Letters from Walter and Mary McKenzie 1915-1916
And so we continue to "unpack" the Pandora's box of Nancy May McKenzie.
I have started to transcribe some of the letters to get a picture of what was happening to the McKenzie family in the early part of the 20th century.
But first a bit of an outline of who's who in the zoo.
Nancy May McKenzie was the daughter of Colin McKENZIE and Isabel Alexandra Manclark FORREST. I tell you, I'm not related but yes, the Isabel and the Alexandra leapt out at me. But back to the family tree.
Colin McKENZIE was the eldest son of - you guessed it - Colin McKENZIE - and Mary Tennent ROSS. Mary was a widow when she married Colin so she is also known as Mary MORTON (her first husband's name).
Colin Junior had four younger brothers - Alex, James, John and Walter.
From what I can gather, Colin Senior died in 1912 and James and Colin came out to Queensland in 1914 to make a new life. I think John was in the Navy and Alex was about to join the Army leaving Walter, Colin's 14 year old brother at home with his mother or Mamma. Here is a transcription of the letters from Walter and occasionally his Mum to James and Colin between 1915 and 1916.
81 Inchview Terr
Edinburgh
10 Oct 1915
Dear James
We received
a letter from you and one from Colin yesterday.
We are sorry to hear that Colin was not well. He says that he is going to sea, well, I am
going to come out as soon as I can to help you.
I wrote to London to the Agent General for Queensland and have asked him
about the nominated passages. If there
are any I will be sending you the money by the next mail. If there are no nominated passage. I will
just need to go 3rd class or as Alex has suggested I might work my
way out, but I doubt if they would be agreeable to that as I would need to come
back here again. However I will try and
be out at the beginning of next year.
The Office I am in just now is not up to much in my line. We have nothing but writing all day long and
what is more I only get a half hour for dinner of course I can get ??? which is
always a help. I make it myself so it
does not cost any money more than the buying of the cocoa, Colin is right about
our firm and another one being the only official Searchers. We go to the Register House and search up old
deeds and Bonds etc and so forth against the persons stated by the lawers (sic)
we search for. In my spare time I
searched up our name and found the Bond as you know and also one for P. Charles
and found that they have a Bond over Cobden Crescent for £500 and mamma says they got it for very little (about £750 or so) Also Mr Clelland in Darvel and he has a bond over
his home and factory in fact they are not really his own. I forgot to tell you that my boss is going to
pay my fees at the University and all fees for my learning. It is really decent of him but I will not be
staying so it does not matter to me (I have not told him that I am leaving
. He also gave me a ? holiday. I go back tomorrow. I just went about on the byke (sic) for a day’s
run. One day I went to Roman Bridge and
on to the road to Peebles where the ?? and the Forth meet. You will know that place. When I hear from London I will write
again. Perhaps I will be enclosing the
money if I can get a nominated passage.
We have been clearing up lately.
There is now nothing in the shed hut 1 chest 2 boxes and the mangle and
one or two odds which can be put in the bucket at the last minute also a few
tools which I will be bring out viz: hammer, a few chisels, brace & kits,
the big long borer etc. Your loving
brother Walter
PS. Received
word from London and now send you £7.50 for my passage. Will write again. W
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| Advertisement featuring gardening tools sold by A. J. Hockings, Queen Street, Brisbane, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Negative number: 177569 |
81 Inchview Terr
Edinburgh
20 Oct 1915
Dear James
We have not
received any letter from you since I wrote last. I hope you have received the £7-5 or perhaps you will get it at the same time as this
because I see from the Post Office Guide that the mails for Australia only
leave about three times a month. The
last one left on the 7th and then the next mail leaves on the 21st
Oct. I sent 5/- for expenses but the
price has gone up you will perhaps be able to get the money someway and I will
settle up with you when I come out. I
have painted a notice board to put up for the house to be sold and I am getting
everything ready. I suppose this will do
for my outfit: - 2 pairs boots (with tackets in them): the kind we used to get
in Dolphinton) as many socks as I can (all my stockings are done and I mean to
wear them on the road out and then pitch them overboard) Three shirts (new
ones) two pair of suits, one new and the other I have been wearing from June
this year but its quite good. Two pair blankets and a bed cover and a few
odds. Then I will be bringing out some
tools, hindges (sic) and small padlocks (which we have had in the shed). If you
have any hints to give now is the time.
I wonder if you are alone again, perhaps by the time you get this you
may be but I will be out as soon as I can and have a look at things and get to
work. Christmas will soon be here then
by the end of January I will be looking for the letter from you. We had a letter from John today and he is
going to the Dardanelles again. I hope
Colin gets on and keeps well. The sea
should be good for him. I have nothing
more to say now I am your loving brother Walter P.S. Hope to see you soon.
