The Next Generation

(last updated: 30 October 2009)

Samuel and Frances ('Fanny') Free

Samuel Free (pictured on the left) was born at Mount Hesse on 29 May 1861, the fourth son of William and Eliza Free (nee Flavell). He was at Mount Hesse for only a year before moving with his parents and siblings to Teesdale, then to Mt Cole, Raglan and, in around 1880, to Corack in the Wimmera district of Victoria. At Corack Samuel worked on his father's farm as well as on a second block of land, some 187 acres in size, which he bought from his mother, Eliza. He also sought, unsuccessfully, to lease a number of other parcels of land in the district. In June 1884 the Donald Express reported that Samuel had an application to lease a 320-acre block of land at Corack East refused by the local land board (the board approved a separate application by Samuel's younger brother James). On 21 December 1888 Samuel and James, both described by the paper as single farmers, were said to be unsuccessful in their applications to take over two forfeited blocks of land at Corack East. The newspaper added that Samuel was then living with his father. On 9 August 1889 Samuel had a further application for land in the district disallowed. We might wonder whether his mounting frustration over failing to obtain more land may have contributed to his decision, made in 1898, to leave Corack and go to Lalbert.

In 1891 Samuel and James married respectively Fanny Johanna and Johanna Shepherd in a double wedding held at the house of the sisters' parents at St Arnaud. Fanny's birth certificate states she was born on the Rich Owen [sic] Station at St. Arnaud on 3 December 1864. Her sister Joanna was born two years later at Banyenong Station. The girls' father was John Shepherd and their mother Johanna Mulcahy. John Shepherd came from Buckfastleigh in Devon in England. Located on the edge of the Dartmoor Forest, Buckfastleigh was a relatively large town for the times - its population in 1841 was 2576 - and was noted for the manufacture of woollen and serge blankets. John's parents, Edward Shepherd and Frances ('Fanny') Chaff, and their six children had emigrated to Australia on the STEABONHEATH in 1853. Click here to read about their lives and times in Australia. John's mother, Johanna, came from County Galway in Ireland. Her parents were said to be James Mulchay and Johanna Daly.

After their marriage, Samuel and Fanny lived on Sam's block of land at Corack East where they had their first five children: Frances Alice Free (1892-1979), Samuel John Free (1893-1918), Albert Ernest Free (1894-1917), Ann Grace Free (1896-1983) and Edward Charles Free (1896-1971). During this time Samuel and his brothers not only worked their farms, they also contributed in various ways to the life of the local community. A report in the Donald Express dated 6 August 1889, indicates that both James and Samuel were among the office bearers elected at the annual meeting of the Corack branch of the Victorian Farmers and Pastoralists' Association. The same paper noted in 1896 that Samuel and the Bookham Bros from Corack East wrote to the St Arnaud Shire Council requesting payment of £7 for repairing the district's windmill pump. James meanwhile was serving as a racing steward and trustee of the Corack Mechanics Institute.

Lalbert

Around 1898 the three brothers William, Samuel and James Free sold their farms at Corack East and relocated northwards to the district of Lalbert. Named by Major Mitchell during his trek through the area in 1836, the name Lalbert (or L'Albert as it was originally spelt) is thought to derive from the aboriginal word for the creeper that grew on the mallee trees at the time. The first white people to live in the district were the Ham brothers who took out a pastoral lease there in 1846. By 1850 their sheep run had been subdivided into three separate pastoral properties: the Lalbert, Titybong and Towaninnie runs. The 1865 gazetteer recorded that there were only around 40 white people in the district at the time, all of whom were employed on the sheep stations. The district around Lalbert, moreover, was said to be 'fit for nothing except sheep grazing for which purpose the entire available land is taken up'.

As in other places, the 1869 Land Act opened the area up to yeoman farmers who were able to select up to 320-acre holdings and pay these off at low rates (provided they lived on and gradually improved the land). Among the first to settle in the Lalbert area was Joseph Colmer Smith and his wife Rebecca Hickmott who were married at Clunes in 1869 and moved into the area in the late 1870s. The conditions facing the Smiths and such other pioneering families as the Ingrams, Meehans and Tampions were far from easy. They had to clear the land of its Mallee and other scrub, dig over the land, and erect from scratch farm sheds and dwellings. According to one account of the times, the first houses were 'mostly built of pine slabs and had roofs of sheets of bark taken from big box trees. The floors were of mud beaten flat. Later, when railways were not so distant the bark was discarded, iron roofs put on and rain tanks were installed' (Power and Power, 1983: 86). In addition to establishing their farms, the early settlers also got on with life and, in their different ways, played important roles in Lalbert's development. Rebecca Smith, for example, like Grandma Mazere in the 'Brent of Bin Bin' novels,

