The Southerdens, CRIBBS & Cornells
Edward Barton Southerden (1830-1906) was a pioneer of early Brisbane, having arrived in Moreton Bay from Gravesend (England) on 21 January 1849 aboard the sailing ship Fortitude. Edward was 18 years old when he travelled to the other side of the world along with several other family members including his brother Samuel Southerden (1826-1860) and sister Caroline Southerden (1824-1902). At the time Edward was unaware that also on board the Fortitude was 15-year-old Mary Elizabeth Cribb (1833-1900) together with her parents and three brothers. Edward and Mary would later go on to become Hilary’s grandparents.
Edward and Mary were married on 17 January 1855, after which Edward went on to own and operate a successful retail drapery business located on the corner of Queen and Edward Streets, Brisbane. A well-known photograph of early Brisbane (1859) shows the building from which he ran his business with the sign, “E. B. Southerden, Drapery Stores”. Edward and Mary lived above the store and grew bananas on site. In fact, the store was located on what had been part of the banana plantation of the previous owners, the Skyring family who had lived in Brisbane since the early 1840s. Later, between 1869 and 1872, Edward served as an alderman on the Brisbane Municipal Council. Following the family’s relocation to Sandgate in 1878, Edward became the town's first mayor in 1880. Mary passed away in July 1900 and Edward in December 1906.
The following obituary for Edward, which was published in the Brisbane Telegraph newspaper shortly after his death, outlined other key details in his life:
Passing of a Pioneer.
Death of Mr. E. B. Southerden, Sen.
Mr. Edward Barton Southerden, one of the best known and most highly respected residents of Sandgate, passed away at his residence, Langholme, yesterday afternoon, aged 76, the cause of death being pneumonia and other complications. The late Mr. Southerden, who was one of the pioneers of Brisbane, was born at St. Peter's, Isle of Thanet, Kent, on 21th November, 1830. When in his 19th year he was a passenger by the ship Fortitude, which arrived in Moreton Bay in December, 1848. He spent the year 1849 in Brisbane, and then went to Ipswich, in the neighbourhood of which he engaged in sheep farming. He gave up that pursuit, and spent a short time in Ipswich, as an employee in Mr. H. M. Reeve's drapery business. From Ipswich he went to Sydney, obtaining employment with the original firm of David Jones and Co. Subsequently he returned to Brisbane, buying out the business to which he had come as an employee from England. Early pictures of the city of Brisbane show a building (on the site of what now is the Minories), bearing the sign, “E. B. Southerden, Drapery Stores.” Mr. Southerden carried on a successful business in that building for several years, retiring therefrom about the year 1864. His residence at this time, and for some years later, was on Wickham terrace (now the residence of the Hon. R. Edwards, M.P.). In 1878 Mr. Southerden left Brisbane and went to Sandgate, and established Langholme, which for 28 years has been his home and that of his family. Mr. Southerden was a justice of the peace for 35 years, and was a member of the Brisbane Municipal Council about the year 1875. He was the first Mayor of Sandgate, as was fitting, for it was through his efforts, to a large extent, that Sandgate was proclaimed a town. In 1882 railway communication was established between Brisbane and Sandgate, and Mr. Southerden had a share of the labour which resulted in the construction of the line. For 17 years Mr. Southerden was returning-officer for the electorate of Nundah, and his retirement from that position in February, 1905, was not the least noteworthy event of his life, for at a gathering which was held at Langholme, and at which Mr. Southerden received a most flattering testimonial, there were several gentlemen present who also knew all about the beginning of Brisbane, and had been proud witnesses of the city's remarkable development. As a justice of the peace Mr. Southerden appreciated the police force, and on the departure from Sandgate of Sergeant Primrose, in 1901, and of Sergeant King, early in the present year, he gave abundant evidence of that appreciation.
His attendance at the presentation to Sergeant King proved to be his last appearance in public.
Mr. Southerden, for about 25 years, held the position of chairman of the Sandgate and Bald Hills cemetery trustees; also for many years he was a trustee of the Sandgate School of Arts. Indeed, there were very few local movements with which he was not connected. Mr. Southerden, many years ago, was actively connected with the Wharf street Congregational Church, Brisbane. In 1855 Mr. Southerden was married to Miss Cribb, only daughter of the late Mr Robert Cribb, the wedding taking place at Dunmore, a long known land mark on the Toowong road. Mrs. Southerden died in July, 1900, and her eldest daughter, Lucy, died suddenly on 6th May, 1903. The surviving family consists of four sons and three daughters—namely, Messrs. E. B. Southerden, Jun., R. W. Southerden (town clerk of Sandgate), J. S. Southerden, and C. B. Southerden. Miss A. C. Southerden, Mrs. A. E. Cornell, and
Miss E. A. Southerden. There also are 18 grandchildren.
Edward's wife Mary was the only daughter of Robert Cribb (1805-1893) and his wife Sarah (nee Sansom) (1800-1857). Mary was known for being a highly family-conscious woman with a strong, independent mind. Her father Robert was a prominent early Brisbane pioneer, businessman, landholder and Member of the Parliament in New South Wales and later in Queensland. He had been active in working for the creation of the Municipality of Brisbane (the predecessor to the City of Brisbane) and was elected as an alderman in the first Brisbane Municipal Council, holding office until 1862.
Robert championed other important causes such as the cessation of convict transportation to the Moreton Bay district, the introduction of the eight-hour working day, and the need for Moreton Bay to govern itself instead of being ruled as part of New South Wales by far-off Sydney. In fact, when the colony of Queensland was eventually created in 1859, Robert was subsequently credited as having played a key role in its realisation. Such was his reputation in early Queensland that Robert was known as "Honest Bob Cribb". There were occasions when he was also called “Robert the Restless” on account of the “considerable energy” he displayed and because of some of the views he held which, at that time, were considered to be “nonconformist liberal and radical”. For instance, Robert was a strong supporter of the aims of the Chartist movement, a grassroots call by the working class of Britain for widespread reforms to be made to the political system of the United Kingdom, and for the principle of the separation of Church and State.
Robert's achievements in public life are summarised in the following biographical entry which was published in the 1896 edition of Pugh’s Almanac & Queensland Directory:
CRIBB, ROBERT, was born at Poole, Dorset, England, January, 1805. Was educated at a Lancasterian school in his native town in the early days of the system; served his time as a baker, &c., and then left for London, where, for 22 years he followed his calling. In January, 1849, arrived in Moreton Bay by the ship "Fortitude", the first of three shipments of middle class immigrants which were sent in that year to this district, through the patriotic and self-denying efforts of the late Dr. Lang. Shortly after his arrival the squatters made great efforts to get Moreton Bay separated from New South Wales as a Crown Colony, with convicts, hoping thus to secure low rents and cheap labour; and the British Government were favourable to the design. Feeling that this would be destructive of the free public life to which they had been accustomed, he, with others, took an active part in the conflict which followed, resulting in the victory of the popular cause, and after nearly ten years unremitting effort in separation with a Constitutional Government. Before and at the time of separation he represented East Moreton in the New South Wales Legislature, and subsequently served in the first and second Parliaments of the new colony of Queensland, using his influence in behalf of liberal legislation generally, with special interest in securing the separation of Church and State, and the passing of the Real Property Act of 1861, which has proved so great a boon to the colony. During several sessions he endeavoured to obtain an alteration in the law of primogeniture, to permit marriage with a deceased wife's sister, and the amalgamation of the legal profession; all of which have since become law. He died on April 17,1893, aged 88.
For many years Robert lived at his property at Milton in Brisbane which he called Lang Farm in honour of his patron and sponsor of the ship Fortitude on which he and his family had immigrated to Moreton Bay, Dr John Dunmore Lang.
Robert's father, John Galpin Cribb (1768-1820), was a merchant sea captain who traded at places as far afield as Newfoundland and the Mediterranean. At different times John took Robert and his younger brother, Benjamin, with him on his travels. One such occasion was particularly memorable when their ship was wrecked on the ice off Newfoundland. In later years it was said of Robert that, "It was no doubt in these voyages that he acquired much of the hardihood and simplicity of life which characterised his subsequent career" (The Queenslander, 22 April 1893, p. 745).
In 1815, with the Napoleonic Wars still raging in Europe, John Galpin Cribb was impressed into the service of the British navy to fight the French. This meant that his wife Mary (nee Derham) (1777-1842) and their five children were left to fend for themselves with Mary having to establish and operate a “Dame School” to financially support her family. John was subsequently captured by the French and imprisoned. He was eventually released and returned to his family in England but being a prisoner of war had broken his health. In fact, the indications are that he was left crippled by the experience. When he died in 1820 he was only 52 years old.
Like older brother Robert, Benjamin became a Member of Parliament in the early colony of Queensland as did his sons, James and Thomas. A number of the women from the Cribb family, along with many hundreds of others, signed the petitions to Parliament in the late 1890s which ultimately paved the way for women to be granted the right to vote in Queensland. The Cribb family were related by marriage to the Footes of Ipswich where together they operated a highly successful retail business: "Cribb & Foote".
Mary was in her mid-teens when she, her parents and brothers John (1830-1905), Robert (Junior) (1834-1866) and William (1837-1928) immigrated to Moreton Bay aboard the Fortitude in January 1849. At the time there was a strong social convention against on-board fraternising between single people of the opposite sex. As a result, Edward and Mary did not actually meet each other until they and the other passengers were undergoing three weeks' quarantine at Moreton Island on account of several of the passengers having contracted typhus fever during the long voyage to Australia. Edward and Mary were married six years later and went on to have twelve children: Sarah Elizabeth (1855-1895), Lucy Mary (1857-1903), Robert Samuel (1858-1858), Edward Barton (Junior) (1859-1944), Annie Catherine (1860-1938), Caroline Jane (1862-1862), Robert William (1863-1931), John Stephen (1865-1937), Clarissa Bertha (7 March 1867- 24 November 1916), Edith Ada (1869-1914), Alice Maud (1872-1872) and Charles Benjamin (1873-1930). One of the brothers, John, was a well-known inventor whose work improved the operational effectiveness of the typewriter. In addition, one of John’s sons, John Henderson Southerden (1895-1981), was a veteran of World War 1.
