decided her fiancé was not the man of her dreams and ended their engagement. So when Dad returned after the war ended, a serious relationship began to develop between them.

The wedding took place at St. John's on Wednesday, 11th June 1947.  In the austerity of the post-war period, Mum borrowed her beautiful lace wedding gown from a friend. The wedding party is described in this write-up published in Dad's local paper.

From Foster Mirror, Thursday August 14 1947

The newly-weds spent their wedding night at the Victoria Hotel in Little Collins St, before departing for a honeymoon in Tasmania.

When they married, Mum was a few weeks short of her 24th birthday, Dad was 39.  In spite of the age difference between them, they were well-suited and had a happy life together, raising a family of five children.  I don't recall ever hearing my parents argue, although I'm sure they must have disagreed sometimes.  

Mum and Dad had 31 years together before Dad passed away in 1978, aged 70, just a few months after he retired. Mum remained a widow for 27 years, living in the home they had built together for their retirement before she too passed away in 2005.  

Dorothy & Haughton on their honeymoon in Tasmania