... acted as a mid-wife, delivering several babies in the Lalbert district...[and helping] neighbouring women in cases of illness or other emergencies. She also started Picnic and Sports days held on Boxing day at Lalbert Lake to enable people to get together. Horse racing was held on Joseph's property. Joseph took his wagon to Wycheproof to pick up supplies of food, etc - possibly he brought back loading for other people as well (Power and Power, 1983: 364)

By the time of the Frees arrival in around 1898, the area around Lalbert was widely settled, the local township was established and growing, and primary schools were operating at Lalbert and Towininnie. The first of these (pictured on the left) included on its books a number of children from the Smith and Hickmott families. The latter were the children of Henry Edward Hickmott, the younger brother of Rebecca Smith (nee Hickmott). Henry and his wife Elizabeth Ann Owen and their family had moved to Lalbert from Charlton East a few years earlier. They lived initially on Joseph Smith's 186-acre block of land (allotment 47B) that spread eastward from the edge of the township, before taking up an adjoining block to Joseph's. Their son, William Henry Hickmott, would later marry Samuel and Fanny Free's eldest daughter, Frances Alice Free.

The Frees settled in the Talgitcha area further to the east of Lalbert. Together with a number of other farmers from the area, they wrote to the Victorian Department of Education asking it to establish a school to support the thirty-five children who by then were living there. 'In our beautiful land', the letter entreated, 'there are children within two miles of the site...who are thirteen years of age and are only in the first class...They have to drive nine miles to the present school [at Towaninnie] which takes a horse and trap which their parents are not able to afford'. Are we, the letter concluded, 'going to allow those children to grow up in such ignorance...will they not [later] hold the Education Department responsible' for their plight?' Asked to investigate the matter, the regional inspector of schools reported that 'the parents have suffered during the past bad seasons. They express their willingness to cart and re-erect an unused building if one can be sent to Quambatook railway station but they cannot afford to erect a building themselves. If there is a suitable small building vacant I recommend that their offer be accepted' (cited in Power and Power, 1983: 297-300).

It was, and an unlined wooden building, measuring 30 feet by fifteen feet by ten feet was supplied and erected the following year on land made available by William Hosking. The Talgitcha Primary School (No 3347) was officially opened on 21 November 1899 with its teacher, John Grant, in charge. It had in its inaugural class no less than twelve Free children who still had to walk between two and three miles to get to school. By 1907 the small schoolhouse had been lined, a fireplace added and sundry teaching aids acquired. These included: a teacher's desk and stool, five children's desks and two forms, 20 inkwells, three maps (of Victoria, Australia and the World) and a number of readers and instruction manuals. The reading material was itself instructive, comprising in addition to the normal books of tables and readers in English and arithmetic, Broadribb's Manual of Health and Temperance, Balfour Stewart's Physics Primer, Parke's Personal Care of Health, Blackies' Animal Physiology and, to provide perhaps a better appreciation of the multicoloured map of the world, an imperial history and pamplettes on infantry and military drill (Power and Power, 1983: 299).

Education was not restricted to the children alone. In line with the expectations of the time, many adults among the settlers were also keen to advance their knowledge and practical expertise. Many took advantage of the lending libraries and reading rooms contained in the Mechanics Institutes, Schools of Art and other public amenities being built in the Wimmera townships. Or, like Fanny and Johanna Free, they attended Mutual Improvement Societies organised by such teachers as Frances Lee (nee Elliott). Miss Elliott as she was then taught at Lalbert East between 1902 and 1906 and was much impressed by the children and their mothers - 'cheerful and intelligent women, happy with their families...[with] a good knowledge of politics and other national interests'. She sponsored discussions and debates at the local Sunday School on such subjects and questions as 'Town versus Country Life', 'Free Trade and Protection', and 'Is man the architect of his own life or the victim of circumstances?' (Power and Power, 1983: 304 and 307). The photo above shows Frances Elliott with some of her former pupils from Lalbert. At the rear (from left to right): Albert Adler, James Free, Bert Bennett, Frances Hickmott (nee Free), Charlie Bennett, William Hickmott and Frank Adler. In the front: Dolly Williamson (nee Free), Frances Elliott and Mrs Oliver.

As well as providing students for the local schools, members of the Smith, Hickmott and Free families contributed to the various sporting and social clubs being established in the town. Most were also keen church-goers. While enjoying the growing social life of the town - Rebecca's son, Thomas Smith, was the first person in the district to own a motor car, a sporting red Talbot - they also worked hard at establishing and improving their farms. At the time this was no easy matter. The earlier years of abundance had been replaced by widespread droughts, plagues of rabbits and other pests, and an extended economic recession.