The Southerdens were among the first settlers of Sandgate, where they named their residence Langholme in recognition of Dr John Dunmore Lang who was responsible for organising their ship Fortitude to come to Moreton Bay in 1849. Eventually, Langholme was converted into a guest house called Bona Vista but was unfortunately destroyed by fire in 1917.
Edward and Mary rest with other Southerden family members at the Bald Hills Cemetery in Brisbane while Robert and Sarah rest with other Cribb family members at the Toowong Cemetery in Brisbane.
Hilary’s father, Arthur Edward Cornell, was born on 25 November 1853 in Islington, London. Arthur immigrated to Australia as a 16 year old aboard the barque Alfred Hawley. He arrived in Brisbane on 9 January 1871 and went to work as an accountant for Ipswich-based firm Clarke Hodgson and Company. Subsequently, Arthur undertook a variety of occupations and business activities, including managing a tannery business at Kedron Brook (Lutwyche). At one stage (1892) Arthur was elected as an alderman and subsequently was appointed Finance Committee chairman on the then Coorparoo Shire Council, roles that he held until 1893. In 1894 Arthur was appointed as a Justice of the Peace. Over the course of his career Arthur was a highly-respected accountant and auditor who operated for many years throughout Brisbane, Toowoomba and the Darling Downs. In the 1885 Brisbane Post Office Directory and Country Guide for instance, Arthur is listed as both an Accountant and Commission Agent based in Queen Street Brisbane. In 1888 the following biographical entry for Arthur appeared in “The Aldine History of Queensland - in Two Volumes. 1888”, edited by W Frederick Morrison, published by Aldine Publishing Co, Sydney:
ARTHUR EDWARD CORNELL, Land and Estate Agent, [Brisbane], was born in London in 1854, and received his education in that city. In 1871 he came out to Brisbane under engagement to the firm of Clarke, Hodgson and Co., general merchants, and in this service rose to the position of having control of the shipping and insurance departments. He afterwards accepted the position of accountant with Messrs. Scott, Dawson and Stewart, and in 1882 set up business for himself as a public accountant, and gradually extended his operations to land estate agency. He is the proprietor of the Brisbane Tannery, and commenced a tanning and wool-scouring establishment in 1882, but the latter branch was abandoned owing to the uncertainty of the London market. The Brisbane Tannery is now one of the most important industries of the kind in the district, and employs from twenty to thirty hands.
Arthur and Clarissa met through mutual friends in the Congregational Church in Brisbane and were married on 5 June 1889 by the Reverend Edward Griffith, Congregational minister and father of Sir Samuel Griffith, one-time Premier of Queensland and a leading figure in the development of the Australian Constitution. Reverend Griffith had also been the officiating minister at the earlier marriage of Clarissa’s parents. Arthur and Clarissa had eight children: Mary Hilary (Hilary), Phyllis, Edward Arnold (Ted), Clarissa Bertha (Betty), Elizabeth Joyce (Betty's twin sister who died in infancy), Arthur Geoffrey (Geoff), Edith Victoria and Catherine Thelma (Thel).
Hilary and her siblings were second cousins to the famous Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith (1897-1935). His grandmother, Sarah Kingsford (nee Southerden) (1818-1890), was a sister of their grandfather, Edward Barton Southerden.
Like her parents and grandparents Clarissa, Arthur and their family were committed members of the Congregational Church.
Arthur and Clarissa rest together at the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery, Queensland.
The following notice appeared in the Toowoomba Chronicle to announce the death of Clarissa on
24 November 1916 at the age of 49 years:
Obituary
Mrs A. E. Cornell
We regret having to record the death of Mrs A. E. Cornell, the wife of Mr Arthur E. Cornell of Gomoran, after a long illness. The deceased lady was a daughter of the late Mr and Mrs E. B. Southerden, of Brisbane and Sandgate, and came on to the Downs 11 years ago with her husband and family, who engaged in farming and grazing pursuits. She leaves a husband and family of seven - two sons and five daughters - to mourn their loss. The eldest son, Arnold, is fighting in Egypt in the Light Horse, and her eldest daughter's husband (Mr W. L. Willis) is in the artillery on the western front.
(Accessed from: <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/176368489>)
The following obituary appeared in the Toowoomba Chronicle on 25 June 1946 to mark the passing of Arthur on 22 June 1946 at the age of 92 years:
Nonogenarian Dies
Arthur E. Cornell
Link with Early Days
Adventures on the high seas in the days of the windjammers, memories of Brisbane when the heart of it was then a frog infested swamp, and when paddle steamers and stern-wheelers threshed their way along the river to and from Ipswich, are recalled by the death in Toowoomba of Mr Arthur Edward Cornell, at the age of 92 years.
The funeral moved from St Stephen's Presbyterian Church to the Toowoomba cemetery yesterday afternoon. The death of Mr Cornell marks the passing of a man who has lived a long lifetime in an era when a young country was struggling for being, and when the frontier was slowly but gradually being pushed back before the axe and plough of the pioneer.
Born in London in 1853, Mr Cornell left school at the age of 13½ years and obtained a position in an office of South African merchants. There he spent some interesting years. He witnessed the unpacking of the first diamond to come from South Africa. Cut and polished in Amsterdam, this stone was sold later in Paris for £2188. At the age of 16 years there came to young Cornell the call of the great outdoors. He began to cast his thoughts to the great countries beyond the seas. A member of the Queensland firm of Clarke Hodgson and Company, then visiting London, engaged the young man. Given a first-class passage in the barque Alfred Hawley (421 tons), Mr Cornell embarked for Brisbane in September, 1870. The old windjammer took four months to make the trip. Bad weather gave a cheerless welcome to the new land, and with no sun visible for some days the master had the greatest difficulty in getting his bearings. The barque nearly came to grief off Byron Bay, which at first was thought to be Moreton Bay. The mistake was discovered in time, however, and the vessel stood out to sea. The next day, after having ridden out the worst storm of the voyage, the barque came in to Moreton Bay. The first thing the newcomers learned was that the Franco-Prussian war had broken out.
Mr Cornell spent his first night in Australia at the old Oxford Hotel in Queen Street. After dinner he went for a walk up Albert Street. He remembered passing the site of the present City Hall, which was then one large swamp, with the croaking of myriads of frogs sounding to heaven in a continuous roar. The mosquitoes made themselves almost unbearable. The next morning Mr Cornell went on board one of the river steamers bound for Ipswich. There were two such vessels in that day - an old-fashioned paddle steamer 'Emu' and the other, 'The Settler', a stern-wheeler. These two plied regularly between Brisbane and Ipswich, carrying cargo and passengers. The chief business firms then had their headquarters in Ipswich, which was then the terminus of the railway which started from Dalby, and all traffic between Ipswich and Brisbane was by river steamer, coach or horse. When the bridge which spanned the river in Brisbane was swept away by floods, the Government had a 'swing' built in the new bridge at a cost of £60,000. This improvement was to allow ships to go through on their way to Ipswich to load wool. This proved impracticable, however, owing to the shallowness of the Bremer River in Ipswich, and this costly innovation was opened only two or three times.
Mr Cornell spent two years in Ipswich until the firm transferred its bank account to the Brisbane branch of the Bank of Australasia. He was sent to Brisbane then to attend to it. Chess was a favourite recreation of the young man's and he played the game a good deal in those days.
In 1877 came a crisis in the world of commerce, and Mr Cornell's firm failed. He was then offered a position by George Raff and Company to have charge of their shipping and insurance department. The company's wharf was in Eagle Street, Brisbane. After three years with George Raff and Company, Mr Cornell launched out on his account, in 1880, as accountant and commission agent. Among his activities he sold leather for the tanners. He progressed in the leather trade so well that between 1880 and 1905 he conducted the biggest leather business in Queensland, with three tanneries at Lutwyche and a warehouse at the corner of Edward and Mary Streets in Brisbane. Then came hard times in 1900 - a disastrous year for all factories in Queensland. Mr Cornell closed down two of his tanneries and carried on with one. In 1893 he had become a Fellow of the Institute of Accountants, which was afterwards merged into the Commonwealth Institute of Accountants. He began to suffer in health later, and in 1905 his medical adviser told him he must give his work up and leave Brisbane. He had married, and it was to the Darling Downs that he, with his family, headed in June, 1905. He bought a farm between Meringandan and Goombungee. His eldest son served with the Light Horse in the first World War and was for three years in the Egyptian and Palestine campaigns. Mrs Cornell died in 1916.
Mr Cornell let his farm, and with his daughters came to live in Toowoomba. The farm life had re-established his health, and he was able to carry on his profession of public accountant in Toowoomba. He planned a system of book-keeping suited to the dairy companies, and in time became auditor to most of these companies on the Downs. He was also commissioned to install his system in the Maryborough Dairy Company Ltd. After having carried on his profession in Toowoomba for about 20 years, Mr Cornell sold out his practice in 1932, and from then had lived in retirement.
Mr Cornell leaves a family of six. The daughters are Mesdames W. L. Willis (Woombye), F. Chaney (Wentworth Falls, New South Wales), and S. M. Rogerson (61 Curzon Street, Toowoomba), and Miss C. B. Cornell, of Silky Oaks Children's Home, Toowong. The sons are Messrs E. A. Cornell (late of 'Unara', Toowoomba), A. G. Cornell (Upper Koondai-i, Bell).