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| Page 21 of the Queenslander Pictorial, supplement to The Queenslander, 24 July, 1915. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland |
(On the back
of the previous letter)
Edinburgh
21st
October 1915
My dear
Colin
I hope by
now that you are all right again and that it was only a bad bilious
attack. Glad to know Jim keeps
well. Walter is making all preparations
for coming out. Alex is still at
home.. W. Hobbs, Superintendnet of
Sabbath School died on Monday last aged 69.
The coldest of your weather will be past now. That is all the news for this week. Love to
you both from your loving Mother.
81 Inchview Terr
Edinburgh
5 Jan 1916
Dear James
I am looking
forward to hear from you again. I should
get the reply of the letter I sent you (with the money in it) about the end of
January. It is now the fifth so I have not a month to wait now perhaps only two
weeks. I hope by the time you get this one I will be setting out for Australia
or at least it won’t be long after that.
John is still
at the Dardanelles but we expect to see him soon again as his three months are
over (he gets a free pass home every three months. We are getting an awful lot of rain here.
Your loving
brother Walter
PS A Happy
New Year to you. W Hope to see you soon
(on the
back)
Dear Colin
Many thanks
for the PC you sent me on Christmas. I hope by the time this reaches you you
will be on board a ship. I think it will
suit you. You will see from James
letters I sent him that I am coming out soon. We have got things cleared up
here. We sent a lot of old books
chemicals desks & co to “Dowells” auctioneers, a good while ago and today
we received the money for them £2:6:4 that is after com cartage &
c is taken off. It is not really bad. A
Happy New Year to you and the best of health Your loving brother Walter
Inchview
Terrace
19 Jan 1916
Dear James
We received
a letter from Colin on the 6th January and one from you on the 3rd. I have not received a reply to the letter I
sent you with the money for my nominated passage yet but expect one in a few
days now. I am getting everything ready
for coming out. We had a letter from
John on the 14th and he says he was at Suvla Bay when the evacuation
took place. His ship took off the last
of the men that the RAMCs so you see he is seeing a little bit of the war. His ship was within rifle fire of the
Turks. A few stray bullets come on to
the deck of his ship and wounded one man in the leg. We are now advertising the House in the
Scotsman For Sale 4 days Wed Sat Wed Sat this is the first day it has been in
and when I came home at night a postcard from a man in Gillespie Crescent had
come and he was asking the rive. We will
have had since putting up the notice board about ½ doz companies asking about
it but none said any more about it.
However we shall see this man. He
seems to be after a house right enough.
He has taken the bother to write to us.
We are asking £430 for it and I think that is not to
(sic) much for when I was clearing up I came across a note of expenses in
connection with the buying of it and it was £15 of course that was recording the
bond &c but it will likely take as much to sell it so that would be £30 for buying & selling House and you know what we paid
for it. Then we may have to lower that price a little. We will do our best.
Tell Colin that we have heard a lot of people saying that they have received a
PC on Christmas viz: Grandma Miss Bain ; Reids (GW); Anderson Misselburgh; that’s
all I remember just now.
I hope he is
keeping well and on a ship by now.
I will soon
be out to see you again I hope.
We have had
very wet windy dreary weather here. You can take some rain from here if you
like or will I bring some out. Your loving brother Walter PS Excuse scribble.
Bad pen WMcK More news about House next week.
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| Page 21 of the Queenslander Pictorial, supplement to The Queenslander, 1 April, 1916. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland |
81 Inchview Terr
Edinburgh
23 Jan 1916
Dear Colin
We received
a letter from you yesterday which was written on the 12 Dec
1915. The letter we got before that was
from you too which had been written on the 28 Nov so we think we must have lost
one from James that is if you write every week. I was very pleased to hear that
you have got the £7.5 and am waiting till I get the
Passage Warrant from you before I can do anything special. It should come by
the next mail. I hope that it will not
get lost on the way. Thanks very much
for nominating me. It was as well for me
that you were not away to sea or it might have wasted a little while
longer. Thank James for me for trying to
get me nominated. I will tell you more
news of how I get on next week when I get the Warrant. We have been advertising the House in the
Scotsman for four days (I think I told you about it last week); well the man
who sent us the Post Card came to see it yesterday. He did not say much but he had a list of
Houses to see so we may hear from him again.
John is still at the East ed of the Mediterranean. We hope to see him soon. Alex & I especially to see him before we
go. Last time he was coming home he sent
us a telegram and when we received it about 10 o’clock at night we did not feel
inclined to go to bed but rather go up to the Waverly station and meet him.
