A large number of the family photographs in my possession relate not to my direct ancestors, but to their various aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. Family would send each other studio photos of themselves and their children.
I’m posting them here for the benefit of those related families. I’ve included additional details where I know them.
John Robert Tapper, age 7 months. [John was the son of Arthur John Tapper and Edith Lucy Thompson]
I have in my collection old family photographs and I can’t identify who the subjects are. My feeling is that they are photos taken for or by families related to my ancestors, or perhaps friends of theirs. I have put these photos up in case others out there recognise who they are.
Most of the photos I have in my collection relate to my great-grandparents, Harold Tapper and Mary (aka Lily, and affectionately known as Molly) Chaytor, who married in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, and later moved to Sydney before settling in Melbourne. Harold was the son of John Tapper and Maria Tonkin; Molly was the daughter of James Chaytor and Sarah Lambert. Some photos may relate to the Turner family (Harold and Molly’s son Lionel Tapper married Grace Turner).
There are two versions of this photo. Both state the year is 1925; one has a note on the back reading “Pat and Effie”, the other one “Rob and Effie” !
Harold was only 4 years old when the devastating event of his father’s death occurred. On the 7th of March 1882, John Tapper was drowned at sea on his cutter the “Ruby”, when it sank during a cyclone off the north-west coast of WA near Cossack. His wife Maria was left with 5 children to care for on her own, and one on the way.
Maria, having sold their previous home to her father-in-law John Tapper for £400, had a shop and house built on the corner of South Terrace and Suffolk Street, Fremantle. The shop was not a success, and Maria sold it in 1886. They continued to live there as tenants. Maria had been a school-teacher prior to marriage, and took that up again, operating a private school room in her house.
Also in 1886, Maria married again, to William Donaldson, a shoemaker. Maria and William went on to have 6 children, to add to the 6 Tapper children. Much later, between 1895 & 1897, Harold purchased two blocks of land in Bay Road, Claremont. Later, he transferred them to his widowed mother Maria & her husband and family. The house built on the site was named “Innamincka.” Presumably this was a larger space for the large family.
Beginning his Career:
Harold was apprenticed as a “stereotyper” at the tender age of 12 to the Daily News in Perth. Whether he boarded in Perth or traveled to work every day is not known. The apprenticeship was likely around 5 years. Stereotyping is a process that was used in newspaper printing prior to the computerisation of newsrooms. It involves making “duplicate press plates for letterpress printing from the metal type form prepared in the composing room,” and allows for large volume printing, such as is required for daily newspaper runs.[i]
On the 14 December 1899, he was offered the position of 1st Stereotyper at the Kalgoorlie Miner and the Western Argus, with a salary of £5 a week. Over time, he rose to the position of Foreman Stereotyper.
When Harold arrived there, Kalgoorlie was still a young town. Gold was found in nearby Coolgardie in 1893, and the town of Kalgoorlie grew with the WA goldrush. The government built a railroad to Kalgoorlie, completed in 1896. It was an overnight sleeper train, the distance being nearly 600km from Perth. The population in 1901 was shy of 5,000 people, nearly 2/3 of which were men. Kalgoorlie would have been quite a different place to live compared to what Harold would have been used to in Fremantle. Located at the edge of a desert, it would have been considerably hotter and drier in summer than he was used to, and without the blessing of the “Fremantle doctor” breezes his hometown was known for.
Harold served his community:
Each of the Australian colonies were required to raise their own militias. As of 1870, the colonies assumed full responsibility for their own defences. In March 1901, after the establishment of the Australian nation, the separate colonial forces were amalgamated into the Commonwealth of Australia’s forces.
Harold was one of the many young men to serve in the volunteer forces. Before his move to Kalgoorlie, he had been a member of the Fremantle Rifle Volunteers, until he resigned on the 22 Dec 1893. In January 1894, he enrolled with the Western Australian Volunteer Force, and served for 5 years and three months with the No. 2 Field Battery. He resigned on the 5th April 1899 with the rank of Sergeant.
When he moved to Kalgoorlie, he joined the Goldfields Infantry Regiment in 1901, and served until his resignation as a corporal on the 10 March 1904 with a good character. Harold was among a number of young men from Kalgoorlie selected among the WA military contingent to the opening of Federal Parliament in Melbourne. [iv]
Part of being in the regiment involved regular training, and occasional competitions. For example, Harold was selected to be on the team of 7 men to represent Kalgoorlie in the Fleming Challenge Cup. This snippet from the local newspaper describes what was involved: [ii]
By 1903, Harold was not only participating in the rifle competitions, but was in charge.[iii]
He was also a volunteer with the Fire Brigade and rescue organisation while in Kalgoorlie.
Sporting and social life in Kalgoorlie:
From his early days in Kalgoorlie, Harold was an active and keen sportsman, particularly as a runner. In his 20s, he competed in running events several times a month. He was also keen on dog-racing. When the Eastern Goldfields Whippet Club formed, Harold became a member, and in 1909 was elected as Trackmaster, and also had the position of Handicapper.
