Alice had emigrated to Australia on the ship Thermostocles on the Aberdeen shipping line leaving London for Brisbane on 6th July 1911. She was listed as Miss Eva Grinton aged 31 years Domestic. The 1911 UK census had her living as a domestic servant -cook to Carden family of New Rd, Gravesend. Why Alice emigrated in unknown but perhaps it was for a better life than in service. 


























































Alice and Jo got married at St Barnabas Church George St Sydney which was quite a long way away from Randwick. The church used to be located next to the Grace Bros buildings on Broadway and it burnt down in the 2000's. Their son Joseph Ross Smith was born in November 1915 at Lime St Portland NSW near Bathurst. Jo and Alice had clearly moved closer to the family. Uncle Ross married and divorced Addy and with his second wife Pat had 2 children Feona and Nerida. He died too young trying to put a pool in for Christmas on 24th Dec 1972 . He died of a blood clot in the arm which led to a stroke.

Their daughter Ethel Emma Smith was born at Lime St Portland on 1st March 1918. She was probably named after Nana's step sister Ethel Jones. and Jo's sister or aunt Emma Amelia Smith. Ett married Russell Ernest Bartlett on 7th June 1947 in Bathurst. They have 2 sons.

Their final child Henry Edwin Smith was born on 26th October 1920 again at Lime St. Ed's birth certificate lists Jo and Alice having married in 1914. Their marriage certificate clearly states it was 1915. Ed as he was known married Lola Cunningham on 2st June 1952 and they have 1 daughter.

Portland is linked to Jo's Blackman ancestors: " The town derives its name from the Isle of Portland (near England). After crossing the Blue Mountains in 1813 much of the first exploration missed Portland. James Blackman was the first explorer to come close to Portland. in 1820 he marked the first road from Bathurst to the present site of Wallerawang. In 1821 he headed north from his depot towards Mudgee travelling through the Cullen Bullen area and passing only a few kilometres to the east of Portland. Blackmans Flat is named after him. In 1828 Peter McPherson took up a grant of 260ha in the Pipers Flat area. Limestone in the area was used to build his son's houses in the 1 830's giving it the name of Limestone flat. "[ http://www.lisp.com.au/~lithtour/portland.htm].

When Jo and Alice married his dad Tom was Station Manager of Charlton. Tom's and his wife's obituaries tell us they lived at Charlton from at least 1884. By 193o Jo is station manager at Charlton according to the Electoral Roll and Alice is undertaking home duties. They live at Rockley in the little white cottage you can see on the background of this page. Tom's red brick cottage was to the right of this cottage. Ed always said they had their childhood in Rockley so we assume the family moved from Lime St Portland shortly after 1920. Ross would have started school in 1920 or 1921 and Ett in 1923 so they were in Rockley at least from this time.

The little white house was located just as you turn onto Lagoon Rd heading to Charlton. We believe the photo of the family [ # 6 above right is taken in 1922-1923 there as you can see pepper trees in the back which line Peppers Creek]. Tom lived with Jo and Alice in his redbrick cottage until his death in 1934. Photo below is Jo at Charlton with one of the racing horses.




















When we returned to celebrate Rockley Primary School's 150th anniversary in 20102 Artie Nightingale remembered that Ett and Ed would ride the race horses to school some days when they did not walk the 2kms. They would play tricks on the children by letting them ride the horses home- much to their delight when the racing horses bolted!  We placed 3 bricks in the pathway in honour of Ross, Ett and Ed's attendance at the school.












Gloria Armstrong a descendant of Margaret Jane Barden and Spencer Hall Green grew up with Ross, Jo and Ett as her dad managed one of the other stations. She recalled to me in 2000's the following:

The Station “ Charlton” when owned by a McPhillamy was nearly left to Jo. The story goes that McPhillamy, had another child, a daughter  who was not terribly interested in the property and was at boarding school in Sydney as her mother had died . This McPhillamy who owned Charlton was heading into town to sign over the Charlton Station to Jo who was its Manager . Unfortunately, McPhillamy had a heart attack and died before he could sign over the land to Jo as he went to check on the result of a horse race in Sydney where one of his horses was racin g.

She also recalled that a McPhillamy married Tom's sister or cousin who was a cook at Charlton and the child of the marriage Num [Nathaniel] McPhillamy was virtually raised by Tom as his mother died in childbirth.  He was a contemporary of Jo.

When Ed was told of this story in the last years of his life he cried because his father and mother had never owned their own property and had a hard life. These events are most likely to have occurred between perhaps 1925 and the mid 1930's. We have tried to confirm this story with documentary evidence but alas we have not been able to link the information Gloria relayed to actual times and people. It will remain a story for the family. See Charlton page for more information.

Gloria also recalled a time that Jo Smith saved her life as a 4 year old. Num McPhillamy had a sister who lived in Qld on a property called ? Berrigowan she had a son called Angus and one year when in drought they shipped their cattle in train and got out at George's Plains and take the cattle up the road to Rockley Mount then across to Fosters Valley. They would stay overnight and then move on to Charlton. Some of the cattle were a bit wild. Gloria was carried by her dad on the horse in front of the cattle., they were moving the cattle from a big to small yard. I was riding in front of dad and one broke away and dad went to drive it back in the cattle wheeled around and charged dad. Dad was handicapped by having me on the horse. A horn went into the horses chest and into the heart and the horse dropped dead. Jo galloped in between dad and the cow with his whip and saved us. .... Jo was a very good horseman.

In 1849 we know Jo and Alice were living at 138 George St Bathurst. We know that they lived with their daughter Ett in Sydney in their latter years also.  In November 1851 Jo and Alice were visiting Ross and his then wife Addy in Goulburn when he had a heart attack and dropped dead.  They had been playing cards at the time and Jo needed a toilet break! He is buried in Goulburn cemetery as a result. At the time Ross was working at one of the Goulburn hotels.  Ed and he had signed up at Goulburn for WWII so perhaps Ed had been living with his brother

Ed remembers that his father had a saying " Well I declare". 

Alice lived with her daughter and her family until her death on 17th July 1965 at Blacktown. She regularly visited her son Ed's family and we shared some lovely times together. She is buried with Jo at Goulburn cemetery as is the ashes of their youngest son Ed.