The Hollow Log, Issue 37 Page 1

INSIDE THIS ISS UE

New Hollow Images When I get images I try to use them in the Hollow Log I thought these images made a good front page, they came from either side of the Atlantic. I had no idea they were related but look what turned up!

Page 1

Hollow Spotting An extended Hollow Spotting this issue. Partly because I missed getting this issue out mid year and partly because there seems to be a larger than usual number of Hollow deaths over 2010, including sadly one of my regular contributors to this column, Ann Belmont.

Page 2

Jane Hollow Mystery Solved? Jane Hollow married George Smith in Napier, New Zealand in 1867, which makes her the earliest Hollow migrant to New Zealand that I have found. Back in 2004 one descendant of Jane Hollow contacted me. It was not until another researcher working for another descendant contacted me this year that we could put the bits of information together and finally solve the puzzle of who she was. At last the story of her life is able to be told.

Page 4

Hollow Burials in the Melbourne General Cemetery A bit of a theme developed in this Log; investigate a few Hollows and you may find they are related. I now live next to the Melbourne Cemetery and decided to look for the Hollow burials there. I began looking at Hollows from many burial sites and from different religions and found they were related.

Page 8

THE HOLLOW LOG Issue 37, December 2010 The Hollow Family Researchers’ Newsletter ISSN 1445-8772

New Hollow Images These images have been sent to me recently,

one from the U.S. and one from the U.K.

from seemingly unrelated people.

The first is Leonard Hollow private,

2659755, 26th Coy.3rd Infantry

replacement Battalion, American.

Expeditionary Force WWI. Born

23 March 1895 at Penzance,

CON son of George Hollow

and Elizabeth Major. He and

his parents and siblings

migrated to the U.S and lived in

Akron, Ohio. (Details in

Hollow Log 17). Leonard was a

member of the American

Expeditionary Forces from

July 22, 1918 to April 2, 1919.

He served in France at Saint-

Mihiel and Argonne and was

wounded in action North East

of Verdun, France. Details and

photograph supplied by his

daughter, Barbara Hollow Clarke

The second image is of Richard

Henry Hollow, his wife Annie

Grenfell and their youngest daughter

Florence May Hollow and sent to me by

Florence’s son Kenneth Johns. Richard Henry

is the grandfather of Alfred George Hollow

who passed away last June six weeks before

his 101st birthday. (See page 3.) As I was

preparing the images for the Log I

realized That Richard Henry is a brother

of Leonard’s father George Hollow. So

the front page has an uncle and nephew

featured and my contributors are second

cousins from opposite sides of the

Atlantic. I had started page one with

what I thought were two unrelated

images and worrying how I would link the

two photos. These gents are also uncle and

grand uncle to Clarence G Hollow listed in

Hollow Spotting,... connections everywhere.♠

The Hollow Log, Issue 37 Page 2

Hollow Spotting A Hollow Marriage in Redruth

On 8th August 2009 at St Euny’s

parish church Redruth, the

marriage of Ryan Paul Hollow

and Lisa Bray. Ryan is from a line

of Hollows who first came to

Redruth around 1765. Since that

time many Hollows have

celebrated marriages, christenings

and burials at St Euny. It is great

to see the tradition continues.

Hollow Deaths since

Hollow Log 36

Alfred George HOLLOW

HOLLOW - On

Thursday June 10th

2010 passed away at

Benoni Nursing Home,

St. Just, Penzance.

Alfred George aged 100

years of Cardinnis

Road, Alverton,

Penzance. Husband of

Lavorna, loving father

of Geoff and Keith

(deceased), Susan and

Andra and devoted grandfather and great-grandfather.

George’s 100th birthday was reported in the last Hollow Log. He

achieved something that few people can; he featured in a photograph

of four generations, twice. First as the youngest of four generations

with his great grandfather who lived to 104 and secondly as a great

grandfather to his own family. Both photos featured in Hollow Log

28/29. I met George in 2002 when he was a sprightly 93 year old. He

painted a watercolour of the Zennor Parish Church for me. George

was a self taught painter; having taken up it up in his retirement.