We are
having very blowy wet weather here. I am
glad to see the notice board still up.
It has been well tested.
The cars in
Edinburgh are always breaking now. Every
day last week the “Ports” Route was either broken or stopped. Alex has had to walk up to Easter Road
barracks a good many times. They say
that they cannot get experienced Drivers.
The other routes are not much better.
Alex is
still at home. It is just as well for us. He had a Colonel inspecting the RAMCs
and he said they were doing more good in Edinburgh by going to Hospital Trains
& c than by going to Hawich where they would likely have nothing to
do. The other day he & and another
lad were set to Rothesay with an Hospital train. It was a fine day’s outing for him. Your loving brother Walter
PS Your last
letter had been censored. Whether it had been opened or not we don’t known but
it was marked “Pased by Censor.” WMcK
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| Transfer of patients from ambulance to train during evacuation to England, No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Le Tréport, France. /Éditions Arnault. Library and Archives Canada |
81 Inchview Terr
Edinburgh
10/2/16
Dear Colin
Last
Saturday I received word from the Agent General London that I had been accepted
and had to sail on Feb 16th that gave me 11 day to get everything
ready. I got a form to fill up and send
to Passport Office with two small photo’s of me and a Postal Order for
5/-. I got every ready and yesterday I
sent away my luggage to London. This morning I got word that I had not to sail
till the end of the month and I also got the form back from the Passport Office
saying I had not filled up my description (which I thought was meant for the
Applicant’s wife). However I have time now and am sending it away again.
Alex went
away to Hawick this morning so we will miss him.
John is not
home yet; we are expecting word from him soon.
I gave up my
situation last Monday. I had been working for 7 months. We got paid monthly and
it was the 7th Feb when I left. PR Bryce (my boss) gave me £3-3-0 that was real nice of him. It helped to pay for
expenses. I will write again next week. How are you getting on now and how is
James. Your loving brother Walter
PS Tell Jas
I was up at Kirkehope’s and they have rececived the Queenslander from him. J.K.
has enlisted in the Derby Scheme W McK
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| O.T.C tent group at Stobs 1914 From Great uncle Jim's Photograph album.Sergeant Jock Sillars, Davidson, J B Laing, B Patrick, K Kirkptrick, J Taylor, C Jefferson, I K M Bovery https://flic.kr/p/FQ67bi |
Transcription of letters from Walter
to Colin from Montville (Walter had come out on the Waipara as per Index to
Immigration on QSA website here.)
c/- J L Hutton Esq
Montville
14 Sept 1916
My dear
Colin
I received
your letter last Monday night John’s enclosed which I return.
You say the
five acres below yours are no good well I might get some other bit. You say
they may be cutting up more land; we shall see if it is any good. I would only
buy 5 ac to begin with at £4 per ac = £20. In other 5 weeks I will have that. I could keep myself by selling the wood. Then if I turned ill it would be no worse
than if I was here. But as for keeping cows (I did not mean to keep milking
cows) I am a bit doubtful because one might die and that would mean a big loss.
One of Mr H’s calves died the other day because it had been fed on green grass
only and it could not pass it through. I
might try ducks as they increase pretty quickly and the could feed
themselves. Duck’s usually lay every 4
months and the best time for selling them is when they are 12 to 15 weeks
old. I could try anything that could
bring in something beyond chopping wood.
It is a bit
rough here. Huttons are very nice
indeed but they can watch themselves.
The porridge is lumpy and weevils in it.
Then bread is always mouldy and tea is made from tea-leaves. After they have used them. That’s my breakfast every morning. At dinner the only good thing is a milk
pudding. Then I am getting up earlier
every morning and stopping later at night now, just as long as it is daylight I
have to work.
This last
week has been more exciting. We were
ploughing with a disc plough and cut a snake in two which was six feet long. Then on Thursday I nearly put my foot on one
five feet long. I just missed it by an
inch or two. However I soon killed
it. They were not deadly ones but they
could lay you up for a day or two. There
might be worse ones about. Mr H saw a
black snake last Sunday. It was a deadly
one.
Yesterday I
was going to the store on horse back when it shied and bolted. I landed on the ground somehow. I don’t know how but I landed and saw the
horse flying on along the road when another chap caught it. I was not hurt but I might have been. The horse is very excitable and does not get
much work which makes it all the worse.
Mr Hutton says it is real wild.
I got a
letter from the chap who is working for Curran and he says they would like me
back but thinks I would not get as much as I am getting here. Anyway I don’t want back. Mr H did not get the 42 cases sent to Sidney (sic) last wk as the dockers were on strick.(sic) They would be sold in Brisbane at 4/6 instead of 12/6 at Sydney.
