Born at Clunes in Victoria on 22 May 1859, William was the fourth child of Henry Hickmott and Harriet Waters. He would have spent his childhood at Clunes before moving with his parents and siblings to Maryborough in Victoria in 1871 and, in the following year, to Charlton East where he would have worked as a brickmaker at his father's brickyard on Olive Street. As he was not mentioned in the reports of his mother's death by lightning strike in 1877, we can surmise that he left Charlton some time before this date in order to make his own way in life.

We think that he may have initially gone to Queensland where he met his first wife Mary Power. Mary was born at Condamine in Queensland in 1867, the daughter of John Baptist Power and Maria Jane Kelly. John hailed from London while his wife, Maria, was born in County Kildare in Ireland. They were married in Brisbane in 1856 and had had five children prior to Mary: John, George, Michael, Alfred and a female who had died at birth.

According to one of their descendants, Rita Wilson (nee Dunstan), William and Mary had two children in New South Wales - Mary Ann Hickmott who was born at Woorona near Wollongong in 1886, and Alice Maud Hickmott (born at Liverpool in 1889). They then moved to Gippsland in Victoria where their next four children were born: Emily Victoria Hickmott (in Murrindale in 1890), twin sons John and William Hickmott (Bruthven, 1893) and William Henry Hickmott (Bruthven, 1894). Emily's birth certificate states that her parents had been married in Brisbane in 1885. Yet Rita has discovered that they were (re)married in the Vestry of the Roman Catholic Church (pictured on the right) in Roma in Queensland on 25 September 1896. She thinks that they were probably not married in Brisbane but said they were to cover any embarrassment when they met up with William's family.

After spending five years in Victoria, William and Mary returned to Queensland where they had a further daughter, Maria Harriet Lillian Hickmott, who was born at Roma in 1897 and was named after her two grandmothers. Within five years of their arrival at Roma, the unfortunate couple lost both their twin sons and the boys' older brother, William Henry. All are buried in unmarked graves at the Roma cemetery. The boys were joined not not long afterwards by their mother, Mary Hickmott (nee Power) who died in Roma of bronchial asthma on 26 January 1901. She was just 32 years old. Rita adds that Mary's mother, Maria, is buried close by in the same cemetery.

William was left to bring up his four daughters by himself. In 1909 he married Kate Elizabeth Eaton (pictured with William on the left) at Yuleba some 20 km east of Roma. Kate had been born at Roma on 11 March 1888, the second daughter of Samuel Eaton/Heaton and Mary Ann O'Laughlin. Information provided by Barbara Andersen and Mary-Ann Wheatley indicates that Samuel's life was both very interesting and very hard. He was born at Pemberton in Lancashire in England on 30 September 1824. His parents were Henry Heaton and Elizabeth Blinston. On 21 August 1841 he enlisted at Wigan in the 23rd Regiment of the Royal Welch Fusiliers and was posted to London in Canada. His service record shows he was 5 feet 8 inches tall with a sallow complexion, brown hair and brown eyes. On 5th May 1846, Samuel, together with a James Shenton, went absent without leave. He was quickly apprehended and court martialed at Chambly in Canada on 23 May 1846. Samuel was found guilty of desertion and sentenced to transportation to Australia for 10 years. He left on the 'Mount Stewart Elphinstone' which sailed from Canada's Spithead on 31 May 1849 and arrived in Moreton Bay at Brisbane on 1 November 1849. Samuel was granted a Ticket of Leave (No 49/892) on 30 November 1849, a mere 29 days after his arrival. The next record of him is on 2 May 1855 when he was imprisoned in Ipswich Gaol. Barbara Andersen says that although no details of the case are available, it seems that the charges made against him were dismissed and he was released after 14 days in custody. His occupation was given as a miner. It was around this time that Samuel met and married Ellen Bullens who had arrived at Brisbane on 13 August 1852 on the bounty ship 'Meridan'. The ship had come from Tipperary in Ireland, and Ellen was accompanied by her father William (40), mother Ellen (38) and siblings Edward (13), Patrick (10), Mary (8) and Anora (6). Barbara continues that Ellen's death certificate and other information indicates that they were married at Undullah, Teviot Brook sometime between 1852 and 1855.

