Adelaide Gertrude Dunne
Adelaide was the eldest child of Peter Francis Dunne and Euphemia Eddy. She was born on her grandparents' farm barely a few yards on the Victorian side of the Murray River. The official birth register records that she was born at Strathmerton, Victoria, on 28 September 1904.
Her early life was in nearby Tocumwal, on the New South Wales side of the state border. The family home was located in Kelly Street Tocumwal.
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Adelaide married at Tocumwal NSW on 18 November 1925 to John Vivian Endacott, whom she met when the young constable was based in Tocumwal. They subsequently resided in Hay, Griffith and Narrandera before relocating to North Parramatta in Sydney. The electoral roll for 1936 shows Addie and John's address as 24 Charles St., Narrandera. The electoral roll for the following year shows them as residing at 2 Gladstone St., North Parramatta; it is believed that this was a short period of occupancy prior to relocating to the long-term family home nearby. The 1949 electoral roll shows the address as 11 Belmore St., North Parramatta, which was the family home until John's death.
Adelaide had four children
- Peter John Endacott : married Myrleen Murray;
- Pauline Barbara Endacott : married Daniel Austin Cleary;
- Margaret Effie Endacott : married Russell Bowman;
- Barbara Anne Endacott : married John Champ.
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with John Endacott (location is possibly Church Street, Parramatta,
almost in front of the Town Hall)
Adelaide ("Grandma" or "Grandma Endy") was a loving grandmother of her twelve grandchildren, and her great grandchildren. A great sadness was that she was a widow for more years than she was a wife. As a younger woman, Addie enjoyed dabbling in some art, writing and music (piano). But as she got older, the old fingers weren't quite as nimble any more. She enjoyed playing card games with friends and was generally a very social woman in her old age. It was rare for her to refuse an invitation as she said that if she ever said no to an invitation, they might not ask her again.
Prior to her marriage Adelaide lived in Tocumwal NSW, then as policeman's wife lived in police stations in Hay NSW, Griffith NSW and Narrandera NSW, eventually moving to the Sydney suburb of North Parramatta. After being widowed she lived for many years in the suburb of Westmead. Her last home was again in North Parramatta in the Courtlands retirement village.
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Adelaide died early in the following year, on 11 February 1996 in Westmead Hospital (Sydney).
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Martha Weston, daughter of a "carter", from Somersetshire in England, was twice widowed (one husband was a coach driver in 19th century London and the other was a stonemason in 19th century Victoria). The majority of her children died before her. The old lady died in a farmhouse a short distance from the Murray River in northern Victoria, far across the world from the place of her childhood. Imagine her world : where men worked as carters, coach drivers and stonemasons and where children died of infectious diseases. Just before her death, she saw her great grand-daughter come into the world. Baby Adelaide was born four years into the 20th century and died four years before its finish. In her lifetime, Adelaide travelled in a aeroplane, drove a car, listened to radio, watched television, saw humans travel in space, saw cities devastated by nuclear bombs, saw her family benefit from life-saving drugs such as antibiotics, and many more marvels and disasters that the reader might care to ponder. In the last years of her life, Adelaide had the opportunity to meet many of her great grandchildren. One can only wonder at the new developments and changes that will occur in the lifetimes of Adelaide's great grandchildren. |
