Alice Morris (nee Fryer)
The South Bourke & Mornington Journal of November 7, 1912 published the following obituary -
Koo-Wee-Rup - On October 19 Mrs J. Morris passed away at her residence in Cheltenham. She had been an invalid for the last four years, and the cause of death was apoplexy. She received spiritual consolation from Father Quinn. The funeral took place on October 22 in the Cheltenham cemetery. The deceased was highly respected by all and had many friends here, being an old resident of Rossiter road. Her husband predeceased her by many years. She leaves two married daughters, one being Mrs D. McNamara, of this town, and Mrs Scott, of Flynn's Creek. (1)
At the time of her death, Mrs Morris’ residence was the Benevolent Asylum at Cheltenham, and she had been admitted there on September 6, 1907, due to partial paralysis. (2)
Alice Morris, born 1852 (3), was the middle child of the nine children of Peter Fryer and his wife Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Baker. Peter was born in Lancaster in 1805, and there are two versions of how he arrived in Australia. There was a Peter Fryer, born in Lancashire who was convicted on April 7, 1834 at the Lancaster Quarter Sessions and sentenced to seven years transportation. He arrived on the Henry Porcher on January 1, 1835 and received his Ticket of leave in May 1839 and his Ticket of Freedom in November 1843. (4) However, the book Reminiscences of Fryerstown by G.O. Brown notes that he migrated to New South Wales in 1838 at the age of 33 and he was the son of a farmer. I suspect that he did actually arrive as a convict, but like other convicts, later hid that part of his life. Reminiscences of Fryerstown also notes that Peter Fryer set out for Victoria with Horatio Spencer Wills, Mrs Wills and baby, a number of station hands and livestock, including 5000 sheep, two bullock wagons and teams and other carts. They reached the Murray River in May 1840 and eventually reached their destination, Mount William, near Ararat. (5)
Mount William, Peter Fryer's first location in Victoria
Mount William, from Stockyard Hill, 1855. Illustrator: S.T.Gill
State Library of Victoria image H4590
Wills established a sheep station there, named Lexington. (6) It was at Lexington that Peter Fryer met Betsy Baker and they married at Geelong in a Presbyterian service on March 1, 1842. Their first four children, Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah and Jane were all born at Mount William, between 1842 and 1849. (7). In 1851 Peter had taken up the lease of Molka Station, and this is where they were living when their other children were born between 1852 and 1863 – Alice, Henry, John, Eugenie and a stillborn baby. (8)
On December 1, 1877 their daughter, Alice Fryer, married 22 year old John Morris in Kilmore. They had five children - Henry (1878, born in Bairnsdale, and died in 1879 aged seven months); John (born and died in Collingwood in 1879; he was only 10 days old); Alice (born in 1880 at Kilmore), Jane (born in 1881 at Kilmore) and Elizabeth (born in December 1883 in Kilmore and died two months later). (16)
Sadly, John Morris died of typhoid on April 22, 1883, so never got to see his last child. His short obituary in the Kilmore Free Press noted - John Morris died at the local Hospital on Sunday. Deceased, who was only 29 years of age was known here for some time and was popular as an obliging driver between Kilmore and the railway station. (17) His death left Alice a widow, having to bring up her two surviving daughters, Alice and Jane, on her own.
