Wood Family History

Reminiscing: Hilda's story

Written by Anne Couch, 1 July, 1985

As we are sitting together over a cup of tea in the bright, sunny lounge of her unit, Hilda, my grandmother, begins to recall her past. She is enjoying the reminiscing, seemingly oblivious of my presence. Hilda's voice, with its strong Yorkshire accent, can be difficult to understand despite the fact she left Yorkshire 65 years ago and it takes my full concentration to absorb all the details.

Hilda Daire began her life in Yorkshire, England, in a village known as Shipley, on December 13, 1899. She was born to Hannah Maria Thornton and Edward Alexander Daire, the third youngest of eight children, three boys and five girls. Her mother was the daughter of a well known family in Shipley and while details of her father's background are sketchy, he was known to have been born in London in the Sound of Bowbells to an Irish mother and possibly a French father. 

The first part of 20th century in England saw difficult times and it was quite commonplace for children to be working at an early age. This was true for Hilda, who, from the age of 12, was employed as a spinner and later as a weaver, at a mill down at Baildon Bridge. Her hours were from 6am - 12noon, six days a week followed in the afternoon by classes at the local Valley Road school. This work was important to the family income. Edward had spent some time in the army in India and grew accustomed to the weekly rations of rum; on his return to England and subsequent marriage to his beloved, Hannah Maria, fell victim to the perils of alcohol and was unable to carry out his duties as breadwinner of the family. Eventually, Hilda's mother made the decision to close the door on her husband and devote herself to the care of her children. This period must have been especially difficult for the family as Hannah Maria became crippled with rheumatoid arthritis and confined to a wheelchair

Hilda devoted her young life not to the carefree and idle time of youth but of a dedication to her mother. When Hilda was 14 her schooling was over altogether and she spent nearly 12 hour days at the mill. Her lunch break was not spent enjoying the local gossip with the other girls at the mill but rather rushing home to tend to her poorly mother then returning back to the mill for her afternoon shift.

Even though times were hard and there was a never ending stream of chores Hilda still found time for some fun and remembers fondly the regular occurrence of Bonfire night where the community got together, burnt all their straw mattresses and then enjoyed roasted potatoes and chestnuts.

Hilda would also enjoy some time with a friend on Sundays, perhaps going for a walk, and it was on such a day, some years later, that Hilda's friend introduced her to a handsome uniformed boyfriend riding his pushbike. They exchanged pleasantries, chatted for a while and by the time they parted company, it was plainly obvious that the young man had taken a fancy to the lithe Hilda.

His name was George Stanley Wood, a Petty Officer in the Royal Navy. He was born on August 19, 1898 in Saltaire but grew up in the neighbouring village of Shipley, the son of Joseph Wood and Mary Elizabeth Clark, the second of three boys. Prior to the war years he was employed from the age of 12 at the local mill until he turned 14 when he was given an apprenticeship as a mechanic on gas and oil engines in the fitting shop of John Robsons of Shipley. 

During his apprenticeship the Great War erupted in Europe and the factory was taken over by the government. George became interested in making machine tools and continued in that field for two years whereupon he enlisted in the navy.

George spent ten months on the destroyer Lewellyn escorting troops from England to France and patrolling the English Channel. He spent the remainder of the war on the Princess Royal, a battle cruiser, stationed around Scotland. He witnessed the German fleet being handed over to the British and saw firsthand the terrible effects of that Great War. After the war he transferred to the mine sweeper, Hambledon, sweeping the coast from Aberdeen, in the north of Scotland, to as far south as Portsmouth. This was a particularly hazardous occupation but many men volunteered their services for the financial reward that was to be gained.

On return from the war George found that conditions in England were intolerable and he toyed with the idea of emigrating to Australia to start a new life. After some deliberation he made the decision to leave and asked Hilda, who by this stage had returned his affections, to accompany him as his wife.

Hilda had only limited knowledge of remote Australia and did not fancy the idea of leaving her familiar surroundings. As a friend once remarked: "Australia - ugh! Its full of flying beetles, sharks and snakes." However Hilda eventually agreed and on June 13, 1921 they married and began making plans for their long sea voyage. As the time drew near to their departure, Hilda hesitated; she did not want to leave her mother and family but Hannah Maria reminded her: "It is your duty to be with your husband", and so, in September 1921, they set sail on the P&O ship Orvita to arrive in Australia in late October that year.

The boat was referred to as the "Bride Ship" as most of the passengers on board were young married couples from all over the British Empire. Australia was looking for married couples to immigrate and it was of keen interest particularly to ex-servicemen to start a new life in Australia after the ravages of the Great War.

