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Edna 1902
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Edna around 1955
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Edna and Lesley c1902
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Edna (known as Bina) was the first child born to Robert Henry Morris (1866-1946) and Mary Elizabeth Corney (1871-1842). There were six boys; Leslie Errington (Mick) (1901-1995), Robert Harry Cleveland (Cleve) (1902-1979), Lyle Clayton (1903-1929), Oliver Reginald (Curly) (1906-1982), Clarence Cecil (Friday) (1908-1981) and Aubrey Wallis (1911-1911) and three girls; Violet Miriam (1909-1935), Mary Evelyn (1912-19950 and Lillian Eunice Joan (1915-2010).
In 1919 Edna married Robert Richard Worsley. Bob was a musician playing in dance halls and theatres. He came from a family of musicians. They had three children ; Morris Richard (1920), Audrey Grace Cleveland (1922) and Harold Wesley (1926). Around the time Harold was born the marriage broke up and there was some doubt about the paternity of Harold. (Interestingly there is an article regarding the divorce of a couple named Geddes with the wife seeking the dissolution of the marriage due to 'habitual drunkenness, cruelty and misconduct with a woman named Worsley on April 12th 1923 at a house in Campberdown.' Sydney Morning Herald (NSW), Wednesday 27 February 1924, page 10 Could the 'Woman named Worsley ' be Edna? Bob Worsley was only required to pay child support for two children when the couple divorced in 1928. He accused Edna of adultery and she accused him of desertion. Edna's petition was dismissed. I have written a fictional piece about Edna during this time. It must have been incredibly hard as a single mother in the late 1920s/1930s in Sydney. (see bottom of page).
Edna then looked after foundlings* to cope financially. The city paid her to care for foundling infants until they could be placed for adoption. Edna also had one or two unwed mothers staying with her to help. Edna had to be creative in the ways she took care of the family on the little bit of money she had, Her daughter Audrey remembered her sending them into the neighbor's yard at night to nick fruit from the trees!
*Foundlings used here is a general term for babies that had been abandoned or were orphans but also would have included those who were forcibly removed from their mothers for being young, unwed, aboriginal, poor etc.
It was during the time she looked after the babies that she met her future husband, Frank Whitehouse. As a constable Frank was assigned to check on the "baby farms" one of which was Edna's. There was a frisson between them and Edna fell pregnant. When she told Frank about her pregnancy he was furious but Edna threatened to go down to the police station and tell his superior. Frank would have been fired so he reluctantly married Edna in 1930. Their first son Frank Jr. had been born already in 1929. They married in 1930. In 1932 Robert Worsley appears at court to have his child maintenance reduced. There is a very funny article in the truth with lots of dialogue between Robert and Edna. The writer made great fun of the court hearing but the worry in Edna's words is palpable. She says several times that her husband Frank Whitehouse does not want to pay for Robert Worsley's children. Edna must have been a very courageous and strong woman when it came to her children. Robert's maintenance was reduced by the magistrate so it is likely that the outcome contributed to all of the Worsley children moving out.
In 1919 Edna married Robert Richard Worsley. Bob was a musician playing in dance halls and theatres. He came from a family of musicians. They had three children ; Morris Richard (1920), Audrey Grace Cleveland (1922) and Harold Wesley (1926). Around the time Harold was born the marriage broke up and there was some doubt about the paternity of Harold. (Interestingly there is an article regarding the divorce of a couple named Geddes with the wife seeking the dissolution of the marriage due to 'habitual drunkenness, cruelty and misconduct with a woman named Worsley on April 12th 1923 at a house in Campberdown.' Sydney Morning Herald (NSW), Wednesday 27 February 1924, page 10 Could the 'Woman named Worsley ' be Edna? Bob Worsley was only required to pay child support for two children when the couple divorced in 1928. He accused Edna of adultery and she accused him of desertion. Edna's petition was dismissed. I have written a fictional piece about Edna during this time. It must have been incredibly hard as a single mother in the late 1920s/1930s in Sydney. (see bottom of page).