Edward and Mary were married on 17 January 1855, after which Edward went on to own and operate a successful retail drapery business located on the corner of Queen and Edward Streets, Brisbane. A well-known photograph of early Brisbane (1859) shows the building from which he ran his business with the sign, “E. B. Southerden, Drapery Stores”. Edward and Mary lived above the store and grew bananas on site. In fact, the store was located on what had been part of the banana plantation of the previous owners, the Skyring family who had lived in Brisbane since the early 1840s. Later, between 1869 and 1872, Edward served as an alderman on the Brisbane Municipal Council. Following the family’s relocation to Sandgate in 1878, Edward became the town's first mayor in 1880. Mary passed away in July 1900 and Edward in December 1906.
The following obituary for Edward, which was published in the Brisbane Telegraph newspaper shortly after his death, outlined other key details in his life:
Passing of a Pioneer.
Death of Mr. E. B. Southerden, Sen.
Mr. Edward Barton Southerden, one of the best known and most highly respected residents of Sandgate, passed away at his residence, Langholme, yesterday afternoon, aged 76, the cause of death being pneumonia and other complications. The late Mr. Southerden, who was one of the pioneers of Brisbane, was born at St. Peter's, Isle of Thanet, Kent, on 21th November, 1830. When in his 19th year he was a passenger by the ship Fortitude, which arrived in Moreton Bay in December, 1848. He spent the year 1849 in Brisbane, and then went to Ipswich, in the neighbourhood of which he engaged in sheep farming. He gave up that pursuit, and spent a short time in Ipswich, as an employee in Mr. H. M. Reeve's drapery business. From Ipswich he went to Sydney, obtaining employment with the original firm of David Jones and Co. Subsequently he returned to Brisbane, buying out the business to which he had come as an employee from England. Early pictures of the city of Brisbane show a building (on the site of what now is the Minories), bearing the sign, “E. B. Southerden, Drapery Stores.” Mr. Southerden carried on a successful business in that building for several years, retiring therefrom about the year 1864. His residence at this time, and for some years later, was on Wickham terrace (now the residence of the Hon. R. Edwards, M.P.). In 1878 Mr. Southerden left Brisbane and went to Sandgate, and established Langholme, which for 28 years has been his home and that of his family. Mr. Southerden was a justice of the peace for 35 years, and was a member of the Brisbane Municipal Council about the year 1875. He was the first Mayor of Sandgate, as was fitting, for it was through his efforts, to a large extent, that Sandgate was proclaimed a town. In 1882 railway communication was established between Brisbane and Sandgate, and Mr. Southerden had a share of the labour which resulted in the construction of the line. For 17 years Mr. Southerden was returning-officer for the electorate of Nundah, and his retirement from that position in February, 1905, was not the least noteworthy event of his life, for at a gathering which was held at Langholme, and at which Mr. Southerden received a most flattering testimonial, there were several gentlemen present who also knew all about the beginning of Brisbane, and had been proud witnesses of the city's remarkable development. As a justice of the peace Mr. Southerden appreciated the police force, and on the departure from Sandgate of Sergeant Primrose, in 1901, and of Sergeant King, early in the present year, he gave abundant evidence of that appreciation.
His attendance at the presentation to Sergeant King proved to be his last appearance in public.
Mr. Southerden, for about 25 years, held the position of chairman of the Sandgate and Bald Hills cemetery trustees; also for many years he was a trustee of the Sandgate School of Arts. Indeed, there were very few local movements with which he was not connected. Mr. Southerden, many years ago, was actively connected with the Wharf street Congregational Church, Brisbane. In 1855 Mr. Southerden was married to Miss Cribb, only daughter of the late Mr Robert Cribb, the wedding taking place at Dunmore, a long known land mark on the Toowong road. Mrs. Southerden died in July, 1900, and her eldest daughter, Lucy, died suddenly on 6th May, 1903. The surviving family consists of four sons and three daughters—namely, Messrs. E. B. Southerden, Jun., R. W. Southerden (town clerk of Sandgate), J. S. Southerden, and C. B. Southerden. Miss A. C. Southerden, Mrs. A. E. Cornell, and
Miss E. A. Southerden. There also are 18 grandchildren.
Edward's wife Mary was the only daughter of Robert Cribb (1805-1893) and his wife Sarah (nee Sansom) (1800-1857). Mary was known for being a highly family-conscious woman with a strong, independent mind. Her father Robert was a prominent early Brisbane pioneer, businessman, landholder and Member of the Parliament in New South Wales and later in Queensland. He had been active in working for the creation of the Municipality of Brisbane (the predecessor to the City of Brisbane) and was elected as an alderman in the first Brisbane Municipal Council, holding office until 1862.
Robert championed other important causes such as the cessation of convict transportation to the Moreton Bay district, the introduction of the eight-hour working day, and the need for Moreton Bay to govern itself instead of being ruled as part of New South Wales by far-off Sydney. In fact, when the colony of Queensland was eventually created in 1859, Robert was subsequently credited as having played a key role in its realisation. Such was his reputation in early Queensland that Robert was known as "Honest Bob Cribb". There were occasions when he was also called “Robert the Restless” on account of the “considerable energy” he displayed and because of some of the views he held which, at that time, were considered to be “nonconformist liberal and radical”. For instance, Robert was a strong supporter of the aims of the Chartist movement, a grassroots call by the working class of Britain for widespread reforms to be made to the political system of the United Kingdom, and for the principle of the separation of Church and State.
Robert's achievements in public life are summarised in the following biographical entry which was published in the 1896 edition of Pugh’s Almanac & Queensland Directory:
CRIBB, ROBERT, was born at Poole, Dorset, England, January, 1805. Was educated at a Lancasterian school in his native town in the early days of the system; served his time as a baker, &c., and then left for London, where, for 22 years he followed his calling. In January, 1849, arrived in Moreton Bay by the ship "Fortitude", the first of three shipments of middle class immigrants which were sent in that year to this district, through the patriotic and self-denying efforts of the late Dr. Lang. Shortly after his arrival the squatters made great efforts to get Moreton Bay separated from New South Wales as a Crown Colony, with convicts, hoping thus to secure low rents and cheap labour; and the British Government were favourable to the design. Feeling that this would be destructive of the free public life to which they had been accustomed, he, with others, took an active part in the conflict which followed, resulting in the victory of the popular cause, and after nearly ten years unremitting effort in separation with a Constitutional Government. Before and at the time of separation he represented East Moreton in the New South Wales Legislature, and subsequently served in the first and second Parliaments of the new colony of Queensland, using his influence in behalf of liberal legislation generally, with special interest in securing the separation of Church and State, and the passing of the Real Property Act of 1861, which has proved so great a boon to the colony. During several sessions he endeavoured to obtain an alteration in the law of primogeniture, to permit marriage with a deceased wife's sister, and the amalgamation of the legal profession; all of which have since become law. He died on April 17,1893, aged 88.
For many years Robert lived at his property at Milton in Brisbane which he called Lang Farm in honour of his patron and sponsor of the ship Fortitude on which he and his family had immigrated to Moreton Bay, Dr John Dunmore Lang.
Robert's father, John Galpin Cribb (1768-1820), was a merchant sea captain who traded at places as far afield as Newfoundland and the Mediterranean. At different times John took Robert and his younger brother, Benjamin, with him on his travels. One such occasion was particularly memorable when their ship was wrecked on the ice off Newfoundland. In later years it was said of Robert that, "It was no doubt in these voyages that he acquired much of the hardihood and simplicity of life which characterised his subsequent career" (The Queenslander, 22 April 1893, p. 745).
In 1815, with the Napoleonic Wars still raging in Europe, John Galpin Cribb was impressed into the service of the British navy to fight the French. This meant that his wife Mary (nee Derham) (1777-1842) and their five children were left to fend for themselves with Mary having to establish and operate a “Dame School” to financially support her family. John was subsequently captured by the French and imprisoned. He was eventually released and returned to his family in England but being a prisoner of war had broken his health. In fact, the indications are that he was left crippled by the experience. When he died in 1820 he was only 52 years old.
Like older brother Robert, Benjamin became a Member of Parliament in the early colony of Queensland as did his sons, James and Thomas. A number of the women from the Cribb family, along with many hundreds of others, signed the petitions to Parliament in the late 1890s which ultimately paved the way for women to be granted the right to vote in Queensland. The Cribb family were related by marriage to the Footes of Ipswich where together they operated a highly successful retail business: "Cribb & Foote".
Mary was in her mid-teens when she, her parents and brothers John (1830-1905), Robert (Junior) (1834-1866) and William (1837-1928) immigrated to Moreton Bay aboard the Fortitude in January 1849. At the time there was a strong social convention against on-board fraternising between single people of the opposite sex. As a result, Edward and Mary did not actually meet each other until they and the other passengers were undergoing three weeks' quarantine at Moreton Island on account of several of the passengers having contracted typhus fever during the long voyage to Australia. Edward and Mary were married six years later and went on to have twelve children: Sarah Elizabeth (1855-1895), Lucy Mary (1857-1903), Robert Samuel (1858-1858), Edward Barton (Junior) (1859-1944), Annie Catherine (1860-1938), Caroline Jane (1862-1862), Robert William (1863-1931), John Stephen (1865-1937), Clarissa Bertha (7 March 1867- 24 November 1916), Edith Ada (1869-1914), Alice Maud (1872-1872) and Charles Benjamin (1873-1930). One of the brothers, John, was a well-known inventor whose work improved the operational effectiveness of the typewriter. In addition, one of John’s sons, John Henderson Southerden (1895-1981), was a veteran of World War 1.
The Southerdens were among the first settlers of Sandgate, where they named their residence Langholme in recognition of Dr John Dunmore Lang who was responsible for organising their ship Fortitude to come to Moreton Bay in 1849. Eventually, Langholme was converted into a guest house called Bona Vista but was unfortunately destroyed by fire in 1917.