Ann Louise BELMONT

Ann Louise Belmont O.A.M. _ Died on June 21, 2010. Aged 65

years , mother of Hugh, wife of Victor. She was the eldest daughter

of Jim and Jean Moore (both deceased). The O.A.M. beside her

name signifies she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia,

presented for 'Service worthy of particular recognition' to the

community. The medal is awarded by the government of Australia.

Hers was presented on 26th Jan 2007, Australia Day, for service to

education through the Gifted and Talented Children's Association of

South Australia, and to the community. Ann was also an active

supporter of The Pioneers Association of S. A. and at the time of

death was the Honorary Secretary of the Friends of the Adelaide

Symphony Orchestra.

Ann was a descendant of the Redruth Hollows and a longtime

contributor to the Hollow Log. The family’s story features in Hollow

Log 25. Ann also monitored the Cornwall Lists online for Hollow

references for “Hollow Spotting”.

Valerie May HOLLOW

Passed away on December 13,

2009. Aged 86 years, wife of the

late William Robert Hollow.

Mother of Maxine, grandmother

to Tracy and Jimmy; and Lyndall.

Great-grandmother to Sydney,

Brady, Jameson and Keegan.

Mother of Ian, mother-in-law to

Cecilia. Grandmother to Emma

and Lachlan, Laura and David.

Great-grandmother to Evangeline.

The Adelaide Advertiser|15 December 2009

Harold Hughes HOLLOW

11.2.1932-13.4.2010 Harold was part of

Hollow & Sons Builders, a

Melbourne firm that was featured

in Hollow Logs 20 to 23.

Harold began his working life

in the family firm when his

father headed the company

and eventually became the

head of it himself. Harold

gave me access to the

company’s minute books and

we talked extensively over the

period when I was writing the

story. He was very generous with

his time, a characteristic he showed to

all who knew him. He was very much a Brighton man having been

born and lived there; his schooling was at Brighton Grammar. He

married in 1956 to Gwen and had they had three children, Lisa Belle

(dec), Suella married to Peter O’Donahoo and Andrew married to

Melanie Cook. Harold and Gwen have four grandchildren, Olivia

(Liv) and Jack' O’Donahoo and, Jethro and Fergus Hollow.

Cyrus R HOLLOW

Lake Linden, Houghton County, Michigan - Cyrus R. Hollow, 87, a

resident of Lake Linden, passed away Friday morning, January 22,

2010 at Aspirus Keweenaw Memorial Medical Center in Laurium

where he had been a patient for the past week. He was born on

January 31, 1922 in Hubbell, the son of the late Daniel and Margaret

(Blewett) Hollow. Cyrus attended the Tamarack and Dollar Bay

Schools. Mr. Hollow was a veteran, having served with the United

States Army during World War II where he served with General

Patton and was part of the second invasion of Normandy.

Following the service, Cyrus resided in Miami where he met and

married the former Carlyn Dunford. The couple then moved to

The Hollow Log, Issue 37 Page 3

Detroit where Mr. Hollow started a career that lasted 37 years

working for the Burroughs Company.

After he and Carlyn parted, he was then united in marriage to

Charlotte Peters. She preceded him in death in 2004. Since 1985, he

had made his home in Lake Linden. Mr. Hollow was a member of

Trinity Episcopal Church in Houghton, William Geroux Post 90

American Legion in Lake Linden and the Cornish Connection.

He enjoyed spending time around home working on projects,

gardening, riding his bike and working with his coin collection.

Affectionately known as "The Greatest", Cyrus' devotion to his wife

and family and his wonderful dry sense of humor will never be

forgotten.

Preceding him in death were his wife; his parents; and his sister,

Phyllis Pizzi. Surviving are his children, Carlyn Susanne (Ben)

Hoffman of Miami, Fla., Daryl Ann Linzalone of Butlet, Tenn. and

Daniel (Donna Lopresti) Hollow of Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

From Mining Gazette.com

James P HOLLOW

James P. Hollow, 76, a longtime

resident of Moosic, Lackawanna

County, and Pennsylvania died

Friday afternoon (5 Mar 2010) in

the Inpatient Hospice Unit at

Mercy Hospital. His wife of 15

years is the former Eileen Ulrich

Walsh. His first wife, the former

Rosalyn M. Olhowski, died April

28, 1994. Born and raised in

Scranton, son of the late Edwin J.

and Jane Hartman Hollow, he

attended Scranton Technical High

School and graduated from Clarks

Summit Abington Joint High School. He was a veteran of the Korean

War, serving with the Army. Before retirement, he was owner and

proprietor of Blarney Stone Bar, Scranton.