Edna then looked after foundlings* to cope financially. The city paid her to care for foundling infants until they could be placed for adoption. Edna also had one or two unwed mothers staying with her to help. Edna had to be creative in the ways she took care of the family on the little bit of money she had, Her daughter Audrey remembered her sending them into the neighbor's yard at night to nick fruit from the trees!
*Foundlings used here is a general term for babies that had been abandoned or were orphans but also would have included those who were forcibly removed from their mothers for being young, unwed, aboriginal, poor etc.
It was during the time she looked after the babies that she met her future husband, Frank Whitehouse. As a constable Frank was assigned to check on the "baby farms" one of which was Edna's. There was a frisson between them and Edna fell pregnant. When she told Frank about her pregnancy he was furious but Edna threatened to go down to the police station and tell his superior. Frank would have been fired so he reluctantly married Edna in 1930. Their first son Frank Jr. had been born already in 1929. They married in 1930. In 1932 Robert Worsley appears at court to have his child maintenance reduced. There is a very funny article in the truth with lots of dialogue between Robert and Edna. The writer made great fun of the court hearing but the worry in Edna's words is palpable. She says several times that her husband Frank Whitehouse does not want to pay for Robert Worsley's children. Edna must have been a very courageous and strong woman when it came to her children. Robert's maintenance was reduced by the magistrate so it is likely that the outcome contributed to all of the Worsley children moving out.
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Frank and Edna had two more sons together. Cedric Lyle (Lyle) * (1931-2020) and Raymond. Lyle is named after Edna's brother Lyle who died age 26 in her arms from a congenital heart disease.
*Lyle was the keeper of family history. I met him a few times before he died and he was a lovely man, generous and kind. He tended the family graves at Macquarie Park Cemetery and he told me that every mother's day he would put flowers on all of the mother's graves including my grandmother Violet Fish. He also said he had met my mother Nellie several times when he was a teenager and he was smitten with her as she was very beautiful. Lyle and my mother reconnected (although Mum insisted she didn't know Lyle). We had a tour of the Morris family graves and then had lunch. Lyle was able to facilitate my mother being buried in the same grave as her own mother, Violet Fish, who died the day after Mum was borm.
Frank won the lottery and bought a property on Birdwood Ave, Lane Cove. He set about creating a tennis court (enlisting Audrey's help to assist him) which he rented out to fund the building of the house.
Frank treated Edna abominably and was rough on all of the boys, although he never raised a hand against Audrey.
Edna's son Morris (Dick) started high school in 1932 but after a big fight with Frank he left home to live with his Aunt Lillian. He didn't finish high school.
Harold was put into an orphanage at this time (Burnside Home at North Parramatta) and Audrey went to live with her own father for several years. Edna died in 1977 and is buried in the same grave as her beloved brother Lyle. (Macquarie Park Cemetery).
Lyle remembered his father coming up to him when he was sitting at the dining room table and hitting him hard enough to knock him to the ground. When Lyle asked him why he'd done that, he said, "For practice!" In the 1940s Edna had a nervous breakdown Edna and had to be hospitalised for a while, receiving shock treatments.
Audrey's daughter Georgann met Frank in 1976 when she visited Australia with her mother. By then Edna was in a nursing home in the final stages of cancer. Whenever they visited the hospital, Frank would hold Edna's hand and stroke her head. He really loved her and he regretted the way he'd treated her. Edna passed away at the beginning of 1977 and she is buried in the same grave as her beloved brother Lyle who died age 26 in her arms from a congenital heart disease
Everyone, even Frank Sr., has nothing but good things to say about Edna. In Lyle's memoir Frank is recorded as saying that Edna loved the babies she took care of and that she was always good with her own children. He remembered her as a very loving person. Her six children never thought of one another as "half" or "full" siblings, probably because she did not make the distinction. In Lyle's memoir he described her as "Kind, gentle, generous, cuddly, all embracing mum, she was always there for us."
