Stone Family in Tasmania

Fiona McDonald (nee Stone) and her family experienced the worst possible Christmas present at their Hotel-Motel at Timber Creek when the town and surrounding communities were inundated with floodwater in a “one-in-50-year” event when ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie dumped almost 250 mm of rain across the NT.

People at nearby outstations Myatt and One Mile were forced from their homes as they became inundated with floodwater levels many Timber Creek residents had never experienced before. About 30 residents were housed at the Bradshaw training base after sleeping rough on Timber Creek’s basketball court for days.

Fiona said that about nine hotel rooms and her business’ staff quarters were initially unusable after flooding swept through the town but most rooms were now back up and running. The staff house got annihilated. Roads around Timber Creek, including bridges, suffered significant damage. However it was lucky the floodwaters had receded as quickly as they rose. If it was staying for days it could have been very bad.

I have updated the family information which is generated for the Internet by my Legacy 9.0 software and it is now spread over ten generations from Thomas and Ann who arrived in Hobart in October 1819 to young Zaidyn who was born in March 2016.

Remembering that Ann’s first child, Emma was born on 10 February 1820 we have to admire her fortitude at undertaking such a journey at such a time. We must also remember the many challenges which the family members have faced since then and be concerned about the kind of world which young people like Zaidyn will be facing in their lives.

LiveStory is a new feature from MyHeritage that allows you to create animated videos of your ancestors telling their life story, using just a still photo and some text. As I have recently been doing some research into the life of my Great-Grandmother I thought I would try out this amazing new feature to introduce her to you. By the way two of her children married members of the Stone family.

Born Margaret Cotton McLachlan, as you will hear she travelled from Scotland to be married to Andrew Hepburn in Bendigo and they had seven children. Her oldest child, James married Margaret Jane Stone, a granddaughter of Thomas and Ann Stone. Later her sixth child Margaret married their grandson Alfred Withers Stone, whose family lived next door to the Hepburns at Woodstock West in Central Victoria.

If you would like to find out more about Margaret Cotton McLachlan you can obtain a copy of “The Hepburns of Gourdie Farm, Woodstock West, Victoria” from Lulu Bookstore at https://www.lulu.com/

Please let me know what you think of “LiveStory” and (hopefully?) of the book. With every good wish. Alex.

Matilda was the youngest of the ten children of Thomas and Ann Stone and was the only one to be born in Green Ponds, probably on 31 December 1838. After their mother died in 1856 Matilda and Lucy continued to live at home with their father but we know very little about how they spent their time. Lucy probably took care of the housekeeping and when she was visiting her brothers in Victoria in June 1861 no doubt Matilda took over that responsibility.

We have a number of letters written by Thomas to his son Alfred between 1859 and 1861 and he makes reference to Lucy on a number of occasions but there is only one reference to Matilda. Writing to Alfred while Lucy is staying with him in Victoria he writes:

I have also received a letter from Lucy, and as she is at present sojourning with you, this letter may be an answer to you both as I have very little news to send you. Your brothers Tom & Joseph’s families are all now pretty well, tho’ they have been through much sickness during the last few months, severe colds, fevers, Measles &c.

Tilly has not been affected, and my own health continues as well as from my age I can expect it, the Asthma sometimes much affects me, but I am generally comfortable and going on well.

Letter from Thomas to Alfred, 18th June 1861.

What I had not been aware of until recently is that just under five years later Matilda’s life came to an end in the saddest of circumstances. On the 3rd April 1866 Matilda gave birth to a son named John (the father not being named) and three weeks later she died on the 25th April as a result of puerperal fever (a streptococcal infection). The baby then died on the 7th May as a result of “Weakness”. He had lived for one month and four days.

Pete Stone passed away on the 26 June 2021 after increasingly failing in health since Christmas. All his family were able to be with him at the end which probably wouldn’t have been the case a few months ago because of Covid restrictions.