The hard times were undoubtedly offset by such happier occasions as the marriage of Samuel and Fanny's children and the ensuing birth of much-loved grandchildren (who would help fill the district's schools with a fresh wave of pupils). On 29 June 1910 the couple's eldest daughter, Frances Alice Free, married William Henry Hickmott in the dining room of her parent's home at Lalbert East. According to Win Noblet's The Hickmott Story, Frances and Bill (pictured on the left) 'made a handsome couple. Frances looked beautiful in her dainty lace and taffeta frock with tiny pleats and rich lace edging. Her elaborate headdress and veil were held in place with orange blossom. After the ceremony Bill and Frances drove by horse and buggy to take up residence in their first home in the Talgitcha area of Lalbert'. A year later the young couple presented Samuel and Fanny with their first grandchild, Grace Francis Hickmott, who was born at Lalbert on 2 April 1911. In that same year Samuel had the photograph shown below taken of his family, the last in which they were all together at Lalbert. For the following year Frances and Bill and their two daughters, Grace and Gladys Elizabeth Hickmott, left Lalbert to take up land near Ouyen in the Mallee district. Click here to read more about William and Frances' life and times.

Six years after Frances' wedding her younger sister, Ann Grace Free, married John James ('Jack') Kent at Quambatook on 16 March 1916. One of Jack's grandsons, Colin White, tells us that the Kent family originated from the village of Pewsey in Wiltshire in England. Jack's grandparents, George and Elizabeth Kent (nee Edwards) and their five children emigrated to Australia on the CONFIANCE which sailed from Liverpool to Geelong in 1853. Jack's father, Thomas Kent, married Isabella McClay at Granite Flat near Charlton in Victoria in 1877.

Thomas and Isabella had 13 children between 1878 and 1897. Jack was the sixth of these. Born at Granite Flat in 1886, he attended Fairfield's School (later named Lalbert Road School) near Lalbert until he was 12 years old. According to his daughter, Phyllis White (nee Kent), he then worked on farms around the Meatian, Lalbert and Quambatook districts before marrying Annie Free at Quambatook in 1916. The couple bought a farm three miles out from the Meatian township but after Jack hurt his back lumping wheat in 1927, they were forced to sell the farm to a neighbour, George Leech. Phyllis continues that Jack bought a Rover car out of the proceeds 'and travelled to Ouyen to see the Hickmotts [shown in the photo above] before going down to Ballarat where Jack's parents lived. They decided it was too cold to settle there so went on to Bendigo where Jack's sister (Ada) lived. They bought a house at 30 Wade Street in Golden Square. Jack worked at Jones hay and corn store for a while before becoming the green keeper at the Golden Square Bowling Club, a position he held until his retirement. He was also the caretaker of the local Methodist Church. Both he and Annie were keen bowls players, although Annie later switched to croquet at which she was very good, winning a lot of trophies and one year serving as the club's president'.

Jack and Annie had seven children (shown in the photo on the right): Edith Ann Kent (1916-) who married Lindsay Birchmore (1914-2006) in 1940; Phyllis Jean Kent (1918-) who married Leslie Norman White (1915-2003) in 1942; Allan John Kent (1920-2001) who married Valda Irene Rose in 1946; Florence Beatrice Kent (1926-) who married John Francis Burns (1924-1999) in 1947; Bruce James Kent (1929-) who married Norma June Benzley in 1949); Lewis Albert Kent (1931-) who married Mavis Irene Moorshead in 1954; and June Grace Kent (1933-) who married Roy Henry Newman in 1953. Jack Kent died in Bendigo in 1968. Annie died there in 1983, aged 86 years. They are both buried at the Kangaroo Flat Cemetery. All their surviving children continue to live in Bendigo except Florence who lives at Point Lonsdale in Victoria.

The year 1916 was also a worrying time for Samuel and Fanny. The First World War, which had begun in August 1914, was dragging on well beyond initial expectations. Thousands of young Australians had already been killed or wounded at Gallipoli and in the early battles on the Western Front in Europe. In spite of the horrendous loss of life, the Labor Government headed by Billy Hughes was determined that as many more men as possible should be sent to help Britain in its fight against Germany. The government's determination was echoed by the spiritual and political leaders of the Wimmera community. In an editorial written to mark the second anniversary of the war, the editor of the Donald Times wrote, for example, that:

...in the greatest combat yet known to civilised people...Germany with malice aforethought set out on a brutal campaign against the laws of God and humanity...Militarism has been the means of placing Germany in the same category as that of wild animals thirsting after human blood and failing in her purposes, turns and casts her revenge on an innocent civilian population (Donald Times, 8 August 1916).

