Selected Families and Individuals

Notes


Percy Edward HOGER

Percy was born at Gatton on September 8, 1924, to Franz and Ida Hoger. He was from a family of five sons, one being adopted.

His childhood years were spent on the family farm at Ropeley and he attended the Ropeley East State School.
His father was the first cream carter in the district and Percy drove the cream truck and loaded cream cans from the age of 13.

At 17 years of age he began work at the Toowoomba Foundry. He joined the RAAF when he turned 18, met a young woman, Audrey Doreen Feldhahn, at an air force dance at Lowood Aerodrome.

Audrey, who was the youngest daughter of Henry and Emma Feldhahn, farmers of Rifle Range Pocket, Lowood, always said they lived quite close to each other, yet it took a war to bring them together.

Percy was only three weeks at Lowood when he was sent to the Pacific Islands, working in operational base units with the Americans. He served 18 months in the Pacific Islands war, returning home with an extremely bad dermatitis complaint.

Percy and Audrey were married on June 8, 1946. This year was to be their golden wedding anniversary.

He tried to work his father-in-law's farm but his illness meant he had to spend much time in Greenslopes Repatriation Hospital. The farm was then sold and he was ordered to move to a cooler climate.

His parents-in-law built a store at Labrador, Southport, and a joint partnership was formed with Audrey and Percy. Later the store was sold and Percy began his career as a builder.

He progressed to become a foreman for many jobs, in which he took much pride. He suffered an accident breaking a shoulder and ribs, which forced his retirement at the age of 53. During his retirement they resided in Ipswich.

In his early years Percy enjoyed involvement in many sports from being schoolboys' champion in tennis with his cousin, to cricket later and he also became vice-president of the South Coast Motorcycle Club. After 13 years in Ipswich they moved to Glenore Grove which has been their home for 14 years.

Percy was diagnosed with cancer 12 years ago. He had many operations with life threatening comlications, but by God's grace he was given extra time.

On January 31, Percy suffered a fatal heart attack. He was 71 years and four months old.


Henry PRINCE

Henry was born in Gatton, Queensland, Australia on the 12th September, 1889. He worked on properties around the Buaraba and Springdale areas as a young man. At the age of 20, he married Hanora Catherine Herschel in Ipswich, on the 22 Dec 1909.
"Nora" as she was called was a daughter of William Herschel and Elizabeth Miller of Spring Creek and she was born there on the 13th October, 1886. After they were married, Henry worked in the area for a while and then bought a wagon, put together a bullock team and he and Nora went to the Cooyar area where he hauled bridge timber and sleepers for the railway line being built between Cooyar and Oakey in 1911. When the work was finished, they returned to the Buaraba area and took up share farming for Dave Crowley who bought property there. They were still working the property there when their youngest child was born in December 1927. He was also grazing cattle on the land that he and brother Albert had inherited from his father at Springdale.

In 1929, Henry and his family left Buaraba and moved to farm at Lower Tent Hill that he had purchased from Mr. E. Jamieson. Henry was an experienced cattleman and his skill as a Veterinarian, which was all learned from practical experience, was well known throughout the districts. He also inoculated thousands of cattle against "Tick fever" and the blood used for this purpose was obtained from his "bleeder" stock.

Henry and Nora lived out the rest of their years on the farm at Lower Tent Hill.

Henry died on his birthday, 12th September, 1960 aged 71 years and Nora passed away on the 30th June, 1976 at the age of 89 years. They both are buried in the Gatton Cemetery.

They had nine children, Irene, Alice, Robert, Beattie, Eddy, Dorie, Thelma, Colin and Gloria.


Henry PRINCE

And our Henry? Born 29th January, 1860 in Haselbury Plucknett, England.
Well, as a young man, he served as a groom to some very well known families in England - names such as Sir Frederick Viellers and Sir Archibald Grant -
and as a consequence, he was able to meet some of the most well known public people of that time.

When in 1881 census was taken, Henry was living with, and a servant of, Richard and Anne Knapman of 5A White Horse Street, St. George Hanover Square, London.
Richard Knapman was listed in the census as a Coachman.

On New Year's Day, 1883, from the Plymouth Docks, a brand new ship named "Bulimba", skippered by Captain G.D Clarke, set out for her maiden voyage via Suez and Batavia to Moreton Bay (Brisbane). Henry Prince was aboard that ship as a free passenger. On the 5th March 1883, The "Bulimba" arrived in Queensland and Henry became a Somerset Prince in Australia.

Shipping records indicate that Henry Prince had free passage on the ship from England.
This would suggest that he had been indentured, with a job waiting for him when he arrived. Whether or not this job was at Buaraba Station is unknown, but it appears that very soon after his arrival in Queensland in 1883, he was indeed working at that property.

Jessie Robb was born on the 20th March, 1861 in Blairgowrie, Perthshire, Scotland, the oldest of five children and daughter of Thomas & Christan Lunnan.
When the 1881 census was taken, Jessie was recorded as a Dairy Maid in the employ of one James Fullerton, farmer of 200 acres, "Balgove", in Kettins, Forfar.

Ships Passenger Lists show that on the 4th July 1882, Jessie Robb boarded a steam ship at the Glasgow Docks, as a free passenger, for what was to be a two month voyage.

The ship was the "S.S. Scotland" and her destination was Moreton Bay. On or about the 9th September 1882, Jessie Robb, at the age of 21 years, stepped off the "Scotland" there to start her life in Queensland.

It would appear that Jessie Robb had started work at the Station sometime prior to Henry's arrival. She was employed there by a Mrs. W.D. North to do domestic duties.

It seems Henry and Jessie got on pretty well together and on the 5th October 1883, they were married in the St. James Church of England, Toowoomba. Henry worked with the horses on Buaraba Station and he also was very successful in breeding mules from a purebred donkey that the station imported from Spain at a cost of 600 guineas - a lot of money the late 19th century. Henry was sent overseas to pick up this valuable beast and to look after it on the voyage back to Australia.

It is not known how long Henry and Jessie worked at Buaraba but their youngest son, David Alexander, was born there in 1897. When Buaraba Station was cut up for closer settlement, Henry selected a part of it - a 647 acre block on the northern side of Buaraba Creek. This property lay between the selections of Mr. S. Purtell and Mr. W. Brennan. He also selected land on the Lake Clarendon Estate at Springdale near the end of Miller's lane. He had obviously learned quite a lot about cattle during his time on the station because he went on to become a successful grazier.

After leaving Buaraba, the family took up residence at Springdale. In 1913, Henry and Jessie took time out for a holiday traveling back to England and Scotland to catch up with the families back "home".

About 1921, they retired and moved from Springdale into a house in the then Old College Road (now Princess Street), Gatton.

Henry died on the 9th May, 1935 and Jessie passed away on the 2nd February, 1943.
Both are buried in the Gatton Cemetery.
Henry and Jessie had 11 children, two of whom died very young