Family History of the Children of Catherine Margaret (Kate) White (nee Gill)

Catherine Mary White

Catherine Mary White was born on 19/11/1912. After leaving school, Catherine worked as a telephonist for some years. In August 1930, she moved from Condong to Lismore to take up her first appointment. Returning to Murwillumbah in about 1934, she began working in the local telephone exchange, living with her Anderson relatives in Queen Street, while doing so. Her parents were living in Tweed Heads at that time. In June 1936, Cath moved north this time for a role in the Brisbane GPO telephone exchange, leaving behind, in the process, a strong involvement in local hockey, both as player and administrator.

Cath White's engagement to Reginald George Schofield was announced in the Brisbane Telegraph in December 1940 and it included a photo of Catherine. Cath and Reginald were married on 28/03/1942 in Brisbane.

In the 1943 Electoral Roll, Reginald Schofield is listed at Russell Guest House, 19 Russell Street, South Brisbane, whereas Catherine Schofield (nee White) is listed at 4 Hollington Flats, 26 Stephens Street, South Brisbane. This is where Cath's aunt Elizabeth Collier was living then, so it appears that those two shared one of the flats. On the other hand, an article in the Tweed Daily from February 1946 says that the Catherine lived with her parents (at Tara House) during the war years. So their exact living circumstances at that time are somewhat unclear.

In any case, by 1947, Cath and Reginald Schofield had moved to 779 Main Street, Kangaroo Point, and then in about 1949 to 9 Hartley Street, Camp Hill. They lived at that address for a number of decades.

Catherine and Reginald had one child, we think: a son James.

Reginald Schofield died on 30/04/2000. Catherine continued living in her Hartley Street home until about 2001, when she moved to the Mt Gravatt Retirement Village in Logan Road, Upper Mount Gravatt. Catherine Schofield (nee White) died on 12/08/2008 and was buried or cremated in the Pinnaroo Lawn Cemetery and Crematorium in Bridgeman Downs in Brisbane, as was Reginald. The death notices for Reginald and Catherine are shown opposite.

(Margaret) Joyce White

Joyce White was born on 26/07/1914. Joyce remained in Tweed Heads when her parents left that town for Murwillumbah around 1935. She was living then in Beryl Street and working as a dental nurse. However, when her parents began running the Tara House boarding house around 1940, Joyce moved back to Murwillumbah to live there with them, still working as a dental nurse.

Joyce White married Ronald Wallace Prendergast of Wyong on 05/04/1942 in the Church of the Sacred Heart, Murwillumbah. (Some old articles refer to Ronald as "Roger" - apparently a nickname.)

After marriage, Joyce and Ronald Prendergast lived in Tara House, Queen Street, which was being run by Joyce's parents in the 1940s. Ronald joined the RAAF for WWII, enlisting in October 1942. He was discharged in April 1946 and obtained a job in the Rural Bank, Murwillumbah. Joyce's parents sold Tara House in 1949, so then Joyce and Ronald moved from there to a house in George Street, Murwillumbah. About three years later, around 1952, they moved again within Murwillumbah to 16 Waterloo Street.

Thereafter, Ronald's career as a bank officer took him and Joyce to many parts of NSW. After living just a year or so in Waterloo Street, they began a series of moves to the following locations: 31 Roderick Street, Tamworth (c.1953); 10 Louee Street, Rylstone (c.1956); 98 Maitland Street, Narrabri (c.1961); 233 Bentinck Street, Bathurst (c.1965); 11 Masons Parade, Gosford (c.1969); 202 Rowe Street, Eastwood (c.1972); 34 Asca Drive, Green Point (c.1977). Ronald was a bank manager from the time they lived in Rylstone. It seems that they retired in Green Point.

Joyce and Ronald had two children, we think: James Ronald, born 08/07/1943; and Joan Lesley.

Ronald and Joyce lived at 34 Asca Drive for twenty years before moving to a house nearby at 10 Byrd Street, Saratoga, in 1997. They stayed there for just one year, however, before moving to the Brentwood retirement village in Scaysbrook Drive, Kincumber.

Ronald Wallace Prendergast died on 21/01/2002 and was buried in the Palmdale Lawn Cemetery and Memorial Park in Palmdale, NSW. Ronald also has a plaque at the NSW Garden of Remembrance, Rookwood. Margaret Joyce Prendergast (nee White) died five months later, on 15/06/2002, and she, too, was buried in the Palmdale cemetery. Death notices for Ronald and Joyce appear opposite.