Following the lead set by the Prime Minister, the editor of the Times had earlier warned his readers that 'Germany has longed for many years to establish herself in overseas dominions, and Australia provides one of the best opportunities for [such] German extension'. It was essential therefore, he continued, for Britain to win the war, for if it lost, Germany would certainly claim the Australian continent as part of her spoils of war. Such reasoning was always fanciful. But it was taken up by the districts 'war-whoopers' and letter writers who intensified their pressure on those young men, such as Samuel and Albert Free, who had not yet enlisted.

Like many others in the district, the boys were either in no hurry to go to the front or they were delaying their decision at least until after the latest harvest was completed. Unlike the previous year when wheat had had to be brought into the region to feed the farmers' starving stock, the 1915 harvest was a bountiful one. It was triggered by drought-breaking rains that had brought joyous crowds from their beds to watch the long awaited water again flowing down the Avoca river and over the weir at Charlton. These and follow-up rains produced some of the biggest wheat yields yet seen in the district. The Christmas of 1915, then, saw all the farmers in the Wimmera, and their sons, toiling from dawn until after dusk each day stripping, bagging and carting wheat for Australia and the Empire. Their wives, daughters and sisters were similarly labouring over hot stoves preparing meals for their menfolk, running the household and seeing the younger members of their families off to school. Even then they would find some time in the evenings to sew or crochet items for the local Red Cross society or for one of the many functions held across the district to raise money for the country's war effort.

The busy harvest season was still an insufficient excuse for members of the city-based government and the 'white feather brigade' who, through various ways, questioned the loyalty and manhood of those who had still to join up. Under such pressure it was inevitable that many young men would eventually yield. They included Sam and Bert Free who enlisted in Melbourne on 24 July 1916 where, along with a number of other recruits, they swore on the Bible to 'well and truly serve our Sovereign Lord the King', 'resist His Majesty's enemies', and 'cause His Majesty's peace to be kept'.

We don't know why the two brothers (pictured below in their uniforms) decided to enlist when they did. It is possible although unlikely given their ages and backgrounds that, just as Roland Leighton had done in England in 1914, they had come to see the war in largely abstract terms: as horrible yet also somehow attractive and potentially enobling; 'something whose elemental reality raises it above the reach of all cold theorising' (cited in Bishop and Bostridge, 1999: 30). They may simply have followed the example of a number of others among their friends and acquaintances - including their first cousins Roland Shepherd from Coonooer Bridge, and Don McCallum from Corack East - who had gone before them. Perhaps like so many others they saw enlistment in the AIF as a chance to travel and see England, or to escape from the hardships and monotony of outback farming. Or they may, like 'Ossie' Davey from Donald, have gone so that their younger brothers would not have to go. An ironmonger by trade, Private Henry Austin Davey was, according to the Donald Times, a man who possessed 'no instincts of war'. Although he lacked the 'physique demanded by [the] military authorities', the paper continued, Ossie decided to represent his family 'at the post of danger' because he of all of the sons was 'best fitted'. Davey enlisted in the First AIF in July 1915. He subsequently:

...stood hardships upon the desert with more seasoned troops...took part in the great Somme battle...For two years past marvellous were the number of his escapes. Amidst thousands of killed and wounded he was without a scratch. Later on, however, wounds and suffering came from a shell that killed most of those around him. It is presumed that after recovering from shell shock that a summons came to return to the front. There he fell among the valiant dead [although] some peculiar circumstances surrounding recent correspondence cause some close friends to still entertain hopes for his safety (Donald Times, 12 June 1917).

Whatever their reasons for enlisting, the two brothers eventually left for Europe, sailing from Port Melbourne on the SS PORT LINCOLN on 20 October 1916. It seems that Sam and Bert were not joined on the docks by their parents or family members. Each instead wrote their mother a post card before they embarked. These were kept by Fanny and passed on to Frances on her mother's death in 1927. On them the boys wrote:

Well mother we were paraded today and told that we are to embark at 8.45 on Friday morning at the new Port Melbourne pier on the Port Lincoln but can't say for sure when we will be clear of the heads, but I suppose I will be able to send a wire from Melbourne. Well Mother don't worry we will be back among you again before 15 months and don't forget to pray for us occasionally. We will still be on the water at Christmas they reckon, but we may be landed by new year.
Your loving son Sam.

Just a few lines to let you know we embark on Friday, we are ready to go at a minutes notice but we will not get on the boat until Friday morning, they say [it] will be a week out side the bay before we sail. I will write before I sail so Good Bye and Good Luck until I come back.
With love from your Loving Son Bert

Click here to read an account of the experiences of Sam and Bert and their loved ones at home at Lalbert during the trials and traumas of the First World War.

