Christopher (Harling Barrett) Barrett (1851 - 1941)

Born 1851 in Wheatacre, Norfolk, England

Ancestors

Husband of Ann Eliza (Mills) Barrett — married 11 Mar 1873 in Amherst, Victoria

Descendants

Died 1941 at about age 90 in Brighton, Victoria

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Biography

Born in Wheatacre, Norfolk, Christopher was aged 8 when Mary, his mother, died. In the 1861 Census he is listed as a scholar and living at 7 Beccles Road in the Railway Gatehouse. His widowed father was a platelayer for the railways and Margaret, his older sister, was the gate-keeper. Aged 14 he was an unassisted immigrant to Australia aboard the Marco Polo which landed at Geelong in Victoria on the 15 September 1865. His uncle, Mr Christopher Harling, of Amherst conducted a coach-building factory and it was there that he learned a trade. He married Ann Eliza Mills on 22 March 1873 and they soon after moved to St Arnaud where Christopher opened up a coach-building business. In 1890/91 he moved the family to Maldon where he became the licensee of a hotel and a newsagent. Then some years later he shifted to Rochester and worked for ten years with a coach-building firm. In 1905 he was employed in Horsham in his trade with Messrs May and Millar. Christopher then moved to Ballarat where his wife died in 1912. He later moved to live in Melbourne to live with his eldest daughter, Henrietta. "The late Mr Barrett did not seek public life, but he was a well-known figure and supporter of town activities. Practically throughout his life he had no sickness and it was only a short time ago that sudden illness overtook him". (Horsham Times 24 June 1941 Obituary )

Sources

• Free BMD Birth Index April-May 1851

England Births and Christenings. 4 May 1851 Index of Inward Passenger Lists for British, Foreign and New Zealand Ports 1852-1923 Australian Death Index. Reg. 5310 Australian Marriage Index. Reg. 26oa Obituary found on Trove Digitalized Newspapers Victoria 1882-1954.