We think it likely that Joseph accompanied his father to both Junee and Roma. Evidence for him being in the latter location is provided in a report of an inquiry into a house fire contained in the 4 November 1884 edition of the Western Star and Roma Advertiser. In it, Paul Beck, a selector residing at Bismarck farm, informed the magistrate he had earlier bought land near the Bungil bridge on the Blythdale Road and built a house on it. 'Four months ago', Beck continued, 'he rented the house and paddock to Mr Hickmott for three years; on Saturday last, about 9am, he went to the house as he was informed Hickmott had cleared out ... [a women in the vicinity told him] she had not seen Hickmott for three days, but had seen his boy two days previously ... [Beck added that] Hickmott owed him £20 in rent ... and had left his furniture in the house'. Faced with mounting debts, Henry had decided to cut his options and return to Victoria. He lived for a time at Bairnsdale in Gippsland, where he and Harriet's eldest son, John James Hickmott was then living and working, before eventually returning to the Charlton area where he was recorded as living at Barrakee in 1899 and 1909 and at Buckrabunyule in 1902. A report in the Bairnsdale Advertiser and Tambo and Omeo Chronicle (dated 15 October 1892), informing its readers that at 'the annual meeting of the Lucknow cricket club a Joseph and James Hickmott were elected committee members', indicates that Joseph was also at Bairnsdale during this time.
Like his father Joseph eventually returned to Charlton where he worked as a farmer. In 1907 he married a local girl, Helen Watt (1885-1966). According to the Watt Family Tree on Ancestry, Helen was the youngest child of Scottish-born Francis Watt (1828-1909) and Angelina Hill (1846-87) who originally hailed from Arundel in Sussex. They married in Learmonth in Victoria in 1863 and had eleven children in addition to Helen: Angelina (born in 1864), Francis (1866), James (1867), John (1869), William (1870), Thomas (1872), Peter (1874), Robert (1876), Elizabeth (1878), Margaret (1880) and Jessie (1883). Helen's parents settled at Barrakee near Charlton in around 1875 and both died and are buried there. One of Helen's brothers took over the family farm. Another brother, Thomas Watt, farmed land at Gilgandra in the central western reaches of NSW. His death notice, published in the Gilgandra and Castlereagh Weekly on 10 Sep 1942, states he was one one of the town's 'best known and most successful farmers and graziers'.
The Australian electoral rolls show that after their marriage, Joseph and Helen lived at Charlton before acquiring a block of land in the new irrigation area at Pannoo Bamawm some 20 km west of the northern Victorian town of Rochester. Initially a dry farming area, the early landholders pressed to gain access to a regular water supply. It seems that Joseph was an active participant in this process. According to the Riverine Herald (Echuca, 8 June 1914): 'New Irrigation Area. A large and enthusiastic meeting of landholders was held (under the auspices of the Pannoo Settlers Association) at Mr Hickmott's on Tuesday evening, 26th inst for the purpose of taking steps towards getting an irrigation supply of water ... [a petition was drawn up and signed by a large number of those present to be presented to the Water Supply Commission] Votes of thanks to the chairman and to Mr and Mrs Hickmott who very kindly provided refreshments terminated the meeting'. In September the same year Victoria's Royal Commission on Closer Land Settlement used Joseph's residence as its base to take evidence on the Panoo Estate. According to the Rochester Express, 'the general trend of the evidence was that [each] property was bought on the dear side [and] the areas were too small for a man to make a permanent home on it'.
Joseph's father, Henry, lived with his son and daughter-in-law at Bamawm until his death there in May 1914. He is buried in the Pannoo Bamawm cemetery at Pine Grove East (the cemetery records have his name as William Henry Hickmott). The electoral rolls show Joseph and Helen continued to live in the area until Joseph's unexpected death there in 1928. He is buried as Francis Joseph Hickmott in the same cemetery as his father. The 21 August 1928 edition of the Melbourne Argus states that probate from Joseph's will would be paid to his widow, Helen Hickmott of Kotta, and son Francis Joseph Hickmott once he reached 21 years of age. The 1936 electoral roll shows Helen and her son Francis Joseph Hickmott, labourer, living on Echuca Road in Rochester. By the following year they had moved to Melbourne and were registered as living at 67 St George's Road in Caulfield West. The 1943 roll shows Helen at 1 Carmyle Ave in Malvern. In 1949 and 1954 she was at 8 Mayfield Grove in Caulfield. Ancestry's index of Australian bdms show that she died in Victoria in 1966, aged 81 years (reg no 18165).