After the war, the Frees continued to contribute to the life and times of Lalbert and its surrounding district. James Free was an active member of the local Farmer's Union. His wife Johanna and sister-in-law Fanny Free were conscientious members of the local Methodist Church. During this time, too, a number of Samuel and Fanny's younger children were married and began producing still more grandchildren. The first was Hilda Flavell Free who married John Reginald ('Reg') Worner at Kerang in January 1919 (Hilda and Reg are pictured on the left). Their youngest son Keith Worner tells us that Reg's parents were John Worner and Alicia Stevens who 'lived in the Beauchamp area [of Victoria] and owned quite a lot of land along the Back Creek'. As this was fit only for grazing, John also 'bought three blocks of good land further west in the Lalbert East area'. Reg and Hilda lived on one of these after their marriage and had their first three children there. When their eldest daughter, Doris, was old enough to start school, they moved to another block, located across the road from the Talgitcha School, that John had bought in 1907. Keith continues: 'all of the family went to this school and the block of land is still in the Worner name after almost one hundred years and four generations. John Worner initially bought it, then Reg and Hilda owned it and reared their family there'. Their youngest son Keith and his wife Wilma Glatz then 'owned it and raised their family on it. Now Ian (Barney) Worner, Keith and Wilma's youngest son, and his wife Tracie own it and live there.'

Reg and Hilda Worner (nee Free) died and were buried in Lalbert in 1976 and 1990 respectively. They had four children between 1919 and 1928: Doris May Worner (1919-1992) who never married; Reginald Albert ('Bill') Worner (1921-1995) who married Noela Beatrice Nobbs at Coolangatta in Queensland in 1944 and had three daughters; Hilda Grace Worner who married Robert James Walker (1921-1983) at Swan Hill in 1946 and had three children; and Keith James Worner who married Wilma Jean Glatz, the daughter of Charles and Martha Glatz (nee Thompson) at Quambatook in 1950. As described above, Keith and Wilma lived initially opposite the Talgitcha School. In 1982 they moved onto a 1200-acre block of land they had purchased from George Arthur Free, the son of James Oswald and Emma Elizabeth Free (nee Oliver) and grandson of James Oswald and Johanna Free (nee Shepherd). The farm is now owned by Keith and Wilma's oldest son John Maxwell Worner.

Click here to see a photo of Keith Worner and his three siblings as well as one of James Oswald Free Jnr and his wife Emma.

In 1925 Hilda's younger brother Les Free (pictured on the left) married Essie May Chambers (1898-1978) at Albury in New South Wales. Les and Essie had five children: Leslie Robert, Roy Allan, Murray Albert, Joyce May and Keith James, all of whom were born at Quambatook between 1926 and 1934.

On 30 October 1829 Samuel and Fanny's youngest daughter, Mary Jean Free (pictured on the right), married Alexander Norman Anderson at Swan Hill. Jean and Norman had three children: Irene Gread (nee Anderson) who lives at Swan Hill with her husband John (see the photo below); Ian Anderson who married Doreen Moser; and Jean Margaret Anderson who married Selwyn Albert ('Peter') Schulz in Bendigo in 1955. Their daughter, Kellie Carlo (nee Anderson) tells us that Jean and Peter are retired and live on their farm at Pental Island near Swan Hill. Peter was the blacksmith at the Pioneer Settlement at Swan Hill for 23 years and Jean leased the General Store there for ten years before retiring to enjoy hobby farming, travelling and her grandchildren. They have two other children in addition to Kellie - Grant Shulz and Peta Raudino (nee Schulz who lives with her husband and family in Western Australia) and four grandchildren.

Click here to see other photos of Norman and Mary Jean Free, their family and relatives.

Although family folklore suggests that Samuel and Fanny's son Edward Charles ('Ted') Free (1896-1971) never married, it seems that he may have done so, to a Bessie Campbell in 1920. Irene Gread believes that the couple never lived together. After his father's death in 1939, Ted lived on and ran (or more to the point, ran down) the family farm. Ted died in Ballarat in 1971. We do know that none of Samuel and Fanny's other sons married. Sam and Bert were both killed in the war, Donald died in Lalbert in 1923, aged 14 years, and Clifford suffered a mental breakdown and was incarcerated in the asylum at Beechworth where he died in 1937. Although he never served in the First World War, Clifford was nonetheless, like so many others whose experiences are now long-forgotten, a victim of that dreadful conflict.

