Individual Details
Andrew Shaw
(1 Oct 1863 - 19 Feb 1947)
Notes by: Alan Egginton
I have no knowledge at all of my grandfather's early life. The first I ha ve been able to locate was from his marriage certificate that stated tha t the wedding took place at the home of my grandfather at Minmi but wher e that house was precisely located I can't say. No doubt it was one of th e miners' cottages built and owned by the mining proprieters, J. and A. B rown, and demolished years ago.
Following their marriage, my grandparents lived at Minmi and then Nords W harf, Mitchell street,Tighes Hill, and George Street, Holmesville. They w ent to buy some used furniture from a shopkeeper in Wallsend but for som e reason unknown to me it was given as a gift to them.
After the death of their first child, Lizzie ( possibly from gastritis )o n the 10 July 1896 ,my grandfather left home on 30 July, 1896, and saile d for South Africa on 31 July. Perhaps while there, he visited his siste r Effie or nephew Clell, both of whom went to live in Africa.
When he was living in Tighes Hill, he worked in a colliery ( Hetton ? ) a nd at times he would come home at night to say that another ship went ag round in the harbour. ( The roof of the colliery was the floor of the har bour. )
While residing at Holmesville, he worked as a deputy in the local mines a lthough I was told that for a while he worked in a colliery near Cessnoc k which would have necessitated his living there during the week. Eric to ld me that Dadda worked at Seaham No. 2 and possibly No.1.
My grandfather was very fond of the water and boats. On the 2nd March,192 5, he bought a block of land at Dora Creek ( at the corner of what is no w Newport and Gradwell Roads ) where, with the help of his son-in-law Jo e Catling, he built a boat shed. Grandma Shaw and he would catch a stea m tram from West Wallsend to Young Wallsend ( now Edgeworth) and then ano ther steam tram which ran from Wallsend to Cockle Creek to the Cockle Cr eek railway station to catch a train to Dora Creek.
Later he was granted permissive occupancy of land on the creek bank wher e he built another boat shed and then added another room with skillion ro of to the original boat shed. This room became the living room and kitche n as it had a large open fireplace with cooking facilities ( a side ove n and grate). There was no electricity connected, the only lighting bein g glass kerosene lamps, and no laid on water, the only water coming fro m a small tank at the side of the house, and since the structure was unli ned and without any ceilings, it was hot in summer and frigid in winter . The other room was then used as a bedroom which had 2 wires strung acro ss from which curtains were hung to provide a degree of privacy. The meta l beds had wire mattresses with kapok mattresses on top and warmth was pr ovided by patchwork quilts.
Following the death of my grandfather, the property was owned by my mothe r and her 2 sisters. During this time, half the block, which originally s tretched from the creek reserve to Gardiner Road, was resumed to buil d a more direct route from Dora Creek to Cooranbong and the money for th is land resumption was used to paint the house. My mother then bought ou t her 2 sisters and water and electricity were connected to the dwelling . I then obtained some second hand windows from Wesley Lodge where Iren e was doing part time work and fitted these to the house thus making th e interior much lighter. Especially effective was the large window I fitt ed in place of the double doors used to provide access for the boat. I al so lined the interior making it much more comfortable. My son John live d here while doing his pyschiatric nurse training at Morisset Hospital an d he and his family are still living there.
Unfortunately, we had to demolish the boat shed on the creek bank. On th e advice of George Bilbie, my mother's first cousin who is a solicitor, w e applied to the Land's Department to have the permissive occupancy trans ferred to us but it was viewed by them as granting a new occupancy and a s this was no longer policy, we were required to remove it. This meant, t oo, that we had to sell our little open launch with an inboard motor whic h would travel at about walking pace but which gave the kids great fun, t he J.M.S.( John, Margaret, Stephen )
I remember my grandfather having 2 boats at Dora Creek, a launch and a ro wing boat. The launch was about 16-18 feet in length and had a half cabin . I can't remember ever being in it as early in the war it was commandee red by the authorities, as were all motorised boats on Lake Macquarie, a nd not returned till after the war after which it was sold. I remember be ing told that it was not a very stable boat and it could be made to lea n quite steeply so that if anyone was sunbaking on the cabin roof, he cou ld be easily tipped into the water, at the whim of whoever was at the ti ller.
