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Hi BKJ.  Your Mother is my first (half) cousin.  Her name begins with "W".  I met her once at my Father's funeral.  Aunty Jean is not fond of me apparently.  I think it was because I questioned why my father was not looked after as a child.  I really don't know.  the only photo's that I have are from an inlaw from the Bristow side.  It's tragic if that is the case about my Grand mother, because my father grieved for her for the rest of his life.  He was abused dreadfully by the so called christian brothers.  When he tried to escape from Bindoon his father tied him to the clothes line and beat him.  We have court documents of my grandmother who sent a letter to her first husband (fletcher) saying "Hope you die over there (in flanders), because I've met someone else" (presumably, my grandfather).  My sister and I were shocked.  Look, we just don't know? How can this person be related to us?  Why was she grieved so much by the family if she was such a bad person.  I was informed that my father was taken off his father when my grandmother died because my GRANDFATHER WAS NOT LOOKING AFTER HIM.  I have studied the laws and public policies of the day and a father was never considered a suitable guardian.  The father never had any rights and even the father tried to fight the law they would just throw the father in jail.  And now to a subject that no one in the family is addressing; The darkness of our skin, particularly my father's.  At school we were told by the other kids that my Dad was a "Boong" or an "Abo".  When we asked Dad why his skin was so dark, we were told "Tell them we are Spanish Irish".  We can find heaps of Irish, but no Spanish.  The policies of the 1930's and 40's were brutal.  It may be that we are not in any way Indigenous.  But that would not have mattered.  They rounded up the (then called) "half castes", "quater castes" and the "quadroons".  They put them in institutions such as Bindoon and Clontarf where my father was sent.  We have looked into my fathers file (as he was made a ward of the state) and the department has destroyed all documents bar four, that paint my father as a bad child...he was only trying to escape from an intolerable situation.  Apparently the department has destroyed files when the truth becomes inconvenient or expensive.  I would very much like to know why my father was so dark, why some aunties and my sister are yellow and although I look fair skinned, I and many of my nephews and one niece can sit around in the sun all day and never burn and go as black as anything.  I wish someone would own up

I want to start searching for details about my great grand father Thomas Sanders born 1868 married to Ellen bourke sanders and father of my grandmother Janet Ellen Sanders Fletcher Gledhill.  He was in WA for a time but apparently moved back east.  I don't know how to do this

Janet Ellen Sanders (Fletcher) Gledhill was my paternal grandmother.  She died in 1940 and is burried at Fremantle Cemetary.  Uncle Digger (Arthur) put updated her tomb stone just before he died.  I am the daughter of Janet's youngest son.  I am the daughter of Robert Leslie.  When my grandmother died circa 1939, it was war time and my grandfather Leslie meredith ernst gledhill was a shipwight.  Digger was in the merchant navy.  No one was there to look after dad so he was put in places like Bindoon and Clontarf.  Horrible stuff.  Dad knew very little about his family and we had no photos.  We would appreciate photos of my grandmother, great grand parents and of course any photos of my Dad as a child, youngster or whatever.  We only have photos of Dad from the time he married my mum etc...my sister and I have been retracing the family and now have one photo of Thomas sanders, ellen bourke sanders, (Uncle) Clarry (Fletcher) Gledhill, One photo of my paternal grandmother seated with her sister (Aunty) Kit standing along side.  Dad died in 1993 from Cancer.  Digger died circa 2003.  Aunty "Norn" died a few years after Dad.  Aunty Jean (the bean) is still alive, as are all my cousins.  Hope this helps some of you.  Hope some of you can help us.  :-)