Four adult members of the Philippe family are buried in this one grave in the Kalgoorlie Cemetery.
They are
Richard Henry Philippe bur 12 Oct 1906 age 67
Eliza Mary nee Howells bur 21 Nov 1911 aged 73 (Richard’s wife)
Bertrand Charles Philippe bur 19 Jun 1950 age 71 (son of Richard and Eliza)
Violet Mary Millar nee Knight buried 14 Nov 1957 age 78 (wife of Bertrand)
Philippe Family Grave Kalgoorlie Cemetery – Photo Danelle Warnock
Richard and Eliza Philippe – Photo Ancestry.com
Richard Henry Philippe – was born in January 1839 at St James West, London, England. He was the son of William Philippe (Tailor) and Jane nee Allan. He came to Australia on the ‘Medway’ in 1855 at the age of 16yrs. He was to live in Victoria for 40 years before coming to Western Australia in 1895 for the last 11 years of his life. He married Eliza Mary Howell in Sale Victoria at the age of 23 years on Christmas Eve of 1862.
Philippe Grave, Kalgoorlie Cemetery – Photos by Danelle Warnock
Funeral Notice for Richard Philippe – Kalgoorlie Miner 12 October 1906, page 4
Eliza Mary nee Howells – was born on 31 January 1839 in Monmouth, Wales. She was the daughter of James Howells and Mary Ann nee Cooper of Amberley Farm, Rosedale, Gippsland VIC.
Eliza was involved in a shipwreck on her voyage to Australia as one of 250 immigrant girls. This is what happened:
The Argus 29 Apr 1863
‘A WRECK’
The barque Sacramento with Capt Holmes, Master, which left London on 22nd Dec 1862, with 250 female Government immigrants onboard arrived off the Port Phillips Heads yesterday. At about 3am the ship struck upon the Point Lonsdale reef about one mile from the shore and four miles from the lighthouse. Some of the immigrants were taken to the shore in boats and others landed temporarily on the reef. The condition of some of the poor creatures, many in their night dresses, was truly pitiable. We are very glad to be able to state that great promptitude was shown by the Immigration Department in ministering to the necessities of the poor sufferers.
All of the belongings of the survivors were lost, these were all they possessed to start their new life. In addition, the ship’s doctor had died during the voyage so several lives were lost during the four months journey. Had the disaster happened an hour later, it was likely that many lives would have been lost. Fortunately, £60,000 in coin was saved.
The mate of the Sacramento, James Donohue (Donohoo), who was in charge of the vessel on the night of the disaster, was committed to trial for a ‘breach of duty’ in the Supreme Court. He was found guilty of ‘Neglect of Duty’ and was sentenced to four months imprisonment with hard labour.
Eliza and Richard were to have 10 children, they were James William born 1863 – Richard Henry born 1865 – Eliza Jane born 1865 – Alfred Ernest born 1868 – John Francis Baptist born 1870 – Sarah Cooper born 1874 – Ada born 1875 – Bertrand Charles born 1879 & Philip Herbert born 1881. Note: All the children were born in Rosedale Victoria.
Bertrand Charles Philippe – Photo Ancestry.com
Grave location card Bertrand and Violet Philippe – Photo Ancestry.com
Bertrand Charles Philippe was born on 23 Mar 1879 in Sale, Victoria. He was the second youngest of Richard and Eliza’s children. He was to marry Violet Mary Millar nee Knight, a widow with three children, William, Reginald and Ernest. They married on the 4 Apr 1909 in the Methodist Church Mt Magnet WA. Bertrand enlisted in the AIF Home service in April of 1915 where he gave his occupation as a Telephone linesman. He was 39 years old at this time and was a Sapper and a cable hand in the signal service. He was discharged in Jan 1918 as unfit for service not due to misconduct, because of what appears to have been shell shock.
Violet Mary nee Knight – formerly Millar – Violet married Frank Ernest Millar in Victoria in 1901. Frank died in Macedon Victori in 1906. Frank and Violet had three boys and with them and her parents, she travelled to Western Australia where she met and married Bertrand Philippe in 1909 in Mt Magnet WA.
Violet May nee Knight aged 27yrs – Photo Ancestry.com
Bertrand and Violet had 5 children, the first two, Elsie Jean born 1909 and Richard John born 1911, were both born in Mt Magnet, the family then moved to Perth where three more children were born, Bertrand Philip born 1914, Alfred Ernest born 1917 and Leonard James born 1919. Due to financial difficulties, Bertrand moved to Kalgoorlie and lived with his mother at 5 Lode Street, Trafalgar. When his mother died the house was sold and divided up between his siblings. During Bertrand’s war service his family moved to Victoria Park near Perth.
The children of Bertrand and Violet – Photo Ancestry.com
Bertrand died in Kalgoorlie in 1950 from a ruptured ulcer. He and Violet were living at 32 Victoria Street, Kalgoorlie at the time of his death. Violet survived him by 7 years and passed away in 1957.
Kalgoorlie Miner 17 June 1952, page 4
Moya Sharp
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