Eleanor Olive KEMPSON (1882-1956)

Eleanor, aged abt 18 years

Eleanor Olive Kempson was my maternal great-grandmother. Born in Castlemaine, Victoria in September 1882, Eleanor was the 6th of 8 children to Fred and Bessie Kempson, and grew up in the goldfields region of Victoria, where her father worked as a blacksmith. Fred and Bessie were not religious people, and with no grandparents and extended family around her, I guess Eleanor and her siblings lived a fairly relaxed and self contained, albeit hardworking, childhood. The Kempsons were active in their community social events, such as picnics and sporting festivals. Even so, times were pretty tough in late 19th century Victoria. A small daughter had died shortly before Eleanor's death, and another older sister, Edith, passed away when Eleanor was 10 years old.
The family lived in Milkmaid Flats, just outside Castlemaine.

Ossie Hurne

When Eleanor was 26, she became pregnant, and married Albert Hurne, a widowed journeyman. The couple settled in Melbourne, but the marriage never really worked, and Eleanor was left on her own with their small son, Oswald for most of the following 4 years. In 1912, she applied for a divorce from Hurne, on grounds of abandonment. the divorce was granted, and she married Joseph Battersby, a wheat farmer from Tatura,Victoria.

Eleanor strikes me as a woman who was prepared to stand up for herself and her family. She initiated a divorce, which was still considered somewhat shameful and was reported publicly, in order to regain control of her life. Eleanor faced the authorities after Albert Hurne died at war, determined that young Oswald would receive his entitlements, and his medals.

Ossie working the horses

In the years after her marriage, the Battersby family expanded quickly. Three girls, Kathleen, Olive and Anis were born, followed by David and Joseph (Norm). They were a tight knit group, working the farm together, and enjoyed a strong community relationship with families on surrounding farms. In 1924, tragedy hit when 16 year old Ossie was struck by lightning whilst working a team of horses out in the field.


" When Dad came home with the terrible news of Ossie's death, we kids cried our hearts out. I can still remember clinging to Mum's apron as she tried to phone for a doctor, a funeral director and police. What a dreadful time it must have been for her...". David Frederick Battersby, 2001.

The family had recently moved to Chillingollah East, near to Swan Hill, and their property included the mail contract and telephone exchange, which Eleanor managed as postmistress from 1923-1936.

Eleanor

Farm life was pretty good until the depression hit, along with drought and plagues. Joseph became ill, and died suddenly in July 1933, leaving Eleanor and their five teenage children to run the farm. By 1936, with the two older girls married, she decided that they no longer had a future on the land, and determined that her boys should learn a trade she moved them all to St Kilda, Melbourne.

Eleanor moved into a house with a mixed business attached, and Anis, David, and Norm each found steady work. When war came, both the boys enlisted, which must have been the source of much worry- Eleanor had lost a brother, Fred at Gallipoli. Her mother, Bessie, and sisters Queenie and Beatie lived in nearby Oakleigh, and another sister and brother were also in Melbourne, so there was plenty of extended family for support. Bessie was quite elderly by now, and no doubt Eleanor also wanted to be nearby for her.

I really admire Eleanor for moving her family to the city. It must have been very difficult- perhaps heartbreaking to give up their land and their friendships. She certainly seems to have been made of tough stuff. Life in Melbourne was kind to them all, and her children all married, had children, and stayed in the area for several years. Dave and Norm returned from war, and resumed their lives, but when Dave decided to move his family up to Queensland in about 1954, Eleanor chose to follow the sun with them. They settled in Towoomba, where she spent the remainder of her life until she passed away suddenly from heart failure in 1956.

NB David Battersby wrote "The Joy and Sadness of Mallee Living", in 2001, with help from his daughter, Cheryl. To read his full account of these years, look under the Battersby page.