Also surviving are two daughters, Michele M. Walsh, Dickson City;

and Karen Yatzun and husband, Michael, Taylor; three sisters,

Barbara Sompel, Moosic; Shirley Hollow, Scranton; and Janice Minet,

Moosic; three brothers, Edward Hollow, Spokane, Wash.; Charles

Hollow, Connecticut; and John Hollow, Moosic. He also was

preceded in death by a sister, Elizabeth Sompel.

Published in Scranton Times on March 7, 2010

Clarence G HOLLOW

Clarence G. Hollow, 94, of Ravenna, passed

away on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at Robinson

Memorial Hospital. He was born on August

25, 1915 in Akron, a son of the late George

and Margaret (Wren) Hollow. (A nephew of

Leonard Hollow on page 1) Clarence, having

lived in Ravenna since 1976, was a member of the First Church of

God and a veteran of the U.S. Navy. He retired from Colonial

Machine in Kent, where he worked as a toolman. Clarence is survived

by his wife of 9 years, Betty (Cartwright) Hollow of Ravenna;

daughter, Joyce (Bill) Whitlock of Ravenna; son, Gary Hollow of

Stow; step-son, Kenneth (Annette) Stahl of AlabamaIn addition to

his parents, Clarence was preceded in death by his sister, Mildred

Mehlber. ♠

From Shorts-Spicer-Crislip Funeral Homes

♠ H E L L O T H E R E

This is the only Hollow Log for 2010. We spent four months out

of our place during renovations and getting two issue together

proved impossible. We are back in now but don’t be surprised if

the Hollow Log continues to be an annual. My retirement time is

gradually being built up with lots of other things. It is all great.

Lots of children and grandchildren interaction which I love, and

reading. I have always read, mostly non-fiction but now I am

turning to fiction as well. My ultimate would be a novel written

by a Hollow.

T H E H O L L O W W E B S I T E

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~chollow/

The database was last updated almost on a monthly basis now. It

may be worth checking your families as sometimes changes are

made because of new information. The database is very much a

work in progress.

O D D S P O T

One of the most visited (especially around August 16) and

impressive memorials in the Melbourne General Cemetery is for a

man who is not buried there, and in fact, who never made it to

Victoria or even Australia. Elvis Aron Presley. See it at

http://www.whitehat.com.au/Cemetery/Graves/Elvis.asp

C O N T A C T

Colin Hollow edits the Hollow Log, comments and contributions

are always welcome.

Write to 2 Keeley Lane, Princes Hill, 3054 Victoria, Australia. Or

e-mail: chollow@netspace.net.au

Hollow and variants Holla, Hollah, Hallo and Hallow are

registered with The Guild of One-Name Studies. The Guild

member is Colin Hollow (Mem. No. 3056).

©No material in this newsletter should be produced without

permission.

The Hollow Log, Issue 37 Page 4

Jane Hollow Mystery Solved? The New Zealand births, deaths and

marriage indexes throw up a couple of

early Hollows That I have found hard to

tie to any Hollow family. In 1867 Jane

Hollow married George Smith, a brewer,

and in 1874 Helen Hollow a widow,

married Edward Simpson. Helen is still a

mystery but I am pretty sure Jane’s story is

as follows.

I have found Jane Hollow’s passage to

New Zealand; she arrived on the ship

Montmorency at the Port of Napier on 24

March 1867. Jane was described as a

servant aged 19. In fact the Montmorency

had brought 44 single women and 22

single men along with 30 families to New

Zealand as part of project set up by two

women to supply servants to the colonies

of Australia and New Zealand. Those

aboard the Montmorency were

commissioned by the Hawke’s Bay

Government. The cost of the voyage was £17 and each person

was to pay back £14 of that in their first three years in the

colony. Whether Jane paid hers back is a question as on the 7th

August just over four months later she married a local brewer,

George Smith.