About Frank:
Frank Bernard Whitehouse was born in 1906 in Birmingham England. His father had fought in the Boer war in Africa and had been wounded. He never fully recovered from his wounds and died when Frank was only a year old and his brother Abraham three years old. Although the Whitehouse family was rather well off (they ran a cab company in Birmingham) they do not seem to have done much to assist their son's widow, Ellen. She set up a general goods/newsagency shop but apparently did not do very well. At some point Ellen realised she couldn't take care of both the boys and put Frank into a bluecoat school (orphanage). Frank never understood why he was given up and not his brother. ( As a side note, according to Lyle Abraham was later captured by the Japanese during WWII and was forced to work on the Burma railway. ) Frank said that some nights they were given only one slice of bread smeared with drippings and that he was often hungry. He was given no love or affection. When Frank left the school he got a job as a clerk in an accounting firm and later immigrated to Australia. He was an assisted immigrant and was supposed to work on a farm in Victoria, but decided it was not for him so he worked his way north to Sydney, where he found out that the police were looking for new recruits. He was below the weight limit, so right before he went for his physical he drank and drank water in order to make the right weight.
He had a long and illustrious career on the Sydney force, retiring in 1967 as chief of the Central Fingerprint Bureau at Sydney Criminal Investigative Branch.
When Frank was 90 years old, Lyle asked him why he had given the boys such a hard time when they were young. Frank's eyes filled with tears and he responded, "I had a very rough upbringing." In 1993 he travelled to America to visit Audrey. Audrey's daughter Georgeann described him as 'a very intelligent person and a lot of fun to talk to.''
Frank died in 2000 age 94. He is buried next to Edna in the same grave as his father in law, Robert Henry Morris (my maternal great grandfather). This seems very fitting as by all accounts, like Frank, Robert was an angry man prone to violent outbursts.
Much of the information supplied in this article about Edna and Frank and their family was provided to me by Edna's grand daughter Georgeann Engel (Audrey's daughter) and also Edna's grandson, Brett Worsley (Dick's son).
Frank Whitehouse
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Edna and Frank's graves at Macquarie Park Cemetery, Sydney
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∞—∞—∞—∞—∞—∞
EDNA’S DILEMMA
Stirring in her sleep, Edna heard the door slam. She rolled over in the bed and felt the empty warmth next to her. Damn him, she thought to herself pulling the blanket up under her chin. The fight they’d had that evening had been the worst yet. The kitchen pantry was empty of food and the three children had gone to bed hungry again. Robert had promised to bring his pay home this week but had sauntered in late Friday night reeking of alcohol, his pockets empty.
Edna drifted back to sleep. Hours later she opened her eyes to see the empty wardrobe gaping at her, the door ajar. She sat bolt upright. All his shirts were gone! Jumping out of bed Edna looked around the room. There was nothing left of Roberts, save a pair of slippers tucked under the bed. She rushed to the kitchen, reaching up for the biscuit tin on top of the fridge. She knew already it was empty. He’d taken the rent money. Robert was gone for good this time.
Edna made a cup of tea and sat on the back step in her dressing gown. The house was quiet, the three children sleeping soundly. She put her head in her hands. What now? How could she possibly provide for her children? Life had always been hard with Robert. More often than not his pay was squandered on drink and greyhounds. She suspected there were other women too. She’d scrubbed coloured smears of lipstick from his collar more than once. Even so she lived in hope each week that he’d finally come to his senses and care for his family. Now he was gone and the future looked bleaker than ever.
Edna lit a cigarette and took a sip of her tea. She had to come up with a plan and fast. The rent had to be paid. The thought of joining the long winding queues for food stamps made her terrified. They would end up in a tent along with all the other poor bastards if she didn’t act quickly. Right! She thought. I’ll ask Mick to help. Her younger brother had really made something of himself, studying hard and qualifying as an architect. He’d gradually distanced himself from his family, determined to leave their mess and hopelessness behind and Edna hadn’t seen him for a couple of years now. She groaned at the thought of fronting up to his grand house in the leafy Northern suburb, his stuck up wife Marjory opening the door but she’d swallow her pride if it meant avoiding homelessness and hunger. She thought back to their childhood when the siblings had been inseparable. Edna had always looked out for Mick, protecting him from the wrath of their angry father. She hoped he still had a soft spot for her.
Opening the gate, she looked around at the manicured lawn and the neatly trimmed hedge, the golden elm casting a dappled shade across the path. The three children hung back in an anxious cluster. Her heart ached for them, they looked so solemn. What would their future be? She smiled at them reassuringly then stepped up onto the wide tiled porch and pulled back the brass door knocker.
