Hello again Scott
I have more info on our Charles. In 1887 Amelia was training as a nurse at Royal Melbourne Hosp. where she met Charles who had just come out to be 1st violinist with Gilbert & Sullivan in Sydney and Melbourne. He came out here after he spent many years studying at the Brighton Conservatory of Music, and when he obtained his degree he was presented with four leather bound, signed volumes of all original G&S scores. En route to Australia, in Italy he purchased two violins, an Amati and a Stradivarius made in Cremona in 1728. For 8 yrs they travelled with the G&S group and four kids during this time. In 1894 the company broke up and Charles then teamed up with the talented pianist Paderewski. For two years they had a shop in Pitt St Sydney selling pianos, repairing violins, teaching and playing concerts. Paderewski eventually returned to Poland where he became Prime Minister. After this Amelia and Charles were struggling and David, Amelia's father, paid for them to travel by steamer to Perth, then onto the goldfields of Western Aust. where her brothers owned pastrycook shops and David was a successful miner, later owning a gold mine named Last Chance at Kanowna, 50km's north east of Kalgoorlie when Paddy Hannan found gold. After he died Charles took over the mine for a year, until the gold ran out. They started to head back to Perth when Charles became despondant, his hands blistered and ravaged from working the land, was told by the Tippets to leave and make his own way. He moved to Maylands Perth where he owned a paper run, taught music and eventually playing more concerts. Amelia and kids then joined him there. Rosie was born in Maylands and 1901 Fred was born in Kalamunda, then Norm and Leslie. In 1904 they moved to Beverley and in 1907 Charles became sick and died at York Hospital, buried in unmarked grave number 19 in York Cemetery.
Amelia was in dire straits and encouraged to place the kids in care, when she said "as long as I have ten fingers on my hands I will never allow one of my children to be in the states care!'. She took on a boarding house in Vincent St, Beverley, housing and feeding 40 workers building the Newbys Hotel. She went to York to pay the final of funeral expenses leaving an elderly lady in charge of the house and kids, a fire broke out in a nearby building which quickly engulfed the boarding house. The older girls saved the music and violins and the workers grabbed up the tablecloths complete with the cutlery and crockery on them. Despite this, Amelia immediately moved to another house and continued to cook for the workers. It is at the boarding house where she met J S W Parker as he was staying there.
Soon after the fire (bankruptcy) Amelia worked at Jonah Parkers Dangin Hotel, but left there when he applied for a liqueur license. She became Matron at the Dangin Maternity Hospital and the kids weren't allowed on the hospital grounds so were left to entertain themselves. One day Fred and brothers wanted to play cricket and needed a bat. They eyed their dads large case containing original G&S and other beautiful Opera scores and his violins. They took the Armati, because it was old and dirty, and used it as a bat. Quickly it was smashed to pieces and they hid it under the house. It was many years later before Amelia even noticed it missing, and couldn't care less. Those beautiful instruments caused too much pain and misery.
By the time Amelia and kids had returned to Perth to live with Charles all but one volume of music had been destroyed by white ants and water. The surviving G&S volume is in the family possession (one of Fred's sister-in laws) and the beautiful 1728 Stradivarius is playing in the Hobart Opera Company.