His funeral was held on Tuesday 20 July at the Westerleigh Crematorium in Bristol, England. Both his brothers were able to make it from Spain although it was not easy. The service was also recorded to allow more people to “Attend”.

Pete was probably the only English member of the Stone family with whom many of us had shared our interest in the family’s history via correspondence or visits to his home in Bristol. We are especially indebted to him for information and documents which added greatly to our knowledge. Our common heritage went back to James Stone (1743-1798) and Anna Cennick (1721-1767) and divided between two of their sons: Thomas (1753-1831) in our case and Ignatius (1757- ) for Pete.

Our thoughts at this time are very much with his wife Pam, their sons Chris, Nick and Ben and their eight grandchildren.

The Australian War Memorial lists the following engagements which have involved Australian military personal since the Second World War:

Occupation of Japan,1946-51

Korean War, 1950-53

Malayan Emergency, 1950-60

Indonesian Confrontation, 1963-66

Vietnam War, 1962-75

Iraq: the First Gulf War, 1990-91

Afghanistan, 2001-present

Iraq: the Second Gulf War, 2003-09

Peacekeeping, 1947-present

If you know of family members who have been involved in any of these engagements please send me their names and the details of their service so that they can be remembered on this website.

An “Unsung Hero” in the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame.

Graeme Leslie Stone passed away in Shepparton, Victoria on 9 February 2020 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was born in Mooroopna, Victoria on 26 March 1951, the second son of Luther and Marjorie Stone and was a well-known stock agent in Central Victoria and Southern New South Wales. More than 480 people attended his funeral which was held at Congupna, Victoria on 20 February.

At the time of his death Graeme was unaware that he had been named as an Unsung Hero in the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame. His story is set out in an article by Spencer Fowler Steen in “The McIvor Times” published in Heathcote, Victoria on 20 February 2020.

Local stock agent Graeme Stone has become the first person from Greater Shepparton to be named as an Unsung Hero at the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame. Mr Stone was nominated by his long-time friend and business partner Ian McKenzie, who remembered him as an extremely hard worker known by people far and wide. “He worked hard, he was down to earth, and he loved his family,” Mr McKenzie said. “He would have been tickled pink to find out.”

Nicknamed “Stoney” by his mates and family, Mr Stone was known for miles around by people from Wagga to Swan Hill and Mansfield to Bendigo, helping farmers with their sheep and cattle.

Born in Mooroopna, Mr Stone owned farms with his brother and father in Bunbartha for most of his early years, setting him up with the skills to become a stock agent. After working at various stock agents until 1995, Mr Stone joined Elders Shepparton where he became one of their primary agents, with a wealth of knowledge about Australia’s beef and sheep industries.

Mr McKenzie remembered a time when Stoney unloaded over a million dollars’ worth of sheep on to a boat bound for Melbourne over three days. “What he did was hard work — he was in the rain, the heat and sheep shit,” Mr McKenzie said. “You’d ask him how he was going, and he’d reply ‘goodly’ with a grin. “You’d always have a laugh with him about it.”

Mr McKenzie said his friend had a keen eye for artwork, his house littered with historical gates, photos and paintings. “He was a great welder and painter, too, something I found out when we developed the Numurkah apartments together,” he said. “He was a real blokey-bloke who liked his fishing, his smokes and his beer.”

Always a keen sportsman, Mr Stone played and was the president of his local footy club, also playing tennis at Bunbartha

The Unsung Heroes project is a biographical database celebrating men and women who, although not often given coverage in history books, were vital to the pioneering spirit of Australia, according to the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Centre.

Kenneth Graham McIntyre, born 6 October 1940, was the son of Oliver William Keith McIntyre and Ina Margaret nee Stone, the great-granddaughter of Thomas and Ann Stone. He died in Newcastle NSW on 16 March 2005.

The following Obituary was published in the “Newcastle Herald” on 11 April 2005.

