Spotlight on ... Witness To History!

A while back I decided to branch off from just telling the stories of my direct ancestors and use some of my posts to share other things of interest.  The main motivation for this was my desire to share some of the many wonderful photos I've found of my extended family (not too many degrees of separation from my direct ancestors).  These photos deserve to be in the spotlight, and I had to think long and hard about an interesting way to do just that.

I decided to put together collections of photos that all share a common thread.  This post will be the fourteenth of these collection posts and this time the spotlight is on ... Witness to History!

Whilst so many of the treasured photos I have collected during my family tree research journey have been either studio portraits of people or photos taken by family members to celebrate important family events and milestones, there are just a few shots that highlight some of the changes in the everyday lives of my relatives over time, and therefore act as a tangible witness to history. 

Let's start  ...  there are a handful of family photos featuring horses that highlight the different roles horses played in their lives.  For so many of my farming ancestors and their families, horses were essential to getting around and/or played a vital role in way they made their living.

This is a photo of Norman Dawes,

1854 -1925, taken on his farm at Albion Park, New South Wales in the late 1890s.

Norman was my paternal first cousin 3x removed. 

I'm not entirely sure what the machinery being pulled by the team of horses is, but it could be a piece of ploughing equipment or a mowing attachment?

Common Ancestors:  my paternal 3x great grandparents James Hukins and Susannah Fullagar.

This photo shows William Connors, 

1864-1959,

and family.

My paternal great great uncle William is the one driving the team of horses pulling the covered buggy, referred to as a 'bus' in those days.

This photo was taken in 1905 at Blowering, after William had delivered the entire family to safety from raging bushfires at Tumut, New South Wales.  The family was able to escape safely and intact thanks to this sturdy rescue vehicle and its strong team of horses.  I can only imagine the pace those horses must have travelled at to outrun the flames.

Common Ancestors:  my paternal 2x great grandparents William Conners (Connors) and Eleanor Hickey.

This is Henry Nowlan driving his horse and gig.

Henry was the husband of my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed, Susannah Jones.

He used the gig to carry the mail between Spring Grove and Casino in New South Wales.  He did this for 50 years.

This particular photo is thought to have been taken in 1928, when Henry was aged 72. 

Records dated Apr 1914 show that Henry's mail route was 8 1/2 miles long and he delivered the mail three times per week.

Common Ancestors:  (with Henry's wife Susannah Jones)  my paternal 3x great grandparents James Exton and Susannah Lancaster.

A number of my relatives lived their lives on horseback, as part of the daily routine of living on the land.

This man, my paternal great uncle Cyril Ernest Connors, 1888 - 1942, grew up on his parents' dairy farm, and at the time of his enlistment for service in World War 1, his occupation was that of  'horse breaker'.  

Cyril enlisted in the 6th Australian Light Horse Regiment which was a mounted infantry regiment of the Australian Army during WW1. Obviously, being a mounted infantry, horses were an integral part of the regiment.  At that time though, regimental members were expected to supply their own horse.  

B Squadron, 6th ALHR (with Cyril) embarked from Sydney on the 21st of December 1914 aboard the Suevic, and disembarked in Egypt on the 1st of February 1915.  The long voyage to Egypt would have been difficult on the members of the Light Horse, as well as their horses.  Cyril would have worked tirelessly to keep his horse fit, exercising him daily on deck whenever possible, routinely cleaning out the stall, rubbing the horse down, making sure he was eating and drinking.  It's said that the men also slept with their horses to ensure their safety and good health.  

Unfortunately I don't have any information about the fate of Cyril's horse and just how it fared during Cyril's service from February 1915 to November 1918, when Cyril returned home to Australia.  I do often wonder though just what its wartime life would have been like!

Common Ancestors:  my paternal great grandparents Thomas Edgar Connors and Susannah Fullagar Hukins.

Now, it's time to move onto other forms of transport that pop up in family photos.

The man standing to the right in this photo is Charles John Hugh McGuiness, 

1859-1952, my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed.

Charles worked for the company West & Sharpe for many years carrying timber in the Lismore District.  

This photo (c. 1920s) shows Charles and family standing beside an old time West & Sharpe solid tyre lorry that Charles used for pulling logs.  The beast of a lorry is obviously bogged and perhaps hampered by a broken chassis.  I do wonder how on earth Charles managed to get this thing back on the road.  Spot the crank, hanging at the front of the the vehicle, used to start the engine.  Those were the days!

Common Ancestors:  my paternal 3x great grandparents James Exton and Susannah Lancaster.

Now here is a much classier looking vehicle.

The older rather distinguished looking man is Alfred Barrow Jnr, 1880-1944,

my paternal second cousin 2x removed.

Alfred's second eldest son, John Alfred Barrow, is sitting on running board, and son-in-law Douglas Sydney Fitzsimmons is standing on the right.

The photo is likely to have been taken sometime around the end of the 1930s, just before the outbreak of war.  Alfred's eldest son Harold Allan Barrow, second eldest son John Alfred Barrow (pictured above) and son-in-law Douglas Fitzsimmons (also picture above) all served in WW11, and thankfully, all returned home.

On an Anzac Day many years later, the eldest son mentioned above, Harold Allan Barrow, 1910 - 1971, my paternal cousin 1x removed, was photographed standing beside quite a stylish looking vehicle.  Is it a late 1950s Holden?  

Harold is standing proud wearing his service medals, likely prior to hopping into that stylish car and heading off to an Anzac Day Parade.

I'm unsure about the date of this photo as well, although it's likely to have been sometime between the late 1930s and early 1940s.

The man on the left is John Alfred Barrow again (pictured sitting on the running board two photos above).  He is my paternal 3rd cousin, once removed.

It does look like John Alfred took his cycling rather seriously and was probably competing at a local level.  I'm assuming this photo was taking after a hard training session.

Look at those sleek racing bicycles!

Common Ancestors (with the Barrow clan):  my paternal 3x great grandparents James Exton and Susannah Lancaster.

Here's another great looking bike!

That lovely lady with the big smile is Lucy Emily McGuiness,1863-1959.

She is my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed (sister of Charles John Hugh McGuiness pictured above, beside the broken down lorry).  Lucy would probably be aged around 70 or so in this photo and obviously kept fit and active.

What a fabulous old bicycle, complete with basket at the front and parcel rack at the back.  It does seem to be far too big for Lucy though!  Those wheels are enormous.

Here's Lucy Emily McGuiness once again.

This time she's standing in front of what I've guessed to be a beautiful old Ford Zephyr Six!  

It's likely to be a mid 1950s model.

Common Ancestors:  my paternal 3x great grandparents James Exton and Susannah Lancaster.

Now that's Christina Hettrick nee Connors, 1915 - 2000, (my paternal aunty) draped across the hood of what I think might be a post-WW11 MG.

My father, Bede William Connors, 1924 - 2016, is standing on the left, and I think it's likely this photo would have been taken in the late 1940s or early 1950s.  I haven't yet been able to find out just where this photo was taken and exactly how my father and his sister came to be driving around in this sleek automobile.

Common Ancestors:  my paternal grandparents George Connors and Grace Brown.

I'm going to end this post with a photo of a fantastic old workhorse of a car.

I'm really not sure what type of car this is, but it was obviously perfectly suited to loading up an entire family for a day's outing somewhere in the bush.

I do know the photo dates from the late 1940s, and a couple of my maternal O'Donnell uncles and their friends are sitting in the back of this ute ready to head off for a day full of fun!

Common Ancestors:  my maternal grandparents James O'Donnell and Sarah McCane.