(Elsie) Joan Frances White

Joan Frances White was born on 24/02/1916. She married Arthur Ernest White of Sydney on 08/04/1939 in the Church of the Sacred Heart, Murwillumbah (NSW marriage reg. 11496/1939). Arthur was from Kogarah, in Sydney, and worked as a commercial traveler (i.e. sales representative) throughout his career.

After marrying, Arthur and Joan White initially lived at 649 Rocky Point Road, Sans Souci. Soon after, however, Arthur enrolled in the army for WWII in March 1942. From 1943 to 1946 while Arthur was away, Joan, as with her sister Catherine Schofield, reportedly lived with her parents in Tara House, Murwillumbah.

In 1946, Arthur and Joan moved back to Sydney, to 63 Carr Street, Coogee. This was, up to that time, the home of Edward and Rachel Solberg, who were the parents-in-law of Joan's Aunty Vera Solberg (nee Gill). It seems that Joan and Arthur may have purchased this property after the deaths of Rachel (1944) and Edward (1946).

Around 1950, Joan and Arthur moved from Coogee to 4 Portview Road, Greenwich. For some of those years (roughly 1951 - 1959), they had Joan's parents living with them there. Later, in the late 1960s, Joan and Arthur bought and moved to 179 Avoca Drive, Green Point, where they subsequently retired. Joan's sister Joyce Prendergast and her husband, Ronald, moved very close to them there about ten years later.

Joan and Arthur had just one child: a daughter Barbara Mary White, born c.1941.

Arthur White died on 21/05/1975 and was buried in the Palmdale Lawn Cemetery and Memorial Park in Palmdale, NSW. His death notice appears opposite. As it indicates, Arthur was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in 1971 for services to the community. We also have a copy of Arthur's death certificate. Joan White died on 28/11/1980 and was buried alongside Arthur. Their shared tombstone is shown opposite. We also have a copy of Joan's death certificate.

Elizabeth Alice (Betty) White

Elizabeth Alice (Betty) White was born on 20/04/1918. Betty was engaged to a Vince Ryan, a Murwillumbah local, in 1942. It appears that, unfortunately, the marriage did not eventuate.

Betty worked as a saleswoman in Woolworths in Murwillumbah for ten years, before resigning in February 1949. This was around the time that her parents sold Tara House, which was Betty's home then. That same year, Betty went with her parents to their new residence in George Street North, East Maitland.

During the 1940s, when Betty was working in Woolworths, Murwillumbah, the store manager was Lionel Cuthbert Stevens. Lionel had married Valmai Hilary Kathleen Rose in 1935 in Hurstville, and he was living with her in the Kingsford Court flats, Commercial Road, Murwillumbah. Lionel resigned his Woolworths position around January 1949, just before Betty had resigned hers. Reportedly, Lionel transferred to the Maitland Woolworths store.

Lionel was living in George Street North, East Maitland, in 1949, according to the electoral roll of that year. This was the same street the Whites had moved to. Valmai Stevens, however, was living in Epping at that time. It seems that she did not move to Maitland with Lionel. Later that year, in October 1949, Lionel was manager at the Galton's store in High Street, Maitland.

Around 1951, Betty White and her parents moved from East Maitland to Kensington Road, Bolwarra, just to the north of Maitland on the Hunter River. Lionel Stevens also moved there, so it seems that Lionel was living with the Whites in Bolwarra, and also in East Maitland in all likelihood. At this time, Lionel worked as a manager and Betty worked as a manageress, so perhaps they were working together also.

In July 1951, Lionel divorced Valmai in the Maitland District Court, stating that she had deserted him. This had finalised a separation that had begun four years earlier in Murwillumbah. Twelve months later, on 05/07/1952, Betty White and Lionel Stevens married in the Mosman district in Sydney. Betty, Lionel, and Betty's parents all seem to have left the Maitland area around this time.

It is certainly no coincidence that Lionel Stevens and the Whites (Betty along with parents Kate and Les and brother John) moved from Murwillumbah to East Maitland around early 1949. Though, which of them instigated the move, and why, is not known.

After their marriage, Betty and Lionel Stevens lived briefly at 80 Kildare Road, Blacktown, before moving to Earl Street, Collarenebri, around 1954. About five years later, they moved to Singleton, initially living at 44 Church Street, then in about 1962 moving to 6 Renshaw Avenue. This was a block of land they had purchased for £400 and then built on. They stayed there for many years, and during this time Lionel worked as a manager at the Grainger & Falkiner store in Singleton.

Lionel Stevens died on 30/05/1971 in Royal Newcastle Hospital, and he was buried in Sedgefield General Cemetery, near Singleton. Lionel's death notice is shown opposite. We also have a copy of Lionel's death certificate.