The bit we
were ploughing was the bit that was full of weeds. He is going to put in trees so I will see and
help him to do it. It will always be
more experience for me. I am you loving
brother Walter.
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| Pineapple farm at Montville John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Collection reference: 7803 Joe Barrett photograph collection Accession number: 7803 View related images: http://hdl.handle.net/10462/comp/681. |
c/- J L Hutton Esq
Montville
Wed night
My dear
Colin
I received your
letter on Monday last with the Home ones enclosed. I posted a letter to you last Friday night
which would go to town I expect with the morning mail train arriving at
Brisbane about 12.15 on Sat. and you should have got it on Sat. night or Monday
at the latest. I hope you got it as I
had all my news in it. I also got your
last letter with home ones enclosed.
I am glad to
hear that you are getting a rise in your screw.
If you like
to come up here I will be very glad to see you but you must remember the cost.
I think it would be worth it as you could see the country up here and we could
have a talk about things.
There is a
boarding House at Montville. It is a high class place. I think it would be
about £2 per wk or 5/- per night & breakfast (of course I don’t
know but I have heard as much)
In my last
letter I was saying about planting pines in double rows well perhaps single
would do as you get a lot of buttons off them with the first crop and you could
plant them alongside the others. This
week I have been putting buttons in bags for Mr Hutton. 100 in each bag and I
have bagged 5,000 which is a terrible lot of work. My hands and arms were all skinned with them.
If you are
buying pineapple suckers soon watch that you do not get buttons as they are
very like suckers except that they take 2 years instead of 15 months to give
pines.
Mr. H sends
about 30 cases of pines away every wk. This wk he has 48 which is an extra
lot. He sends them south and he says
they are selling at12/6 per case just now.
Some pines are sent to Brisbane (only the ones that are too ripe and the
“not as good ones”) which only get 4/- to 4/6 per case. Say 40 cases at 12/6 equals £25 and 8 at 4/ equals 32/- which would pay carriage for the
lot. Then 48 cases making at 1/- each
equals £2.8. He would have about £20 gain this wk.
There are
plenty of snakes up here. Last Sunday Mr
H saw two. One was near to where I had
been pulling and eating cape gooseberries which are growing wild on the 1 ½ acre
of grass and weeds (the shaded part on plan I sent with last letter)
Hope to hear
from you soon
I am your
loving brother
Walter
Say when you
would like to come up and I might find out the cost of boarding here if you
like. WMcK
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| Cover - Hotel & boarding house directory of the principal cities, towns, and tourist resorts in Queensland / compiled and issued by the Queensland Government Intelligence & Tourist Bureau. 1912 http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/21258057 |
c/- J L Hutton Esq
Montville
1 Oct 1916
My dear
Colin
I got your
letter with the two home ones on Tuesday night.
You say you
are going to get some pines planted soon.
2000 of each kind; why not plant all smooths? If you sent them to Sydney
or Melbourne you would get a better price for smooths than ripleys. I asked Mr H if the knew of anyone selling
suckers up here and he said that he was selling some but he had promised them
to somebody else. He would find out if
anyone else was selling them. I think
they would charge pretty dear up here.
You might try E Smallman at Ormiston or JJ Nagel at Cleveland. They are nearly always advertising them in
the paper.
I have not
found out the price of staying at the boarding house yet. My wee room would be
too small for us both as there is only a narrow bed in it. However we shall see if you come up.
Will you be
called up on Tuesday? This is rather sudden. I don’t think you will have to go
as it says if more than half of the family is serving you can be exempted. If
you do have to go you would be done with Mrs Bean so I would need to get my
boxes taken out. If that is the case I think Petrie would be the best place for
them so I might take a run down to see about them or you could get Bryce to
carry them to the station.
I have been
harrowing this last week first with the spring tooth between the young trees
where there are no pines and then with ordinary lever harrows. I used two horses and could easily manage
them. I was harrowing the bit we had ploughed.
I am getting
up now about 5:15am and stopping a good bit after six, just as long as it is
daylight.
Trees are a
bit of a nuisance. They need spraying a lot. Some are covered with white lice
and some get a grub in them called the “Bourer”.
It bours into the bark and east round the tree which ring barks it. Then some
have a fungus on them called The Muusle. It is just like a mussle and is pink.
It spreads very quickly. All the orange trees are in bloom just now; they look
lovely. I am your loving brother Walter
PS I might
write during the week. It depends what you say in your letter. W
So what do you think? Interesting huh? Searching Trove I found out that poor Mr Hutton died later that year....
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| Family Notices (1916, December 2). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), p. 4. Retrieved October 22, 2016, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20104365 |
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