He was one of BHP’s leading lights in more ways than one.
On Wednesday, March 16, a large group of friends and work colleagues overflowed the Newcastle Crematorium to farewell Ken McIntyre.

He was a cheerful and humorous person who was appreciated and admired by all for his intellect, modesty, uncompromising integrity, and work ethic. Ken’s early schooling was at Moe in Victoria, which was then followed by High School at Yallourn and Geelong In his matriculation year he obtained honours in all subjects, thereby becoming dux of his year. In the same year—1957— he was also the top student in Victoria.

Proceeding to Melbourne University, Ken obtained a master of science degree in nuclear physics. His scholastic achievement led to an award of an overseas scholarship from “The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851” to study for a PhD in solid state physics at Cambridge University.

Ken graduated from Cambridge in 1966 and as he did not have much interest in an academic career, he was recruited by BHP House in London to work in the fledgling computer field a Newcastle Steelworks.

Ken’s lifelong interest in computing was initiated and nurtured while doing his science studies on the cyclotron at Melbourne University, which was controlled by one of the earliest installations of a computer in Australia. Interestingly, this early generation of computer used a mercury delay line for memory instead of the usual RAM of today.

Ken started work at BHP Newcastle Steelworks within the Process Control Section, and was involved with installation of the first two-process control computers at the steelworks. The project was an outstanding success both technically and financially and in turn paved the way for an ever increasing involvement of computers in all aspects of production and process control at the steelworks.

Ken’s career in BHP proceeded through various positions until in 1990 he was appointed as facilities manager Newcastle with responsibilities for hardware, mainframe support, communications, mid-range support and computer operations. In his position he was highly respected for his intellectual ability, thorough preparation, rigorous examination of available facts, and ability to complete tasks in a professional manner. Ken provided a strong mentor role to all those who had the opportunity to work with him.

Ken was a very “hands-on” style of person,leading by example. But he liked, more than anything else, to challenge himself in problem solving. He once told a colleague that he was happy if he could get one really good problem each day and resolve it. Nevertheless he was forever willing to do the less glamorous jobs and the backgound work necessary to keep things running smoothly in both his work life and within any organization he had an interest in.

Ken started sailing after he joined BHP and it became his main recreation. He developed a passion for it, without becoming a greatly competitive sailor. He thoroughly enjoyed sailing, and just being out there “on the water”. When he could say, “It was just lovely, gee it was magic” you knew it was a good day on the water, no matter whether he came first or last.

After he retired in 2000 Ken increased his involvement in the Regional Museum together with the Friends of Supenova. He rediscovered his love of physics and participated with others in the development of several of the current exhibits at the museum. No matter what the task or role, Ken could never put in a halfhearted effort and would apply himself diligently and effectively until success was achieved.

Ken never married and is survived by a sister, Helen Edwards in Western Australia. He will be sorely missed by a legion of friends and colleagues.

Joan was born in Pahiatua, New Zealand on 1 December 1910, the second daughter of Walter Theodore Keddell and his wife Agnes Millicent (nee Cotton and a great-grandaughter of Thomas and Ann Stone). After attending the Pahiatua District High School she worked in a drapery shop before moving to Napier on 6 January 1931 to become a nurse at the Napier Public Hospital.

She was a popular member of staff and five weeks later, on the 3 February 1931 she was on day duty at the Hospital when at 10.46 am Napier and the whole of the Hawkes Bay region was hit by a massive earthquake (magnitude 7.8) which although it only lasted for two and a half minutes raised the land by about two metres and destroyed most of the buildings in central Napier, including the hospital.

According to newspaper reports of the time she was “heroically assisting in the rescue work when the building collapsed” and she became one of the 256 people who lost there lives in the disaster.

Apparently it was some time before her fate was known and “Her father, who was distracted, wandered about Napier for five hours before he could obtain definite news regarding his daughter’s fate.”

See: Manawatu Standard, Volume LI, Issue 57, 6 February 1931 and Wairarapa Daily Times, 6 February 1931