In 1882, Samuel and Ellen together with their son Henry, his wife Anne and daughter Annie drove a bullock team out west to Adavale Station (a distance of over 800kms). Samuel and Henry worked as carriers and it is thought the purpose of their trip was to transport wool from Adavale back to Charleville. Samuel's wife Ellen died of heart problems in Charleville on 10th April 1883. Henry's wife, Annie Coulson, gave birth to twins, William and Ellen, on 11 September 1883 at Adavale Station. Sadly baby Ellen died two days later from convulsions. Less than 12 months later, on 21 August 1884, Henry's wife Anne also died at Adavale Station. She was just 23 years old. Samuel and Henry returned to Rosewood with Henry's two small children (Annie aged 4 and baby William aged 14 months). Five months after their return, Henry died on 17 January 1885 from apoplexy. He was 28. Now orphans, Annie and William were cared for by their grandparents, George and Anne Coulson. Samuel eventually returned to the Charleville area where he married Ann Mary O'Laughlin on 16 Sept 1885 at Aesthimann's Hotel. Samuel's son, Richard John, was a witness to the wedding. Samuel and Ann Mary had two daughters: Norah, born at Yuleba on 3 July 1886, and Kate Elizabeth, born on 11 March 1888 at Roma. According to Barbara: 'A couple of years after his marriage to Ann Mary, Samuel was once again in trouble with the law. He appeared in the Charleville courts four times between 1887 and 1890 for drunkenness and disorderly conduct (26 July 1887, 28 July 1887, 27 November 1890 and 3 December 1890)'. Samuel was admitted to the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum on 18 December 1894 with general debility. His admission form states that he came to Australia 43 years earlier, had landed in Moreton Bay, worked on stations in all parts of Queensland, and had never left the colony. For the last 2 years he worked at odd jobs about Adavale. Samuel had no money and no property. He went on leave from Dunwich on 20 March 1895 and never returned (he was recorded as 'beyond leave' on the asylum records on 21 June 1895). The family has found no record of Samuel's death. It is known that he died before 1903 as his wife Ann Mary remarried on 30 March 1903 and states on her marriage certificate that she was a widow. Norah Eaton married James Nean (born 6 March 1862 in Dalby in Queensland) on 3 July 1904 at Miles in Queensland.

William and Kate Elizabeth Hickmott lived and worked in the Maranoa Region of Queensland from the time of their marriage at Yuleba in 1909 until the late 1920s. After spending time at Toowoomba and nearby Helidon, they moved to Brisbane where they lived at Sandgate, Boondall and then New Farm. William Hickmott died at Helidon on 27 November 1948 and is buried in the cemetery there. The following 'In Memorium' notice was published in the Brisbane Courier Mail a year later: 'HICKMOTT - In loving memory of our dear Father, Father-in-law, and Grandfather, William Hickmott, who passed away 27th November, 1948. His gentle voice keeps whispering, Be patient, kind, and true. At the end of the lane of shadows, I will be waiting for all of you. Inserted by Lil, Charlie, and Family'. The electoral rolls show Kate living in the family home on Lloyd Street New Farm in 1949 and 1954 (along with her and William's son Edward Hickmott and his wife Isobel). Kate Elizabeth Hickmott nee Eaton died on 31 July 1960 at Beenleigh in Brisbane where she was living with August Behrendorff. She is buried with William in the Helidon Cemetery. They had nine children we know of one of whom, Lorna May Hickmott (1918-22), died young. As detailed below, the other eight all grew into adulthood, married, and had children and grandchildren of their own.