The immigration scheme that Jane came on was big news in

New Zealand and in London. There are many articles in

newspapers of that time describing and praising the scheme.

The immigrants were somehow screened

for the selection as the two women

behind the scheme, Miss Rye and Miss

Lewin gave these assurances. “These are all

persons of good character, selected from that large

category of our society which trembles on the

brink of distress. All the female passengers, we

are assured, have been virtuous and industrious;

for the most part they are respectable girls,

reduced to distress by the death of one parent or

of both.”

In Napier an advertisement ran in the

local paper inviting people to order

servants from those on board the

Montmorency. Our Jane is listed as a

general servant, aged 19. The Montmorency arrived at Napier

on Sunday 24th March 1867; on following Wednesday night

the ship caught fire and was totally destroyed. Luckily all

passengers were ashore already, the crew on board escape

injury but much of the cargo was

destroyed as it had not been

unloaded from the ship. So

Jane’s life in New Zealand

started in high drama.

I am sure this Jane Hollow was a

Jane Hollow, birth registered

1848 in Redruth, Cornwall to

Jane Warren Hollow daughter of

Matthew Hollow and Eleanor

Warren Trevena. Her birth

certificate shows she was born in

the Illogan Workhouse, which

suggests her mother was not

married. Illogan is a village about

three miles from Redruth.

Jane was recorded with the

second name Teague in the 1851

census and the 1861 census. This

second name hints at the father

being a Mr. Teague. There is no

Jane Teague’s birth registered

around that time in Redruth so it is

probable that Jane was born out of wedlock and the father was

a Teague. It was a common practice to include the father’s

name as a Christian name of a child born out of wedlock. Jane

was living with her mother at her grandparents’ house in

Redruth at the time of the 1851 census and in the 1861 census

Jane is still living with her grandparents but not her mother.

Her mother had married in 1852 and was living with her

husband and a growing family at Gwennap, another village

about 31/2 miles the

other side of Redruth.

None of Matthew

Hollow’s other

daughters married a

Teague. Jane Teague

Hollow is not in the

1871 census. I think

young Jane went off to

New Zealand. There

are only a few Jane

Hollow’s of

appropriate age i.e.

born circa 1848 in

Cornwall and all can be

accounted for in other marriages. But when you look at the

children of Jane Hollow and her eventual husband George

Smith the names Eleanor, Warren, Trevena and Matthew are

The Immigrant ship Montmorency

The Hollow Log, Issue 37 Page 5

used within their family. The names are all from Jane’s

grandparents, Matthew Hollow and Eleanor Warren Trevena

who according to the census information Jane spent most of

her young life with. Jane Smith’s death certificate adds further

evidence, her birthplace is Redruth and her father’s name

given as Matthew Hollow (actually her grandfather if I am

correct) and her mother’s surname, Hollow. It is possible that

Jane grew up thinking her grandparents were her parents.

The other half of the story is George Smith, brewer. From

later records we know that George was born in Wiltshire to

Samuel Smith, also a brewer, and Lucy Hillier in 1832. The

first record I have

found of him in

New Zealand is

from September

1862 in the Daily

Southern Cross,

an Auckland daily

newspaper. On

the 26th the Albert

Brewery in

Auckland

advertised that they had appointed a George Smith as collector

of orders for their long established brewery. The Napier

Brewery is advertised for sale in July 1863. In June 1864

another brewery,

The Great Northern

announced in the

Daily Southern Cross

that it had appointed

George Smith of

Wakefield street

Auckland as their

town traveller. George would

have been about thirty at this time.

The Great Northern Brewery

went on to become one of the

most successful breweries in New

Zealand. It was also known as

Seccombe’s brewery. The photo

of it shown here is an early photo.

In 1890 it was extensively

expanded.

On 2 March 1867 an

advertisement in the Hawke’s Bay

Herald announces that Messrs.

Hartley and Smith have opened the Napier Brewery in Napier.

We know this is our George Smith from later events.

Unfortunately the partnership dissolves in June 1868. But back

to March 1867, George commences in a new business and

later in the

month the

Montmorency

arrives with Jane

Hollow amongst

the immigrants.

