Rowney Family Tree

Walter is thought to have been born in 1864 at Thorndon Park (SA), which was located around Darley (SA) in the hills east of Adelaide (SA), where his parents were believed to have been living at that time. It is assumed that Walter is the ROWNEY baby who is recorded with the name "Lifes ROWNEY" in the SA Births Index, however an alternative birthdate a few weeks later than that given in the index has been noted elsewhere for Walter, so while it is believed that a transcription error has occurred in the Index, it cannot be ruled out at this stage, that there might have been two children involved. An examination of the birth certificate would probably clear up this matter. The ROWNEY family moved from the Adelaide Hills down into Adelaide about a year or so before Walter turned 5. His mother died there in 1876 when Walter was about 11 years old. A couple of his sisters also died around the same time although it is not known whether the spate of deaths in the family were connected in any way.

Around 1880, the ROWNEY family seems to have left Adelaide and moved northwards to take up farming at Dalkey (SA), which was then a small farming district located near Owen (SA). The ROWNEYs had become acquainted with the POULTON family from around North Adelaide, and Walter's sister Agnes had by then married Charles POULTON. A number of the POULTON siblings were also farming around Dalkey at that time. The connection between the two families was strengthened when Walter's brother, Dolph, married the recently widowed Elizabeth FINNEMORE (nee POULTON) in 1882. Elizabeth had four children in her care when she married Dolph - three were her own, and the eldest was her step daughter, Mary Grace, who was known as Polly. Walter was probably labouring on one or more of the ROWNEY or POULTON farms around that time.

Towards the end of the decade the area around Dalkey was subjected to serious flooding and the POULTONs, and possibly the ROWNEYs also, saw their farms virtually destroyed. They made the decision around that time to leave South Australia and try their hand on new selections in an area of northwest Victoria, around Galaquil (Vic). Some of them, including Walter, travelled overland in 1890.

In 1890, Walter married Polly FINNEMORE, his brother Dolph's step-daughter. Walter and Polly were both around 25 years old at that time. They must have married very soon after arriving in Victoria.

Polly gave birth to their first child, Herbert, in 1891. His birth was registered at Warracknabeal (Vic). Unfortunately Herbert lived for only about a month. Their next child, Walter, was registered in Brim (Vic) in 1893. The two following children, Emily and Ern, were registered at Beulah (Vic) in 1894 and 1897, respectively. Their last child, Elizabeth, was registered in Warracknabeal in 1899.

It was also in 1899 that Walter himself passed away. He died from dropsy in the Warracknabeal Hospital at just 34 years of age. He had been ill for some time before he died. He left behind him a very young family, which at that time consisted of his wife, Polly (aged 34), who was heavily pregnant, and their children; Percy (8), Emily (4), and Ern (2). Baby Bessie was born just a month after Walter's death. It must have been a struggle for Polly to raise her four children alone, as she does not appear to have remarried. The family were living at Hopetoun West (Vic) by this time, although Walter had been away in hospital for some time before he died. It is possible that some of the children were raised by relatives, although this has not been verified specifically in any case.

Polly continued living at Hopetoun West and raised her family there over the following years. Her obituary describes her as a woman with "wonderful spirit" who fought to bring up her family "to which she was keenly attached".

The 1903 electoral roll for Victoria indicates that Polly was living at Cambacanya (Vic) and attending to domestic duties.

In 1909, after the death of her sister-in-law, Maude FINNEMORE (the wife of her half-brother Herbert), Polly took in Herbert's five year old daughter, Mabel, and raised her along with her own children.

The 1912 electoral roll for Victoria indicates that Polly was still living at Cambacanya and attending to domestic duties.

After her son (probably Walter) returned from the Great War, Polly moved from her property at Hopetoun West, presumably to live with him at Hopetoun East. Her younger son Ernest may have continued running the farm at Hopetoun West from that time.

Polly died in 1933 at the age of 67. She was living with her niece, Miss Mabel FINNEMORE (aged 29), in Hopetoun at the time of her death. (Probate ref: 258/23 granted 26 Apr 1933)

OBITUARY - Hopetoun Courier [28 Apr 1899] - Mr WALTER ROWNEY "It is with regret that many who were friends of Mr Walter ROWNEY, of Hopetoun, will hear of his death, which took place at Warracknabeal Hospital on Thursday of last week, from Dropsy. He had been a patient in that institution for some months, suffering from that dread complaint, and his condition gradually grew worse. The deceased who was 34 years of age, leaves a wife and three young children to mourn their loss. The funeral took place last Friday, and was attended by a number of relations and friends of the deceased, the remains being interrred in the Warracknabeal Cemetery. Mr BROWN of Brim, assisted by the Rev. J. KIRBY, Baptist Minister, conducted the funeral service. Mr E. AMOR carried out the mortuary arrangements."