1) Edward Hickmott (1908-58), who worked as a labourer and later on a hawker, married Daisy Isabel Krause (1913-2016) on 24 December 1931 probably at Helidon although that has still to be confirmed. According to the 'Oliver/Hickling DNA' family tree on Ancestry, Daisy's parents were August Otto Fredrick Krause (1883-1958) and Annie Eliza Woods (1882-1968) who were married on 27 August 1905 and had seven children in addition to Daisy: Albert Otto Frederich (Abe) (1905-85), Violet Annie (1908-73), Cecil Clarence (1910-85), Edna Pearl (1916-2009), Emma Lilian (1919-2002), Herbert Edward (1926-2011) and one other. Annie's father, Thomas Woods (1856-1939), was born in Belfast in Ireland and married Annie's mother, Brisbane-born Ann (Annie) Eliza Kelly (1859-1912), in Brisbane on 1 September 1881. The Australian electoral rolls show that after their marriage Edward and Daisy Hickmott lived initially at Helidon and then with Edward's parents in Brisbane where Edward died on 5 November 1958. He is buried in the Lutwyche Cemetery at Kedron (Plot MON-14-16-8). Daisy, who was working as a packer and living in the Brisbane suburb of Spring Hill in 1963, married Joseph Allan Bradley (1908-82) in 1968. She died at Bethania in Brisbane on 2 August 2016. An announcement in the Brisbane Courier Mail on 5 August read: 'BRADLEY, Daisy Isobell Aged 103 Years Of Jeta Gardens Formerly of Regal Waters Dearly loved Mother, Nanna, Great-Nan and G.G. Dean, Sharlene and Simone warmly invite Relatives and Friends to join them in a Celebration of Daisy's Life, to be held at the York Street Chapel, 65 York Street, Beenleigh'. The 'Marshall Family Tree' on Ancestry and other sources tell us Edward and Daisy had five children: Desmond Hickmott (1932-2010); Kevin Scott Hickmott (1935-2008); Lorna Hickmott (deceased); Margaret Loretta Hickmott (1939-2008) who married Henry Cyril Edward Wills (1930-2014) and died in Brisbane; and June Hickmott. Desmond Hickmott's death notice in the Courier Mail on 10 September 2010 tells us he was the 'Cherished Husband of Dorothy, loving Father and Father-in-law to Joanne and Rex, Rhonda and Phil, Roxanne and Andy, Mark and Ondrea, Tania. Adored Poppie to his 13 Grandchildren. Much loved Brother of Kevin (dec'd), Lorna (dec'd), Margaret (dec'd) and June.

2) William John Hickmott (1910-88). Born at Roma on 2 May 1910, William married Florence Bridges (1909-2004) on 27 June 1927 probably in Bisbane although that has still to be confirmed. The 'Maloney/Hickmott Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us Florence was the daughter of a Brisbane girl, Annie Maud Bridges (1888-1962), who later married Albert Wilhelm Kunde (1887-1969) at Sandgate in Brisbane on 29 March 1913 and had three children: Edna (born in 1913), Albert James (1915) and Grace Kunde (1916-83). It adds that Annie's parents were two Brisbane-ites, George Josiah Bridges (1856-1925) and Rose Baker Smith (1862-1947) who were married at Sandgate on 11 August 1877 (the 'Alana Blyth' family tree suggests Florence was George and Rose Bridges' daughter not their grand-daughter). The Australian Electoral Rolls show that after their marriage in 1927, William John, who was working as a railway employee, and Florence Hickmott first lived with William's parents in the Brisbane suburb of Sandgate. The 1943 and subsequent rolls have them at Guthalungra - a rural town located between Townsville and Bowen in the Whitsunday Region of Queensland - where William worked as a 'night officer'. In addition to William and Florence, the 1980 electoral roll has a number of other Hickmotts living and working at or near Guthalungra: Frances Jill, hd, Kerry Dawn, nurse, Noel, farmer, Robyn Dawn, nurse, Trevor, poultry farmer, and Veronica Hickmott, poultry farmer. William John and Florence Hickmott both died at Bowen - William on 14 June 1988 and Florence on 2 January 2004 - and are buried in the Burdekin Shires Home Hill Cemetery (Plots 1618 and 1619). Also buried there is one of their granddaughters, Robyn Dawn Hickmott (1960-2003) whose grave description reads: 'dau Noel & Jil; sister; mother'. This and other sources indicate William John and Florence Hickmott had three sons: Noel, Trevor and one other (possibly John/Jack Hickmott who, along with a Patricia Elizabeth Hickmott were registered as living at Guthalungra via Bowen at the time of the 1954 election).