Edward and Mary rest with other Southerden family members at the Bald Hills Cemetery in Brisbane while Robert and Sarah rest with other Cribb family members at the Toowong Cemetery in Brisbane.
Hilary’s father, Arthur Edward Cornell, was born on 25 November 1853 in Islington, London. Arthur immigrated to Australia as a 16 year old aboard the barque Alfred Hawley. He arrived in Brisbane on 9 January 1871 and went to work as an accountant for Ipswich-based firm Clarke Hodgson and Company. Subsequently, Arthur undertook a variety of occupations and business activities, including managing a tannery business at Kedron Brook (Lutwyche). At one stage (1892) Arthur was elected as an alderman and subsequently was appointed Finance Committee chairman on the then Coorparoo Shire Council, roles that he held until 1893. In 1894 Arthur was appointed as a Justice of the Peace. Over the course of his career Arthur was a highly-respected accountant and auditor who operated for many years throughout Brisbane, Toowoomba and the Darling Downs. In the 1885 Brisbane Post Office Directory and Country Guide for instance, Arthur is listed as both an Accountant and Commission Agent based in Queen Street Brisbane. In 1888 the following biographical entry for Arthur appeared in “The Aldine History of Queensland - in Two Volumes. 1888”, edited by W Frederick Morrison, published by Aldine Publishing Co, Sydney:
ARTHUR EDWARD CORNELL, Land and Estate Agent, [Brisbane], was born in London in 1854, and received his education in that city. In 1871 he came out to Brisbane under engagement to the firm of Clarke, Hodgson and Co., general merchants, and in this service rose to the position of having control of the shipping and insurance departments. He afterwards accepted the position of accountant with Messrs. Scott, Dawson and Stewart, and in 1882 set up business for himself as a public accountant, and gradually extended his operations to land estate agency. He is the proprietor of the Brisbane Tannery, and commenced a tanning and wool-scouring establishment in 1882, but the latter branch was abandoned owing to the uncertainty of the London market. The Brisbane Tannery is now one of the most important industries of the kind in the district, and employs from twenty to thirty hands.
Arthur and Clarissa met through mutual friends in the Congregational Church in Brisbane and were married on 5 June 1889 by the Reverend Edward Griffith, Congregational minister and father of Sir Samuel Griffith, one-time Premier of Queensland and a leading figure in the development of the Australian Constitution. Reverend Griffith had also been the officiating minister at the earlier marriage of Clarissa’s parents. Arthur and Clarissa had eight children: Mary Hilary (Hilary), Phyllis, Edward Arnold (Ted), Clarissa Bertha (Betty), Elizabeth Joyce (Betty's twin sister who died in infancy), Arthur Geoffrey (Geoff), Edith Victoria and Catherine Thelma (Thel).
Hilary and her siblings were second cousins to the famous Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith (1897-1935). His grandmother, Sarah Kingsford (nee Southerden) (1818-1890), was a sister of their grandfather, Edward Barton Southerden.
Like her parents and grandparents Clarissa, Arthur and their family were committed members of the Congregational Church.
Arthur and Clarissa rest together at the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery, Queensland.
The following notice appeared in the Toowoomba Chronicle to announce the death of Clarissa on
24 November 1916 at the age of 49 years:
Obituary
Mrs A. E. Cornell
We regret having to record the death of Mrs A. E. Cornell, the wife of Mr Arthur E. Cornell of Gomoran, after a long illness. The deceased lady was a daughter of the late Mr and Mrs E. B. Southerden, of Brisbane and Sandgate, and came on to the Downs 11 years ago with her husband and family, who engaged in farming and grazing pursuits. She leaves a husband and family of seven - two sons and five daughters - to mourn their loss. The eldest son, Arnold, is fighting in Egypt in the Light Horse, and her eldest daughter's husband (Mr W. L. Willis) is in the artillery on the western front.
(Accessed from: <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/176368489>)
The following obituary appeared in the Toowoomba Chronicle on 25 June 1946 to mark the passing of Arthur on 22 June 1946 at the age of 92 years:
Nonogenarian Dies
Arthur E. Cornell
Link with Early Days
Adventures on the high seas in the days of the windjammers, memories of Brisbane when the heart of it was then a frog infested swamp, and when paddle steamers and stern-wheelers threshed their way along the river to and from Ipswich, are recalled by the death in Toowoomba of Mr Arthur Edward Cornell, at the age of 92 years.
The funeral moved from St Stephen's Presbyterian Church to the Toowoomba cemetery yesterday afternoon. The death of Mr Cornell marks the passing of a man who has lived a long lifetime in an era when a young country was struggling for being, and when the frontier was slowly but gradually being pushed back before the axe and plough of the pioneer.
Born in London in 1853, Mr Cornell left school at the age of 13½ years and obtained a position in an office of South African merchants. There he spent some interesting years. He witnessed the unpacking of the first diamond to come from South Africa. Cut and polished in Amsterdam, this stone was sold later in Paris for £2188. At the age of 16 years there came to young Cornell the call of the great outdoors. He began to cast his thoughts to the great countries beyond the seas. A member of the Queensland firm of Clarke Hodgson and Company, then visiting London, engaged the young man. Given a first-class passage in the barque Alfred Hawley (421 tons), Mr Cornell embarked for Brisbane in September, 1870. The old windjammer took four months to make the trip. Bad weather gave a cheerless welcome to the new land, and with no sun visible for some days the master had the greatest difficulty in getting his bearings. The barque nearly came to grief off Byron Bay, which at first was thought to be Moreton Bay. The mistake was discovered in time, however, and the vessel stood out to sea. The next day, after having ridden out the worst storm of the voyage, the barque came in to Moreton Bay. The first thing the newcomers learned was that the Franco-Prussian war had broken out.
Mr Cornell spent his first night in Australia at the old Oxford Hotel in Queen Street. After dinner he went for a walk up Albert Street. He remembered passing the site of the present City Hall, which was then one large swamp, with the croaking of myriads of frogs sounding to heaven in a continuous roar. The mosquitoes made themselves almost unbearable. The next morning Mr Cornell went on board one of the river steamers bound for Ipswich. There were two such vessels in that day - an old-fashioned paddle steamer 'Emu' and the other, 'The Settler', a stern-wheeler. These two plied regularly between Brisbane and Ipswich, carrying cargo and passengers. The chief business firms then had their headquarters in Ipswich, which was then the terminus of the railway which started from Dalby, and all traffic between Ipswich and Brisbane was by river steamer, coach or horse. When the bridge which spanned the river in Brisbane was swept away by floods, the Government had a 'swing' built in the new bridge at a cost of £60,000. This improvement was to allow ships to go through on their way to Ipswich to load wool. This proved impracticable, however, owing to the shallowness of the Bremer River in Ipswich, and this costly innovation was opened only two or three times.
Mr Cornell spent two years in Ipswich until the firm transferred its bank account to the Brisbane branch of the Bank of Australasia. He was sent to Brisbane then to attend to it. Chess was a favourite recreation of the young man's and he played the game a good deal in those days.
In 1877 came a crisis in the world of commerce, and Mr Cornell's firm failed. He was then offered a position by George Raff and Company to have charge of their shipping and insurance department. The company's wharf was in Eagle Street, Brisbane. After three years with George Raff and Company, Mr Cornell launched out on his account, in 1880, as accountant and commission agent. Among his activities he sold leather for the tanners. He progressed in the leather trade so well that between 1880 and 1905 he conducted the biggest leather business in Queensland, with three tanneries at Lutwyche and a warehouse at the corner of Edward and Mary Streets in Brisbane. Then came hard times in 1900 - a disastrous year for all factories in Queensland. Mr Cornell closed down two of his tanneries and carried on with one. In 1893 he had become a Fellow of the Institute of Accountants, which was afterwards merged into the Commonwealth Institute of Accountants. He began to suffer in health later, and in 1905 his medical adviser told him he must give his work up and leave Brisbane. He had married, and it was to the Darling Downs that he, with his family, headed in June, 1905. He bought a farm between Meringandan and Goombungee. His eldest son served with the Light Horse in the first World War and was for three years in the Egyptian and Palestine campaigns. Mrs Cornell died in 1916.
Mr Cornell let his farm, and with his daughters came to live in Toowoomba. The farm life had re-established his health, and he was able to carry on his profession of public accountant in Toowoomba. He planned a system of book-keeping suited to the dairy companies, and in time became auditor to most of these companies on the Downs. He was also commissioned to install his system in the Maryborough Dairy Company Ltd. After having carried on his profession in Toowoomba for about 20 years, Mr Cornell sold out his practice in 1932, and from then had lived in retirement.
Mr Cornell leaves a family of six. The daughters are Mesdames W. L. Willis (Woombye), F. Chaney (Wentworth Falls, New South Wales), and S. M. Rogerson (61 Curzon Street, Toowoomba), and Miss C. B. Cornell, of Silky Oaks Children's Home, Toowong. The sons are Messrs E. A. Cornell (late of 'Unara', Toowoomba), A. G. Cornell (Upper Koondai-i, Bell).
The Cornell family
cornell_vertical_pedigree_chart_.pdf | |
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Cornell family (c.1902) – clockwise from left: Clarissa, Ted (10 years), Betty (7 years), Hilary (12 years), Phyllis (11 years), Arthur, Geoff (5 years) and Edith (3 years) [Insert: Thel b.1908]
Mary Hilary Cornell (Hilary)_
05/06/1890 - 09/01/1960
"Verona", Old Sandgate Road, Albion, Caboolture District, Queensland
Hilary married William Louis Willis (1890-1966) on 29 September 1915. Hilary's bridesmaid was her sister, Phyllis. Will and Hilary had five children: Ralph William (26/08/1916 - 30/06/2006); Howard Arthur (30/10/1920 - 20/08/2010); Roy Edward (24/04/1922 - 17/07/2015); Nancy Margaret (15/09/1923 - 31/05/2004); and Ailsa Mildred (9/11/1924 - 24/09/1975).