Joseph and Helen Hickmott had six children, four born at Charlton and two at Rochester. As described below all of these married and between them provided their parents with fifteen grandchildren we know of as well as a number of great grand children.
1. Francis Joseph Hickmott (1908-99).
Born at Charlton in 1908, Frank lived with his parents at Charlton and Panoo Bamawm and, following his father's death in 1928, with his widowed mother at Rochester and later in Melbourne where he worked as a radio technician. In 1938 he married a widow Isobel Edith Fell (nee Betts). Sue Saxton's 'Master Kane-Kelly-Gleeson' family tree on Ancestry tells us that Isobel's parents were William Henry Thomas Betts (1869-1928) and Edith Tippins (1879-1973) who were married in Victoria in 1902. Born at Hamilton in Victoria in 1911, Isobel married Ivo Leonard Fell (1904-35), the youngest son of Walter John Fell (1861-1937) and Martha Phillip Clarke (1862-1955), in Victoria in 1934. A stone mason by trade, Ivo was killed the following year when he was run into by a car while riding his bicycle to work. The Australian electoral rolls show Frank and Isobel lived in Melbourne all their married lives. The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust website shows that Frank died on 10 October 1999 and was buried in the Preston Cemetery 5 days later. The same source has his wife, Edith Isobel Hickmott (born on 16 February 1911 and died 14 August 1998) buried in the same grave along with their two infant sons: Kenneth Hickmott (28 June 1940 - 1 July 1940) and Kenward Francis Hickmott (30 December 1899 - 30 December 1899). Note the dates for Kenward are incorrect and should be 1946. We don't think Frank and Isobel had any other children.
2. Gladys Helen Hickmott (1910-99)
Born at Charlton in 1910, Gladys married Hubert ('Hugh') Miles Pendock (1894-1956) - pictured on the left - in Melbourne in 1926. According to the Ponting Family History website, Hugh and his five siblings were born at Hooper's farm at Mangotsfield in Somerset in England. His siblings were: Charles William (born in 1890), Frank Fitzroy (1892), Cecil Robert (1896), Dora May (1898) and Edith Mary Pendock (1899) and his parents Frank Hember Pendock and Kate Collins (who were married at St Paul's Church of England in Bristol on 27 March 1889). The 1901 census shows the family living at Hooper's farm together with Kate's mother and her sister's children. Ancestry's UK Outward Passenger Lists show that, in February 1912, Hugh sailed from London on the OSTERLEY bound for Fremantle in Western Australia. Nine months later, Hugh's parents and three of his siblings sailed from London to Brisbane on the DEMOSTEMES. As detailed in the Ponting Family History website, Hugh's older brother, Charles William Pendock, went to Canada and thence to the United States where he settled in Milwaukee Misconsin.