My grandfather would often take the boat down to the lake and set nets, l egal in those days, which would be hauled onto various beaches around th e lake, Shinglesplitters, Myuna Bay, Eraring etc. Plenty of fish were alw ays caught and I remember how my grandparents would parcel up some, tak e them to the railway station where they would be loaded into the guard' s van and we would collect them at Kotara station. I recall my father tel ling me that on one occasion they became lost. They'd gone down to the la ke early in the morning and there was heavy fog. They proceeded out throu gh the beacons but then lost all sense of direction and it was only whe n someone ( Uncle Joe, I think ) noticed that they were following in th e wake of some boat that they realised that they had been going around i n circles and it was their own wake they were following.
I also remember being told that my grandfather had a yacht, the Commonwea lth, which he sailed on Lake Macquarie and occasionally raced it to Newca stle. On one occasion, the yacht sank off Valentine but how it was retrie ved I was never told. Nor have I ever been told where the boat was kept o r what happened to it.
The other boat was a cedar rowing boat, about 16 feet in length. It reall y was a fine boat, light, easy to row and easily manoeuvred. I recall m y grandmother, when she must have been in her late sixties for me to reme mber it, rowing me, and Eric and Shirley, if I remember correctly, dow n to the lake from our house at Dora Creek for some fishing. Not a bad e ffort for someone of that age, but it does indicate how easily it could b e rowed. Gradually, because of age, the condition of the boat deteriorate d, leaking around the nails so it was repaired at Swansea, repairs whic h were not really satisfactory as it still leaked. Whenever the boat wa s put in the water, it was always submerged overnight to swell the timber s and minimise the leaks but this was not very efficacious and over tim e the leaking worsened. When eventually we had to demolish the boat shed , the boat was put in the yard, without any protection from the elements , and unfortunately fell to pieces
My grandfather was also very fond of the bush and I recall my mother tell ing me that when she was a young girl, her father would often take her fr om their home along George Street and into the bush making their way up t o Mt Sugarloaf. Eva said that Dadda Shaw idolised my mother and I do kno w that he actually bought her a piano which I still have. In her last ye ars, I remember my mother often telling me that when her father gave he r the piano, he said, " My girl, I'm proud of you. " Why she was given th e piano I don't know, perhaps for winning access to Newcastle High Schoo l while she was a pupil at West Wallsend School or possibly whenshe gradu ated from Sydney University.
My grandfather gave my mother an ivory walking stick which I now have i n my possession although the head has broken off and I'll have to see i f it can be repaired. Accompanying the stick was a large sheet of yello w paper on which my grandfather had written a screed outlining the histor y of the stick . This was written with a blue pencil and is somewhat har d to read but I'll do my best to transcribe it. He wrote,
" To Barbara Egginton
Kotara Newcastle Oct 24/10/46
concerning the Bone Walking Stick
you are not to Give Lend nor Sell to anyone while you Live or one of Dire ct of the Shaws treat as Hierloom The Stick was sent from India to m y Farther but in the meantime Farther and Mother had sailed for Australi a and my two aunts came out to Australia and brought it with them and hi s shoe Brushes Military I can remember seeing the Brushes well now fo r Uncle Andrew Shaw He was in aetillerey in Force stationed in Dubli n while there he got married Dublin Girl he found things did not Pa n out to make do of it and went absent without leave
the way
I think he went through the lot and never got mark and when all was settl ed he got the Palgue and died they sent t o London and children I think two sons Father never could find ou t I fell in with and old man on the Richmond River knew him well h e went through the war as well he said that he a fine stamp of man h e said he use say all the Black ( Buggars ) in would not make him ru n I think that about all I know about i
So Barbara all I ask about the Stick do what I ask and dont let any Bod y adivce you other wise I alway found Honest so that keep so foreve r Andrew Shaw "
( This letter was written when my grandfather was aged 83 and less tha n 4 months before he died. I have quoted it verbatim. )
Eva told me that Auntie Dulcie and Uncle Bill Quinn lived with the Shaw s for a few years until Eric was about 4 when they moved to Swansea. Sh e related that Dadda Shaw shaved off his beard while they were there an d when Eric saw it he said," You're an ugly buggar," at which my grandfat her laughed. She also said that Eric was his favourite grandchild becaus e the biggest piece of fruit or the largest bunch of grapes that that h e grew in his backyard were always for Eric.
