Empire Bay in the background, the ferry wharf behind the flagpole and the War Memorial in the foreground is in Kendall Road Empire Bay.
Get the ferry from Woy Woy wharf. Sit and gaze out the window as it quietly motors along between the Woy Woy Memorial Park and Pelican Island. Enjoy the view from the water as it cruises past Saratoga and Davistown, past Rileys Island and St Huberts and stops at a few tiny wharfs in Lintern Channel and Cockle Channel. Get off at Empire Bay, where the ferry driver gets off for his lunch.
Empire Bay is not a big town. It's got twenty three streets and the population is probably five thousand. It's rather pleasant and peaceful, like most places on the Central Coast. There's a nice park along the waterfront and a decent fish-and-chip shop fifty metres back from the wharf.
The memorial reads:
"WORLD WAR
1
1914-18
EMPIRE BAY
HONOUR ROLL
C.W.ADAMS x ? 40 24
H. ADAMS
O.B. DAVIS
E.H. DUMAS
A.H. HAGAN
H.B. HAGAN
A.P. HUGHES
C. QUINTAL
W. SETTREE x ? ? ?
J.C. VIRET
D.F. WHEATLEY
FOR KING & COUNTRY"
The question marks are bits I can't make out. They look like dates but have an x in front of them.
Bustling downtown Empire Bay. This is half the shops. The other half are just out of the frame on the right.
The plaque on the memorial reads:
"WORLD WAR
2
1939-45
EMPIRE BAY
HONOUR ROLL
A.H.C. ADAMS
C.C. ADAMS
E.R. ADAMS
F.H.R. ADAMS
H.J. BEATTIE
P. COZENS
T.R. DANKS
C.E. DAVIS
W.C. DAVIS
D.A. FRANCKE
C.R. FRANCKE
E.D. MERRETT
J. McDONALD
D.K. SETTREE
J.L. SETTREE
D.W. SLATER
JANIE WILLOUGHBY
FOR KING & COUNTRY"
Empire Bay's a small town. Losing that many, and so many from the same families, must've ripped the guts out of the place.
One of the two small memorials within the fence. That insignia at the top is either the army's or the armed forces one. Can't remember.
The plaque reads:
"1914 - 1918
1939 - 1945
LEST WE FORGET"
Unusually, this memorial has roses (left edge of photo) as well as the usual rosemary.
The other small memorial. It reads:
"IN MEMORY OF FALLEN COMRADES
[3 insignia I don't recognise]
KOREA - MALAYSIA - VIETNAM
PEACEKEEPERS"
As always, it's a relief to see Vietnam acknowledged.
On the way back to my place we hit the Davo (the RSL at Davistown) and the Woy Woy pub. Then we had a little lie down.
8 comments:
I may have had a bit too much holiday wine, but I read the ducktionary post for RSL, and have drawn the following conclusion: you have taken up with a senior citizen/war veteran and the two of you are spending considerable time gambling and/or drinking and winding up in a prone position. Sounds like good geriatric fun! Go easy on those old bones, though...
I don't want to rain on your blog entry, but a Role of Honour is for all those who served, those who died & those who came back, all be it with bits missing.
Setree's a rare name & only three of them died in WW1 or WW2, two were Brits in the London Regiment,(a few of my rellies were in that regiment), the only Aussie, was Thomas Setree, who died in WW2.
Chances are a few of your blokes came home & good luck to them.
David.
Suzanne - LOL. Must amend the Ducktionary. Any bugger can join an RSL in NSW but they have some sort of inner sanctum thingy free of pokies and suchlike where the old soldiers can lurk. The main bit with the lounge singers and one-armed bandits is for the proles.
David - Ta for that. Didn't know you got on the honour roll for making it back alive.
Re the Settrees, do you have any info on their involvement past or present in the Settree & Davis House B&B?
Does anyone have knowledge of the Hagan family 2 of who are on the Honor list at Empire Bay. Killed in WW1?
Jo.
Jo, I assume you are looking for this man's family?
Don't know anything else but recommend rootsweb etc.
You and other family history researchers are welcome to post research enquieries on This Isn't Sydney.
The missing dates on the 1914-1918 plaque were Adams 09.10.1924 and for W Settree 23.06.1952 relate to the date of death. On the lower LH corner is the word X DECEASED.
Thank yer kindly for the missing info, Levarre. Much appreciated.
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