Australia's 1914 electoral role shows the Australia-bound members of the Pendock family settled on Hazeldean Farm at Green Hill near Kyneton in central Victoria. On 2 July 1915, Hugh enlisted in the First AIF and was allocated to C Company of the 22nd Battalion. He seems to have been returned to Australia from Egypt and discharged and then re-enlisted at Broadmeadows in Melbourne on 19 March 1916 (giving on this occasion his place of birth as Bristol in England). He returned to Egypt on the HMAT MALWA the same month and served with the AIF Canteens there until June 1917 when he was posted to England to serve as a sergeant with the 23rd Battalion. He was twice wounded in action in France first on 30 April 1918 and then again on 6 September of that year (in both cases he sustained a GSW to the face). The second wound saw him invalided to the 1 Auxilliary Hospital at Dartford in England. After his release from hospital he served at Army HQ in London before returning to Australia on the SS ORONTES on 20 December 1918. Hugh was discharged from the Army in Melbourne on 10 May 1919. While Hugh was serving in France, his father sold Hazledean Farm and relocated to Melbourne, a move that the local newspaper reported was much regretted by the other residents of Greenhill:
The residents of Greenhill greatly regret the departure of Mr and Mrs Pendock and family from 'Hazeldean Farm' Greenhill where they have resided for some five or six years. Mr and Mrs Pendock and their family have taken an active part in all matters connected with the development of the district. Mr Pendock is a very strong advocate for a system of State-assisted insurance against drought, by which struggling farmers would be encouraged and helped to retain each year sufficient fodder to maintain their stock in case of drought. Mr Pendock's scheme has been commented upon favourably by many interested in the land development of Australia, including several members of Parliament. It is to be hoped that Mr Pendock's scheme will be thoroughly enquired into, and if feasible, adopted by the Repatriation Committee. Mr Pendock intends to settle much nearer Melbourne. Mr Pendock's son, Mr Fitzroy Pendock, is the possessor of much ability as a comic singer and entertainer, and he has been most generous in his assistance at all patriotic and charitable functions in the district. Malmsbury residents are holding a meeting to arrange for entertaining Mr F. Pendock prior to his leaving Kyneton. Two of Mr Pendock's sons joined the forces, Pte C. R. Pendock and Cpl H. Pendock (Kyneton Guardian, 23 February 1918).
We don't know where the family went to in the first instance just that by the time of the 1921 election Hugh and his parents were on a farm at Whorouley near Myrtleford in Victoria (the farm was a 477-acre block of land that Hugh had obtained through the soldier settlement scheme). Hugh's mother died in the Melbourne suburb of Oakleigh in 1923. In 1930 Frank Hember Pendock sailed from Sydney to the United States presumably to visit his son Charles (Frank returned to Australia and died in Melbourne in 1936. His death notice indicates that he had re-married). The 1931 electoral roll has Hubert Miles and Gladys Helen Pendock registered at 23 Walker Street in the Melbourne suburb of Vermont where Hugh was working as a labourer. They were both registered as living on Uriarra Road in Queanbeyan in NSW at the time of the 1935, 1936 and 1937 elections (by then Hugh was working as a clerk). The 1942 roll has them at 133 Dandenong Road Oakleigh where Hugh was said to be a public servant. They were still there in 1949 together with Hugh Francis Pendock, salesman. The 1954 roll has Hugh and Gladys at 127 Dandenong Road in Clayton.
Hugh died two years later and was cremated at the Springvale Botanical Cemetery on 9 July 1956.
From the 'Marshall Family Tree on Ancestry' (and originally shared by Craig Pendock).
Hubert and Gladys Pendock and their daughter Mavis in around 1934.
Gladys continued to live in Melbourne after Hugh's death, in the outer suburb of Noble Park where she was employed as a canteen worker. Also registered there in 1968 were a Neil Calvin and Geraldene Ann Pendock, both of whom were employed as clerks. Gladys only was there in 1972 (Neil and Geraldene were registered as living at 48 Leonard Ave Noble park where Geraldene was now home duties). Only Gladys was on the 1977 and 1980 rolls. As the following tribute posted in the Herald Sun shows, she died on 11 July 1999: 'PENDOCK. - Gladys Helen, peacefully at Meadow Glen Nursing Home, Epping, on Sunday, July 11, 1999. Wife of Hubert (dec). Much loved and cherished mother and mother-in-law of Frank and Margaret, Maurice and June (dec), Mavis and Alf, Valda and Warren (dec), Neil and Joyce. Loved grandmother, great grandmother and great great grandmother. Special thanks to doctor and staff at Meadow Glen Nursing Home. Peace Perfect Peace At Last'. She was cremated at the Springvale Crematorium three days later. As noted in Gladys' death notice, she and Hugh had five children. We know little about their youngest daughter
Mavis and think their youngest son, Neil Calvin Pendock married Gwendalene Anne Read
(1941-2005) in Victoria in 1962 although that has not been confirmed. We know a little more about their other three children as follows:
