Horatio Arthur BURGIS

  General Notes:

Sewell Burgis married Ellen(Jones) and had two sons Sewell Nelson Burgis and Horatio Arthur Burgis and there were older step sisters who were from a previous Sewell Burgis marriage. Sewell Nelson Burgis was the older brother born about 1883 (1884 according Mavis writing) and was called Nelson. Ellen his mother died first in 1896 and Sewell in 1897. The boys were orphaned at 14 and 12 and were separated Nelson to his Aunty Charlotte Geale (his mother's sister) in Gippsland and later went to Tasmania and his younger brother Horatio Arthur to another Aunty Elizabeth Hayes of 10 Queen St Ballarat.

At Ballarat, Arthur was at the shop run by William Thomas Hayes until he started work at Moorhouse the Grocers in Bride Street near Heinze the Butcher.

Arthur married Ethel at William Hayes Home 10 Queen St Ballarat. After he married, he went to live in Church Street at the rear of St Peters Church. Later they sold out there and bought a house at 6 Queen St two doors from the Hayes Place. Gladys and Ron were born in this period and probably Mavis. Arthur managed a shop in Burnbank St for McAlisters near the lake then later bought a grocers shop in Lydiard St (Morothorte's - I think this was the name of the shop). They sold out of Queen St and lived upstairs in Lydiard St near the Station and from there to Williamstown to Doig Brs. (This paragraph was from Bert Hayes 410 Creswick Rd. Ballarat when he was 87 years old).

The family shifted to Melbourne about 1921 to another grocery shop at 171 Nelson Place, Williamstown. The living quarters were quite spacious with three large rooms upstairs and kitchen and living room etc down stairs. The front, upstairs room looked out over the water to Melbourne City. The family ran the grocers shop on the ground floor but gave credit to many of the residents and those from the ships and they were forced to close within a year. The family then shifted to Preston where they had a mixed business and meals at 81 High St. Ethel and the children ran the shop while Arthur worked for Myer using his motor bike and side car collecting lay-by money from private homes and working in cash orders. In later years, his health was not good as he was out on the motor bike in all weathers.

The family shifted to 20 Roseberry Ave Preston in 1925 and they were there until 1938 when they moved to 13 Kinkora Ave East Preston. They bought the land and had the house built. The family had other land in Mt Morency on the corner of Davis Street and the photograph above on Kings Birthday weekend about 1938 shows the family collecting mushrooms and clearing weeds from their two blocks which were sold to finance 13 Kinkora Avenue. Her son Ron Burgis and wife Ena built the house at the rear in 704 Plenty Road Preston and one could walk through the gate between both properties.

Arthur had a big back yard at Kinkora Avenue with a large fernery, vegetable garden and chock pens. There were loganberries around the fences and some of these cuttings still survive in the grand children's gardens. A family photograph shows the rear of the fernery and the vegetable garden on the right. The chook pens were behind the photographer and to his right. Directly behind him would have been the rear gate through to Ron and Ena's place.

Arthur was a hard working man who was very loving to his grand children and family. An indication of his feelings is displayed in a hand written letter to Mavis while he was in Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital waiting for an operation. He often worked two jobs even though his health was not always good.

Horatio Arthur Burgis (name given was Arthur Horatio Burgis) enlisted on 4 May 1942 at Caufield Victoria in the Australian Army(Service No V300970). He was discharged on 10 May 1944 3 months after writing the above mentioned letter. His rank and posting at the time was Lance Corporal and "115 H MH"

Arthur is buried in the Preston Public Cemetery, Area K Grave 07531

Horatio married Ethel May WOOD, daughter of UNKNOWN and Ann (Annie) WOOD, on 20 Mar 1907 in Ballarat, Vic. (Ethel May WOOD was born on 26 May 1886 in Chisholm St, Ballarat, Vic, died on 8 Mar 1951 in 21 Wilkinson St, Reservoir, Vic and was buried on 9 Mar 1951 in Preston Cemetery, Vic.). The cause of her death was Heart Failure.