George has

showed

enterprise and

courage in

improving

himself work

wise in the

brewing industry

and also

romantically. On

the 7 August

1867 he and Jane

marry at the

residence of the

Marriage

Registrar in

Milton road

Napier. Their

first child, Allen

is born in 1868.

Around that

time George

seems to be

having

problems. The

partnership

with John

Hartley was dissolved on the 10 June 1868; Hartley

continues to operate the

business. George goes on

working as the brewer, but

also has other problems. He is

taken to court and fined 5

shillings and costs on the 21

September 1868 for failing to

report for a parade of the

local militia unit.

The Napier Brewing

Company seems to have

changed its name to the

Hawke’s Bay Brewing

Company. In December 1869 a fire destroys the brewery. At

the enquiry George, the company brewer, is a key witness. He

declares that the fire must have been deliberately lit. The kiln

that dried the malt was fired up but there was no sign that any

The Hollow Log, Issue 37 Page 6

fire escaped the kiln. He also reports that this was the second

time an attempt had been to set the brewery alight, the first

time it was discovered and put out before any damage

occurred. He goes on to say that a John MacFarlane had made

threats against the company and that he and MacFarlane were

not on good terms. Other evidence was given about

MacFarlane’s threats but in the end the jury returned a verdict

that the fire originated from sources unknown. The brewery

was completely destroyed and subsequently George Smith and

John Hartley the owner were declared bankrupt. Part of his

assets that were sold were ten 10 shares in the Hawke’s Bay

Brewing Company. George is eventually discharged from his

bankruptcy sometime late in 1870 or the beginning of 1871. In

the meantime the family has relocated and is living in Thames,

a mining town some 365 kilometres North West of Napier.

Thames is a gold mining town on the Coromandel Peninsular

of the North Island. The era from 1868 to 1871 were the bonanza

years for Thames, gold production topping £1,000,000 at its peak.

The first major discovery in the Thames area was made on

August 10, 1867 by a prospector, William Hunt, in a waterfall

in the bed of the Kuranui Stream. So Jane Hollow and George

Smith must have been quite early residents.

George and Jane’s second child Lucy is born there in 1871.

George is the manager of the local Coromandel Brewing

Company. A third child Clara Jane is born in 1873. Her birth

was registered at Coromandel a town 50 kilometres to the

north of Thames but still on the Coromandel Peninsula.

By late 1873 the

family has moved

again, this time to

New Plymouth.

New Plymouth is

some 340

kilometres South

West of Thames

on the other side

of the North

Island. We know

they are in New

Plymouth by

looking at the

children’s birth

registrations and a

newspaper report

that has Jane and

George in court,

Jane being the victim of an assault by a drunken assailant. The

case is reported in the local Taranaki Herald on the 19th

November 1873. In 1874 a fourth child is born and then two

more in 1876 and 1878 respectively.

It has been a question, why did George move his family across

the Island to New Plymouth. The answer may be that it may

have been because George was coming back to an early

employer or his family. In Auckland the breweries George

worked for were owned by R Seccombe and sons. The

Seccombes also owned the Taranaki Brewery in New

Plymouth before they set up a business in Auckland. Even

when they moved to Auckland the Taranaki Brewery remained

in the Seccombe family. So perhaps when George wanted to

move from Thames he was able to get employment with his

old employers. It may be that his move to Napier from

Auckland was with the same employer but I have not found a

link between the Seccombes and Napier. Certainly he

eventually established a business himself with John Hartley in

Napier.

George makes news again in the Taranaki Herald in October

1880. This time it is more serious for George he is charged

with the theft of a case of brandy from the Bridge Hotel in

Waitara. Waitara is a town 16 Kilometres along the coast to

the

north of New Plymouth. Unfortunately there is no

subsequent report of what happened to George as a result

of his arrest.

