_Charles BATES ______
| m 1855
_Thomas James BATES _|
| (1867 - 1917) |
| |_Selina ADAMS _______
| (.... - 1887) m 1855
|
|--Alma BATES
| (.... - 1982)
| _Frederick FAIRS ____
| | m 1862
|_Sarah FAIRS ________|
(1874 - ....) |
|_Sophia FREEMAN _____
m 1862
[174]
ALMA BATES, was born 16th September, 1900,the only child to Thomas James Bates and Sarah Fairs. Registration No. 31095. She was born in Dubbo N.S.W. her mother and father's mariage certificate is on file and clearly shows that Sarah Fairs was pregnant before they married. Alma started smoking when she was fourteen years old.
She worked for a time in Sydney as dressmaker at McCathies where she sewed dresses for well known personalities including Dame Nellie Melba and also Billy Burke, a Holywood actress who was in Australia at the time.
She wanted an artist (Lola Rose) who is a friend of the family to paint a portriat of Dame Nelly Melba wearing one of the dresses she made for her but this was not to be as no photographs or drawings could be found. Alma would have been about eighteen or nineteen years of age at that time.
She moved to Newcastle with her family where her father Thomas Bates was a Brickmaker employed at a Brickworks in the Suburb of Waratah. There he was fatally injured 25th October, 1917 when he was caught between the buffers of two coal hoppers (Railway trucks) a letter to that effect was sent to The Dubbo Dispatch dated Friday, November 9th, 1917 (see tjbates.txt message file).
On 16th April, 1922, She married a Raynor Gordon Brown at Hamilton N.S.W. She bore him three children the eldest was Dorothy Alma born on the 5th December 1922. They were living at 29 Blackalls Street, Hamilton. N.S.W. They then had a son named Thomas James Brown on 12th October, 1926 their address then was Lindsay Street, Hamilton. Their third child Kathleen was born 25th November, 1930 and their address then was 20 Bibby Street, Hamilton.
She also lost a girl child during this period at 7 months into her time when fell down the Stairway, tripping on her undone button style shoe strap, which was the fashion of those days, later that night she miscarried.
She used to spend sometime at local Hotels "knitting" . She started a liasion with James Arthur Bates around 1940/1941 where there is some mystery surrounding the reason for their meeting. Arthur as he was called was a member of 20 Garrison Battalion and although married was separated from Mrs Mary Jane Bates who was living at Maitland Road, Singleton. N.S.W.
A female child, Elizabeth Pearl was born on 20th August, 1942 at Newcastle.
On 26th September, 1942 his unit was posted to Hay, N.S.W.
On 6th March,1943, Arthur gave as his next of kin his wife Mrs.Mary Jane Bates and his home address as 85 Austin Street, Lane Cove. But Mary Jane Bates had died in 1940 so this information was incorrect. (It is not until he was discharged, 22nd October, 1945 that he states that he was single and in a defacto relationship and had three children under 16 years of age.)
Alma had three children to James Arthur Bates, Elizabeth Pearl born 20th August, 1942,Newcastle,N.S.W. Nancy Ann born 9th February, 1944 in Hay, N.S.W.
James Arthur Alexander born 30th April, 1945 in Hay, N.S.W. She miscarried twins after the birth of James at Hay.
Alma and Arthur were playing cards and as she got up from her chair to turn off the Kettle, which was boiling on the stove, she miscarried. Her daughter Kathleen remembers that the babies so small that she put them into a tobacco tin and showed them to their land-lady Mrs. Julie Lewaar.
When her husband, Jack Lewaar died, Julie married George Shakespear they are at present livin on Wallis Island in the Great Wallis Lakes near Forster. N.S.W. (1998)
Arthur, Alma and the children were living in poor circumstance as Arthur was paying Maintenance Support from his army pay to the youngest two children of his marriage to Mary Jane Gibbs, Ettie and Joyce, who were being cared for by an aunt.
After Arthur's discharge from the army the family then returned to the Hunter Valley in N.S.W. first in Newcasle and then to Singleton. The family moved into a shed at the rear of the Commonwealth Bank in John Street, Singleton. (This bank is now the WestPac Bank) The children were christened Catholics whilst living there, Nancy was about seven years old. A short time later they moved to a tent into the Council Camping Area near the Swimming baths in Gowrie Street. Arthur did some work for the owners of the lucerne paddock near the baths.