There was the sound of footsteps and Leslie’s wife Marjory appeared, her face falling as she saw the ragged group on her doorstep.
'Edna! Children! How lovely. It’s been so long! What are you doing here?’
‘Is Leslie home? I need to talk to him.’
Edna peered over Marjory’s shoulder into the house. The hallway floor gleamed and on the hall table stood a large vase of pink roses. There was an aroma of pine, flowers and something delicious wafting from down the hall. What a life they have. nShe couldn’t help feeling bitter, thinking of her empty biscuit tin and bare cupboards.
‘ Leslie’s rather busy at the moment. He has an important project to finish and he’s under a lot of pressure.’ Marjory blocked the door.
‘I need to see him. It will only take a minute. Can we please come in?’ Edna stared at Marjory determinedly.
Marjory sighed. ‘Wait here.’ She closed the door
Edna set her mouth firmly. She felt her foot nudge something and glancing down saw a large Grecian urn abundant with petunias. Throwing the children a sly smile, she yanked the plants from the earth and tossed them gleefully onto the lawn. Audrey gasped and the boys began to giggle. ‘Shhhh..’ She whispered, pressing her forefinger to her lips.
The door opened and there was Leslie, Marjory scowling over his shoulder. He peered at Edna through his glasses, his face softening into a smile. He hugged her tightly and bent to kiss each of the children.
‘I wouldn’t have come Mick, but we are desperate. Bob's gone. He took the rent money and we have nothing left to eat.’
‘Oh Edna. I’m so sorry. Of course I’ll help you. Come. Come in.’
He ushered the family through the front door. They huddled awkwardly in the entrance under Marjorie’s steely gaze while Leslie disappeared into a room, returning shortly with a cheque in hand. Edna gaped at the amount. This would pay the rent and feed them for the next month if she was careful.
She looked at Leslie with tears in her eyes, ‘Mick thank you. You are a good man.‘
Over the next week Edna thought long and hard about what she could do next. No matter how much she tried she couldn’t come up with another plan. There really was no alternative. She needed another man; one with a steady job and a house. She couldn’t do it on her own. Herbert Hewitt! She had seen him eyeing her up and down appreciatively when he’d come to visit Bob.
Edna began her preparations for the night ahead with Herbert. When she’d popped over to see him the day before, he had suggested eagerly she come back tonight. She pulled her skirt snuggly over her hips and wriggled into the pink jumper. It really was getting a bit small but made her breasts look full and round. Her hair secured in a French roll, she dug out the last nugget of lipstick from the cylinder and coloured her lips. She looked at herself in the fly spotted mirror hanging in the bathroom. I don’t scrub up too bad at all!
Edna stood at the bedroom door looking at her sleeping children, their bodies wrapped snuggly together. This is for you my darling ones. She picked up her purse from the hall table, and closed the door softly behind her.
Stirring in her sleep, Edna heard the door slam. She rolled over in the bed and felt the empty warmth next to her. Damn him, she thought to herself pulling the blanket up under her chin. The fight they’d had that evening had been the worst yet. The kitchen pantry was empty of food and the three children had gone to bed hungry again. Robert had promised to bring his pay home this week but had sauntered in late Friday night reeking of alcohol, his pockets empty.
Edna drifted back to sleep. Hours later she opened her eyes to see the empty wardrobe gaping at her, the door ajar. She sat bolt upright. All his shirts were gone! Jumping out of bed Edna looked around the room. There was nothing left of Roberts, save a pair of slippers tucked under the bed. She rushed to the kitchen, reaching up for the biscuit tin on top of the fridge. She knew already it was empty. He’d taken the rent money. Robert was gone for good this time.
Edna made a cup of tea and sat on the back step in her dressing gown. The house was quiet, the three children sleeping soundly. She put her head in her hands. What now? How could she possibly provide for her children? Life had always been hard with Robert. More often than not his pay was squandered on drink and greyhounds. She suspected there were other women too. She’d scrubbed coloured smears of lipstick from his collar more than once. Even so she lived in hope each week that he’d finally come to his senses and care for his family. Now he was gone and the future looked bleaker than ever.