Florence Hickmott nee Bridges in the photo on the left and Robyn Dawn Hickmott in the one on the right.

3) Veronica Eileen May Hickmott (1911-81). Born at Roma on 4 June 1911, Veronica married Cecil Clarence Krause (1910-85), older brother of Daisy Isabel Hickmott nee Krause (1913-2016), on 17 December 1932. The Australian Electoral Rolls show they lived all their married lives at Helidon where May died on 21 January 1981 and Cecil on 4 April 1985. They are buried together in the Helidon Cemetery. We believe Cecil and May had at least two daughters: 1) Dulcie Jean Krause (1935-91) who, the 'Hedges Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us married Kingston Bruce (King) Hedges (1930-95) the son of Herbert Charles Hedges (1910-66) and Lyle Smith (1910-74). Dulcie and King had two children: Julie Marie Hedges (1955-55) and one other (male) who is married with three children. Dulcie and Kingston both died at Helidon, she on 27 November 1991 and he on 27 October 1995. They are buried together in the Helidon Cemetery Kings grave description saying he was a 'Dear father and pop'; 2) Beverley June Krause (1936-2009)

May Krause nee Hickmott and Cecil Clarence Krause with his granddaughter and great granddaughter.

Cecil and May Krause and their two daughters

4) Henry Hickmott (1913-73). Henry - pictured on the left - was born at Miles in Queensland's Western Downs Region. At the time of the 1937 election he was working as a labourer and living at Helidon with his older brother and sister-in-law Edward and Daisy Isabel Hickmott. On 4 May 1940 Henry married Lesley (Lal) Graham (1918-2001) - pictured on the right - at the Helidon Presbyterian Church. The announcement of the wedding, in the Brisbane Courier Mail on 26 April 1940, tells us Lesley was the 'third daughter of Mr James Graham, Helidon, and the late Mrs Graham' and 'Mrs B. Ryan and Miss J. Graham will attend their sister as matron of honour and bridesmaid'. According to the 'Clarke' and other family trees on Ancestry, Lesley was the youngest daughter of two Queenslanders, James Joseph Graham (1881-1969) and Janet Gilchrist Martin (1884-1938) who were married at Helidon on 10 May 1905 and had six children between then and 1918. Her obituary in the Queensland Times tells us Janet Graham 'was born at Murphy's Creek and came to Helidon with her parents, the late Mr and Mrs John Martin. Educated at the Helidon State School, she served as 'President of the Helidon branch of the Country Women's Association, and, as supervisor of the Younger Set, took a keen interest in their welfare' (10 August 1938). Various newspaper articles indicate James Graham was a bullock driver, a keen sportsman and a principal of Helidon's Paramount Dramatic Company which entertained enthusiastic audiences there during the 1920s and 1930s, in the process raising money for such public amenities as the Soldiers' Memorial Hall. His grandparents were both natives of County Antrim in Northern Ireland. James Joseph Graham died at Helidon on 1 August 1969 and is buried with Janet in the local cemetery.

Henry Hickmott enlisted in the Australian Army at Toowoomba on 31 May 1941. His military record in the Australian Archives shows he and Lesley were living on Bowen Street in Helidon, Henry was working as a butcher and had previously served twelve months in the Citizens Military Forces (9/49th Battalion). Allocated to the Signals Corps, he spent time on active service on Thursday Island and at Milne Bay in PNG. After Henry's discharge from the Army on 7 February 1945, he and Lesley lived for a time at Guthalungra where Henry's brothers, William John and Cecil James Hickmott, were living and working. The Australian Electoral rolls have Henry, working as a cleaner and then a fireman, and Lesley back at Helidon at the time of the 1954 and subsequent elections. The Helidon General Cemetery database shows that Henry Hickmott died there on 15 October 1973, aged 60 years. His headstone shows that his 'dear wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother' Lesley (Lal) Hickmott, died at Helidon on 13 October 2001 aged 83 years, and is buried with him in the cemetery there. Also buried in Helidon Cemetery is their only son, Graham Henry (Hicko) Hickmott (1941-2001) whose gravestone informs us was a 'loved husband, father and grandfather [who] passed away 18th October 2001 aged 60 years'. We believe 'Hicko's wife is Lorraine Alma Hickmott who, the 'M.J.W. Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us, was the daughter of a postal officer Walter Karl Wedrat (1918-73) and Doris (Dorrie) Hartley (1920-2010) who were married at Chinchila in Queensland on 30 December 1938. It adds Graham and Lorraine had four boys.