Her son Thomas James Brown was killed when he was catapulted from the rear of a Utility truck at Stanthorpe Queensland on 4th November, 1950 and his body was brought to be buried at Wallsend Cemetery by his father Raynor Brown. His grave was unmarked until the end of May, 1996 and is three lots along from his Grandparents, Thomas and Sarah BATES. A concrete slab with tiles and a plaque with his details (made by his half sister Nancy Halbesma) was placed on his grave site on Friday 24 May, 1996 by Nancy's husband Bill, her brother Jim and Thomas's sister Kathleen's husband Aldo Florian.
When her husband Raynor Brown passed away their daughter Kathleen did not advise Alma of his death and when she and Arthur came to visit Kathleen and Raynor, as they sometimes did, she asked Kathleen why she did not let her know of his death Kathleen replied that she (Alma) now had her wish as she always wanted him dead.
The Patrick Plains Shire Council moved the family to a site further torward the river bank where later Arthur purchased an Army Marquee which over the years grew into ramshackled multi-room humpy.
Alma worked as a cook/cleaner at some of the hotels whilst Arthur worked as a cook at the nearby Singleton Army Camp when there were troops in camp as well as at various labouring type of work. The children did not know what electricity was until they left home to make their own way in the world. In fact when Dorothy took Pearl to the shop and purchased a Milkshake, Pearl who had never had one said,"What's that !" During winter time and also at other times of the year the drivers of the Steam Trains used to toss out shovels of coal so that they could pick it up from the railway track to use in the fuel stove.
The Arthur, Alma and the three children used to wheel an old pram to the Donnolly Garbage Dump to forage for bottles and anything of value they could sell. They also had to collect cigarette butts from the street so that the parents could have a smoke. Alma would have packets of cigarettes in her apron, which she always wore, but she would refuse to give any to Arthur and he would have to pick up bumpers from the gutters for his smoke. This seems to be a contradiction of Arthur's behaviour as he was always the boss with an explosive temperament previously but with Alma he was the under dog and even seemed to be scared of her. They were very distrustfull and jealous of ech other.
Upon Arthur's death this branch of the family was left out of the obituary in the local paper and they had to be included at a later date. The War Graves Commision arranged for him to be interred at Bulga Cemetary with his parents, just outside Singleton. Alma refused to allow an autopsy to be carried out.
Alma fended for herself for a while and later moved in with her daughter Pearl, (Elizabeth Pearl), who was married to Mackenzie Hayter and was then living at Carrington, a Suburb of Newcastle. She later moved in with her second daughter Nancy who lived at Gateshead West another suburb of Newcastle and then when Nancy moved to 30 acres of land at Rosebrook with her second Husband Bill Halbesma she spent a fortnight at a time with her daughters Nancy, Kathleen Brown and Dorothy Midlleby, Pearl and Max having moved to Queensland. Her son Jim had been living in South Australia for some years.
This arrangement seemed to go well for a while but Dorothy had to drop out. Because Alma refused to eat and her condition deteriorated very rapidly, she was taken to Royal Newcastle Hospital where she died a few days later on 6th December, 1982. Her body is interred in Wallsend Cemetery Catholic Division.
This is the same cemetery where her parents and her son Thomas James Brown, from her marriage to Raynor Gordon Brown, but they are buried in the Church of England division. Her mother has never had her details placed on her headstone and the site was in poor repair when seen. 28 Feb, 1996. These graves have been repaired, concreted, tiled with new headstones added on 24 May 1996. Alma's grave has been concreted in with a ceramic tiled top. The work was done by Nancy's Husband Bill with help from Bill's brother-in-law Henk Baas and, her daughter of previous marriage, Kathleen's Husband Aldo Florian. Nancy helped lay the tiles and affix the small brass plaque which had been engrave by Alma's grandaughter, Janneen Bates, her son Jim's eldest daughter.
Raynor Gordon Brown is buried in Sandgate cemetery, Methodist Division. All these graves have had ceramic plaques with their details upon them fixed in place of headstones since May 1996. The plaques were made by
Nancy (Bates) Halbesma.
[168] NSW BDM No. 31095.
[169] Catholic
[171] Newcastle Hospital NSW
[173] Wallsend Cemetery NSW
[254] Reg No. 7090
[170]
[S13]
From Family, Nancy & Bill Halbesma
[172]
[S13]
From Family, Nancy & Bill Halbesma
[252]
[S14]
Wedding Certificate