Jennifer Empey Family History

Percy and Ivy Empey’s Experience on the Day of the 1969 Fires Re‑imagining My Empey Grandparent's Experience During the 1969 Bushfires On 8 January 1969, the temperature climbed to a century . Sixty miles per hour winds swirled in a west-northwesterly direction. Percy and Ivy, my grandparents, left Bookaar and travelled home to West Footscray. Outside of Geelong, they rattled along the Geelong-Melbourne highway and neared Lara. ‘Look at the dark black smoke, Perc,’ exclaimed Ivy. ‘Something must be wrong,’ said Percy. Sweat ran down his face. ‘Cars are turning back. There must be a fire.’ He made a U-turn and headed back in the direction they had come. They pulled up on the side of the road, got down low in the car, and covered themselves with the blanket. A knock at the driver’s window startled them. Percy peeled back the blanket and wound down the window. ‘Are you alright?’ said the policeman. ‘Yes, thank you. We are fine, said Percy. Ivy peered out from u...

Marriage of Percy Alfred Empey & Ivy Bant My Empey Grandparents' Wedding in Camperdown, Victoria In 1930, my grandparents married at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Camperdown, situated in rural Victoria. The time period coincided with the Great Depression. And yet, their marriage followed a traditional culture. Recently, my parents gave me a wedding image of my grandparents, Percy Empey and Ivy Bant. His brother, Ralph, and her sister, Kate, accompanied them. Both Percy and Ralph were state school teachers and played football, cricket, and, in their later years, golf. Ivy and Kate's family were dairy farmers, and some descendants still are dairy farmers. During my childhood years, my family and I spent many a family vacation at my ancestors' farms. * Wedding of Percy Empey and Ivy Bant.  Embedded into the larger image is the smaller original Kodak print in sepia toning. The large image has been cropped and enhanced again in a sepia tone. Looking at ...

Marriage of Walter Lindley & Sarah Lovett The Marriage of My Lindley Grandparents in Port Melbourne, Victoria On a warm summer’s day, Sarah’s skin was sweaty and sticky. She skipped through the porch into Holy Trinity. The sunlight streamed in through the windows, creating rays of soft halos. Down the aisle past the timbered seats, she sailed. The brick church is quite elegant with a timbered ceiling and etched glass windows, she thought. I’m so glad it’s this one. That iron church with a brick façade was so stark. When we lived two blocks away. That freak storm about six years ago shivered me to the bone. No wonder the damage meant it had to be rebuilt.    In the sanctuary, she stood by Walter’s side. Everything seemed to be rushed, she thought. No time to have a traditional wedding dress. Sunday best will have to do. Her heart beat loudly like a whirlwind. She melted when she looked into his big blue eyes. He smiled and held her hand in his. ‘I love you’, she...

The Graves of Christopher Bant and Eliza Harris  at Panmure Cemetery \ My Bant Great-Great-Grandparents and Panmure Cemetery, Victoria, Australia On the way to Warrnambool, I made a detour at Panmure. I was looking for the final resting place of my great-great-grandparents. I didn’t know so many Bants were buried there together. Imagine my surprise when I had driven past a dirt road named Bant St.  [1] I turned off the highway in Panmure, the town where my granny, Ivy Bant, was born.  [2] I headed down a street, drove over a bridge up a hill, across the railway track and parked near the white wooden fence. I stepped onto the crushed bluestone path into Panmure Cemetery, which was surrounded by trees of different sizes. It was a dull, cloudy, cold day. My feet sloshed in the patchy wet grass, breaking the silence that prevailed. Near the entrance, I stood at a row of graves of my granny’s uncles. William and his wife had a stone slab with an engraved headstone....

Richard and Alicia Lovett’s Life by Port Phillip Bay in Port Melbourne, Victoria Content Warning: Death and Disturbing Historical Details A Fictional Account of the Baby Found at Albert Park Beach You’d think I would be used to this by now, he thought. He trudged along the pavement towards his home in Esplanade-West, Port Melbourne. His feet sloshed in his rubber boots. Across his back flapped two fish, hitting him as he swayed to and fro. His wife greeted him at the kitchen door. “Hello, dear,” she said. “Hello, my dear Alicia,” as he leaned in for a kiss. “We’ve got dinner for tonight.” “This will feed our hungry lot.” She took the fish and laid them on the table. “Is there something troubling you, dear?” “I found a small baby this morning.” He sank into a chair. “There was nothing I could do for her.” “Oh my, how ghastly; may her soul rest in peace,” she said. Her hands motioned the sign of the cross across her body. “Where did you find her?” “In Albert Park, on the beach at Beacons...

The William Empey & James Empey Story  My Great‑Uncle Bill Told Me The Beginnings of My Empey Family History Research My great-uncle Bill was the quintessential Empey family storyteller. About forty years ago, I remember him telling me the story of my great-great-grandfather, William Empey, and one of his sons, James Empey.  [1] They had left Australia for South Africa in search of diamonds from about 1908 to 1910.  [2] This story was quite feasible, as William was a miner and came to Victoria, Australia, during the Gold Rush.  [3]   I became hooked! I would go to the Public Record Office, which was then situated in Laverton, Victoria, for research.  [4]    One by one, I would slot a microfiche into the microfiche reader and comb through the microfiche looking for records. Sometimes, my mother, Lois, would come along to help too.  However, I could not find any record of William and James leaving Victoria in the shipping records duri...