1) Hugh Francis (Frank) Pendock (1926-2018). Born at Bendigo in central Victoria, 157252 Leading Aircraftman Hugh Francis Pendock served in the RAAF from 30 August 1944 until 12 August 1946 at which time he was in 1 Stores Depot. He was living with his parents on Dandenong Road in Oackleigh and working as a salesman when he married a Dandenong local, Margaret Emily Sangwell (1927-2003), at St James' Church of England there on 3 September 1949. A report of the wedding in The Dandenong Journal tells us Margaret was 'the eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs A. G. Sangwell, 19 Wilson St., Dandenong, and a popular member of Alex Scott and Co.'s office staff . . . Mrs Edith Croy was matron-of honor, and Miss Mavis Pendock, the bridegroom's sister, was bridesmaid . . . [while the] groom was attended by his brother Maurice as best man and by the bride's brother, Mr Kevin Sangwell, as groomsman' (14 September 1949). The Australian electoral rolls show Hugh, who worked as a traveller, and Margaret Emily Pendock lived on Morrison Street in nearby Clayton until at least the early 1980s (registered as living with them in 1977 and 1980 was a Claire Maree Pendock, clerk). The Ryerson Index tells us Magaret and Hugh both died in Melbourne, she on 7 July 2003 and he at Rosebud on 30 June 2018. His tributes in the Melbourne Herald Sun tell us Hugh was 'much loved by his wife Margaret (dec), children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren', as well as the 'dearly loved brother of Valda Moore, uncle of David, Maureen, Lee, Julie and Len'.
2) Maurice Raymond Pendock (1929-2007) who married June Mary Flanders in 1949 and lived until at least the early 1980s in the Melbourne suburb of Reservoir where Maurice worked as a clerk (registered as living with them at the time of the 1977 and 1980 elections was a Robert Kelvin Pendock, clerk). The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust website shows June died on 24 October 1997 and Maurice on 3 March 2007. They were both cremated at Fawkner Memorial Park, and are memorialised there in the J Stansfield-Smith Gardens (Companion Roses, Garden Bed 3, Position 7). Maurice's tribute, published in the Melbourne Herald Sun on 5 March 2007 reads: 'PENDOCK - Maurice. Passed away peacefully Mar. 3, 2007. Dad, reunited with your true love June Mary Pendock - nee Flanders. Forever in our hearts. All our love - Rob and Barb'.
3) The Victorian Index of bdms shows a Valda May Pencock married Warren Keith Moore in Victoria in 1954. The Australian electoral rolls have them living living in the Melbourne suburbs of East Oakleigh and then Nunawading during the 1960s and 1970s (registered with them at Nunawading in 1977 was a Julie Ann Moore who was working as a junior clerk (over this time Warren worked as a photo engraver). At the time of the 1980 election, Warren had retired and he and Valda were living at Nambucca Heads in the Mid North Coast of NSW. We have not been able to trace them with any certainty after that although, as noted above, we do know they had five children: David, Maureen, Lee, Julie and Len Moore.
3. Reginald Hubert Hickmott (1911-91)
The 1936/7 electoral roll shows a Reginald Hubert and Ronald Henry Hickmott, both farm labourers, living at Yalcokrin near Gilgandra in New South Wales. Over this time
Reg was also a popular and active member of the Bearbong Tennis Club where he would have met his wife-to-be, Jessie Cooper, whose family were then farming land in the area. The 9 January issue of the Gilgandra Weekly and Castlereagh informed its readers of the engagement 'of Jessie, fourth daughter, of Mr and Mrs W. F. Cooper, of 'Gundare', Gilgandra, to Reg second son of the late Mr J. Hickmott and Mrs Hickmott, of Rochester, Victoria'. A subsequent issue of the newspaper reported that: 'A quiet wedding was celebrated at St Ambrose's Church at 2 pm on Monday, when Bro Harry Kitley united in holy wedlock Miss Jessie Cooper and Mr Reginald Hickmott. The couple later left on their honeymoon. Upon return they will make their residence in the Gulargambone district, Mr Hickmott having accepted a position on Mr J. Christie's property'. Jessie's parents were William Francis Cooper (1871-1954) who was born at Lake George near Goulburn in NSW and Selina May Walters (1885-1972) who hailed from Carcoar in NSW's Central West region. Married at Narromine near Dubbo in 1906, they had five children in addition to Jessie. Bill Cooper died in Sydney's St Luke’s Hospital on 12 June 1954. His obituary, published
in the Gilgandra Weekly four days later, tells us
. . . In 1908 deceased arrived in Gilgandra, continuing as a butcher until 1921. He continued as a farmer in the district till his retirement in 1947, when he purchased a house in Rawson Street Gilgandra. The late Mr Cooper was twice married. There were two children of the first union and seven of the second. In addition to his wife he is survived by seven daughters and one son: Mary (Mrs C. P. Williams, Balgowlah), Elsie (Mrs R. Bullard, Canterbury), Alma (Mrs R. Blackett, Coogee), Rene (Mrs W. Young, Singleton), William (Gilgandra), Phyllis (Mrs S. McLennan, Queensland), Jessie (Mrs R. Hickmott, Carlton), Beth (Mrs C. Ayne, Goulburn). One daughter, Joan, predeceased him in 1915.