Hilary (1914)
According to letters written by her father, Arthur Edward Cornell, to his mother on 14 June 1890 and to his aunt on 19 April 1891, Hilary's parents named her "Mary Hilary", the first name being after both her grandmothers, but that they had decided to call her "Hilary". As a young woman Hilary won a scholarship to Ipswich Girls Grammar where she displayed strong academic ability and performance. Hilary went on to become a highly qualified and accomplished pianist and music teacher whose many students included not only her own sisters, Phyllis and Edith but also her future sister-in-law, Cate Willis and future cousin-in-law, Nellie Willis. The beginnings of Hilary's musical talent had been observed from a very early age. In a letter to his sister, Lizzie on 28 April 1892 Hilary's father described how Hilary, while not yet able to talk, was a "great mimic" and would "... seat herself at the piano and sing to her own accompaniment".
Hilary rests at the Mt Thompson Memorial Gardens, Brisbane, with her husband Will, her sister Phyllis, and her daughter Nancy. See: <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/211916622/mary-hilary-willis>.
"Verona", Old Sandgate Road, Albion, Caboolture District, Queensland
Hilary married William Louis Willis (1890-1966) on 29 September 1915. Hilary's bridesmaid was her sister, Phyllis. Will and Hilary had five children: Ralph William (26/08/1916 - 30/06/2006); Howard Arthur (30/10/1920 - 20/08/2010); Roy Edward (24/04/1922 - 17/07/2015); Nancy Margaret (15/09/1923 - 31/05/2004); and Ailsa Mildred (9/11/1924 - 24/09/1975).
Hilary (1914)
According to letters written by her father, Arthur Edward Cornell, to his mother on 14 June 1890 and to his aunt on 19 April 1891, Hilary's parents named her "Mary Hilary", the first name being after both her grandmothers, but that they had decided to call her "Hilary". As a young woman Hilary won a scholarship to Ipswich Girls Grammar where she displayed strong academic ability and performance. Hilary went on to become a highly qualified and accomplished pianist and music teacher whose many students included not only her own sisters, Phyllis and Edith but also her future sister-in-law, Cate Willis and future cousin-in-law, Nellie Willis. The beginnings of Hilary's musical talent had been observed from a very early age. In a letter to his sister, Lizzie on 28 April 1892 Hilary's father described how Hilary, while not yet able to talk, was a "great mimic" and would "... seat herself at the piano and sing to her own accompaniment".
Hilary rests at the Mt Thompson Memorial Gardens, Brisbane, with her husband Will, her sister Phyllis, and her daughter Nancy. See: <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/211916622/mary-hilary-willis>.
In 1905 it was reported in the Brisbane Courier that Hilary had won the music medal for senior girls at the Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School (Brisbane Courier, 5 December 1905, p. 4). Later, in 1910 the Brisbane Courier reported: "Miss Hilary Cornell, LAB (solo pianist), daughter of Mr A Cornell, late of Wooloowin, now of Crow’s Nest district, is one of the successful students of Associated Board for this year. Miss Cornell also gained her ATCL diploma of Trinity College last year. She studied under Mrs Tubbs for these examinations" (Brisbane Courier, 30 July 1910, p. 13). Then, in December 1910 the Queensland Times reported how Hilary had "… gained the honourable position of Licentiate of the Associated Music Board" (Queensland Times [Ipswich], 17 December 1910, p. 2). Subsequently, the Brisbane Courier reported how Hilary had played a piano solo at an event organised by the National Council of Women of Queensland (Brisbane Courier, 10 July 1915, p. 14). Hilary’s musical abilities were such that she won a scholarship to undertake further training in Germany but unfortunately, due to the outbreak of World War I, was unable to take advantage of the opportunity.
Phyllis Cornell
10/09/1891 - 11/04/1942
"Verona", Old Sandgate Road, Albion, Caboolture District, Queensland
Phyllis was a student at Ipswich Girls Grammar where she gained awards of general excellence. Phyllis became a teacher and taught at a number of different schools across South-East Queensland, including Toowoomba North, St George, Muniganeen, and Ipswich Central. Phyllis also taught at Ascot and Milton in Brisbane. Phyllis's last place of residence was at Vulture Street, South Brisbane. Phyllis never married.
Phyllis (1913)
Phyllis began her teaching career in 1911 at Muniganeen State School where she was Head Teacher (see Pugh's Almanac 1911). For some of the other places in Queensland where Phyllis taught see:
<http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/177207649> (1915 promotion);
<http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/177985262> and
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/113153546> (1916 transferred Muniganeen to Ipswich Central);
<http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/175047780> (1919 transferred Ipswich Central to Toowoomba North);
<http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/20676231> (1923 transferred Toowoomba North to St George);
<http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/21075449> (1926 transferred St George to Ascot);
<http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/179064591> (1927 transferred Ascot to Milton).
Phyllis was highly thought of and received a very fitting farewell from the St George School community when she left to go to Ascot State School (<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/220612628>).
While at Milton State School Phyllis was active in organizing school events (<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/97686633>).
Phyllis understood and valued the importance of having a good education right up until her untimely death at the age of only 50 years. In fact, her nephew, Arthur David Cornell, has recalled how after she died Phyllis left money for her various nephews and nieces to enable them to attend high school.
Phyllis rests at the Mt Thompson Memorial Gardens in Brisbane, with her sister Hilary, her brother-in-law Will, and her niece Nancy. See: <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/206670389/phyllis-cornell>.
"Verona", Old Sandgate Road, Albion, Caboolture District, Queensland
Phyllis was a student at Ipswich Girls Grammar where she gained awards of general excellence. Phyllis became a teacher and taught at a number of different schools across South-East Queensland, including Toowoomba North, St George, Muniganeen, and Ipswich Central. Phyllis also taught at Ascot and Milton in Brisbane. Phyllis's last place of residence was at Vulture Street, South Brisbane. Phyllis never married.
Phyllis (1913)
Phyllis began her teaching career in 1911 at Muniganeen State School where she was Head Teacher (see Pugh's Almanac 1911). For some of the other places in Queensland where Phyllis taught see:
<http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/177207649> (1915 promotion);
<http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/177985262> and
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/113153546> (1916 transferred Muniganeen to Ipswich Central);
<http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/175047780> (1919 transferred Ipswich Central to Toowoomba North);
<http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/20676231> (1923 transferred Toowoomba North to St George);
<http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/21075449> (1926 transferred St George to Ascot);
<http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/179064591> (1927 transferred Ascot to Milton).
Phyllis was highly thought of and received a very fitting farewell from the St George School community when she left to go to Ascot State School (<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/220612628>).
While at Milton State School Phyllis was active in organizing school events (<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/97686633>).
Phyllis understood and valued the importance of having a good education right up until her untimely death at the age of only 50 years. In fact, her nephew, Arthur David Cornell, has recalled how after she died Phyllis left money for her various nephews and nieces to enable them to attend high school.
Phyllis rests at the Mt Thompson Memorial Gardens in Brisbane, with her sister Hilary, her brother-in-law Will, and her niece Nancy. See: <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/206670389/phyllis-cornell>.
Edward Arnold Cornell (Ted)
04/09/1892 - 08/02/1950
"Hillstone", Indooroopilly, Brisbane
Ted was educated at Eagle Junction and was a World War I veteran. Ted
married Margaret Lucy Mary Dellar (Meg) (1886-1965) at the Presbyterian Church in Ashfield, Sydney, NSW, on 11 April 1925. Meg had two bridesmaids, one of whom was Ted's sister, Betty. Ted and Meg had no children.
Ted (c.1930s)
Prior to enlisting in the 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment in 1915 Ted had lived on his parents' farm at Gomoran (near Meringandan) and worked as a farm assistant to his father. After returning from the War in 1919 Ted went back to live with his father, who had by then moved to Toowoomba, and for a short time worked as a labourer. In 1921 Ted was appointed as a Prickly Pear Inspector at Gayndah and by 1924 had been appointed as a land ranger. Ted worked in this capacity until January 1931 when he was appointed to a 12-month acting post as the Superintendent of the Palm Island Aboriginal Settlement. It also appears that Meg was appointed as Assistant Matron at the settlement with charge of the Hospital and direction of the Child Welfare Section. On 15 January 1932 the Townsville Daily Bulletin reported how under Ted's superintendence "... the island is making great progress".
By February 1933 Ted had completed his acting appointment after which he and Meg relocated to Magnetic Island in North Queensland to take up management of the Arcadia Guest House. In February 1939 they left Magnetic Island and by the following September had returned to Toowoomba. By April 1940 they had become proprietors of the Unara Guest House at the top of the range which they continued to manage until at least March 1944. Ted and Meg were still living in Toowoomba in December 1944. However, by December 1945 Unara had ceased to operate as a guest house following its purchase by the Queensland Department of Health after which it became known as the Unara Maternal and Child Welfare Home. By June 1946 Ted and Meg had left Toowoomba to live at Currumbin Beach before eventually moving to Redcliffe in 1949 where Ted died the following year.
After Ted's death Meg continued to live at Redcliffe but by 1958 had moved to New Farm and then Sandgate before going on to live at Gympie with her niece Margaret (Peg) Slatter and her husband Don. Peg was the daughter of one of Meg's sisters, Ellen Jane McHarg (nee Dellar) (1883-1953). Meg died in Gympie in 1965.
Ted and Meg rest together at the Mt Thompson Memorial Gardens, Brisbane. See:
<https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/205570728/edward-arnold-cornell>; and
<https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/211555053/margaret-lucy_mary-cornell>.
