Maud and Edward Currell
Maud Turner was an English lady who migrated to Australia in 1913 on the ship MILTIADES bound for Melbourne/Brisbane. Maud is listed as “Domestic” under the heading occupation.
Women, especially domestic servants who were much coveted owing to the high demand for them in Australia, were often sponsored by governments or voluntary organisations both in Australia and Great Britain. Single women were encouraged to immigrate in order to satisfy perceived needs in relation to Australia’s future population, both in terms of its quantity and quality. Domestic servants would release middle-class women for their primary role in society as bearers and nurturers of children; they would help overcome the isolation of wives of rural settlers and, not least, they would become future wives and mothers themselves. Their character, youth and experience were therefore important criteria in selection.
The advertising associated with assistance schemes to bring out British farmers, young rural labourers and domestic servants (the ‘preferred’ immigrants) inevitably encouraged others. State departments and ‘intelligence bureaux’ were set up in the capital cities to receive and advise new settlers. Assisted immigrants made up about half the total arrivals in the pre-war years, some selected by state governments and non-government organisations, some nominated by relatives and friends already in Australia.
Maud’s father Alfred Charles turner was a polisher for Holland & Holland who was very much the luxury end of the horse drawn carriage market and may well have worked on some carriages of Queen Victoria. His father John is one of many in the Hertfordshire area and it is difficult to work out who is who. Her mother was Elizabeth Allen, this side of the family has been traced right back to the middle ages to the Collett and Bond families of Cambridgeshire.
The Christmas present ever for Joanne came on the 18th December 2009 when the verifying email arrived from Peter Mason in Sheffield England.
“Dear Joanne,
Thank you for your message. All I know about Maud is that she went to Australia. Up to now, I thought my grandmother Edith was the only daughter of Alfred to have a family. She had two sons: my father Frederick and Ralph who is still alive in his nineties in the Croydon area.
I am now retired in Sheffield, living with my wife Lorna, after working as a BBC engineer. I look forward to hearing more from you about your family.
Best wishes, Peter Mason.”
Half way through reading this Joanne had tears rolling down her face and was speechless. So from that day she has been in constant contact with Peter & Lorna and will soon be meeting them in person. To have someone else interested in Maud is lovely.
How Maud comes to arrive in Barraba is still a mystery today. She was working at the local Barraba Base hospital when she meets Edward Currell. On the 8th March 2010 Linda & Mark Floyd with Ben & Joanne Power traveled to Barraba to see if they could find out any more information on Maud. In one answer NO, she is proving hard to find out about. Tom Johnson mentioned that he thought she was a cook at the hospital, we were under the assumption she was a nurse as on her wedding certificate it states Nurse as occupation. The locals from that era believe she met Edward while he was a patient in the hospital. Edward too was on the board of directors so nothing here can be confirmed to how they met.
Maud & Edward celebrated their marriage on the 23rd May 1927 at St Lawrence’s Church of England church in Barraba. “Herbertvale” Barraba was the family home of Edward and Maud. Mary Maud was their first born on 27 June 1928 and baptized a month later on the 26 July 1928. Clifford was born on the 15th July 1931 at the family homestead with the assistance of Dr. Rhipps and nurse Edith Woods. Cliff too was baptized at St Lawrence's parish in Barraba being on the 4th August 1931 the ceremony was performed by HCR Lancaster. Edward was 73 years of age when Cliff was born.
While caring for 2 young children, Maud also was caring for Edward as he was suffering from dementia. He treated Maud quite roughly and it really was a hard period for her. Edward would go walk about at night so to help Maud with this added pressure relatives would come stay the night.
These times would have been quite difficult for the family of wide ages as 1929 saw the start of the great depression in Australia; it was a time of extreme hardship for all Australian.
Maud was Edward's second wife; his first wife being Mary Esther Mc Neill. Mary had passed away a couple of years earlier on 23rd August 1923 of Pneumonia. Mary & Edward had 5 children together Albert Edward, Herbert Fredrick (Bert), James, Maud Ester and Robert William Hamilton.
Cliff unfortunately didn’t experience many years with his family as Edward passed away on 2nd May 1936 and is laid to rest next to Mary Esther in the Barraba General Cemetery. After Edwards passing his estate had a claim made against it from one of his adult sons, Robert (Bob). Robert lived on Herbert Vale with his family and helped run the property as a share farmer. He brought his house over from his own property for convenience. Maud decided with all the correspondence and demands that it would be best to sell Herbert Vale. With this the creditors and Robert were paid. Some money was left for Mary & Cliff. Mary and Cliff didn’t receive many processions from their father. Cliff was to be left Edwards chime clock and justice of the peace badge but he never did see them.
With all the emotional turmoil of losing her husband and then her home, Maud was soon to loose her children as she just couldn’t cope. Cliff had scratchy memories of spending a short period of time with Maud in a Manilla Hotel. (No mention of Mary).
Maud was to suffer a nervous breakdown and was admitted into a mental hospital in Newcastle, we are not sure of exact dates and the records are locked for 110 years. This is where she lived out her life till her death on 27th January 1962. The cause of death stated on death certificate was Cerebral Thrombosis duration 6 months, Arteriosclerosis, Years, and senility. Maud is in an unmarked grave in the Church of England Cemetery at Stockton
NSW. Mary and a friend had erected a timber cross in her memory all those years ago but over time this has since perished due to being exposed to the natural elements.
The grave number details are Anglican (formerly Church of England) Section No. 8 Grave 18, the reason why Newcastle Council had problems locating the grave when I first started the search for it is that somewhere along the line they have transcribed their old records incorrectly and have Maud Currell’s name as Burrell. It was with the help of Andrew France of France Family Funerals at Nelson Bay that we have discovered Maud’s were bouts. On her death certificate it lists Jonah Bevan and Son as the undertaker. So with this information and the help of the yellow pages we were to find this establishment still in operation in the larger Newcastle area.
So, our grandmother lay with no reminder of her existence and no thanks for the life she gave to us. The hunt has begun to locate her and give her life some recognition as with out her we would not exist.
One is to wonder what life was like for her, when she left London all those years ago she would have had dreams and hopes for a greater life then the one she was leaving behind. It seems she only managed a few shorts years of happiness. All anyone asks for in their life is respect and to feel some what appreciated, it seems Maud’s life was insignificant to many people. The only photo of Maud that we have.
