Robert Stevens photographer

[BettyBoops]

Tank you. Another dead ender crossed off. Ta Betty

[sparrett]

  The thing is, Robert had an accent, not too dissimilar to an Indian/Burmese. I had heard him speak what I took to be Hindi on a couple of occasions.

Just a comment here.
Knowing what I do of the speech and language development in children, I would say if his spoken  English was accented, it was because his first learnt and used language was not English.

Perhaps it was Hindi as you suggest

The sounds needed for the first (primary) language are acquired and retained in the very early years. The second language, (in this case  English) acquired later, may have imperfections of sound which create ”accent”

I would suggest that the SEALE couple were English-speaking. That should therefore be his first language. Not Hindi.
So have yet another inconsistency in the stories.
 
 Sue


 

[cupoflife]

  The thing is, Robert had an accent, not too dissimilar to an Indian/Burmese. I had heard him speak what I took to be Hindi on a couple of occasions.

Just a comment here.
Knowing what I do of the speech and language development in children, I would say if his spoken  English was accented, it was because his first learnt and used language was not English.

Perhaps it was Hindi as you suggest

The sounds needed for the first (primary) language are acquired and retained in the very early years. The second language, (in this case  English) acquired later, may have imperfections of sound which create ”accent”

I would suggest that the SEALE couple were English-speaking. That should therefore be his first language. Not Hindi.
So have yet another inconsistency in the stories.
 
 Sue

If he was taught by a tutor to speak Indian Language/s as a child born/growing up in India, he may well have developed an accent, different to his English parents who may have only experienced the dialect later in life as adults.

Betty, do you have any concrete evidence of Robert before his adult time in NZ/Australia?
Any evidence of his family/places he visited/photos/letters/records/school reports/any hints of service/clubs like Masonic Lodge etc?
If Robert was supposed to be born in NSW, is there any evidence of Robert growing up in Ausrtalia. Did he ever speak of places/towns/schools/his teachers names/school friends/any clubs or activities like footy/cricket etc.

[sparrett]

If he was taught by a tutor to speak Indian Language/s as a child born/growing up in India, he may well have developed an accent, different to his English parents who may have only experienced the dialect later in life as adults.

 

Ah, well, I will have to disagree with you on this one.
Sue
 

[cupoflife]

If he was taught by a tutor to speak Indian Language/s as a child born/growing up in India, he may well have developed an accent, different to his English parents who may have only experienced the dialect later in life as adults.

 

Ah, well, I will have to disagree with you on this one.
Sue

I speak from experience 

[sparrett]

If he was taught by a tutor to speak Indian Language/s as a child born/growing up in India, he may well have developed an accent, different to his English parents who may have only experienced the dialect later in life as adults.

 

Ah, well, I will have to disagree with you on this one.
Sue

I speak from experience 

So do I . Of a professional rather than personal kind.
Sue

[my2vjs]

Robert age about 70

[sparrett]

Hi my2vjs

Welcome to this thread.
Were you attempting to post a photo of the chap Robert Stevens?
It didn't come through this time.

Can you attach the file to another post and try again

Sue

[BettyBoops]

As I'm on hols away from the computer, my lovely right-handed assistant daughter is trying to put up a photo of Robert. Maybe soon