I have no information about where she lived after the death of her husband, although Alice’s obituary states that she was an old resident of Rossiter Road, Koo Wee Rup, but I can’t trace her time in the town. However, on August 9, 1909, her daughter, 30 year-old Alice married 44 year-old Denis McNamara of Koo Wee Rup, at St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Collingwood. (18) Denis was a storekeeper, at the time of their marriage, and in 1915 he built the Royal Hotel in Koo Wee Rup, which at the opening was reported to be one of the finest edifices of the kind in Gippsland. It is still standing. (19)
Molka Station consisted of 30,000 acres, on the Goulburn River and its location was sometimes referred to as Longwood and sometimes Murchison. (9) On a modern map, equidistance from Murchison, Euroa and Longwood is a locality called Molka at which a school operated from 1886 until 1907 (10). In May 1857, The Age published a list of station owners and the number of stock they held, as they had to pay the Government a tax on the stock, and Peter Fryer was listed as owning 6,624 sheep. (11)
The Fryers were living at Molka Station until at least October1866, however on August 13, 1868 when Peter died the family was living at Floradale House at Kilmore. His short obituary from The Argus of August 21, 1868 tells us another interesting fact about Peter Fryer - The death of Mr. Peter Fryer, whose station gave name to the diggings of Fryer's Creek and the later township of Fryerstown, is reported by a Kilmore paper. Mr. Fryer left the part of the country referred to while it was yet yielding its rich returns, and took up his residence at Molka station, on the Goulburn, where he lived until a couple of years ago. He then purchased the property that he lately occupied at Floradale, and made some extensive improvements, which he did not live to enjoy. (12)
The Fryers were living at Molka Station until at least October1866, however on August 13, 1868 when Peter died the family was living at Floradale House at Kilmore. His short obituary from The Argus of August 21, 1868 tells us another interesting fact about Peter Fryer - The death of Mr. Peter Fryer, whose station gave name to the diggings of Fryer's Creek and the later township of Fryerstown, is reported by a Kilmore paper. Mr. Fryer left the part of the country referred to while it was yet yielding its rich returns, and took up his residence at Molka station, on the Goulburn, where he lived until a couple of years ago. He then purchased the property that he lately occupied at Floradale, and made some extensive improvements, which he did not live to enjoy. (12)
There is no information as to the length of time Peter Fryer was in the area which bears his name, but must have been only about two years (13)
Peter Fryer's estate as listed in Probate papers
Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 28/P0001, 7/122
His probate papers noted that at the time of his death Peter possessed a considerable estate including the pre-emptive right section of Molka Station; the Punt Hotel (later called the Commercial Hotel) and the associated punt at Murchison; the Floradale property at Kilmore and 11,000 sheep. (14). His wife, Elizabeth, died on November 7, 1882 at Kilmore. Her death certificate doesn’t list her parents, but notes her birth place as County Cork, Ireland. (15)
On December 1, 1877 their daughter, Alice Fryer, married 22 year old John Morris in Kilmore. They had five children - Henry (1878, born in Bairnsdale, and died in 1879 aged seven months); John (born and died in Collingwood in 1879; he was only 10 days old); Alice (born in 1880 at Kilmore), Jane (born in 1881 at Kilmore) and Elizabeth (born in December 1883 in Kilmore and died two months later). (16)
Sadly, John Morris died of typhoid on April 22, 1883, so never got to see his last child. His short obituary in the Kilmore Free Press noted - John Morris died at the local Hospital on Sunday. Deceased, who was only 29 years of age was known here for some time and was popular as an obliging driver between Kilmore and the railway station. (17) His death left Alice a widow, having to bring up her two surviving daughters, Alice and Jane, on her own.
Kilmore Hospital where John Morris passed away at the age of 29.
Kilmore Hospital, c. 1905. Photographer: G.B. Good.
State Library of Victoria image H2018.482/13
I have no information about where she lived after the death of her husband, although Alice’s obituary states that she was an old resident of Rossiter Road, Koo Wee Rup, but I can’t trace her time in the town. However, on August 9, 1909, her daughter, 30 year-old Alice married 44 year-old Denis McNamara of Koo Wee Rup, at St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Collingwood. (18) Denis was a storekeeper, at the time of their marriage, and in 1915 he built the Royal Hotel in Koo Wee Rup, which at the opening was reported to be one of the finest edifices of the kind in Gippsland. It is still standing. (19)
Rossiter Road, Koo Wee Rup in 1903; it would not have looked much different
when Alice Morris lived there.
Photo: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society
Denis had been married before, his first wife, Mary Anne died in October 1905, leaving behind two young children, May and Frank. Denis and Alice had four children together - Alice (1909-1951, married Daniel Parks in 1929); John (1910-1986. He was ordained as a Priest in 1935, was an RAAF Chaplain during the Second World War. His obituary noted that the year of his birth and the year of his death coincided with the appearance of Halley’s Comet); Margaret Frances (1914-2004, married Cecil Ernest Murray, in 1941) and Colleen Josephine (1917-2004, did not marry) (20)
The McNamara Family, c. 1921.
Standing at back - Alice and May
Seated - Denis with Colleen, Alice (nee Morris) John and Frank. Margaret is at the front.
Photographer:Yeoman & Co. Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society collection.
