Sydney 1912
Christmas came and Christmas went, followed by the New Year
celebrations. The house on Phillip Street was a place of mixed emotions. With
Christmas Day falling that year on a Wednesday, a lot of the workforce in the
area of Neutral Bay and the north shore of Sydney also took off Boxing Day,
then Friday, to make a good five day break for George and William running the
boatshed on Neutral Bay. The long break created a good business opportunity for
them both, with the small and medium sized rowing and motor boats they hired
out, being taken for a few hours, half a day and in some instances a full day
for a large family. Business was good during this period, but the problem of
the child did not resolve itself, and, if anything, played more on their minds
as the days wore on.
Communication with the Boarding Out department and the Intestate
Estate office had been infrequent. To George it felt that they were being
ignored or left out of the proceedings of the two departments, and over the end
of year period in particular, nothing was heard from either of them. George and
William worked hard at the boatyard and made some inroads into building up the
business, despite the competition from Joyce’s Boatyard. Grace continued to
work at the shop in Neutral Bay, and Clyda continued to be looked after by the
neighbour, Iris. Then, in early March a
letter arrived at the offices of Curator of Intestate Estates from Mrs Hadfield
in Lancashire, dated 10th February 1913. The letter had taken some
five weeks to reach the office, travelling by the fortnightly Royal Mail
Service from England. In it she pleads for help in returning the child to her
grandparents, she has no money and they can expect none from her daughter’s
husband who has contributed nothing to the child's upbringing in the past. Receiving
the letter must have galvanised the department into action, as the following
letter was sent to Mrs Hadfield soon after he received it in Sydney.
19th March 1913
Re: Estate of Florence Lowe deceased
Madam,
I am in receipt of your
letter of the 10th ult. and have to state that I will use my best
endeavours to have the deceased’s daughter sent to you as soon as practicable. I
might, however, mention that no portion of the deceased’s can be used for such
purpose without the consent of the deceased’s husband.
Yours obediently
Acting
Curator
Mrs H Hadfield
3 Latham Street
Blackburn Road
BOLTON, LANCASHIRE
ENGLAND
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