Eric told me that he and Shirley often used to stay with Grandma and Dadd a for holidays and that after Grandma died he used to spend weekends at H olmesville. He'd leave school at Waratah on Friday afternoon, travel ou t there and return to school on Monday morning so because he obviously wo uld have known Dadda much better than I, I asked him to jot down some o f the things he remembered from those occasions when he was with my grand parents and I am quoting them verbatim.
Eric wrote, "I remember quite vividly one incident with Dadda that demons trates an aspect of his character that was apparently of long standing. M y sster Shirley and I were spending a part of a school holiday withg my g randparents at Holmesville and were apparently to go to Dora Creek. The p lan was that Dadda and I were to go down on an early train, Grandma and S hirley to follow later for some reason.
The whole household rose early, breakfasted as always on porridge befor e he and I walked down to the bus stop. We waited for a little while unde r the shop awning on the Estelleville road corner. Eventually a man rod e by on a bicycle, looked at us curiously and greeted the old man. Much l ater,
" I remember on one occasion when Mum, Shirley and I were making our for tnightly visit to the grandparents at Holmesvile we brought some fish u p from Swansea. I cooked them for some reason , and from then onwards, wh enever fish came with us, I had to do the cooking. I can't remember wha t I did but it certainly pleased the old man.
I have no knowledge at all of my grandfather's early life. The first I ha ve been able to locate was from his marriage certificate that stated tha t the wedding took place at the home of my grandfather at Minmi but wher e that house was precisely located I can't say. No doubt it was one of th e miners' cottages built and owned by the mining proprieters, J. and A. B rown, and demolished years ago.
Following their marriage, my grandparents lived at Minmi and then Nords W harf, Mitchell street,Tighes Hill, and George Street, Holmesville. They w ent to buy some used furniture from a shopkeeper in Wallsend but for som e reason unknown to me it was given as a gift to them.
After the death of their first child, Lizzie ( possibly from gastritis )o n the 10 July 1896 ,my grandfather left home on 30 July, 1896, and saile d for South Africa on 31 July. Perhaps while there, he visited his siste r Effie or nephew Clell, both of whom went to live in Africa.
When he was living in Tighes Hill, he worked in a colliery ( Hetton ? ) a nd at times he would come home at night to say that another ship went ag round in the harbour. ( The roof of the colliery was the floor of the har bour. )
While residing at Holmesville, he worked as a deputy in the local mines a lthough I was told that for a while he worked in a colliery near Cessnoc k which would have necessitated his living there during the week. Eric to ld me that Dadda worked at Seaham No. 2 and possibly No.1.
My grandfather was very fond of the water and boats. On the 2nd March,192 5, he bought a block of land at Dora Creek ( at the corner of what is no w Newport and Gradwell Roads ) where, with the help of his son-in-law Jo e Catling, he built a boat shed. Grandma Shaw and he would catch a stea m tram from West Wallsend to Young Wallsend ( now Edgeworth) and then ano ther steam tram which ran from Wallsend to Cockle Creek to the Cockle Cr eek railway station to catch a train to Dora Creek.
Later he was granted permissive occupancy of land on the creek bank wher e he built another boat shed and then added another room with skillion ro of to the original boat shed. This room became the living room and kitche n as it had a large open fireplace with cooking facilities ( a side ove n and grate). There was no electricity connected, the only lighting bein g glass kerosene lamps, and no laid on water, the only water coming fro m a small tank at the side of the house, and since the structure was unli ned and without any ceilings, it was hot in summer and frigid in winter . The other room was then used as a bedroom which had 2 wires strung acro ss from which curtains were hung to provide a degree of privacy. The meta l beds had wire mattresses with kapok mattresses on top and warmth was pr ovided by patchwork quilts.