The funeral took place on Monday morning after a service at St. Ambrose' Church of England, conducted by the Rev. Walker. Four sons-in-law acted as pall bearers, Messrs' C. F. William, R. R. Blackett, W; Young and R. Hickmott. Jessie's mother continued living at Gilgandra until her death there in 1972. She is buried with Bill in the local cemetery.
From the 'Nagle Family Tree' on Ancestry, photo of Jessie Cooper's parents, William Francis (Bill) and Selina May Cooper nee Walters.
The Australian electoral rolls show Reg, a fireman, and Jessie Hickmott lived at Glen Davis near Clandulla in New South Wales until the early 1950s when they moved to Sydney. There they lived at Burwood, Carlton and finally Kogarah where Reg worked as a traveller. Registered with them at Kogarah in 1963 was a Neville Francis Hickmott who also worked as a traveller. The Ryerson Index tells us Reg died at Kogarah in 1991 and Jessie in 2002. Reg's death notice in the Sydney Morning Herald reads: 'HICKMOTT, Reginald Hubert - July 30 1991, late of Kogarah, dearly loved husband of Jessie and loved father and father-in-law of Neville, Ruth and Fred and loving grandfather of their children. Fond brother of Ron and Pearl'. The Find a Grave website shows Reg and Jessie are buried together in the Sutherland Shire's Woronora Memorial Park cemetery (Section LL, Rose Garden 9, Position 107). As Reg's death notice notes, he and Jessie had two children:
1) Neville Francis Hickmott (1939-2021) who worked as an agent and, with his wife/
partner Anita Margaret Hickmott, lived in Newcastle until at least the early 1980s.
According to the Ryerson Index, Neville, aged 82 and late of the Sydney suburb of
Padstow, died on 20 June 1991. His death notice in the Daily Telegraph on 23 June reads: 'HICKMOTT, Neville Francis Aged 82 years. Dearly loved brother of Ruth. Cherished
father of Phillip, Jane, Karen. Loving grandfather to all his grandchildren'. Like his parents, Neville is buried at Woronora Memorial Park (Section LL, Rose Garden 13, Position 0088).
2) The NSW index of bdms shows a Ruth May Hickmott married Frederick Thomas Fry in
the Hurstville RD of Sydney in 1964. The Australian electoral rolls have them living in the southern Sydney suburb of Miranda at the time of the 1968 and subsequent elections (Fred was working as a bootmaker and Ruth as a programmer).
From the Gilgandra Shire Library's collection, this photo is of local soldiers during the Second World War and includes,
fifth from the left in the second row, Reg Hickmott.