Whether it was because this or some other reason the

Smith family moved on again, this time to Auckland. The

Seccombes still owned the Great Northern Brewery in

Auckland so George may have returned to work with that

brewery again. In Auckland another child is born in 1883

and then another two in 1884 and 1886 respectively. No

further reports of the family have been found in the

newspapers; by 1890 the oldest of the children began to

marry. George Smith died in on 19 September 1898 at

Ponsonby, a suburb of Auckland. His death was reported

in the Hawke’s Bay Herald, he was working as a gardener at

the time of his death. The cemetery records however give his

occupation as brewer. Jane lived until 1925; they are both

buried in the Otahuhu Cemetery in Auckland.

Taranaki Herald 22 Nov. 1873

Taranaki Herald 1 Oct. 1880

The Hollow Log, Issue 37 Page 7

The Smith’s had nine children who survived, there may have

been more who died in infancy. What I find remarkable about

this family is their movement around the North Island. They

almost covered the whole island in following work

opportunities. George began in brewing in Auckland then

moved 380+

kilometres to Napier

to work as the

brewer and start a

brewery. Napier had

been planned as a township in 1854 as

a port and commercial centre to

service the development of the

surrounding region. George might

have recognized the potential for his

line of business. When the business

faltered the family moved to another

developing area, the mining district of

Thames where he moved from being

the brewer to the manager of a

brewery. The family soon moved

again, this time to another port town

on the western side of the island, New

Plymouth. After seven to ten years the

final move was back to George’s

starting point, Auckland. They must

have been quite an adventurous

family. The map of the North Island

of New Zealand shows the towns the

family lived in and how they are

spread across the north island.

The family details of the Smith family

and their nine children are listed on

the chart on the this page. ♠

By Colin Hollow

Thanks to Bernice Craig Hyde and Pamela

Rose Couch for their assistance with this

article.