According to Irene Gread, even though he was only 17, Clifford was desperate to follow his older brothers' examples and enlist in the First AIF. It seems he even went into camp probably as part of Billy Hughes' national call-up prior to the conduct of the 1916 conscription referendum (at the time the government could call-up its citizens for the military defence of Australia itself but was prevented by law from sending them overseas). The referendum that would have given the government power to compel Australia's young men to serve on the Western Front was defeated and most of those called-up had to be released. In any case Samuel, who had been told by Sam and Bert not to let any of the younger ones go to the war, refused to allow his son to enlist. Clifford was devastated and haunted, no doubt, by feelings of guilt over the deaths of his older brothers, withdrew into himself. He never recovered prompting his father later to say that it would have been better for him to have been killed by a bullet on the Western Front.

Fanny Free (nee Shepherd) died at Lalbert in January 1927, aged 62 years. Her husband Samuel died there twelve years later. They are buried together at the Lalbert cemetery.

Return to top of page

Click here to see more photos of the Samuel and Fanny's descendants.

James Oswald and Johanna Free (nee Shepherd)

James Oswald Free was born at Raglan in 1864. In around 1880 he went with his parents and siblings to Corack where he worked on his father's farm before obtaining his own block of land at Corack East. As described above, James married Johanna Shepherd, the daughter of John and Johanna Shepherd (nee Mulchay), at St Arnaud in 1891. After living for a time at Corack the couple and their growing family moved to Lalbert where James and his eldest son James Oswald Free farmed land in the area known as Talgitcha. Many of James and Johanna's children, together with those of James' older brothers William and Samuel Free, attended the Talgitcha State School which, following petitions from the local farmers, had been opened in 1899.

James and Johanna remained in the area for the rest of their lives. One of their great granddaughters, Kerry Free, tells us that their farm is currently owned and run by her father, Allan Henry Free. She adds that her grandfather, James' son Allan Joseph Free, had also many years ago bought the farm that had belonged to James' older brother Samuel Free and his wife Fanny (the farm was then owned by their son Ted). 'As a kid we always called that part of the farm "Teddy's". So basically Dad's farm is now Sam and James' combined'.

James Oswald Free died unexpectedly on 20 January 1922 during a routine operation at the Bendigo Hospital. He was 57 years old. As Win Noblet eulogises in her book Beside the Bullock Track: Quambatook 1894-1984, 'his death caused a surge of downcast gloom over the district'. Jim had 'worked diligently, transforming a wildernest to a wheat farm', and 'proved to be one of Australia's finest citizens, taking a keen interest in public matters and being blessed with a warm friendliness' (Noblet, 1984: 111-2). His wife Johanna Free (nee Shepherd) died at Quambatook twelve years later. She and James are buried in the Lalbert cemetery.

What of their children? James and Johanna Free had twelve children, one of whom, George Bruce Free, died as an infant. The others, shown in the family photo that heads this section, all grew into adults, married and had families.

Their oldest son, James Oswald Free (1892-1967), was born at Thalia in Victoria. He married Emma Elizabeth Oliver (1894-1955), the daughter of Robert Hamilton Oliver and Mary Ann Edmeades, at Lalbert in 1913 (their wedding photo is shown on the right. Details of Emma's parents and family can be found on the web pages maintained by Arthur Lipscome).

After their marriage, James and Emma lived on James' farm at Talgitcha where they spent the rest of their lives and had six children: Robert James, John Henry, Annie Florence, George Arthur, Dorothy May and Ronald Oswald Free. Click here to see a possible photo of James Oswald and either Annie or Dorothy. The Australian War Memorial database shows that John Henry Free enlisted in the Second AIF in Queensland on 22 April 1943. He was then single and living at Lalbert with his parents. John was discharged on 13 December 1945. By then he was a Corporal in the 15 Australian Transport Platoon.

Emma Free (nee Oliver) died at Lalbert in 1955. James died at Kerang in 1967. The following obituary later appeared in the local newspaper:

...the sudden passing of Mr James Oswald Free came as a severe shock to his many relatives and friends. Aged 75 years, Mr Free came to the Quambatook district 69 years ago, being a member of a family who have been closely associated with the development and progress of the district, especially in the areas where they were engaged in agricultural pursuit. Born at Corack, he was only 6 years of age when he came to Lalbert East, and he spent the remainder of his life there. He was educated at the local school, spent his young days in the district, where he was a well-known footballer. Like many others who derived their livelihood from the land, Mr Free had to experience bad years and indifferent times ... However imbued with the fine spirit of the early settlers, and with unshakeable faith in the capacity of the district to produce, he worked hard until good years and stabilised prices for primary products brought reward. Mr Free, by his own forsight and industry, like others, did much to improve the land on which he lived and kept abreast of the latest production methods.... Mr Free enjoyed the blessing of a large family, the majority of whom have settled in the district and become fine citizens.