4. Ronald Henry Hickmott (1913-95)
Like his older brother, Ron lived and worked at Gilgandra where, in 1938, he married a local girl, Kathleen Dulcie Jean Boxhall (1916-2004) - pictured on the right. The 'McDonnell' and a number of other family trees on Ancestry tell us Kathleen was the youngest daughter of Dubbo-born John Boxhall (1866-1918) and Amelia ('Minnie') Nicholson (1870-1955) who hailed from Goulburn. Married at Coonamble on the central western plains of NSW on 25 August 1904, they had four children before John's death in Sydney's Prince Alfred Hospital on 18 November 1918: Nellie Eileen (born in 1905), Margaret Edith Grace (1907), Leslie William Stewart (1912) and Jean Boxhall (1916). John's parents - Edwin Boxhall (1827-78) and Eliza Cleaver - both migrated from England to Australia and were married at Orange in NSW in 1859. Following her husband's death in 1918, Minnie continued living at Gilgandra until after Jean's marriage when she moved to Sydney. There she lived with her daughter Margaret at Summer Hill until her death in Marrickville Hospital in November 1955. She is buried
with John in the Rookwood General Cemetery (Zone F Section Methodist New 04 Grave 439).
The Department of Veterans Affairs' WW2 nominal roll shows NX86228 Ronald Henry Hickmott, born at Charlton in Victoria on 23 February 1913, enlisted in the Second AIF at Paddington in NSW on 28 January 1942. He was then living at Gilgandra and gave as his NOK his wife Kathleen. It adds that at the time of his discharge from the Army on 4 January 1946, Ron was a L/Cpl in the 2/3 Machine Gun Battalion. This had been formed in South Australia in June 1940 and, as part of the Australian 7th Division, fought in Palestine and Syria before setting sail for Australia on 8 February 1942. While en route home, the bulk of the battalion was diverted to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies where, on 9 March 1942, they were forced to surrender to the invading Japanese forces. Those elements of the battalion that made it back to Australia were re-grouped and assigned to
garrison duties in NSW and Queensland before, as part of the Australian 6th Division, taking part in the final operations around Aitape and Wewak in northern New Guinea. Ron's record in the National Archives has still to be made public, but we think he joined the 2/3 Machine Gun Battalion after it returned to Australia and served in action in New Guinea. Evidence for this is a report in The Gilgandra Weekly on 15 March 1945 informing its readers that word was received 'on Tuesday by Mrs. Hickmott that her husband, Ron Hickmott. has been wounded in action. No further details are yet to band, but the wish will be expressed that the injury is not serious'.
The Australian electoral rolls show Ron and Jean continued to live at Gilgandra after the war and for much of this time at 27 Morris Street (the rolls also have a John Leslie, tyre service and later bus proprietor, and Enid Edwardina Hickmott at 11A Dudley Street in 1968 and 13 Morris Street Gilgandra in 1980). Ronald Henry Hickmott died and was buried at Gilgandra in 1995. The Ryerson Index tells us Kathleen Dulcie Jean Hickmott, 'late of Springwood and formerly of Gilgandra' died on 17 May 2004. She is buried with Ron in the Gilgandra cemetery where their headstone informs us they 'were the dear father and mother of John and loving Pop and Grand Pop and Nan and Grand Nan of Enid, Leanne, Peter and Karen. Amelia, Ben, Claudia, Harrison and William'.According to the NSW Index of bdms, Ron and Jean's son, John Leslie Hickmott, married Enid Edwardina Baker at Gilgandra in 1962. Enid's parents, Ernest Baker (1907-2001) and Gwenda Madeline McWhirter (1913-90), were both residents of Tooraweenah, a small rural village some 40 km northeast of Gilgandra, where they were married in 1935. A report of the wedding in the Gilgandra Weekly and Castlereigh, tells us 'the contracting parties' were the 'third son of Mr and
Mrs W. J. Baker, of "Mt. Pleasant", Tooraweenah', and the 'second daughter of Mr and Mrs
Frederick L. McWhirter of “Springfield” Tooraweenah' (7 February 1935). His obituary in the same newspaper the following year tells us Enids paternal grandfather, William John Baker (1868-1936) was 'a native of Bathurst [and] first arrived in this district in 1914, when he purchased "Mt. Pleasant", residing there until his death. Whilst in our midst the late gentleman made himself popular with all he came in contact with, and proved a good citizen and kindly and generous neighbour. A progressive farmer he was very fond of good horse flesh, especially draughts, and in this respect was a prominent exhibitor at Tooraweenah and Gilgandra Shows, where he carried off many blues with his fine string of Clydesdales' (16 July 1936). As noted earlier, after their marriage in 1962 John and Enid Hickmott continued to live at Gilgandra where John ran a successful bus company. We believe he also served as Deputy Mayor of the Gilgandra Shire and President of the
Orana Tourist Association. In 1979, as a member of the NSW Country Party, John also unsuccessfully ran for the State seat of Castlereagh.