The ship was, however, not a honeymoon boat and this was to be no honeymoon voyage. It had been a troop ship in the war and had little if any refitting. The trip proved difficult. Men were relegated to one end of the ship and women the other with Hilda confined to a cabin accommodating five other women sharing their only luxury, a small washbasin. There were none of the activities or amusements that are available on cruise ships today, nonetheless they took delight, if the weather was fine, racing up on deck and grabbing the few deck chairs available. 

Hilda and George did not know anyone in Australia but George carried with him a letter from Sir Henry Whitehead of Saltaire Mill, introducing and recommending George to Yarra Falls, a new weaving mill, establishing itself in Abbotsford, Victoria. It was to their surprise then, on docking in Adelaide that they had a letter awaiting them explaining to Hilda to "wear the enclosed blue ribbon on arrival in Port Melbourne" and that there would be a lady waiting for them on the wharf with the same blue ribbon on her umbrella. The letter came from Mrs. Halliwell of Elsternwick, a friend of George's neighbours in Shipley, who had been asked to look out for them. That she did, taking them in and caring for them for three weeks until they found their  feet.

Work was difficult to come by but eventually, after going to the Labour Exchange in Melbourne, George and Hilda were employed on a sheep station at Reesdale. Hilda was employed to cook and clean for the shearers as well as the family and George was employed as a jackaroo. The work was gruelling and the hot summer sun unbearable to the young English couple and after just a week they packed their belongings and some food to last them for the long walk back to Kyneton Station.

Such difficult times with the heat, lack of work and homesickness made Australia seem a very dismal prospect for the future and Hilda began to despair. George had hesitated taking the letter to Yarra Falls as he wished to find work himself but after some thought and with the forthcoming birth of their first child, George relented and visited Yarra Falls.

The letter proved to have a settling effect on their future in Australia; after visiting Yarra Falls one week and returning the following, George was employed. A new weaving mill was in the process of construction when George began and he was employed as an engineer on the maintenance and erection of the new machinery.

With George working and at the sort of work he knew best, their lives started to take shape. They had been living close to Yarra Falls renting a small house and with the arrival of Edward, their first child, followed a short time later by Dorothy, they felt the need to look for somewhere permanent to live that would provide their children with a more congenial environment to grow up in. They had heard of land for sale in Reservoir, at the time quite rural, and so in 1925 they moved into their new home at 64 Pine Street Reservoir where the other children Leslie, Elizabeth, Barbara, John & Margaret were born.

Hilda and George were settled and soon after sponsored George's family to Australia. Hilda's family however had made their lives in England and at times she became very homesick for them. This was felt acutely when waiting on news from home which in those days would taken seven weeks by ship. But time progressed, the family expanded and the days were filled. Mr. Hogg, the chief engineer who had employed George at Yarra Falls, moved to Geelong and George was promoted to Chief Engineer after 10 years employment.

It was not until 1958 that they had the opportunity of returning to England for their eldest child's ordination to the priesthood and it was a very proud and excited Hilda and George who arrived back in Shipley. Hilda's mother had passed on but she had three sisters and a brother keenly expecting them. They had a marvellous time and spent six months touring England and the continent before returning home by ship, which was quite a different experience to their voyage to Australia, nearly forty years previous.

George retired from Yarra Falls in 1961 after 39 years service to a company which when he started, had not been in operation. It was said that George's skills and inventiveness saved the company millions of dollars.

George and Hilda settled into retirement with George tending his very large garden and Hilda enjoying the freedom to do as she pleased with all of their seven children grown up with lives of their own. All went well for quite some years until George, ailing with the disease of the heart, Angina, finally gave up and died peacefully on March 26, 1976. He died as had always wanted to - with his family around him.

With George gone, there was no-one to tend to their large garden so reluctantly Hilda sold her home and moved to a comfortable unit close by. She has spent many years in the unit, alone but not lonely, with much time spent in the company of her large family which includes 35 grandchildren. 

Hilda and George's life exemplify the spirit of Australia's settlers in the early part of the 20th century. Not only did they uproot themselves from their homeland and familiarity of their environment, to travel thousands of miles to a country they knew little of, but also isolated themselves in a way we now find difficult to comprehend. Because of the sheer distance, lack of telecommunications, jumbo jets and cruise liners, immigrants to Australia had virtually said goodbye to their loved ones for good. They showed courage, determination and resourcefulness in the face of an unknown and often times hostile environment. We, their descendants, can feel justifiably proud.