5) Cecil James Hickmott (1916-91). Also born at Miles in Queensland, the Australian electoral rolls have Cecil registered as living at Mareeba in 1937, Guthalungra in 1943 and 1949 and also at Livingstone south of Mackay in 1949 (a report in the Bowen Independent on 3 June 1949 indicates he was living at Proserpine). On 12 August 1950, Cecil married Adeline Bartley nee Johansen at Mackay. The 'Johansen Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us Adeline - pictured on the right - was the youngest of eight children of two Norwegian nationals, Herman Johansen (1878-1966) and Martha Amundsen (1882-1962), who were married at Warwick in Queensland in 1906 and died and are buried at Gympie in Queensland. Her military file in the National Archives shows Adeline Johansen later Bartley, daughter of Herman Johansen of Foulder Road in Mackay, served in the Canteens section of the Womens Auxilliary Air Force (WAAF) from 29 December 1943 until 19 November 1945. Born at Rockhampton in Queensland on 31 July 1922, Adeline left primary school in year four and, at the time of her enlistment in Brisbane, was working as a waitress in the Zaglas Cafe in Mackay. Prior to her discharge from the WAAF, she married a New South Welshman, James Joseph Bartley (1923-75) in Queensland on 6 October 1945 (probably at Mackay although that has still to be confirmed). Four years later Adeline successfully petitioned for a divorce on the grounds of desertion. As reported in the Townsville Daily Bulletin on 18 October 1949, 'Evidence was given that the parties were married on October 6, 1945, living first in Townsville, then Brisbane, and latterly in Mackay. There was one child of the marriage. When they came to Mackay they first lived with her parents, but later took a room in the town. Her husband commenced drinking fairly heavily, and . . . packed up and left on January 12, 1946 , , , [Adeline] wrote to his parents in Newcastle and when her baby was born sent him a telegram advising of the fact. He replied wishing her the best of luck, and she had not seen him since'. The electoral rolls show that Cecil, a waterside worker, and Adeline were living at Hervey Bay in Queensland in 1954 and then Bowen in northern Queensland until the early 1970s. It seems they then separated. Adeline continued to live at Bowen while Cecil moved to Brisbane where, the 'Everuss Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us, he married Theda Coleman at Redcliff on 12 January 1990. It adds that Cecil Francis Hickmott died in the Royal Brisbane Hospital on 15 July 1991 (we have yet to find if and where he is buried). We don't think Cecil and Adeline, who was then living in the Brisbane coastal suburb of Wynnum, had any children. According to the 'Bartley Family Tree' on Ancestry, the child she had with James Bartley was Joy Margaret Bartley who was born at Mackay in 1946. It adds that Adeline died in Queensland on 10 June 2012. A second 'bartley Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us Adeline's daughter married Vivian James Jones (1940-2011) and had four children.

