Family History of the Children of Veronica Eileen (Vera) Solberg (nee Gill)

John and Joan Catherine Solberg (Twins)

John and Joan Catherine Solberg were born on 28/08/1922 in Murwillumbah.

John Solberg died in Murwillumbah on 07/09/1928, at the young age of 6, of whooping cough, throat infection, and subsequent internal bleeding. He was buried in the Banner Street Cemetery in Murwillumbah.

Joan Catherine Solberg died on 22/07/1932, at age 9 (Qld death reg. 1932/B/17920). She was buried in the Banner Street Cemetery in Murwillumbah. We have Joan's death certificate.

Odie Veronica Solberg

Odie Veronica Solberg was born on 23/01/1924. She joined the AWAS (Australian Women's Army Service) on 26/01/1943 and was discharged on 21/11/1945 (Service Number: NF450509). Opposite is her enlistment photo. According to an article in the Tweed Daily, Odie was working in Sydney before her enlistment.

Odie Solberg married Leo Maxwell Tscherne on 11/01/1947 in the Randwick district in Sydney (NSW marriage reg. 5004/1947). Leo was a member of the Royal Australian Naval Reserve, but by profession he was an accountant.

After their marriage, Leo and Odie Tscherne lived for a year or two at 1 Howard Place, Randwick, which is where Odie had been living with her mother and sister while still single. However, Odie and Maxwell moved into their own home at 10 Coogee Bay Road, Randwick, soon afterwards, in 1948.

In the mid-1950s, they moved to 27 Third Street, Blacktown. Leo had lived in this area before he married, and his parents still lived in the area in the 1950s. Odie and Leo lived in Third Street for many years.

Leo Maxwell Tscherne died on 06/09/2001. Odie continued living in her Third Street home for about a year before moving into the nearby Malluana Village Nursing Home at 61 Bungarribee Road, Blacktown. Odie Tscherne (nee Solberg) died on 18/07/2013.

Odie and Leo had two children (one boy and one girl): Josephine Annette, born 07/01/1948; and Peter Maxwell, born 04/06/1952.

Dorothea Anne (Dorothy) Solberg

Dorothea Anne (Dorothy) Solberg was born on 21/04/1925. A young Dorothy is on the right of the photo opposite. With her are her cousin Nanette Anderson and (we think) Aunty Elizabeth Collier. This was taken around 1936, presumably in Murwillumbah.

Dorothy followed in the steps of her sister Odie by joining the AWAS, enlisting on 13/07/1943 and being discharged on 19/08/1946 (Service Number: NF463033).

Because of her hobby of collecting clippings of the British royal family, particularly of future queen Princess Elizabeth, Dorothy found herself the focus of some attention by way of a November 1947 newspaper article, which included a photo of Dorothy. As mentioned in that article, Dorothy was, at that time, working as a typist and living at 1 Howard Place, Randwick. Strangely, this story about Dorothy was reported two years earlier in various newspapers around the country, such as here.

Dorothy married Ronald Oliver Abernethy on 01/05/1948 in Randwick. Ronald had also served in the armed forces for WWII, and was, in fact, still listed as a soldier in the electoral roll of 1949.

For a short time, Ronald and Dorothy lived at 70 Arthur Street, Randwick, but soon, around 1949, they moved to 12 Beresford Road, Rose Bay. In about 1964, they moved to another address in Rose Bay: 2/79 O'Sullivan Road, where they lived until at least 2009.

Ronald Abernethy died on 29/05/2014. Dorothy Abernethy (nee Solberg) died on 15/03/2020.

Dorothy and Ronald had four children (three boys and one girl): James Ian, born 11/03/1949; Margaret Anne, born 12/10/1950; David William, born 25/08/1955; and John Bruce, born 24/10/1958.

Edward Gill Solberg

Edward Gill Solberg was born on 08/01/1927. Edward usually went by the name Gill Solberg. In 1948, Edward was working as a carpet layer and was living at 1 Howard Place, Randwick, with his mother and two sisters. We understand that he had previously worked in the Carpet Department of Anthony Horden's department store in Sydney while on school holidays. He was then staying with his paternal grandmother, Rachel Solberg, at Coogee.

When Odie and her husband, Leo Maxwell Tscherne, moved from Howard Place to 10 Coogee Bay Road, Randwick, in about 1948, Edward went too and lived there for a short time.

Around 1951, Edward moved back to Murwillumbah and began working in his father's jewellery business.

Edward Solberg married Joyce Melba (Joy) Avery on 28/06/1952 in the All Saints Anglican Church, Murwillumbah. We have a copy of the marriage certificate. Opposite is a wedding photo of them, followed by a group photo with (L to R): Ray Mather (groomsman), Ailsa Johnson (bridesmaid), Edward Gill Solberg, Joyce Melba Avery, William Avery (Joyce's father), Rhea Mary Solberg, Geoffrey Solberg.

Edward and Joyce subsequently lived at 32 Ewing Street, Murwillumbah, with Edward continuing his work in the local jewellery store. We think that this address was the home also of Edward's father, Abraham Solberg.