"Hillstone", Indooroopilly, Brisbane
Ted was educated at Eagle Junction and was a World War I veteran. Ted
married Margaret Lucy Mary Dellar (Meg) (1886-1965) at the Presbyterian Church in Ashfield, Sydney, NSW, on 11 April 1925. Meg had two bridesmaids, one of whom was Ted's sister, Betty. Ted and Meg had no children.
Ted (c.1930s)
Prior to enlisting in the 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment in 1915 Ted had lived on his parents' farm at Gomoran (near Meringandan) and worked as a farm assistant to his father. After returning from the War in 1919 Ted went back to live with his father, who had by then moved to Toowoomba, and for a short time worked as a labourer. In 1921 Ted was appointed as a Prickly Pear Inspector at Gayndah and by 1924 had been appointed as a land ranger. Ted worked in this capacity until January 1931 when he was appointed to a 12-month acting post as the Superintendent of the Palm Island Aboriginal Settlement. It also appears that Meg was appointed as Assistant Matron at the settlement with charge of the Hospital and direction of the Child Welfare Section. On 15 January 1932 the Townsville Daily Bulletin reported how under Ted's superintendence "... the island is making great progress".
By February 1933 Ted had completed his acting appointment after which he and Meg relocated to Magnetic Island in North Queensland to take up management of the Arcadia Guest House. In February 1939 they left Magnetic Island and by the following September had returned to Toowoomba. By April 1940 they had become proprietors of the Unara Guest House at the top of the range which they continued to manage until at least March 1944. Ted and Meg were still living in Toowoomba in December 1944. However, by December 1945 Unara had ceased to operate as a guest house following its purchase by the Queensland Department of Health after which it became known as the Unara Maternal and Child Welfare Home. By June 1946 Ted and Meg had left Toowoomba to live at Currumbin Beach before eventually moving to Redcliffe in 1949 where Ted died the following year.
After Ted's death Meg continued to live at Redcliffe but by 1958 had moved to New Farm and then Sandgate before going on to live at Gympie with her niece Margaret (Peg) Slatter and her husband Don. Peg was the daughter of one of Meg's sisters, Ellen Jane McHarg (nee Dellar) (1883-1953). Meg died in Gympie in 1965.
Ted and Meg rest together at the Mt Thompson Memorial Gardens, Brisbane. See:
<https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/205570728/edward-arnold-cornell>; and
<https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/211555053/margaret-lucy_mary-cornell>.
"[Ted] enlisted at Chermside on October 16, 1915. He proceeded to Egypt - embarking from Sydney - and upon completing his training as a Hotchkiss machine gunner, saw action in the battles of the Holy Land campaign. He was invalided by malaria and returned to Australia on the Leicestershire. His discharge from the army came on June 14, 1919."
(Source: <http://www.diggersdrive.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=25>)
More information about Ted's World War I service is available at:
<https://www.trsl.org.au/toowoomba-and-district-ww1-roll-of-honour/edward-arnold-cornell/>;
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/182686931>;
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/171292955>;
<https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3423107>;
<https://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/browse/person/128533>;
<https://honouringanzacs.net.au/view-anzac-searched.php?aid=18550&anzactype=1>;
<https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=63030>; and
“Australia’s Fighting Sons of the Empire”: Portraits and Biographies of Australians in the Great War, p. 370 (<https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-35909257/view?searchTerm=fighting+son&partId=nla.obj-35978618#page/n10/mode/1up>).
For information about Ted and Meg at Arcadia Guest House (Magnetic Island) see:
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/61370846>
For information about the Unara Guest House (Toowoomba) see:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unara>
Clarissa Bertha Cornell (Betty)
23/07/1895 - 06/04/1959
"Hillstone", Indooroopilly, Brisbane
At various times Betty was a school teacher, a nurse, and a missionary. Later, she established the Silky Oaks Children’s Home in Brisbane. The last few years of her life saw Betty living at the Bethany Aged Christians' Home at Norman Park. Betty never married.
Betty (1930)
From 1916 Betty was a school teacher, firstly at Muniganeen State School (where her sister Phyllis was stationed and like Phyllis was also the head teacher) and then, from 1919, at Toowoomba East State School. See: Pugh’s Almanac 1917;
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/176356000>; <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/179047662>; and <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/179047745> (1918 transferred from Muniganeen to Toowoomba East).
During the First World War the Red Cross Society in Britain set up Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs) to help with nursing, transport duties, and the organisation of rest stations, working parties and auxiliary hospitals. During the war many women worked as VADs (see: <https://vad.redcross.org.uk/Volunteers-during-WW1> and <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voluntary_Aid_Detachment>). In Australia, VAD members would work as “…nursing orderlies in hospitals, carrying out menial but essential tasks - scrubbing floors, sweeping, dusting and cleaning bathrooms and other areas, dealing with bedpans, and washing patients. They were not employed in military hospitals, except as ward and pantry maids; rather, they worked in Red Cross convalescent and rest homes, canteens, and on troop trains” (see:<https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/vad> and <https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/blogs/voluntary-aids-first-world-war>). At some point Betty became a VAD member (perhaps in response to a call such as this from May 1919: <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/252908943>) and in June 1919 was acknowledged, together with other VAD volunteers, for their work in Toowoomba during the city’s Flu epidemic (see: <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/171282409>). It may be that in performing her VAD duties Betty realised her future vocation lay in nursing. Indeed, it appears that Betty, together with her younger sister Edith, initially undertook the Home Nursing classes which were conducted by Toowoomba's head medical officer, Dr Reginald Freshney, from October 1921 (<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/253319200>). Both Betty and Edith were successful in passing their examinations in December 1921 (see:<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/253328139>; <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/174190160>; and <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/220529136>).
Then in March 1922, Betty resigned from classroom teaching. Subsequently, she went to Sydney to train as a nurse. See: <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/184942502>; <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/181937443>; <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/181937520>;
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/25109387>;
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/16259254> (1925 nursing exams);
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/245053893> (1925 nursing exams);
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/16704498> (1930 midwifery exams);
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/236726659> (1930 midwifery exams);
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/222996712/14024845> (NSW register of nurses for 1926);
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/219945998/13900546> (NSW register of nurses for 1927);
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/223083328/15664949> (NSW register of nurses for 1928);
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/223076505/14001037> (NSW register of nurses for 1929).
In September 1930 Betty left Australia to serve as a missionary to the people of the Congo in Africa (<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/254138757>). Betty strongly believed that "... the Lord had been leading her into missionary work and preparing her for it" (Australian Missionary Tidings,
1 September 1930, p. 178). She undertook her nursing and pastoral work with the local people with such dedication, skill and care that it was said, "... the country side has great confidence in her" (Australian Missionary Tidings, 1 July 1932, p. 131). In July 1934 Betty left the Congo and returned to Australia as a result of becoming "very ill" (Australian Missionary Tidings, 1 July 1935, p. 136). In late 1933 Betty had suffered a "bad attack" of "fever" (as reported in Australian Missionary Tidings,
1 January 1934, p. 14). So, it seems that Betty ended up having to leave the Congo as a consequence of contracting a tropical disease endemic to that area.
After she came home from Africa and had recovered sufficiently from her illness, Betty gave talks to various audiences about her experiences as a missionary. For example, see:
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/217532829>; and
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/217500169>.
Even well into his latter years Betty's nephew Howard could still recall, and sing, the words to the well-known children's song "Jesus Loves Me" in the local Congolese dialect which Betty had taught him and his siblings after her return from the Congo.
Soon after she came home from Africa, Betty resumed nursing and for a time was posted to the District Hospital in Collarenebri, New South Wales. See:
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/225731610/14126980>; <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/225107561/14243897>; and <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/225124141/14278237>.
In 1937 she was appointed to a role with the NSW branch of the Australian Nurses Christian Movement in Sydney (see: <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17348530>).
In 1940 Betty's sense of responsibility and purpose for the children of Brisbane led her to establish the Silky Oaks Children's Home, which was based initially at Toowong and subsequently at Manly West. A 1990 publication commemorating the 50th anniversary of Silky Oaks wrote of Betty that "... She is held in high esteem for her ministry to children in founding the work of Silky Oaks. Miss Cornell was a woman of rare achievement, an example of what may be accomplished by a life dedicated to God and the service of others."
During her final years Betty continued to serve others by volunteering to work with, and help, the local indigenous people on Palm Island in far north Queensland (as reported in the monthly Aborigines Inland Mission of Australia [Our AIM] Magazine, 17 August 1955, p. 8).
There is an interesting family story that as a young person Betty not only knew the Reverend John Flynn (the renowned Flynn of the Inland and founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service) but that he had also asked her to marry him. She declined however, sensing a greater commitment to her Christian calling.
Subsequently, Betty left Australia to serve in the Congo (1930-1934) while John Flynn went on to marry Miss Jean Baird (1932). See: <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/201425764>;
<https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/flynn-john-6200>; and
<https://confer.com.au/amazing-australians-john-flynn/>.
Coincidentally, John Flynn and his wife were married in the same church as Betty's brother Ted and his wife Meg had done some six years earlier, the Presbyterian Church in Ashfield, Sydney.
Betty rests at the Hemmant Cemetery, Brisbane. See: <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/143181159/clarissa-bertha-cornell>.
"Hillstone", Indooroopilly, Brisbane
At various times Betty was a school teacher, a nurse, and a missionary. Later, she established the Silky Oaks Children’s Home in Brisbane. The last few years of her life saw Betty living at the Bethany Aged Christians' Home at Norman Park. Betty never married.
Betty (1930)
From 1916 Betty was a school teacher, firstly at Muniganeen State School (where her sister Phyllis was stationed and like Phyllis was also the head teacher) and then, from 1919, at Toowoomba East State School. See: Pugh’s Almanac 1917;
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/176356000>; <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/179047662>; and <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/179047745> (1918 transferred from Muniganeen to Toowoomba East).