Images from newspapers came from the

Papers Past website at

http://www.paperspast.natlib.govt.nz

/cgi-bin/paperspast

Descendants of Jane Hollow and George Smith Jane HOLLOW, b. 1848 at Illogan, d. 1925 at Auckland, N.Z. +George SMITH, b. 1832 at Wiltshire, ENG, m. 1867 at Napier, N.Z, d. 1898 at Ponsonby, N.Z. ├── Allen (Allan) SMITH, b. 1868 at Napier, N.Z, d. 1912 at Rosedale, AUS │ +Mary TOOGOOD, m. 1904 ├── Lucy Eleanor SMITH, b. 1871 at Thames, N.Z, d. 1910 at Auckland, N.Z. │ +William Robinson WALKER, b. 1856 at Rotherhithe, ENG, m. 1890 at Auckland, N.Z. │ ├── Eleanor May WALKER, b. 1892 at N.Z, d. 1938 at N.Z. │ │ +Thomas Walter Gaston KANE, b. 1892, m. 1913 at N.Z, d. 1977 at N.Z. │ ├── Florence Trevena WALKER, b. 1894 at N.Z │ │ +Peter NUIE, m. 1917 at N.Z │ ├── Elizabeth Jane WALKER, b. 1896 at N.Z, d. 1973 at N.Z. │ │ +Victor James ROSE, b. 1898, m. 1922 at N.Z, d. 1991 at N.Z. │ │ └── Phillip Victor ROSE │ ├── William George WALKER, b. 1899 at N.Z │ ├── Albert Edward WALKER, b. 1901 at N.Z, d. 1979 at N.Z. │ ├── Benjamin Allen WALKER, b. 1904, d. 1978 at N.Z. │ └── David Westall WALKER, b. 1907 at N.Z, d. 1984 at N.Z. ├── Clara Jane SMITH, b. 1872 at Coromandel, N.Z, d. 1962 │ +Charles Mabin HERRING, b. circa 1869, m. 1890 at N.Z, d. 1940 at N.Z. │ ├── Charles Allan HERRING, b. 1890 at N.Z, d. 1949 at N.Z. │ │ +Isabella Peterkin SWANSTON, b. circa 1891, m. 1922 at N.Z, d. 1968 at N.Z. │ ├── George James HERRING, b. 1892 at N.Z, d. 1966 at N.Z. │ │ +Ruby May Ella WILLIAMSON, b. circa 1898, m. 1918 at N.Z, d. 1970 at N.Z. │ ├── Clara HERRING, b. 1894 at N.Z, d. 1973 at N.Z. │ │ +Thomas ROBERTS, m. 1921 at N.Z │ ├── Beryl Rita HERRING, b. 1896 at N.Z, d. 1969 │ │ +Raymond John PHIPPS, m. 1919 at N.Z │ └── Hellier Mabin Bertha HERRING, b. 1905 at N.Z, d. 1925 │ +Robert Charles George YOUNG, b. circa 1899, m. 1925 at N.Z, d. 1964 at N.Z. ├── Emma Hillier SMITH, b. 1874 at New Plymouth, N.Z, d. 1958 at N.Z. │ +James George Alex HOTHAM, m. 1900 at N.Z │ └── Arthur Taylor HOTHAM, b. 1901 at N.Z, d. 1987 ├── Albina Warren SMITH, b. 1876 at N.Z, d. 1920 at N.Z. │ +Robert Frederick Alexander GARCIA, b. circa 1864, m. 1898 at N.Z, d. 1918 │ └── Winifred Elise Hellier GARCIA, b. 1900 at N.Z, d. 1951 │ +Francis James BALLANTYNE, m. 1922 at N.Z ├── Ethel Stevens SMITH, b. 1878 at New Plymouth, N.Z, d. 1966 at N.Z. │ +George WALKER, b. circa 1860, m. 1897 at N.Z, d. 1937 │ ├── Clara Christina WALKER, b. 1897 at N.Z, d. 1981 │ │ +Leonard RYAN, b. circa 1895, m. 1922 at N.Z, d. 1970 │ ├── Thomas George WALKER, b. 1899 at N.Z, d. 1968 │ ├── Frederick William WALKER, b. 1904 at N.Z, d. 1956 │ └── Philip Matthew WALKER, b. 1908 at N.Z, d. 1973 ├── Sydney William SMITH, b. 1883 at Auckland, N.Z, d. 1961 at N.Z. │ +Leonore Jane (Lena) PEREZ, b. circa 1890, m. 1913 at N.Z, d. 1958 at N.Z. │ ├── Sydney SMITH, b. at N.Z │ ├── Connie SMITH, b. at N.Z │ └── Victor SMITH, b. at N.Z ├── David Francis SMITH, b. 1884 at Auckland, N.Z, d. 1917 └── Alfred Victor SMITH, b. 1886 at Auckland, N.Z, d. 1968 +Charlotte Marcella MCDONALD, b. circa 1895, m. 1915, d. 1969 at N.Z. ├── Gladys Clara SMITH, b. 1816 at N.Z, d. 2004 at N.Z. │ +Charles John BAX, m. 1938 ├── Alpha Jane SMITH, b. 1918 at N.Z │ +Robert CUTHBERTSON ├── Jason Alan SMITH, b. 1920 at N.Z, d. 1964 │ +Nora PHILLIPS, m. 1942 ├── Beryl SMITH, b. 1922 at N.Z, d. 2002 at N.Z. │ +Charles HIGGIN-MITCHELL, b. 1922, d. 1992 at N.Z. ├── Conrad SMITH, b. 1928 at N.Z, d. 1928 at N.Z. └── George Sydney SMITH, b. 1930 at N.Z +Leonora SALAWAY

The Hollow Log, Issue 37 Page 8

Hollow Burials in

the Melbourne

General Cemetery My change of address has brought me to

within 100 metres of the Melbourne General

Cemetery; we often walk through it to go to

Carlton which is on the other end. The

cemetery covers some 43 hectares and is on

Princes Hill, our suburb, so in strolling

through there are great views of the

surrounding suburbs and to the Dandenong

Ranges in the East. The added advantage is

no traffic whipping past; the cemetery is a

quiet place.

There have been about 300,000 burials in the

cemetery. The land was chosen in 1849 after

the original cemetery right in Melbourne

central became inadequate. The new cemetery is still only three

kilometres from the city. The first burial in the cemetery

occurred in May, 1853. The cemetery was created as a public

park with wide curved pathways, grassed areas, rest pavilions

and extensive plantings of trees and shrubs. Picnickers were

encouraged. Over the years with the pressure for burial

plots the open spaces have been largely filled and some

paths have been taken over for burial plots. There are

few plots available now and when you can get them they

are expensive, many thousands of dollars. So there are

still some burials. Huge walls with spaces for the ashes

are also available.