Betty Stevens continued living in her Renshaw Avenue home until 1978, when she moved to 5/28 Melbourne Street, Gosford, close to the home of her sisters Joyce Prendergast and Joan White in Green Point. She lived there until at least 1990.

We have no clear information about what Betty did after this. In particular, we are not sure if she ever remarried, nor do we have any details of her death. Betty did not have any children.

Leslie Stephen White

Leslie Stephen White was born on 26/12/1920. Leslie served in the Australian army in World War II (Service Number NX86727). He enlisted on 30/01/1942 and was discharged on 06/05/1945. Leslie's enlistment photo is opposite.

During the 1940s, Leslie White lived at Tara House and worked as a postal officer. In February 1947, he was fined by the local court of illegal gambling in Tara House. Additionally, he was charged with stealing telephone equipment and mail items related to his work.

Leslie White married Ethel May King in the Marrickville district in Sydney on 22/11/1947. Initially, Leslie and Ethel lived at 21 Shirlow Street, Marrickville, and they had their first child, Carol-Anne, there in 1948.

Leslie and Ethel did not stay long in Marrickville, however. Within a year, they moved across town to 191 Princes Highway, Carlton. They later moved to the suburb of Botany, firstly to 2 Pemberton Street around 1953, and then their final move, to 33 Anniversary Street around 1960. During these years, Leslie worked as a colour tinter and then as a process worker.

Leslie and Ethel White had four children (three boys and one girl): Carol-Anne, born 1948; Stephen John, born c.1950; Leslie Frederick, born c.1952; and Peter Michael, born c.1955.

Leslie White died on 26/07/1974 and was buried in the Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park cemetery in Matraville. His burial plaque is pictured opposite. We have a copy of Leslie's death certificate. Interestingly, it gives Leslie's occupation as doorman, which never showed in the electoral rolls.

After her husband's death, Ethel remained at Anniversary Street until at least 1988. She died on 22/07/1989 and was also buried at the Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park. We have funeral notices for both Leslie and Ethel. We have Ethel's death certificate.

James White

James (Jim) White was born on 14/02/1923. He, too, joined the army to serve in World War II (Service Number QX31229). Jim and his brother Leslie were photographed in uniform in the Tweed Daily, 10/10/1942, p.2.

James White married Nancye Kerr, a Murwillumbah local, on 16/09/1950 in St Andrew's Church, Murwillumbah. James and Nancye were photographed together at an earlier wedding, in February 1948, at which Nancye was bridesmaid.

After marriage, Jim and Nancye White lived for several years in Murwillumbah. The 1954 Electoral Roll has Jim in Queen Street, but Nancye at 30 Myrtle Street. We suspect that Myrtle Street was their correct address and that the Queen Street entry was left over from the 1940s when Jim lived at Tara House. In those years, Jim worked as a grocer and Nancye as a hairdresser.

Around 1955, Jim and Nancye moved north to 83 Gladstone Road, Rockhampton, where Jim worked as a salesman. They subsequently moved to other parts of Queensland: to 16 Dunn Street, Maryborough, around 1960; to 83 Stephen Street, Toowoomba, in 1964; then to 19 South Street, Toowoomba, in 1969.

We lose track of Jim after 1975 and of Nancye after 2000. Jim seems to be missing from the electoral rolls after 1975, whereas Nancye continues to be listed at South Street until at least 2000. We have some information suggesting that Nancye White was living in Banora Point in 2004 and died on 21/02/2006 at Tweed Heads, but we cannot verify that. We have no information on any death of Jim White. We think that Jim and Nancye had children Christine Rae and Kathryn Elizabeth, and possibly others that we are not aware of.

John Searle White

John Searle White was born on 10/05/1929. He went with his parents to the Maitland area around 1949. While they lived in East Maitland, John was, according to the 1954 Electoral Roll, living at the Currency Lass Hotel and working as a laundry foreman.

In 1963, John was living at 159 Wanda Street, Mt Gravatt, in Brisbane, with his wife, Fay Helen White, whom we assume John married between 1954 and 1963. We do not know Fay's maiden name.

John and Fay White had, we think, three children (one son and two daughters): Jane Elizabeth, John Searle Junior, and Anne.

John Searle White died on 22/07/1985 and was buried at the Mt Gravatt Cemetery. They had then still been living in Wanda Street. Fay Helen White died on 01/04/2021 and was buried alongside John. We have a copy of Fay's death notice. Opposite is their shared burial plaque.