During the First World War the Red Cross Society in Britain set up Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs) to help with nursing, transport duties, and the organisation of rest stations, working parties and auxiliary hospitals. During the war many women worked as VADs (see: <https://vad.redcross.org.uk/Volunteers-during-WW1> and <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voluntary_Aid_Detachment>). In Australia, VAD members would work as “…nursing orderlies in hospitals, carrying out menial but essential tasks - scrubbing floors, sweeping, dusting and cleaning bathrooms and other areas, dealing with bedpans, and washing patients. They were not employed in military hospitals, except as ward and pantry maids; rather, they worked in Red Cross convalescent and rest homes, canteens, and on troop trains” (see:<https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/vad> and <https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/blogs/voluntary-aids-first-world-war>). At some point Betty became a VAD member (perhaps in response to a call such as this from May 1919: <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/252908943>) and in June 1919 was acknowledged, together with other VAD volunteers, for their work in Toowoomba during the city’s Flu epidemic (see: <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/171282409>). It may be that in performing her VAD duties Betty realised her future vocation lay in nursing. Indeed, it appears that Betty, together with her younger sister Edith, initially undertook the Home Nursing classes which were conducted by Toowoomba's head medical officer, Dr Reginald Freshney, from October 1921 (<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/253319200>). Both Betty and Edith were successful in passing their examinations in December 1921 (see:<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/253328139>; <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/174190160>; and <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/220529136>).
Then in March 1922, Betty resigned from classroom teaching. Subsequently, she went to Sydney to train as a nurse. See: <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/184942502>; <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/181937443>; <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/181937520>;
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/25109387>;
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/16259254> (1925 nursing exams);
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/245053893> (1925 nursing exams);
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/16704498> (1930 midwifery exams);
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/236726659> (1930 midwifery exams);
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/222996712/14024845> (NSW register of nurses for 1926);
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/219945998/13900546> (NSW register of nurses for 1927);
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/223083328/15664949> (NSW register of nurses for 1928);
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/223076505/14001037> (NSW register of nurses for 1929).
In September 1930 Betty left Australia to serve as a missionary to the people of the Congo in Africa (<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/254138757>). Betty strongly believed that "... the Lord had been leading her into missionary work and preparing her for it" (Australian Missionary Tidings,
1 September 1930, p. 178). She undertook her nursing and pastoral work with the local people with such dedication, skill and care that it was said, "... the country side has great confidence in her" (Australian Missionary Tidings, 1 July 1932, p. 131). In July 1934 Betty left the Congo and returned to Australia as a result of becoming "very ill" (Australian Missionary Tidings, 1 July 1935, p. 136). In late 1933 Betty had suffered a "bad attack" of "fever" (as reported in Australian Missionary Tidings,
1 January 1934, p. 14). So, it seems that Betty ended up having to leave the Congo as a consequence of contracting a tropical disease endemic to that area.
After she came home from Africa and had recovered sufficiently from her illness, Betty gave talks to various audiences about her experiences as a missionary. For example, see:
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/217532829>; and
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/217500169>.
Even well into his latter years Betty's nephew Howard could still recall, and sing, the words to the well-known children's song "Jesus Loves Me" in the local Congolese dialect which Betty had taught him and his siblings after her return from the Congo.
Soon after she came home from Africa, Betty resumed nursing and for a time was posted to the District Hospital in Collarenebri, New South Wales. See:
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/225731610/14126980>; <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/225107561/14243897>; and <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/225124141/14278237>.
In 1937 she was appointed to a role with the NSW branch of the Australian Nurses Christian Movement in Sydney (see: <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17348530>).
In 1940 Betty's sense of responsibility and purpose for the children of Brisbane led her to establish the Silky Oaks Children's Home, which was based initially at Toowong and subsequently at Manly West. A 1990 publication commemorating the 50th anniversary of Silky Oaks wrote of Betty that "... She is held in high esteem for her ministry to children in founding the work of Silky Oaks. Miss Cornell was a woman of rare achievement, an example of what may be accomplished by a life dedicated to God and the service of others."
During her final years Betty continued to serve others by volunteering to work with, and help, the local indigenous people on Palm Island in far north Queensland (as reported in the monthly Aborigines Inland Mission of Australia [Our AIM] Magazine, 17 August 1955, p. 8).
There is an interesting family story that as a young person Betty not only knew the Reverend John Flynn (the renowned Flynn of the Inland and founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service) but that he had also asked her to marry him. She declined however, sensing a greater commitment to her Christian calling.
Subsequently, Betty left Australia to serve in the Congo (1930-1934) while John Flynn went on to marry Miss Jean Baird (1932). See: <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/201425764>;
<https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/flynn-john-6200>; and
<https://confer.com.au/amazing-australians-john-flynn/>.
Coincidentally, John Flynn and his wife were married in the same church as Betty's brother Ted and his wife Meg had done some six years earlier, the Presbyterian Church in Ashfield, Sydney.
Betty rests at the Hemmant Cemetery, Brisbane. See: <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/143181159/clarissa-bertha-cornell>.
"Silky Oaks was initially born in the heart of a retired missionary, Miss Betty Cornell, who was concerned for children in Queensland who didn't have a supportive home environment. As a result of putting her heart into action, the original Children's Home was set up in the Brisbane suburb of Toowong in August 1940. In January 1947 Silky Oaks moved to its current location in Manly. Since that time, Silky Oaks has extended its services to families within the local community. Silky Oaks is a ‘not for profit’ organisation and relies upon funding assistance received by way of subsidies, grants and allowances provided by Federal, State and Local Governments, in particular the Department of Child Safety. Other contributors include private organisations, community groups and individuals. Silky Oaks also raises much needed funding through internal activities such as the Op Shop, Car Boot Sales, and the Silky Oaks Fair. Silky Oaks provides services which include child care for parents who work or are training for work, counselling and therapy for families and individuals, accommodation and support for families in crisis and residential care for children who live apart from their families. All donations are used to fund the ongoing work and associated administration costs of Silky Oaks."
(Source: <http://www.silkyoaks.org.au/about.htm>)
Also see: <http://www.silkyoaks.org.au/our-community/our-history/>
Elizabeth Joyce Cornell
23/07/1895 - 16/01/1896
"Hillstone", Indooroopilly, Brisbane
Elizabeth, whose family called her by her second name Joyce, was Betty's twin sister. Joyce was only five months old when she died. In a letter to his cousin, Joseph Wilkinson, on 24 January 1896 Joyce's father, Arthur Edward Cornell, wrote:
We have also to thank you for congratulations of the birth of our twins. Some of my friends said they did not know whether to offer congratulations or condolences and I told them the former by all means. Unfortunately I grieve to say we are now receiving their condolences for we lost one of our babies last week. We named the oldest (by half an hour) Clarissa Bertha after her mother and the other Elizabeth Joyce, the first name being after dear Lizzie*. We called her Joyce (although I looked forward to calling her Lizzie by and bye). She was always the weakest of the two, but the first few months seemed to get on. About a month ago however she began to sicken notwithstanding all we could do with best medical advice she passed away on 16th at the seaside where the Dr had recommended us to take her. I am afraid she had militated greatly against her recovery. It is the first child we have lost, a very sad experience.
(*Lizzie was Arthur's sister, Elizabeth Victoria Cornell, who had died in 1893 at the age of 38 from influenza pneumonia. See: <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/20345045>).
Joyce rests at the Toowong Cemetery, Brisbane.
See: <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/172670725>;
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3606555>;
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/183710277>;
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/21634585>;
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3617244>;
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/20444424>; and
<https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/211917327/elizabeth-joyce-cornell>.
"Hillstone", Indooroopilly, Brisbane
Elizabeth, whose family called her by her second name Joyce, was Betty's twin sister. Joyce was only five months old when she died. In a letter to his cousin, Joseph Wilkinson, on 24 January 1896 Joyce's father, Arthur Edward Cornell, wrote:
We have also to thank you for congratulations of the birth of our twins. Some of my friends said they did not know whether to offer congratulations or condolences and I told them the former by all means. Unfortunately I grieve to say we are now receiving their condolences for we lost one of our babies last week. We named the oldest (by half an hour) Clarissa Bertha after her mother and the other Elizabeth Joyce, the first name being after dear Lizzie*. We called her Joyce (although I looked forward to calling her Lizzie by and bye). She was always the weakest of the two, but the first few months seemed to get on. About a month ago however she began to sicken notwithstanding all we could do with best medical advice she passed away on 16th at the seaside where the Dr had recommended us to take her. I am afraid she had militated greatly against her recovery. It is the first child we have lost, a very sad experience.
(*Lizzie was Arthur's sister, Elizabeth Victoria Cornell, who had died in 1893 at the age of 38 from influenza pneumonia. See: <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/20345045>).
Joyce rests at the Toowong Cemetery, Brisbane.
See: <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/172670725>;
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3606555>;
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/183710277>;
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/21634585>;
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3617244>;
<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/20444424>; and
<https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/211917327/elizabeth-joyce-cornell>.
Arthur Geoffrey Cornell (Geoff)
18/06/1897 - 07/04/1960
"Hillstone", Indooroopilly, Brisbane
Geoff married Edith Dall Just (1895-1935) at the St Stephen's Presbyterian Church in Toowoomba on 15 December 1926. Geoff and Edith had three children: Arthur (1927-2016), Joan, and Rae (1934-2020). Several years after the death of Edith, Geoff married Beryl Mary Blackburn (1912-1995) in Toowoomba on 9 February 1944. Geoff and Beryl had two children: Heather and Russell.
Geoff (1918)
Geoff and Beryl rest together at the Kingaroy Cemetery. See: <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/183178181/a-geoffrey-cornell>. Edith rests at the Dalby Monumental Cemetery. See: <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/208685994/edith-dall-cornell>.