The other surviving daughter of John and Alice Morris was Jane. Jane married twice, firstly to Charles Darke in 1903 and after his death to George Scott in 1906. George served in the AIF in World War One; he enlisted at the age of 44, in August 1915 and his address was Hill’s Hotel, Albert Park, and his occupation a farmer, Jane as his next of kin had her address as Koo Wee Rup, more than likely staying with her sister, Alice McNamara. When George was medically discharged in October 1917, their address was 175 Franklin Street, Melbourne. (21) At the time of his death in October 1927 they were living at Arbinger Street in Richmond. Jane’s death certificate says that she had two children with Charles and four with George and that they were all deceased, which is very sad. The only one I can trace is baby John George Scott, who was born in Foster and died at the age of six months on June 6, 1919. (22)
Jane and her sister, Alice McNamara, by coincidence died on the same day, June 28, 1937. As Alice’s obituary in the Koo Wee Rup Sun of July 1, noted –
On Friday last the deceased received word of the illness of her sister and only relative, Mrs Jane Scott, wife of the late Mr G. Scott (late A.I.F.), of South Melbourne, and she hurried to the city to render what aid she could on her behalf. Leaving her son Frank's suburban residence for the railway station on Monday morning to visit the hospital where her sister was an inmate, the deceased suddenly collapsed in the railway yards and passed to the Great Beyond. Strange to relate, within three hours her sister had joined her in the Great Adventure. (23)
Jane died at the Little Sisters of the Poor in Northcote and was buried at Fawkner Cemetery with George; Alice McNamara is buried with her husband, Denis at Pakenham. (24)
Sarah McTavish (nee Smith)
Alice Morris is buried in the same grave as 62 year old Sarah McTavish, who died August 5, 1923 at the Alfred Hospital. Sarah had been born in Collingwood in 1860 to Edward and Catherine Smith, who had married in Sydney in 1853; Catherine’s maiden name was Hanna, sometimes listed as Hannah. Catherine was 16 at the time of the marriage and Edward was nineteen. Their other children were John (1855), Rosehannah (1857), Catherine (1864), Thomas (1865), Elizabeth (1866) and Joseph (1868). The last two children were born in Warrnambool and the others in Melbourne. (25)
Sarah married William McTavish on October 4, 1883 at the office of the marriage registrar in Drummond Street, Carlton. William was a 29 year old ships steward, and had been born in Hamilton in Scotland, the son of William and Helen (nee Maitland) McTavish. Sarah was a 22 year old domestic servant. Edward Smith, Sarah’s father, was a baker and he died in 1886. (26)
On February 12, 1891, Sarah’s mother died in tragic circumstances in Collingwood as The Argus reported -
At the Melbourne Hospital on Saturday an inquest was held by Mr. Candler the district coroner on the body of Catherine Smith, who was found by a constable in Islington street, Collingwood, on Thursday evening last. The deceased was resting on the footpath, and on being spoken to was found to be in an insensible condition. She was taken to the Melbourne Hospital, but expired on the way to that institution. (27)
Jane and her sister, Alice McNamara, by coincidence died on the same day, June 28, 1937. As Alice’s obituary in the Koo Wee Rup Sun of July 1, noted –
On Friday last the deceased received word of the illness of her sister and only relative, Mrs Jane Scott, wife of the late Mr G. Scott (late A.I.F.), of South Melbourne, and she hurried to the city to render what aid she could on her behalf. Leaving her son Frank's suburban residence for the railway station on Monday morning to visit the hospital where her sister was an inmate, the deceased suddenly collapsed in the railway yards and passed to the Great Beyond. Strange to relate, within three hours her sister had joined her in the Great Adventure. (23)
Jane died at the Little Sisters of the Poor in Northcote and was buried at Fawkner Cemetery with George; Alice McNamara is buried with her husband, Denis at Pakenham. (24)
Sarah McTavish (nee Smith)
Alice Morris is buried in the same grave as 62 year old Sarah McTavish, who died August 5, 1923 at the Alfred Hospital. Sarah had been born in Collingwood in 1860 to Edward and Catherine Smith, who had married in Sydney in 1853; Catherine’s maiden name was Hanna, sometimes listed as Hannah. Catherine was 16 at the time of the marriage and Edward was nineteen. Their other children were John (1855), Rosehannah (1857), Catherine (1864), Thomas (1865), Elizabeth (1866) and Joseph (1868). The last two children were born in Warrnambool and the others in Melbourne. (25)
Sarah married William McTavish on October 4, 1883 at the office of the marriage registrar in Drummond Street, Carlton. William was a 29 year old ships steward, and had been born in Hamilton in Scotland, the son of William and Helen (nee Maitland) McTavish. Sarah was a 22 year old domestic servant. Edward Smith, Sarah’s father, was a baker and he died in 1886. (26)
On February 12, 1891, Sarah’s mother died in tragic circumstances in Collingwood as The Argus reported -
At the Melbourne Hospital on Saturday an inquest was held by Mr. Candler the district coroner on the body of Catherine Smith, who was found by a constable in Islington street, Collingwood, on Thursday evening last. The deceased was resting on the footpath, and on being spoken to was found to be in an insensible condition. She was taken to the Melbourne Hospital, but expired on the way to that institution. (27)
From The Herald of February 14, 1891, comes this report of the Inquest -
Dr. Walter J. Craig stated that he made a post mortem examination of the body. The body was well nourished. Blood was oozing from a wound in the lower part of the body, and her clothes wore soaked with blood. The cause of death was hemorrhage [sic] from the wound, accelerated by the weak condition of the internal organs.