6) Violet Hickmott (1920- 2015) married James Ronald (Jim) Graham (1914-96), older brother of her sisiter-in-law Lesley (Lal) Graham, at Helidon in Queensland on 4 May 1940. His military file in the National Archives shows that Jim served as a Craftsman in 41 Landing Craft Company RAE initially in Australia's Citizen Military Forces (from 31 August 1942 until 5 July 1944) and then, after being attested at Kapooka in New South Wales on 6 July 1944, in the 2nd AIF until 3 April 1946. In this latter period he spent time on active service in the Solomon Islands and at Milne Bay. During this time Violet lived first with her parents at New Farm in Brisbane and then with her brother Henry and his wife Isabel Hickmott at Helidon. The Australian electoral rolls show that Jim, who worked as a storeman, and Violet lived at Helidon during the post-war and subsequent years. The Find a Grave website tells us Jim died on 20 July 1996 and is buried in the Helidon Cemetery (the inscription on his grave reading: 'Beloved husband, Dad and Grandad'. Violet lived on until 2015, her death notice, published in the Toowoomba Chronicle on 29 January 2015, reads: 'GRAHAM, Violet (nee Hickmott) Late of Helidon, aged 94 years. Dearly loved Wife of Jim (dec'd), Mother and Mother-in-law of Jeanette & Bevan, James (dec'd) & Coral, Mick (dec'd), Jean & John (dec'd), Robert (dec'd) & Helen, Viola & Bill, Christine & Don, Shirley (dec'd), Ron & Mary, Joanne & Mark. Nana, Great Nana, Great Great Nana to their families. Family and friends are invited to attend a Graveside Service for Vi to be held at 10:00am Friday 30/01/2015 at Helidon Cemetery, Cemetery Rd, Helidon'. As noted, she and Jim had ten children including: Shirley Anne Graham who died in 1955; Ian Clarence (Mick) Graham (1944-81) who died and is buried at Cardwell in the Cassowary Coast Region of Queensland (grave inscription: 'Beloved Father of Jason, Nicole and Vanessa'); and possibly the James William Graham (1942-2005) who, the Ryerson Index tells us, was 'late of Home Hill' and died on 5 March 2005.

7) Doreen Merle Hickmott (1926-73). Born at Sandgate in Brisbane on 7 November 1926, Doreen attended Brighton and then Boondall State Schools before leaving in year five. She was working in Brisbane in 1943 and living with her parents at New Farm when she decided to leave home. As reported in the Brisbane Truth on 28 November 1943, 'Another young girl for whom police are searching is Merle Doreen Hickmott, 17, of Lloyd-street, New Farm. She left home at noon on Friday carrying a blue leather suitcase. She left a note at home. She is 5ft 1in in height, has natural wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, fair complexion, [and] is rather stout in build. Was wearing a white blouse and blue sack skirt, white shoes, and was carrying a brown purse'. It seems Doreen went to Helidon near Toowoomba where her older sister May Krause was living and where Doreen worked as a fruit shop and milk bar attendant. Her military record in the National Archives shows that QF273391 Doreen Merle Hickmott - pictured on the left - of Helidon enlisted in the Australian Womens Army Service (AWAS) at Brisbane on 7 December 1944. Her next of kin was William Hickmott of Guthalungra Siding via Bowen (later changed to her sister Veronica Eileen May Krause, Gladstone Road Helidon with whom Doreen was living at the time of enlistment). She served her whole time in Queensland with AWAS Canteens and was discharged on 18 Feb 1946. Her residential address was then 37 Constance Street in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley.

On 31 July 1949 Doreen married James Dalrymple (1922-93) youngest son of William Henry Dalrymple (1884-1942) and Helen Louisa McKean (1889-1964) who were married at Mitchell near Roma in Queensland's Maranoa Region on 9 November 1910 and had six children between then and 1922. His military file in the National Archives, shows QX29359 James Dalrymple was born at Gladstone in Queensland on 15 July 1922 and enlisted in the Australian Army at Brisbane on 21 January 1942. After serving a prison sentence for stealing and illegally using a car, and subsequently being charged with a number of military offences, James was discharged from the Army on 16 June 1944. His older brother, John Curtis Dalrymple, died of wounds while serving in PNG with the 42nd Infantry Battalion and is buried in the Lae War Cemetery. After their marriage in 1949 Doreen and James Dalrymple lived in Brisbane where James was working at a shop assistant in 1949 and a sawmill labourer in 1954. The 'Wendy and Jake's Gowans Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us they had two daughters: 1) Beverley Jean Dalrymple who married Leslie John Cocup (who died in 2000); and 2) a girl who married Mark Haseman (1934-2014) who was born at Murwillumbah on the border between Queensland and NSW and died at Biloela in Queensland on 22 October 2014. They had four children (three girls and a boy). Doreen and James Dalrymple separated in around 1957. The Australian electoral rolls show Doreen living at Heldon in 1958 and 1963, Toowoomba in 1969 and back at Helidon in 1972 (along with a Beverley Jean Dalrymple). According to Deborah Wilson's 'Butcher Family Tree' on Ancestry, over this time Doreen partnered with a Malcolm Barrie (1920-94) with whom she had a daughter who married Noel Butcher and has two children. The Find a Grave website shows Merle Doreen Dalrymple, aged 46 and daughter of William 'Hickmodd' and Kate Elizabeth Eaton, died on 5 August 1973, and is buried in the Heldon General Cemetery. Her grave inscription reads 'In loving memory of our dear mother and sister'.