The following newspaper notice appeared on 14 April 1960 to announce Geoff's passing:
Obituary
Mr A. G. Cornell
The death occurred in St Aubyn's Private Hospital, Kingaroy, on Thursday last, April 7, of Arthur Geoffrey Cornell, of Kingaroy, a resident of Duke Street, Red Hill. He was 62 years of age, having been born at Brisbane on June 18, 1897. He was the son of the Late Mr and Mrs A. E. Cornell. He later lived with his parents on a farm at Meringandan. Geoff Cornell, as he was known, went droving at the age of 22 years. He spent some time at Clermont and Emerald. In 1926 he married Miss Edith Dal Just of Bell, at St Stephen's Presbyterian Church, Toowoomba. Mr Cornell purchased the property 'Bramhope' at Cecil Plains. He sold this in 1933 when he purchased 'Glencraig' at Bell. Mr and Mrs Cornell moved to 'Glencraig' in 1934. On September 20, 1935, Mrs Cornell passed away at Dalby. There were three children of that marriage, Arthur (Brisbane), Joan (Mrs R. H. Ford, Kingaroy), and Miss Rae Cornell (Toowoomba). Mr Cornell, despite the handicap by the death of his wife, carried on the farming property single handed. In 1944 he married Miss Beryl Mary Blackburn, at Toowoomba Seventh Day Adventist Church, on February 9. Children of this marriage are Mary and Russell. In 1953 he was told by medical advisers to steady up on active farming and he decided to work the property on the share system with other farmers. In November 1958 he suffered a stroke. In June the next year he suffered a heart complaint and was placed in the Kingaroy District Hospital. He rallied from this attack. He then purchased the home in Duke Street and remained there up to the time of his entering hospital. While at home he was nursed by his daughter Rae and his wife where he suffered attacks on and off.
Last Thursday morning he suffered a very bad attack and was taken to St Aubyn's. He died shortly after noon on that day. The funeral took place on Friday afternoon, following a Service at the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Pastor A. Gallagher officiated at the service and at the burial at Taabinga Village cemetery.
"Hillstone", Indooroopilly, Brisbane
Geoff married Edith Dall Just (1895-1935) at the St Stephen's Presbyterian Church in Toowoomba on 15 December 1926. Geoff and Edith had three children: Arthur (1927-2016), Joan, and Rae (1934-2020). Several years after the death of Edith, Geoff married Beryl Mary Blackburn (1912-1995) in Toowoomba on 9 February 1944. Geoff and Beryl had two children: Heather and Russell.
Geoff (1918)
Geoff and Beryl rest together at the Kingaroy Cemetery. See: <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/183178181/a-geoffrey-cornell>. Edith rests at the Dalby Monumental Cemetery. See: <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/208685994/edith-dall-cornell>.
The following newspaper notice appeared on 14 April 1960 to announce Geoff's passing:
Obituary
Mr A. G. Cornell
The death occurred in St Aubyn's Private Hospital, Kingaroy, on Thursday last, April 7, of Arthur Geoffrey Cornell, of Kingaroy, a resident of Duke Street, Red Hill. He was 62 years of age, having been born at Brisbane on June 18, 1897. He was the son of the Late Mr and Mrs A. E. Cornell. He later lived with his parents on a farm at Meringandan. Geoff Cornell, as he was known, went droving at the age of 22 years. He spent some time at Clermont and Emerald. In 1926 he married Miss Edith Dal Just of Bell, at St Stephen's Presbyterian Church, Toowoomba. Mr Cornell purchased the property 'Bramhope' at Cecil Plains. He sold this in 1933 when he purchased 'Glencraig' at Bell. Mr and Mrs Cornell moved to 'Glencraig' in 1934. On September 20, 1935, Mrs Cornell passed away at Dalby. There were three children of that marriage, Arthur (Brisbane), Joan (Mrs R. H. Ford, Kingaroy), and Miss Rae Cornell (Toowoomba). Mr Cornell, despite the handicap by the death of his wife, carried on the farming property single handed. In 1944 he married Miss Beryl Mary Blackburn, at Toowoomba Seventh Day Adventist Church, on February 9. Children of this marriage are Mary and Russell. In 1953 he was told by medical advisers to steady up on active farming and he decided to work the property on the share system with other farmers. In November 1958 he suffered a stroke. In June the next year he suffered a heart complaint and was placed in the Kingaroy District Hospital. He rallied from this attack. He then purchased the home in Duke Street and remained there up to the time of his entering hospital. While at home he was nursed by his daughter Rae and his wife where he suffered attacks on and off.
Last Thursday morning he suffered a very bad attack and was taken to St Aubyn's. He died shortly after noon on that day. The funeral took place on Friday afternoon, following a Service at the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Pastor A. Gallagher officiated at the service and at the burial at Taabinga Village cemetery.
Edith Victoria Cornell
16/11/1899 - 29/09/1960
"Hillstone", Indooroopilly, Brisbane
Edith married Frank Edward Chaney (1912-1992) on 7 February 1942 at Katoomba, NSW. At the time of their marriage, Edith was employed as a machinist and Frank was a hospital attendant. They lived at Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. They had no children.
Edith (c.1920s)
In the 1920s Edith trained as a nurse and then worked as a midwife at the Lady Chelmsford Hospital in Bundaberg. Frank worked for many years as a gardener. During World War II he enlisted in the Citizen Military Forces (Home Defence). Frank had two brothers who died in service during World War II: Ronald who was killed in Papua New Guinea in 1942 and Robert who died as a prisoner of war in Japan in 1943.
Edith lived in Katoomba in 1937 which may have provided the opportunity for her to meet Frank who resided not too far away at Wentworth Falls. After Edith's death Frank went on to remarry, in 1962, and for many years continued to live at Wentworth Falls.
Edith was cremated and her ashes scattered at the Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematorium in Sydney. Frank was cremated at the Pinegrove Memorial Park at Minchinbury, NSW.
"Hillstone", Indooroopilly, Brisbane
Edith married Frank Edward Chaney (1912-1992) on 7 February 1942 at Katoomba, NSW. At the time of their marriage, Edith was employed as a machinist and Frank was a hospital attendant. They lived at Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. They had no children.
Edith (c.1920s)
In the 1920s Edith trained as a nurse and then worked as a midwife at the Lady Chelmsford Hospital in Bundaberg. Frank worked for many years as a gardener. During World War II he enlisted in the Citizen Military Forces (Home Defence). Frank had two brothers who died in service during World War II: Ronald who was killed in Papua New Guinea in 1942 and Robert who died as a prisoner of war in Japan in 1943.
Edith lived in Katoomba in 1937 which may have provided the opportunity for her to meet Frank who resided not too far away at Wentworth Falls. After Edith's death Frank went on to remarry, in 1962, and for many years continued to live at Wentworth Falls.
Edith was cremated and her ashes scattered at the Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematorium in Sydney. Frank was cremated at the Pinegrove Memorial Park at Minchinbury, NSW.
Catherine Thelma Cornell (Thel)
11/08/1908 - 22/02/1996
Meringandan, Queensland
Thel married Stanley Rogerson (1906-1952) in Toowoomba on 15 January 1932. They had three children: David (1936-2022), Judith, and Ian.
Thel (1925)
Thel and Stan rest together at the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery. See: <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/211917727/catherine-thelma-rogerson>; and
<https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/211917783/stanley-murdock-rogerson>.
Meringandan, Queensland
Thel married Stanley Rogerson (1906-1952) in Toowoomba on 15 January 1932. They had three children: David (1936-2022), Judith, and Ian.
Thel (1925)
Thel and Stan rest together at the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery. See: <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/211917727/catherine-thelma-rogerson>; and
<https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/211917783/stanley-murdock-rogerson>.
The following report of Thel and Stan's wedding day appeared in the local newspaper:
"A wedding of interest to many friends in Brisbane and on the Downs was solemnised at the Gospel Hall, Herries Street, Toowoomba, on Friday evening. The bridegroom was Mr. Stanley Rogerson (youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Rogerson, Kingaroy) and the bride was Miss Thelma Cornell (youngest daughter of Mr. A. E. Cornell and the late Mrs. Cornell, Mary Street, Toowoomba). The hall had been decorated by girl friends of the bride, and during the signing of the register Miss Isa McClowney sang. The bride, who was given away by her father, wore a frock of ivory bridal satin, closely moulded to the figure, and featuring a flared flounce from the knees. Her veil of embroidered tulle was set to the head in cap effect, and arrayed across the back with a half circlet of orange buds. She carried a bouquet of gladioli, roses, and stephanotis. Miss Dulcie Fawlings, who attended the bride, wore an old-world frock of Betty blue organdi. The tight- fitting bodice was set into a fully- flared skirt, inset with lace trimmed godets. Her wide-leafed hat of blue crinoline straw was lifted off the face, and she carried a bouquet of Radiance roses. Misses Ailsa and Nancy Willis (nieces of bride) wore early Victorian frocks of blue Tosca net, and carried posies of pink gladioli. Mr. E. Johnson was best man. A reception was held at the Cafe Alexandra. Miss E. V. Cornell (the bride's sister), who received the guests, wore a frock of autumn-toned mariette. Her hat, of the same shade, was lifted off the face. Mrs. Rogerson (the bridegroom's mother) wore navy Marocain and a navy hat. She carried a bouquet of red roses. On leaving by car for the Northern Rivers, Mrs. Stanley Rogerson wore an ensemble of navy blue and white spotted crepe de Chine, and a small navy hat."
(The Brisbane Courier, 18 January 1932, p. 14 - source: <http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/21772739>)
DESCENDANT CHARTS AND REPORTS
Family members are invited to contact the website administrators via the form on the website home page for the latest descendant charts and reports. If you have any edits to make, or you wish to advise of updates regarding births, deaths and marriages, please contact us via the form on the website home page.