In 1959, Edward and Joyce moved to 16 Maroubra Road, Maroubra, close to Edward's previous home in Coogee, and Edward then resumed his work in the carpet business. They moved several times within the eastern suburbs through the 1960s: to 99 Ebley Road, Bondi Junction, then to 2 Moira Crescent, Randwick, and then on to 2/10 Melody Street, Coogee, by 1968.

Edward and Joyce separated in July 1969, and they divorced the following year. Subsequently, Edward met and later married Daphne Myrtle Ball. Joyce never re-married, though she did change her surname from Solberg to Christian. During the 1970s, Edward and Joyce were each living in Maroubra, but at different addresses: Edward at 6/34 Bona Vista Avenue and Joyce and their children at 20 Chapman Avenue. The 1977 Electoral Roll says that Joyce was working then as a bank officer.

Edward moved to 20/326 Arden Street, Coogee, sometime in the 1980s. After retiring, Edward Solberg moved with Daphne in 1993 to 3/23A Wharf Street, Maclean, on the Clarence River, and about four years later moved to 1/14 Charles Street in nearby Iluka.

Edward Gill Solberg died on 19/11/2002. He was buried at the Maclean Lawn Cemetery. Daphne Solberg (nee Ball) died on 26/05/2010. She was privately cremated. We have photos of two different burial plaques for Edward, one replacing the other, presumably. One plaque is shown opposite, and the other referring to his wife Daphne.

Joyce Christian now (in year 2022) lives on the Gold Coast with her daughter, Leanne.

Edward and Joyce Solberg had three children together (two boys and one girl): Peter Graham, born 07/10/1953; John Robert, born 05/12/1955, and died 15/05/1972; and Leanne, born 06/03/1959. All children were born in Murwillumbah.

Geoffrey Joseph Solberg

Geoffrey Joseph Solberg was born on 01/03/1928. He married Beryl Maxie Vardy, a Murwillumbah local, on 03/03/1951 at the All Saints Anglican Church in Murwillumbah.

Geoffrey and Beryl Solberg lived most of their lives in Murwillumbah. Through the 1950s, they lived at 32 Ewing Street with Geoffrey's father, and brother Edward and his wife. Around 1958, they moved to 7 Old Ferry Road, and then to 7 Martin Street in about 1965. Throughout this period, Geoffrey worked as a jeweller, presumably in his father's shop in Main Street. We suspect that Geoffrey took over the shop at some point and kept it running until the mid-1970s.

From the 1970s on, we are less certain of the movements of Geoffrey and Beryl. The 1973 Electoral Roll lists Geoffrey still at 7 Martin Street, but with Beryl working as a shop assistant and living at 8/155 Murwillumbah Street. Their children were living there too. In 1977, the rolls say that Beryl kept her same address but that Geoffrey had moved to 1/10 Orwell Street, Potts Point, in Sydney, working as a driver. For 1980, we have no record of Geoffrey's residence, but Beryl had moved to 2/3 Tumbulgum Road, still as a shop assistant.

Geoffrey Solberg died on 30/05/1984 in a private nursing home in Strathfield. He was buried in the Murwillumbah Lawn Cemetery. Geoffrey's burial plaque is shown opposite. Beryl Solberg (nee Vardy) died on 18/11/2016, and she also was buried in the Murwillumbah Lawn Cemetery. We have a photo of her burial plaque. We think that Beryl probably last lived in Murwillumbah.

Geoffrey and Beryl Solberg had three children (two boys and one girl): Craig John, Jan Maree, and Ian Geoffrey.

Rhea Mary Solberg

Rhea Mary Solberg was born on 24/02/1935. She was reportedly still living in Murwillumbah in November 1952, but moved to Melbourne sometime before 1958. That year, Rhea moved from 14 Collins Street, Preston, to 155 Hoddle Street, Richmond. She was working as a sales assistant / supervisor.

However, an advertisement in the Sydney Morning Herald from 24/03/1957 for the Snows shoe retailer in Sydney features Rhea Solberg as their Selby shoe-fitting expert. Earlier, similar ads appeared in the The Mail (Adelaide) in August 1954, and in the Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga) in September 1954, the latter suggesting that Rhea was based in Sydney. Rhea, evidently, was working for Selby Shoes and lived in Sydney for perhaps a few years before moving to Melbourne around 1957.

Rhea Solberg married George Leslie Henderson on 24/08/1963 in Independent Church, Melbourne (now known as St Michael's Uniting Church). Rhea and George lived for a short time at Flat 2, Riversdale Road, Hawthorn, but soon moved to 8 Eckersley Court, Blackburn South, where they lived for many years.

Rhea Henderson (nee Solberg) died on 11/11/1991. George Henderson died on 24/11/2015. They are buried together in Andersons Creek Cemetery, Warrandyte, Vic. Their shared burial plaque is shown opposite.

Rhea and George had two children (two girls): Janine Ann, born 05/10/1964; and Helen Maree, born 16/06/1967.