Edna lit a cigarette and took a sip of her tea. She had to come up with a plan and fast. The rent had to be paid. The thought of joining the long winding queues for food stamps made her terrified. They would end up in a tent along with all the other poor bastards if she didn’t act quickly. Right! She thought. I’ll ask Mick to help. Her younger brother had really made something of himself, studying hard and qualifying as an architect. He’d gradually distanced himself from his family, determined to leave their mess and hopelessness behind and Edna hadn’t seen him for a couple of years now. She groaned at the thought of fronting up to his grand house in the leafy Northern suburb, his stuck up wife Marjory opening the door but she’d swallow her pride if it meant avoiding homelessness and hunger. She thought back to their childhood when the siblings had been inseparable. Edna had always looked out for Mick, protecting him from the wrath of their angry father. She hoped he still had a soft spot for her.
Opening the gate, she looked around at the manicured lawn and the neatly trimmed hedge, the golden elm casting a dappled shade across the path. The three children hung back in an anxious cluster. Her heart ached for them, they looked so solemn. What would their future be? She smiled at them reassuringly then stepped up onto the wide tiled porch and pulled back the brass door knocker.
There was the sound of footsteps and Leslie’s wife Marjory appeared, her face falling as she saw the ragged group on her doorstep.
'Edna! Children! How lovely. It’s been so long! What are you doing here?’
‘Is Leslie home? I need to talk to him.’
Edna peered over Marjory’s shoulder into the house. The hallway floor gleamed and on the hall table stood a large vase of pink roses. There was an aroma of pine, flowers and something delicious wafting from down the hall. What a life they have. nShe couldn’t help feeling bitter, thinking of her empty biscuit tin and bare cupboards.
‘ Leslie’s rather busy at the moment. He has an important project to finish and he’s under a lot of pressure.’ Marjory blocked the door.
‘I need to see him. It will only take a minute. Can we please come in?’ Edna stared at Marjory determinedly.
Marjory sighed. ‘Wait here.’ She closed the door
Edna set her mouth firmly. She felt her foot nudge something and glancing down saw a large Grecian urn abundant with petunias. Throwing the children a sly smile, she yanked the plants from the earth and tossed them gleefully onto the lawn. Audrey gasped and the boys began to giggle. ‘Shhhh..’ She whispered, pressing her forefinger to her lips.
The door opened and there was Leslie, Marjory scowling over his shoulder. He peered at Edna through his glasses, his face softening into a smile. He hugged her tightly and bent to kiss each of the children.
‘I wouldn’t have come Mick, but we are desperate. Bob's gone. He took the rent money and we have nothing left to eat.’
‘Oh Edna. I’m so sorry. Of course I’ll help you. Come. Come in.’
He ushered the family through the front door. They huddled awkwardly in the entrance under Marjorie’s steely gaze while Leslie disappeared into a room, returning shortly with a cheque in hand. Edna gaped at the amount. This would pay the rent and feed them for the next month if she was careful.
She looked at Leslie with tears in her eyes, ‘Mick thank you. You are a good man.‘
Over the next week Edna thought long and hard about what she could do next. No matter how much she tried she couldn’t come up with another plan. There really was no alternative. She needed another man; one with a steady job and a house. She couldn’t do it on her own. Herbert Hewitt! She had seen him eyeing her up and down appreciatively when he’d come to visit Bob.
Edna began her preparations for the night ahead with Herbert. When she’d popped over to see him the day before, he had suggested eagerly she come back tonight. She pulled her skirt snuggly over her hips and wriggled into the pink jumper. It really was getting a bit small but made her breasts look full and round. Her hair secured in a French roll, she dug out the last nugget of lipstick from the cylinder and coloured her lips. She looked at herself in the fly spotted mirror hanging in the bathroom. I don’t scrub up too bad at all!
Edna stood at the bedroom door looking at her sleeping children, their bodies wrapped snuggly together. This is for you my darling ones. She picked up her purse from the hall table, and closed the door softly behind her.
∞—∞—∞—∞—∞—∞