Also from the 'McDonnell Family Tree' on Ancestry this is of Ron and Jean Hickmott (on the left) and 'Wald and John'
(Jeans brother-in-law Waldemar Anders William Anderson (1907-98) and possibly her and Ron's son, John Leslie Hickmott,
although that has still to be confirmed).
5. Leslie James Hickmott (1913-95)
Born at Rochester in Victoria in 1915, Les was working as a farm hand in the area at the time of the 1937 election. On the 6th January 1941 readers of the Melbourne Argus were informed he had become engaged to Mary Ethel (Pearl) Carter, elder daughter of the late Mr and Mrs Albert Carter, Alexandra'. They were married on 6 March 1942 at the Presbyterian Church in the outer Melbourne suburb of Ringwood. A report of the wedding in the Alexandra and Yea Standard tells us Pearl 'was attended by her sister, Miss Jean Carter . . . Mr. Reynolds acted as best man [and the] reception was held at the Tudor Lounge at the Victoria, where a sumptuous wedding dinner was served. The happy couple left for a short honeymoon with the best of good wishes from their many friends' (3 April
1942). According to the 'Hickmott Family Tree' on Ancestry, Pearl's parents were Albert Carter (1872-1934), who was born at Enoch's Point southeast of Yarck in Victoria, and an Alexandra local, Frances Sarah Amelia (Fanny) Alston (1880-1933), Married on 26 December 1906 Albert and Fanny had three children in addition to Pearl: Harry Alston (born in 1909), Evelyn Erica (1911) and Jean Margaret Carter (1913). We believe Albert worked for a time as a storekeeper at Thornton outside Alexandra before farming land at nearby Taggerty. He and his wife Fanny, together with their eldest son, Harry Alston Carter (1909-33), are buried in the Alexandra cemetery (Presbyterian 566 49). Fanny and Harry both died tragically from shotgun wounds which a subsequent coronial inquiry found had occurred acidently in the case of Fanny and were 'wilfully self-inflicted' on
Harry who told a witness before he died he did not wish to live without his mother (Alexandra and Yea Standard, 14 April 1933).
The Department of Veterans Affairs' WW2 nominal roll shows VX131883 Leslie James Hickmott of South Melbourne enlisted in the Second AIF at Brisbane on 14 January 1943 and served as a Lance Sergeant in the 19th Australian Line Section (Signals). He was discharged from the Army on 14 November 1945. The Australian electoral rolls show Les, who worked all his life as a labourer, and Pearl then lived at Alexandra until at least the 1980s. Other Hickmotts registered there during this time were: Howard James and Christine Anne Hickmott and Kenneth John and Hillary Hickmott. Various newspaper reports from this time indicate Les was a member of the Alexandra Golf and Tennis Clubs and played for the local cricket and football teams - including in the latter's grand final win over arch rivals, Mansfield, in 1939. He was also a long-time member of the Alexandra branch of the RSL. In addition to playing tennis, Pearl was a member of the Country Womens Association and a keen gardener and regular exhibitor in the district's various flower shows. Les and Pearl Hickmott both died at Alexandra, he in 1989 and she in 2002. They are buried
together in the Alexandra cemetery their headstone telling us they were the loving father and mother of 'Norm, Ken, Howard and Meryl'.