The Coroner: Was there any evidence to show how the wound was caused?
Dr. Craig: No, none whatever. Deceased lost a deal of blood.
Mary Loxton, in charge of Dr. Singleton's Night Shelter, Islington street, Collingwood, deposed to being called to see the deceased by a constable, on Thursday night. Recognised the deceased as a widow named Catherine Smith, who had previously slept at the Shelter, some 9 or 10 months since. (28)
The Argus of February 16, 1891 had more details -
From inquiries made by the police yesterday, it is now ascertained that the deceased resided with her married daughter, a Mrs. McTavish in Ann street, Williamstown, during the last two months. On Thursday last, the day of her death, she left her daughter's home in Williamstown at 5 p.m., with the intention of visiting some friends in Collingwood. The police were unable to trace where she had been from the time she left home until half past 9 on the same evening, when she was seen by Constable Vickers at the corner of Rupert street and Victoria parade. About an hour and a half afterwards...she was found in Islington street Collingwood, near to Dr. Singleton's Night Shelter. (29)
Dr Singleton's Night Shelter, Islington Street, Collingwood, where Catherine Smith
had spent some time.
Seeking Admission to the Night Shelter for Women, published in the Australian Illustrated News, June 1, 1891.
State Library of Victoria image IAN01/06/91/1
Two months later, a more sinister report was in The Herald in April 3, 1891. In this article it was reported that the body of an unidentified woman, of the unfortunate class, had been found behind a house in Hoddle Street, Collingwood and she had died from an internal wound in the lower part of the abdomen, from which her life blood had simply flowed away. The report continued –
It is a very remarkable fact that this is the third death of a similar kind during the last 13 months, and this fact would engender the suspicion that an individual of the Jack the Ripper type has been carrying on his horrible and bloody work in Collingwood. It is very remarkable that in the three cases under notice the victims were women of doubtful character, that the injuries were inflicted on the same parts of their bodies, and that the fatal wounds were received in Collingwood and its vicinity. Of course, it is quite possible that this theory of wilful murder is incorrect, but on the other hand there is strong presumptive evidence that the assassin's hand had been at work. In the previous cases inquests were held, and open verdicts returned. (30)
The connection between Alice and Sarah.
What is the connection between Alice Morris and Sarah McTavish? The grave at the Cheltenham Cemetery was owned by Alice’s daughter, Alice McNamara. Sarah died without a will, and her Probate papers list her assets as £130, which was the balance of the amount paid into the County Court, under the Workers’ Compensation Act for the benefit of the said deceased. This was possibly connected to the death of her husband.
If Alice McNamara and Jane Scott were the nieces of Sarah McTavish, then Sarah would have been the sister of either their father, John Morris or their mother, Alice Fryer. However Sarah’s father’s surname was Smith and her mother’s surname was Hanna. Sarah may have been a step-sister or half sister to John Morris or Alice Fryer; alternatively Sarah may have been a cousin, or she may have just been a family friend, who was called Aunty. She obviously had some close connection, because Alice McNamara was fond enough of her to have her buried with her mother at the Cheltenham Pioneer Cemetery.
Trove List - I have created a short list of articles on Peter Fryer, access it here and on the death of Catherine Smith and Rose Sumner, access it here.
