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Vic index shows Chas Oliver BRERETON (b. Surry Hill) married Harriet DRAPER (b. Wangaratta) in 1886 (reg 6399). [parents of Herbert]

Possible birth for her in Benalla in 1865 to Edward & Elizabeth (nee H/ALFORD).

You would need to get Chas & Hart's marriage certificate to confirm. Victorian uncertified images are relatively inexpensive (about A$18 as a downloaded pdf). They seem to have disappeared as well!

Unfortunately the reason Herbert changed his surname may have gone to his grave with him :-(

Does it look like Melba was an Aunt to Bertie?

Edit: No she is too young, maybe a cousin?


Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922
Name: Melb Augustine Brereton
Father's Name: Hy Brereton
Mother's name: Hart Draper
Birth Place: Melbourne, Victoria
Registration Year: 1895
Registration Place: Victoria
Registration number: 22871

Hm..good spotting, Gins. Did you notice - mother's name is the same!

I wonder if she was Herbert/Bertie's sister??? Hy could be a transcription error for father's given name. Seems a huge coincidence otherwise!

Hang on there is also a birth in Grafton NSW - Percy L BRERETON born to Henry & Harriet in 1900! Percy died that same year.

Then there's a Ruby A BRERETON b. 1901 to Harry & Harriett in Maclean NSW. Marriage for her (as BRERETON) in Paddington NSW in 1919 to Henry E BLAKE (reg 10136). Death of a son named Clifford Brereton BLAKE in 1967 in Newtown NSW shows parents as Henry Edward & Ruby Acacia. No death found for Ruby to 1982.

Soemthing funny going on here...! No marriage for a Hy & Harriet[t]. It bugs me that I can't find deaths for either of Herbert's parents. Maybe they also changed their names?!

Just found this from r*sweb - an old msg from 2006. Apparently the marriage cert of Ruby named her parents as HERBERT and Harriett (nee Draper) - apparently both deceased by 1919! The plot thickens! HAS to be a connection I reckon! Not sure if the email address would be current but worth a try - just Google her full married name:

RUBY ACACIA BLAKE
Hi all,
I am looking for any information at all on the above named person,
she was born in Clarence River NSW ca 1899, she married Henry Edward Blake
on 10th July 1919 in Paddington, according to the marriage certificate both
her parents ( Herbert and Harriet nee Draper) were dead,consent for her to
marry was given by a William Henry Young a guardian of minors.She was Henry
Edward Blake's first wife, he died in 1959 in St. Kilda but I dont know if she
outlived him or whether they divorced, or if there was any children, or maybe
Ruby had some brothers & sisters?
Any help would be much appreciated
Regards Sid.Blake


The did in fact divorce, in the mid 1930s - she divorced him on the grounds of desertion. Ruby remarried in 1945 to Claire Alfred BENNETTS (reg 10818). She is listed in the index as the groom and he as the bride (I assume due to his unusual given name!). That explains why I couldn't find her death as BLAKE. Still no luck though Claire Alfred BENNETTS died in 1970 in Concord (Newtown district) aged 75.

Claire's death at Ryerson Index - death notice may offer clues:

BENNETTS Claire Alfred
Death notice
02NOV1970 Death
[aged] 75
at R.G.H. Concord, late of Narwee
Sydney Morning Herald 05NOV1970

He was born in Adelaide on 7 Sep 1895, son of Wm Chas & Laura (nee SAUNDERS), and served in both world wars. His first marriage was in SA in 1920 to Emily Laura PERRY. She died in SA in 1942.

Nice work Cheri...........Im too pooped to take an indepth look at the moment (just back from work)

Laters

:-)