What of their four children? We know little about Norman and Howard Hickmott beyond their names. The New Zealand electoral rolls show a Kenneth John Hickmott (1945-2006) was working as a metal sheetworker and living at 281 Park Road in Palmerston North in 1966. The 1969 roll has Ken and his wife, Hilary Hickmott nee Jackson (1946-2006), at 14 Mersey Terrace in the same city. According to the 'Gittings Family Tree' on Ancestry Hilary was the only daughter of Lawrence James William Jackson and Elma May Silson nee Pascoe (1901-81) who were married at Palmerson North in 1942 and had one other child (male). Elma's parents were both English in origin: William Augustus Pascoe (1871-1943), who was born at Peterborough in Northamptonshire, and Ellen Bevin (1873-1965) who was born at Wrotham in Kent. They were married at Palmerston North in 1894 and had eleven children between then and 1916. On 21 September 1969, Ken and Hilary Hickmott and their two girls - Kim aged 2 and Gina aged 6 months - sailed from Wellington on the ANGELINA LAURO bound for Melbourne. The Australian electoral rolls have them living at Alexandra in 1972 and nearby Cathkin in 1977 and 1980 (two years after another daughter, Krista Maree Hickmott, died at childbirth in Melbourne). Ken was said to be working as a maintenance engineer. According to Diane Johnson's 'James Family Tree', both he and Hilary died at Yarck to
the north of Cathkin in 2006. We have yet to discover where they are buried/memorialised.
Although still to be confirmed, we believe Meryl Joy Hickmott married an electrician, Ian Paul (Joe) Henry (1945-2013), and was living with him at Townsville in Northern Queensland at the time of the 1977 and 1980 elections, The Ryerson Index tells us Joe, aged 67, died on 22 May 2013 (reported in the Narooma News and Bay Post Moruya Examiner). Roy Lupton's 'Hickmott Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us Joe and Meryl had two daughters and three grandchildren.
6. Angelina Harriet Hickmott (1917-2001)
Angelina, who was named after her maternal grandmother, was born at Rochester in 1917. The 1942 electoral roll has her living at Rennison St in the Melbourne suburb of Cheltenham. The 'Hills Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us Angelina married Cyril Eugene Stevens (1919-87) in Victoria in 1945. Born at Footscray in Melbourne, Cyril was the third son of James Stevens (1886-1953) and Jessie May Scott (1894-1957) who were married in Victoria in 1912 and had six children between then and 1926.The Australian electoral rolls show an Angelina Harriet, home duties, and Cyril Eugene Stevens, blacksmith, were living at Moyhu (near Wangaratta in Victoria) at the time of the 1949 election (along with a James Stevens, blacksmith - probably Cyril's father). The 1963, 1967 and 1968 rolls have Angelina and Cyril, a brick setter, at 21 Cambridge Street in the Melbourne suburb of Armadale. They were still registered there in 1972 - along with a John Robert Stevens, carpet layer - and 1977. The Ryerson Index shows Angelina died on 11 April 2001. Her death notice in the Herald Sun dated 12 April 2001 read: 'STEVENS. - Angelina Harriet. Passed away peacefully Apr. 11 2001. Wife of Cyril (George, dec), mother to John, mother-in-law to Dianne, Nanny to Rachel, Catherine and John, and Granny Anny to Molly and Jack. Will be sadly missed'. She was cremated at the Springvale Botanical Cemetery on 12 April 2001. Cyril Eugene Stevens had been cremated there on 10 September 1987.
Henry and Harriet's youngest son, Joseph Hickmott was born at Clunes in Victoria in 1872. His birth certificate shows his father was then 45 years old and was working as a brickmaker. Joseph's siblings were said on the certificate to be: James (17), Sophia (deceased), Samuel (15), William (13), Walter (deceased), Jane (9), Maryann (deceased), Louisa (deceased), Alfred (3) and Richard (deceased). As an infant Joseph moved with his family to Maryborough and then to Charlton in central Victoria where Henry established a brickyards in the town and bought a farm at nearby Wooroonook. In 1877 Joseph's mother, Harriet, and his older brother, Samuel Hickmott, were both struck by lightning and killed instantly during a severe thunderstorm that had engulfed the town. As detailed in the account of his time in Victoria, Henry re-married two years later. Joseph's step-mother was the London-born widow, Margaret Ann Kaye nee Sartain (c1839-93) with whom Henry would have a son, Robert Hickmott. A year after their marriage Henry and Margaret left Charlton for Junee in NSW. Three years later, Henry walked out on Margaret and Robert (who would die of typhoid fever at Junee in 1899) and travelled to Roma in Queensland where his son William was working and where he would again try his luck as a brick maker.