Footnotes
It is a very remarkable fact that this is the third death of a similar kind during the last 13 months, and this fact would engender the suspicion that an individual of the Jack the Ripper type has been carrying on his horrible and bloody work in Collingwood. It is very remarkable that in the three cases under notice the victims were women of doubtful character, that the injuries were inflicted on the same parts of their bodies, and that the fatal wounds were received in Collingwood and its vicinity. Of course, it is quite possible that this theory of wilful murder is incorrect, but on the other hand there is strong presumptive evidence that the assassin's hand had been at work. In the previous cases inquests were held, and open verdicts returned. (30)
Was Catherine Smith killed by a serial killer?
The Herald, April 3, 1891, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article241552124
Later reports identified the third victim as thirty year-old, Rose Sumner (nee McGinty). Rose was married at 17 and the married life of the couple is stated to have been throughout one of misery; it produced five children and misfortune rapidly proceeded misfortune, her husband was jailed, three children were taken into care, she found employment as a bar maid at a hotel in Collingwood, but was sacked because she was drunk. It appears the next day she met a man named John Finnegan and her fate was sealed as he inflicted repeated acts of violence upon her, which caused her death. John Finnegan, who lived in Hoddle Street, Collingwood was charged and found guilty of her murder and was initially sentenced to death but this was commuted to life in prison, so Rose did achieve justice of some sort. (31)
Not so for Catherine Smith and the other woman, Jane Johnson, whose body was found on March 6, 1890. What the newspaper reports did not say, but the Coroner’s report did, was that both Catherine and Jane had been stabbed in the vagina. In both cases the Coroner found that there was no evidence how this was caused. In fact in Catherine’s case it was supposed that the deceased fell when trying to pick up a stick she carried for support as Dr W. G. Craig's evidence at the inquest was to the effect that the iron ferrule at the bottom of the stick "could have caused the wound." (32)
It was reported that Jane Johnson had fallen on evil times due to drink and dissolute habits and that Catherine had smelt of alcohol and add that to the fact that she had previously stayed at the Night Shelter – it put both these women into the unfortunate class. (33) It seems that these women were not valued and that their deaths which appear to have been of a sadistic sexual nature were not taken seriously. You have to wonder did they also have the misfortune to meet John Finnegan?
Sarah's In Memorial notice for her mother
The Age, February 13, 1892 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article197007585
We know then, due to the reports of her mother’s death, that Sarah and William were living in Williamstown in 1891, and the 1890 Sands & McDougall Directory has their address as 52 Ann Street, Williamstown, not surprising given his occupation as a ships steward. In 1892 they inserted the loving In Memorial notice for Catherine and their address was Newport which is just next door to Williamstown. At the time of her death Sarah was a widow and her address was 236 Coventry Street, South Melbourne, which was a lodging house. Once again, I have no other information about their life together or when William died apart from the fact that they had no children. (34)
The connection between Alice and Sarah.
What is the connection between Alice Morris and Sarah McTavish? The grave at the Cheltenham Cemetery was owned by Alice’s daughter, Alice McNamara. Sarah died without a will, and her Probate papers list her assets as £130, which was the balance of the amount paid into the County Court, under the Workers’ Compensation Act for the benefit of the said deceased. This was possibly connected to the death of her husband.
Sarah's Grant of Administration file notes that it was Alice McNamara who informed the Curator of Estates of Deceased Persons, that Sarah had passed away and that her surviving next of kin were her two nieces, Alice McNamara and Jane Scott. They also inserted a death notice in The Age on August 8, 1923.(35)
If Alice McNamara and Jane Scott were the nieces of Sarah McTavish, then Sarah would have been the sister of either their father, John Morris or their mother, Alice Fryer. However Sarah’s father’s surname was Smith and her mother’s surname was Hanna. Sarah may have been a step-sister or half sister to John Morris or Alice Fryer; alternatively Sarah may have been a cousin, or she may have just been a family friend, who was called Aunty. She obviously had some close connection, because Alice McNamara was fond enough of her to have her buried with her mother at the Cheltenham Pioneer Cemetery.
Trove List - I have created a short list of articles on Peter Fryer, access it here and on the death of Catherine Smith and Rose Sumner, access it here.
Footnotes
(1) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, September 26, 1912, see here.
(2) Sellers, Travis M. The Melbourne Benevolent Asylum: Haven of Rest (Friends of Cheltenham & Regional cemeteries, 2012)
(3) This is just a guess, as I can't find a reference to her birth in the Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages.