From the 'Butcher Family Tree' on Ancestry, James Dalrymple with daughter Beverley and
Doreen Merle Dalrymple (taken in the 1970s).

8) Irene Mavis Hickmott (1923-2007) married Clemence Abbot (Clem) Dalton (1922-83) in Brisbane on 18 November 1944. Born at Mackay in Queensland on 29 January 1922, Clem - pictured on the right - was the son of a Queensland stockman and First World War veteran, George Abbot Dalton (1885-1957) and Amelia Jane Bennett (1899-1983) who was born at Gunnedah in New South Wales. They were married at the inner-Sydney suburb of Auburn on 2 October 1918 and had four children between then and 1923. At the time of his marriage to Irene, Clem was serving in the Australian Army, having enlisted at Brisbane on 26 March 1942. His file in the National Archives shows he had been previously married - to an Erin Aroney on 11 September 1941 - and served in Queensland (with a short stint in PNG) before his discharge on 7 June 1945. After the war he and Irene lived for a time in Brisbane and had two children we know of including Kenneth Dalton (1947-2016) who, the 'Dalton Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us, married and had two children and four grandchildren. Clem and Irene separated or were divorced in the mid-1950s. Irene then took up with (and, we think, married) Carl Frederick Behrendorff (1915-98), son of August Charles Behrendorff (1885-1980) and Bertha Elizabeth Verrall (1886-1937) who were married in Queensland on 18 April 1906 and had five children between then and 1917. As noted earlier, August Charles Behrendorff lived near and later partnered with Irene's widowed mother, Kate Elizabeth Hickmott nee Eaton, for a number of years prior her death at Beenleigh in Brisbane in 1960. Carl and Irene Behrendorff lived all their married lives at Beenleigh where Carl died on 14 March 1998 and is buried in the Beenleigh Cemetery (Section LO5, Row 15, Grave 0031). Irene died on 17 December 2007 and is buried with Carl. We believe they had only one child, a son Beresford Charles Behrendorff who was registered as living with his parents at the time of the 1977 and 1980 elections and was employed as a meat-worker.

What of William and Mary's children? We know little of the lives of Mary Ann and Alice Maud Hickmott. Rita Wilson tells us that Emily Victoria Hickmott, Rita's grandmother, married Cornelius O'Leary, in Dalby in Queensland in 1907. Cornelius, born at Glen Innes in New South Wales in 1884, was the son of John and Mary Ann O'Leary (nee Ellis). They had eleven children between 1907 and 1933 in such places at Chinchilla, Ingham, Townsville and Cairns, including Rita's mother, Connie O'Leary, who married Robert Henry Dunstan in Cairns in 1939. Connie and Robert and their three girls, Vicki, Denise and Rita, are shown in the photo on the left. The photo below, taken in around 1938, shows a younger Connie with her seven sisters).

Rita thinks that Emily's younger sister, Maria Harriet Lillian Hickmott was the only one of William's daughters who was brought up by her stepmother, Kate. Maria married Charles Jackson Sheppard and had at least one daughter, Audrey, who, Rita says, remembers William 'as a wonderful old gentleman'. By contrast, 'none of the children of Emily have ever mentioned their grandparents - my own mother told me not many years before she passed away in 2001 that as children growing up they had little to do with either side of their families. [This may have been because] Cornelius and Emily [who was married at 17] took their familiy to north Queensland and in those days that was a long way from Chinchilla, Dalby and the Toowoomba areas'.

Last updated: 20 May 2024