In the photo is: My Dad, George Reynolds Reid (George Raymond), Mum June (Hopkins) Reid and me, Wendy, aged five. Photo is taken at Circular Quay Sydney 1967…

Patrick was the fourth child born to Edward Hopkins, a labourer, and Margaret Owen. Edward Hopkins was born in 1858 in Sydney, Margaret Owen was born at Macleay River northern NSW in 1866 to William Owen and Ellen Bohen (married 1859 Sydney).

Patrick was born into what was to be quite a large family, which was common in those times. The family lived and worked around the region of northern NSW with the children being born in such towns as Bowraville, Bellingen, Macleay River, Missabotte, Macksville and Nambucca. This region of NSW at that time was primarily a timber cutting/logging industry and agricultural region. Given that Edward stated on his children’s birth certificates that he was a ‘labourer’ it is highly likely that he was employed in the logging industry and on farms. Work in that field was plentiful during that time and would have been a necessity for Edward to support his and wife and large family.

Edward and Margaret were married on the 7th June 1878 at Macleay River, at the time of their marriage they were very young with Edward being 20 and Margaret, incredibly, just 12 years old. On the birth certificate of her daughter, Ruby Agnes from 1901, Margaret’s age was listed as ‘38′ which would place her year of birth as 1863 however Margaret’s birth is recorded as being at Macleay River in 1866. That much is certain. Obviously three years was added onto Margaret’s age in order for her to marry – it was relatively easy to do this back in those days before official proof of age was required; my guess is that there was a good chance she was pregnant pre-marriage with son Edward. However here are all the children listed in order of birth:

1) Edward -1879, 2) John James -1880, 3) Mary Ellen – 1882, 4) Patrick – 1883, 5) Peter H – 1887, 6) Francis – 1890, 7)James A – 1894 Macksville, Joseph – 1897 Bowraville, 9) Bertie P – 1899 Bowraville, 10) Ruby Agnes – 17th November 1901 at Missabotte. (It is from the information on her birth certificate that I have recorded this information on the family), 11) Pearlie I – 1904 at Bowraville.

Margaret also lost three babies at birth and early infancy; Francis – born/died Bowraville 1885, Margaret – born/died at Nambucca 1891, Pearlie E – born/died 1896.

Given the large number of births it is unusual that no twins were ever born.

I’m also looking for to fill out the gaps in my Mum’s Hopkins side (here paternal grandfather) and have ordered a birth certificate for her grandfather’s sister. It seems her grandfather’s, Patrick Hopkins, birth was not registered which was not uncommon in those days. Anyway, her birth cert will tell me what I need to know, and hopefully, will list all her siblings as well. I once wrote them all down back in the days when I sat in the library pouring over the microfiche machine but I seem to have misplaced that one very piece of writing that I need.

Mildred began school at Waverley before completing her education at Waverley Ladies College at age 15. Her early years were spent living at Waverley before the family moved to Bondi where they nicknamed their new house ‘St Ernans’: it was named after the home, St Ernans, in Ireland in which her paternal grandmother Mary Hamilton was born. The house at Bondi was a terraced house typical of the period and it looked nothing at all like the original St Ernans House.

Mildred’s father, Augustus J H Courbarron, was a sea captain who had charge of a ship which saw him visit many countries around the world. He was rarely at home but during the times he was in Sydney he was remembered as a fond father.

Mildred had three siblings:

James – born 1891
Mary Ellen (Molly) – born 1897
Frederick – born 1900

Upon the death of her father in 1904, it appears that Mildred travelled with her mother Mary to northern NSW where her mother had family. This area, Kempsey, appears to be where Mildred met her future husband Patrick Hopkins given that Kempsey is the same region as his birthplace of Bellingen. Mildred and Patrick were married at Bellingen in the Catholic Church in 1908. In 1909 their first child, a son named Vincent, was born but died soon after birth.

Patrick and Mildred travelled around northern NSW as Patrick sought employment as a logger in the timber industry, eventually settling further south in the Sydney suburb of Paddington. In the 1920’s they moved to a house in Chatswood where they lived until their deaths.

Patrick died from a coronary aged 57 in 1946, Mildred died after a stroke in 1963. They are buried together at Northern Suburbs Cemetery, North Ryde Sydney.

Lois – November 1930
Doreen – September 1933
Robyn – September 1947 – died August 2002

They lived in High Street Willoughby until Allan’s death in 1972. Dorothy continued to live in the same house until 1975, she died in Manly 1978.

Allan was born in February 1912 at Main Arm Mullumbimby. At the time of his birth his parents Mildred and Patrick were living in the area, Patrick worked in the timber cutting industry and they moved around the region of northern NSW taking employment wherever possible.

Siblings were :

Margaret Spouse: Kenneth Harris (Bunny)
James (Jimmy) Spouse: Nell (deceased)
Gwen (Gwennie) Spouse: 1) Alwyn Moore 2) Gordon Greentree (both deceased)

Mum cannot tell me where Pop went to school as a child, but chances are high he started school around Mullumbimby and also would have attended school in the town of Berry, NSW, where the family lived before settling in Willoughby.

Dorothy Flyght was born in Chatswood, July 1912 where she grew up. She worked as a pastry cook in the local bakery and also worked in a pub called ‘The Greengate’ at Killara during WWII. She was renowned as a great cook. Nan was also a skilled ‘fisherman’ and it remained her big passion during her life, she was also a fond cricket player and I have a photo of her swinging the bat when she was only 16. Nan was the only person who had the courage to stand up to her husband’s mother, Mildred, and Mum tells me the two women never got along. Nan being Church of England and her mother-in-law being a ‘heathen hating’ RC.

Nan also was part of a long running feud between herself and the local Catholic priest from Willoughby – Father Darby. The two despised each other. Darby was a known drinker and not the most christian of people despite being a priest. The feud stemmed from an incident when Nan took her seriously ill and dying baby niece down to the presbytery one night to have the child baptised and Father Darby, intoxicated, refused to see the child.

Dorothy died in April 1978 from Pemphygus. Allan died in October 1972 from a coronary. They are buried together at Northern Suburbs Cemetery, North Ryde Sydney.
In September 2002 their daughter Robyn was interred with them after her death in Mossman, North Queensland.

Allan Hamilton Augustus Hopkins and Dorothy (Flyght) Hopkins: Sydney 1967.