Following the death of my grandfather, the property was owned by my mothe r and her 2 sisters. During this time, half the block, which originally s tretched from the creek reserve to Gardiner Road, was resumed to buil d a more direct route from Dora Creek to Cooranbong and the money for th is land resumption was used to paint the house. My mother then bought ou t her 2 sisters and water and electricity were connected to the dwelling . I then obtained some second hand windows from Wesley Lodge where Iren e was doing part time work and fitted these to the house thus making th e interior much lighter. Especially effective was the large window I fitt ed in place of the double doors used to provide access for the boat. I al so lined the interior making it much more comfortable. My son John live d here while doing his pyschiatric nurse training at Morisset Hospital an d he and his family are still living there.
Unfortunately, we had to demolish the boat shed on the creek bank. On th e advice of George Bilbie, my mother's first cousin who is a solicitor, w e applied to the Land's Department to have the permissive occupancy trans ferred to us but it was viewed by them as granting a new occupancy and a s this was no longer policy, we were required to remove it. This meant, t oo, that we had to sell our little open launch with an inboard motor whic h would travel at about walking pace but which gave the kids great fun, t he J.M.S.( John, Margaret, Stephen )
I remember my grandfather having 2 boats at Dora Creek, a launch and a ro wing boat. The launch was about 16-18 feet in length and had a half cabin . I can't remember ever being in it as early in the war it was commandee red by the authorities, as were all motorised boats on Lake Macquarie, a nd not returned till after the war after which it was sold. I remember be ing told that it was not a very stable boat and it could be made to lea n quite steeply so that if anyone was sunbaking on the cabin roof, he cou ld be easily tipped into the water, at the whim of whoever was at the ti ller.
My grandfather would often take the boat down to the lake and set nets, l egal in those days, which would be hauled onto various beaches around th e lake, Shinglesplitters, Myuna Bay, Eraring etc. Plenty of fish were alw ays caught and I remember how my grandparents would parcel up some, tak e them to the railway station where they would be loaded into the guard' s van and we would collect them at Kotara station. I recall my father tel ling me that on one occasion they became lost. They'd gone down to the la ke early in the morning and there was heavy fog. They proceeded out throu gh the beacons but then lost all sense of direction and it was only whe n someone ( Uncle Joe, I think ) noticed that they were following in th e wake of some boat that they realised that they had been going around i n circles and it was their own wake they were following.
I also remember being told that my grandfather had a yacht, the Commonwea lth, which he sailed on Lake Macquarie and occasionally raced it to Newca stle. On one occasion, the yacht sank off Valentine but how it was retrie ved I was never told. Nor have I ever been told where the boat was kept o r what happened to it.
The other boat was a cedar rowing boat, about 16 feet in length. It reall y was a fine boat, light, easy to row and easily manoeuvred. I recall m y grandmother, when she must have been in her late sixties for me to reme mber it, rowing me, and Eric and Shirley, if I remember correctly, dow n to the lake from our house at Dora Creek for some fishing. Not a bad e ffort for someone of that age, but it does indicate how easily it could b e rowed. Gradually, because of age, the condition of the boat deteriorate d, leaking around the nails so it was repaired at Swansea, repairs whic h were not really satisfactory as it still leaked. Whenever the boat wa s put in the water, it was always submerged overnight to swell the timber s and minimise the leaks but this was not very efficacious and over tim e the leaking worsened. When eventually we had to demolish the boat shed , the boat was put in the yard, without any protection from the elements , and unfortunately fell to pieces
My grandfather was also very fond of the bush and I recall my mother tell ing me that when she was a young girl, her father would often take her fr om their home along George Street and into the bush making their way up t o Mt Sugarloaf. Eva said that Dadda Shaw idolised my mother and I do kno w that he actually bought her a piano which I still have. In her last ye ars, I remember my mother often telling me that when her father gave he r the piano, he said, " My girl, I'm proud of you. " Why she was given th e piano I don't know, perhaps for winning access to Newcastle High Schoo l while she was a pupil at West Wallsend School or possibly whenshe gradu ated from Sydney University.