It seems his organisational skills were much admired. For example, when the Kalgoorlie Athletic Club held their Third Grand Carnival in April 1914 (described as a “grand electric light carnival”), the newspaper wrote, “Mr. Harold Tapper, the well-known whippet handicapper… has fortunately been secured by the club, and the public and athletes can rest assured that a competent and experienced man will have charge of the pistol and frame the handicaps.”[v]
By the sounds of it, the growing town of Kalgoorlie provided many opportunities for a social life. For example, the Goldfields Regiment had a social club which held events, which sometimes also included civilians. Harold is mentioned in the local news for having sung at several of these events.[vi] Here is a description of the second annual Military Ball held in July 1902:
“The floor was in excellent condition for dancing, and walls, pillars and ceiling were artistically draped, and otherwise decorated, reflecting much credit upon the committee responsible for the show.” [vii]
At several of the balls and socials hosted by the volunteer regiment, and by his employer the Kalgoorlie Miner, Harold was asked to be the Master of Ceremonies.
The local newspapers often reported on the local balls and other social occasions, and would describe in some detail what the young ladies wore. One of the young women who attended several balls was Miss Chaytor. She was a dressmaker, and so it is likely that she made her own dresses, such as the one described for the Daffodil Ball, held in September 1901: “black Brussels net, covered with design of true lover’s knots, the bodice being relieved with real point lace.”[viii] Whether Harold met Lily at a ball is purely romantic speculation, but possible.
Marriage and children:
Harold married Lily Chaytor (her birth name Mary, but she married as Lily) two days before Christmas 1903. Lily was the daughter of James Chaytor and Sarah Lambert. Harold and Lily married at her parents’ residence at Hill End. After their marriage, Harold and Lily lived at 166 Collins Street, Piccadilly, in Kalgoorlie.
Mr and Mrs Tapper and five children, four of them born in Western Australia.
Tragedy struck in 1910 when their eldest child, their obviously beloved Haidee Kathleen, died of a sudden illness on the 6 Feb 1910. She was at “Innamincka” when she died, and is buried at Karrakatta Cemetery. She was only 5 years old. For several years after her death, her parents, and her Chaytor grandparents, placed “In Memoriam” notices in the newspapers.
The Wayzgoose:
A Wayzgoose was an annual outing and dinner put on for the staff of a newspaper. The Kalgoorlie Miner & the Western Argus jointly held their first annual Wayzgoose on Saturday 11th of August, 1900 – as a picnic and day of fun. A number of sporting events were held on the day, including the Maiden Plate, boys’ and girls’ races, a Tug of War, and so on. About 120 people attended the first Wayzgoose, and were conveyed to the spot by a special train.
Harold Tappers was on the organising committee several times over the years, as well as a participant in the sporting events. His children and wife also participated. For example, in 1910, Harold Tapper was on the committee organising the prizes for the races. In the same year, his son Jack (Lionel) won third place in the Boy’s Under 5s Race.
A move to Sydney:
The family set sail in August on board the “Warialda”, bound for Sydney.
At first they settled at 40 Denison Street in Rozelle, but later established themselves at 9 Dulwich Street, Dulwich Hill, a suburb south of the harbour. [x]
Harold was very good at his job, and sought after. So much so that in 1923, he was offered the position of Head Stereotyper with the Herald and Weekly Times, in Melbourne. His letter of offer stated “The Management are keenly looking to your knowledge to improving things all round and are, like myself, absolutely replying on you coming.” They even offered to cover the expense of moving his family down from Sydney. Not only that, they were also willing to place his son Lionel in a job. The Truth in Sydney were sorry to see him go, and wrote him a glowing reference.
Once again the family made a move, and settled at no. 3, Sutherland Street in Coburg.
Harold retired in 1944, but was asked to return, and worked on until 1946.
Harold died on the 17 August 1963, and his wife Lily died almost 3 years to the day later, on the 16 August 1966.
[i] Mitchell, James P., Occupational Outlook Handbook, Bulletin No. 1215, 1957; Untied States Department of Labor: Washington D.C.
[ii] Kalgoorlie Miner, 21 May 1902, p. 4
[iii] “Military Notes,” Kalgoorlie Miner, 20 Oct 1903, p. 4
[iv] “The Opening of Federal Parliament: Goldfields Participants,” Kalgoorlie Miner, 6 Apr 1901, p7
[v] “Kalgoorlie Athletic Club: Third Grand Carnival,” Kalgoorlie Miner, 23 Apr 1914, p. 5.
[vi] “Kalgoorlie Volunteer Social Club,” Kalgoorlie Miner, 26 Oct 1901, p. 6; “Our Returned Soldiers: Welcome Social,” Kalgoorlie Miner, 7 May 1902, p. 4.
[vii] “Military Ball,” Kalgoorlie Miner, 19 Jul 1902, p.2
[viii] “Daffodil Ball”, Kalgoorlie Miner, 13 Sep 1901, p. 6
[ix] “Eastern Goldfields Whippet Club: Annual Meeting,” Kalgoorlie Miner, 31 Jul 1915, p. 12.
[x] Ancestry.com Sands Directory collections for NSW 1917, 1918, 1919 and 1920; original source: Sands Directories: Sydney and New South Wales, Australia, 1861–1933. Balgowlah, Australia: W. & F. Pascoe Pty, Ltd. Directories reproduced from microfiche copies courtesy of W. & F. Pascoe Pty, Ltd.
Some Heirs and Graces 