James and Johanna's eldest daughter, Johanna Victoria Free (1893-1973), was also born at Thalia in Victoria. In 1917 she married John James Bailey (1890-1957) at Lalbert (their wedding photo is shown on the left). John was the son of Hugh Andrew Bailey and Jane Hosking, both of whom were part of the pioneering families of the parish of Towaninnie. John and Johanna had two sons, John James Bailey (1917-18) and Allan James Bailey who married Monica Austerberry at Swan Hill in 1948.

Eliza Jane ('Dolly') Free (1894-1972) attended Lalbert Primary School with her siblings and cousins (she is in the photo shown above of the teacher Frances Elliott and some of her former pupils from Lalbert). Dolly married Robert Williamson, the son of William Williamson and Helen Dalgleish, at Lalbert in 1918.

John William Free (1896-1964) married Boswell Adelaide Rangott (1895-1958) in Lalbert in 1919 (their wedding photo is shown below on the right. According to the 'Cameron Geneologies' website, Boswell's father was Johann August Rangott (1870-1951) who was born at Hamilton in Victoria and died at Heidelberg in Melbourne. Her mother was Sarah McDonald. Boswell's siblings were Alexander Edmond Teasdale Rangott, Alfred Norman Rangott and Kitty Margaret Rangott.

The 1924 Victorian electoral roll for the subdivision of Quambatook indicates that the couple lived at Lalbert after their marriage and John William worked as a farm hand. They had six children we know of: Colin John Free (1919-97) who married Gladys Cooper at Swan Hill in 1942; Allan McDonald Free (1920-77) who married Gwenda Trethowan at Geelong in 1942; Alfreda Norman Free who married Alfred Killey at Swan Hill in 1945; Albert James Free who married Beatrice Logan at Swan Hill in 1952; Laurel Kitty Free who married Cecil Jackson at South Melbourne in 1949 and Reville Alexander Free who married Ann Ferris at Swan Hill in 1960.

The Australian War Memorial database shows that Colin John Free enlisted in the Second AIF at Swan Hill on 17 March 1941. He was then living at Woorinen in Victoria and his next of kin was his wife Gladys Free (nee Cooper). He was discharged on 1 April 1942. By then he was a Private in 4 Provost Company. Colin's younger brother Alan McDonald Free also enlisted at Swan Hill, on 10 December 1938, and served as a private soldier in the 17 Machine Gun Regiment.

Ernest Albert Free (1897-1976), a farmer at Lalbert, who married first Mary Ellen Keating (1900-27), the daughter of Daniel James Keating, at Quambatook in 1918 and second an English woman Clare Wilson at Swan Hill in 1927. He had three children with Mary - Lawrence Martin, Ernest Raymond and Kevin James Free - and two with Clare: Norman Albert and Robert Leslie Free.

Ernest Raymond Free enlisted in the Second AIF at Geelong on 7 June 1942. He was then living at Cannie in Victoria and his next of kin was his wife Purvis Free (nee Manuel). He was discharged on 29 Dec 1943. By then he was a Corporal in the 11 Australian Lines of Communication Provost Company. His brother Kevin James Free enlisted in the Second AIF at Caulfield on 6 February 1942 and served as a private soldier in the 2/24 Infantry Battalion until he was discharged on 29 August 1946.

Pearl Amelia Free (1899-1972) married James Baden-Powell Hasty at Lalbert in 1923. James was born at Airey's Inlet in Victoria, the youngest son of James Hasty and Annie Murray (pictured below) and grandson of William Hasty (1836-1902) and Margaret Dempsey (1832-1907). One of their descendants, John Hasty, tells us that the old couple hailed from Kilrea in Ireland and had emigrated to Victoria sometime between 1856 and 1858. William and his son James ran a boarding house, named 'Seaview House' at Airey's inlet as well as the Cobb & Co service from there to Anglesea and thence to Geelong.

James Hasty married Annie Murray at Anglesea in 1891 and had six children: Agnes Margaret (1891-2), William Robert (1891), Agnes Margaret (1893), Alice Maud (1894), Annie (1896) and James Baden-Powell Hasty (1900). James jnr is pictured in uniform on the left. The photo was taken in 1914 by his teacher P. Allen.

James and Annie left Airey's Inlet not long after the birth of their youngest son and spent time at Loddon Vale and Pyramid Hill before settling at Lalbert where James ran the local grocery store (see the picture below). According to his great great grandson, John Hasty, 'old Jim (Hasty) used [also] to work on the roads, working with teams of horses and was considered an excellent horseman. Jim and his sons James and William lumped wheat with Frank Free [Pearl Free's younger brother]. Back then the wheat was all bagged and stacked in big piles besides the railway tracks...ready to be trucked out by train. There was good money in the wheat then and the Hasty boys used to buy it and sell in on'. In addition to details about the family, John has provided us with a number of photos of his Hasty and Free relatives. Those of the Frees are included on this webpage. Click here to see the ones of John's Hasty ancestors.