(4) Convict Records from the State Records Authority of New South Wales, digitised on Ancestry.com
(5) Brown, G.O. Reminiscences of Fryerstown (The Author, 1983). Henry Spencer Wills - Biography - The Argus, March 12, 1921, see here and image here at the State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/32196
(6) Billis, R.V. and Kenyon, A.S., Pastoral Pioneers of Port Phillip (Stockland Press, 1974)
(7) Brown, op. cit.; Peter Fryer/Elizabeth Baker Marriage certificate. Birth of children - Elizabeth, Mary and Jane had their birth registered in 1850, however they were baptised at St Peter's Eastern Hill in Melbourne on April 26, 1850. Their birth place was listed as Mt William, Wimmera; and birth dates Elizabeth - October 25 1842; Mary - May 25, 1844; Jane - September 13, 1849. Sarah was born in 1847, this is based on her age at death, and her birth was registered in 1856.
(8) Molka Station - there was an advertisement in The Argus on September 6, 1851 (see here) from Peter Fryer of Mocha [sic] Station about a horse, so he was there then even though Billis & Kenyon (footnote 6) list his arrival at Molka in June 1852. The children born at Molka were - Alice, c. 1852; Henry, birth registered 1856; John Cerdic, c. 1857, I can't find a registration; Eugenie, c. 1858 and a stillborn daughter born in December 1863 - death notice in The Argus, December 16, 1863, see here. There was a hearing in the Supreme Court regarding Peter Fryer's estate, the notice of which lists the children, see The Argus, June 5, 1876, here.
(9) Billis & Kenyon, op. cit.; see my Trove list, here, for examples of address of property.
(10) Vision and Realisation: a centenary history of State Education in Victoria, edited by L.J. Blake. (Education Department of Victoria, 1973)
(11) The Age, May 12, 1857, see here.
(12) Acquired more land at Molka in 1866 - The Argus, October 9, 1866, see here; Short obituary - The Argus, August 21, 1868, see here.
(13) G.O. Brown (footnote 5) regarding Peter Fryer notes that how many years he remained on Fryer's Creek cannot be ascertained.
(14) Peter Fryer, Grant of Probate, Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 28/P0001, 7/122, https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/63F25B19-F1DB-11E9-AE98-DF30C64CA99B?image=1
(15) Elizabeth Fryer, death certificate
(16) I can't find the marriage on the Index to Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages, however that is the date and place listed on their daughter Alice's birth certificate. Information about their children from the Index to Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages and Elizabeth Morris' 1884 Death certificate.
(17) John Morris death certificate and his short obituary Kilmore Free Press, April 26, 1883, see here.
(18) Alice Morris/ Denis McNamara marriage certificate.
(19) I have written about the Royal Hotel and the McNamara family here https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2023/07/royal-hotel-koo-wee-rup-mcnamara-obrien.html
(20) https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2023/07/royal-hotel-koo-wee-rup-mcnamara-obrien.html
(21) Jane Scott's death certificate; Index to Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages. George Scott (SN 3936) First AIF Attestation papers, National Archives of Australia https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3002962.
(22) George Scott Probate papers, Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 7591/P0002, 217/535 https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/3CF9A1B8-F567-11E9-AE98-E732DBD8057F?image=1.
Death certificates - Jane Scott and John George Scott.
(23) Koo Wee Rup Sun, July 1 1937, p. 1.
(24) Jane Scott death certificate.
(25) Index to Victorian and New South Wales Births, Deaths and Marriages
(26) Sarah Smith/William McTavish marriage certificate. Edward is buried at the Melbourne General Cemetery with Catherine and son Thomas, who died in 1901. Thomas was a line repairer and was killed when he was hit by a train - The Age, October 21 1901, see here.
(27) The Argus, February 16, 1891, see here.
(28) The Herald, February 14, 1891, see here.
(29) The Argus, February 16, 1891, see here.
(30) The Herald, April 3, 1891, see here.
(31) Misery and Misfortune quotes from The Argus, April 6 1891, see here; Other information from various articles from The Argus, see my Trove list, here.
(32) Catherine Smith Inquest at Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 24/P0000, 1891/198 https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/86609EFA-F1BE-11E9-AE98-031D2D418C25?image=1
(33) The Herald, April 3, 1891, see here.
(34) Sands & McDougall's Melbourne and suburban directory from 1890; Sarah McTavish death certificate.
(35) Sarah McTavish Grant of Administration at Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 28/P0003, 190/321
https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/5C6B6D41-F1F0-11E9-AE98-67A664A7BEAD?image=1