My grandfather gave my mother an ivory walking stick which I now have i n my possession although the head has broken off and I'll have to see i f it can be repaired. Accompanying the stick was a large sheet of yello w paper on which my grandfather had written a screed outlining the histor y of the stick . This was written with a blue pencil and is somewhat har d to read but I'll do my best to transcribe it. He wrote,
" To Barbara Egginton
Kotara Newcastle Oct 24/10/46
concerning the Bone Walking Stick
you are not to Give Lend nor Sell to anyone while you Live or one of Dire ct of the Shaws treat as Hierloom The Stick was sent from India to m y Farther but in the meantime Farther and Mother had sailed for Australi a and my two aunts came out to Australia and brought it with them and hi s shoe Brushes Military I can remember seeing the Brushes well now fo r Uncle Andrew Shaw He was in aetillerey in Force stationed in Dubli n while there he got married Dublin Girl he found things did not Pa n out to make do of it and went absent without leave
the way
I think he went through the lot and never got mark and when all was settl ed he got the Palgue and died they sent t o London and children I think two sons Father never could find ou t I fell in with and old man on the Richmond River knew him well h e went through the war as well he said that he a fine stamp of man h e said he use say all the Black ( Buggars ) in would not make him ru n I think that about all I know about i
So Barbara all I ask about the Stick do what I ask and dont let any Bod y adivce you other wise I alway found Honest so that keep so foreve r Andrew Shaw "
( This letter was written when my grandfather was aged 83 and less tha n 4 months before he died. I have quoted it verbatim. )
Eva told me that Auntie Dulcie and Uncle Bill Quinn lived with the Shaw s for a few years until Eric was about 4 when they moved to Swansea. Sh e related that Dadda Shaw shaved off his beard while they were there an d when Eric saw it he said," You're an ugly buggar," at which my grandfat her laughed. She also said that Eric was his favourite grandchild becaus e the biggest piece of fruit or the largest bunch of grapes that that h e grew in his backyard were always for Eric.
Eric told me that he and Shirley often used to stay with Grandma and Dadd a for holidays and that after Grandma died he used to spend weekends at H olmesville. He'd leave school at Waratah on Friday afternoon, travel ou t there and return to school on Monday morning so because he obviously wo uld have known Dadda much better than I, I asked him to jot down some o f the things he remembered from those occasions when he was with my grand parents and I am quoting them verbatim.
Eric wrote, "I remember quite vividly one incident with Dadda that demons trates an aspect of his character that was apparently of long standing. M y sster Shirley and I were spending a part of a school holiday withg my g randparents at Holmesville and were apparently to go to Dora Creek. The p lan was that Dadda and I were to go down on an early train, Grandma and S hirley to follow later for some reason.
The whole household rose early, breakfasted as always on porridge befor e he and I walked down to the bus stop. We waited for a little while unde r the shop awning on the Estelleville road corner. Eventually a man rod e by on a bicycle, looked at us curiously and greeted the old man. Much l ater,
" I remember on one occasion when Mum, Shirley and I were making our for tnightly visit to the grandparents at Holmesvile we brought some fish u p from Swansea. I cooked them for some reason , and from then onwards, wh enever fish came with us, I had to do the cooking. I can't remember wha t I did but it certainly pleased the old man.
Events
| Birth | 1 Oct 1863 | Minmi, Newcastle - Inner City, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia | |||
| Marriage | 5 May 1894 | The residence of Andrew Shaw . Minmi. Newcastle.. - Mary Smith | |||
| Death | 19 Feb 1947 | West Wallsend, New South Wales, Australia | |||
| Cremation | Beresfield, Newcastle - Outer West, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia | ||||
| FamilySearch Id | 2M1Y-7VS |
Families
| Spouse | Mary Smith (1874 - 1946) |
| Child | Lizzie Shaw (1893 - 1896) |
| Child | Barbara Corner Shaw (1896 - 1983) |
| Father | Robert Shaw (1831 - 1877) |
| Mother | Barbara Corner (1829 - 1901) |
| Sibling | Catherine Shaw (1854 - ) |
| Sibling | Annie Shaw (1855 - ) |
| Sibling | David Shaw (1858 - 1875) |
| Sibling | John Shaw (1859 - ) |
| Sibling | William Corner Shaw (1861 - 1890) |
| Sibling | Alexander Shaw (1874 - 1882) |