Phonse Tobin’s Recollections of his Mother and Father

This account was transcribed from an account signed Phonse Tobin, not dated (Footnote corrections / comments are by Denise Shine).

Thomas Tobin was born in Birr, County Offaly and baptised in St Brendan’s Church Birr in 1863, one year before Dr. Daniel Mannix was born at Charleville about 40 miles from Birr. Thomas Tobin was educated at Roscrea, the school being about 8 miles from Birr. He was married in St. Andrew’s Church, West Moreland Rd. Dublin. Incidentally this church was the first one to be built on the site after the Reformation.

Dad’s father had a small holding of about 40 acres with a 2 storey brick house of 6 rooms. I’m not sure how many were in his family. The eldest son was left the house and the property and his son John resides there now with a wife, 1 son and 2 daughters¹. One of Dad’s sisters went to Scotland. Another sister of Dad’s went to New Zealand². He also had another brother, name unknown to me.

One of Dad’s jobs was in the Penal Department of Ireland. Some of his duties entailed going across to England and returning with mental prisoners.

Thomas Tobin after arriving in Australia, called on the O’Dowd family in Canterbury Rd. Toorak. Dad, Thomas Tobin, lived for a time in Kilmore³ where he built some houses. When he returned to Melbourne, he also built some houses in Port Melbourne. He went broke when the banks crashed in the early 1890s.

He then went to Western Australia with his wife and our half sister Winnie, and half brother John. He resided in Thompson Rd. Rocky Bank, in North Fremantle. He joined the Penal Department there and his duties were similar to the ones in Ireland. His first wife died in childbirth. Incidentally Dad’s first wife lost their first child who died on the ship when coming to Australia⁴. After the births of Winnie and John she had a stillborn child⁵. She became pregnant again, died in childbirth with the baby being born stillborn.

He obtained the services of a so-called “housekeeper” to look after the children when he was away from Fremantle. The local parish priest warned Dad that he could possibly lose the children if he did not get someone to look after them while he was up the country. Dad told the priest that he had a woman looking after them while he was up the country. The priest informed dad that his housekeeper spent a lot of time at the local pub and that the kids were being neglected. He told dad to get himself another wife.

Dad said ‘Where can I get a woman over here?’ The priest said ‘What about the O’Dowd family in Melbourne? Would you like to have one of the daughters?’ Dad said ‘I like Alice’.

The priest told dad to write to her father and explain the position. Dad did and he said he would like Alice if she was available. Grandpa Tom O’Dowd thought it was a good idea. He told our mother Alice to pack up. They sailed to Fremantle and Dad married Alice O’Dowd on 24th August 1898 in the North Fremantle Catholic church. Fr. McMahon was the officiating priest.

Dad’s first child in the second marriage was a girl. Her name was Mary (Mollie) and while she was still a baby, Dad and Mother moved back to Melbourne (Mum getting very home sick).

When they were still living in Fremantle, the house they lived in was on the wrong side of the road which meant that when the Fremantle Doctor arrived, there house missed the benefit of the cool change. So what did Dad do? He and several of his workmates moved the house across the road to a position where they were able to take full advantage of the cool change!

When Dad and Mother returned to Melbourne, Dad had several jobs. They were not very well paid jobs or permanent ones. According to Mother, they could not always pay the rent and they made several “moonlight flutters”.

I have recollections of living in at least 6 different homes before we moved to 38 Farnham St. Flemington. The only 2 jobs that I remember Dad working at, before he became a coal lumper on the wharf, was as a casual with Chas. P. Frilay and as a worker at Johns and Waygoods.

Phonse Tobin (not dated)

 

¹ This sentence tends to date this whole account as being after 1966, when Phonse and Vera Tobin visited Ireland and met the Tobin relations; and the early 1970s, before the children, Jarlath, Mary Ann and Aileen left home.

² Queensland, not New Zealand.

³ Their years in Kilmore were probably 1900-1901, after the years in Fremantle. Young John went to St Patrick’s school.

⁴ ‘This baby lost aboard ship’ in 1889, probably never existed. Phonse probably refers to baby Ellen who lived for only a month – born December 1890 and died January, 1891. When writing this account, Phonse would not have known the dates of his father’s first marriage and subsequent voyage.

⁵This stillborn may have existed. Unable to prove either way.

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