Jan and Janine Power's Lalbert Reflections tells us that the older sisters of James Baden-Powell Hasty, Alice and Annie Hasty (later Murdock) 'were the Post Mistresses at the Lalbert Post Office. Annie first til she married and shifted to Quambatook to live and then Alice; they were in charge for a good many years'. Their sister Agnes Hasty 'managed the shop in Lalbert owned by Mr Carey after he went to Ballarat; their father was in the shop, Letcher and Hasty, which used to be on the corner where Don McGregor's garage is now' (p. 97).

Records contained in the Australian Archives show that the girls' older brother, William Robert Hasty, who worked in his father's grocery shop, enlisted in the First AIF on 1 September 1915 and embarked for active service overseas from Melbourne on the HMAT A54 RUNIC on 20 January 1916. He was part of the reinforcements for the 4th Light Horse Regiment. Rather than going to Gallipoli, William served with the 4th Camel Corps in Egypt, the Sinai and Palestine before returning to Australia from Egypt on 26 July 1919. He is pictured above on the right with a colleague from Western Australia. The photo was taken in Palestine in May 1916.

Pearl Amelia Hasty nee Free died at Casterton in Victoria in 1972. She and James had two boys: Bruce and Aubrey James Hasty (1925-82) who are shown above on the left with their grandparents James and Annie.

Born at Lalbert Harry Walter Free (1901-1955) married May Victoria Jobling (1902-88) at Kerang on 17 February 1926 (their wedding photo is shown on the left). The couple had four children: Enid May Free who married Frederick Booth at Tresco in Victoria in 1949 and had five children; Morris Henry Free who married Merle Harbour at Bendigo in 1951 and had one child; Alice Clare Free who married Maurice Codling at Tresco and had five children and Barrie James Free who married Margaret Baker at Swan Hill in 1960 and had three children.

Alice Martha Free (1903-72) married William Murray Smith (1903-83), a farmer at Pental Island, at Swan Hill in 1941 and had one child.

Frank Rowland Free (1906-2004) married Annie Elizabeth Curthoys (1914-1988), the daughter of William Curthoys and Mary Tranter, at Quambatook in 1935 and had three children.

Norman Alexander Free (1908-1986) married Venus Adrian Deason (1912-2000) in 1955 and had eight children. The Australian War Memorial database shows that Norman enlisted in the Second AIF at Quambatook on 21 January 1942. He and Venus were then living at Woorinen North. He served as a private soldier in the 11 Works and Parks Company and was discharged on 26 October 1944.

Allan Joseph Free married Dulcie Kanowna Alexander and had four children. As described above All and his son Allan Henry Free took over the original farms of both Samuel Free and his brother James Oswald Free, thus maintaining the Free family's farming heritage and its long-standing connections to Lalbert and it surrounds.

(last updated: 30 October 2009)

Return to top of page

Image sources:

'Samuel Free', 'Samuel and Fanny Free and family, 1911', 'The Kent and Hickmott families', 'Albert Ernest Free', 'Leslie Free', 'Mary Jean Free', 'Graves of Fanny and Samuel and Donald Free' and 'Grave of James and Johanna Free', private collection.
Squatter's camp and Settler's house, courtesy of the Australian National Library.
'Lalbert Primary School 1894' and 'James Hasty 1914' from Jan and Janine Power, Lalbert Reflections (Red Cliffs Victoria: The Sunnyland Press, 1983).
'Frances Elliott and former pupils' and 'James and Johanna Free and family', from Win Noblet, The Hickmott Story: 1825-1981 (Bendigo: Cambridge Press, 1981).
'Samuel John Free' and 'John and Irene Gread (nee Free) at Swan Hill', courtesy of Irene Gread.
'John Reginald (Reg) and Hilda Worner (nee Free)', courtesy of Keith and Wilma Worner.
'Kent family', courtesy of Phyllis White (nee Kent).
'Wedding of James Oswald Free and Emma Elizabeth Oliver', 'Wedding of John James Bailey and Johanna Victoria Free', 'Wedding of John William Free and Boswell Adelaide Rangott', 'Hasty's Store, Lalbert', 'William Robert Hasty in Palestine' and 'Bruce and Aubrey Hasty and grandparents' courtesy of John Hasty.
'Wedding of Harry Walter Free and May Victoria Jobling', courtesy of Margaret Free.