I was keen to find how many Hollows were there. So in

looking through published lists I have found 26 Hollows

and 5 Hallos in 14 separate plots. Of these there are

monumental inscriptions on about half of them.

A Scattered Family

The first Hollow burial was in 1873, twenty years after

the cemetery opened for business. This first burial was

Joseph Hollow, aged 42 the son of Mark Hollow and

Elizabeth Davies. They lived in Brighton, a bayside

suburb of Melbourne. Joseph was living in a hotel in

Flemington, a suburb close by. There is evidence that

Joseph had been a licensee of a local hotel he may have

been the licensee of the Rose Crown Hotel at his death. The

accompanying

notice was in

the local

paper, The

Argus on 2nd

May 1873. The

A.O.F. Court referred to was a friendly society the Ancient

Order of Foresters, something akin to modern day lodges.

They provided sickness and funeral benefits for labourers,

miners, carpenters, bricklayers, stonemasons, blacksmiths,

shop workers, railwaymen and others.

Joseph was a widower at the time of his death. His wife had

died in 1864. Joseph was a bit of an odd job man it appears; in

1852, the same year he was married, he successfully applied for

a Hackney cab driver’s licence. He had five children the first

four born in Brighton but in 1861 the last child was born at

Campbell’s Creek, a gold mining town in country Victoria. He

was also the publican of the Rose Hotel in Young street

A view from Melbourne Cemetery, Dandenong Ranges in the background.

Newer graves squeezed in along road, city of Melbourne skyline

in the background.

The Hollow Log, Issue 37 Page 9

Fitzroy (a neighbouring suburb) transferring his licence to

another in June 1870. At the time of his wife’s death in 1864

Joseph had three surving children aged 6, 10 and 11 to look

after. In another grave in this same section two of Joseph’s

grandchildren are buried. They are Joseph Henry Hollow (died

age 6 months in 1882) and Emily Maude Hollow (died aged 6

years in 1886), the children of Joseph’s

eldest son George Hugh Hollow.

This family’s connection does not end

with Joseph and his grandchildren, one of

his brothers Edwin Davies Hollow and

some of his family is also buried here.

Joseph and grandchildren were buried in

a Church of England section But Edwin

Davies (or Davis), his wife Mary Collins,

two of their ten children and a grandson

are all buried in a Methodist section. I

also discovered another daughter

Florence Evaline Hollow is buried in a

Baptist section. Her death was in March

1875, she was eight months old. She

shares the grave with three cousins on her

mother’s side and two of her mother’s

sisters. One cousin died in February 1875

aged 2, Florence’s aunties died in 1877

and 1879; one of the aunties was the

mother of Florence’s cousin. The two

other cousins died in 1884 and 1886.

They were from their father’s second

marriage.

Florence was Edwin and Elizabeth’s first

born child. Another of their children died

in 1878 soon after birth but is not listed

as being buried in the Melbourne General

Cemetery. The Edwin

Davies Hollow family

plot was first used in

1884 when a third

child died; William

Watson Hollow aged

six months. In 1907 a

grandson of Edwin

and Elizabeth died

and was buried, he

was two years old and

the son of Robert

James Watson

Hollow and Gertude

Annie Needham. Robert James Watson Hollow was the

brother of Percy Hollow whose story was told in Hollow Logs

8, 9 and 10.

Put together there was a lot of infant mortality in this family in

the 1870s and 1880s; it would be interesting to see whether

there was a common thread amongst the causes of the deaths.

The other remarkable thing is the mix of denominations that

hold the burial plots. Just to add to this mix of religions, the

parents of Joseph and Edwin, Mark Hollow and Elizabeth

Davies are buried in the Presbyterian

section of the Brighton Cemetery.

William Hollow

A Hollow grave that has some mystery

about it is that for William Hollow. His

gravestone is an impressive white marble

stone standing almost two metres high

surrounded by a decorative wrought iron

fence. The stone and its inscription are

intriguing. Not only is the stone large, as

you can see the inscription is detailed;

surrounding the “Thy will be done” is a

wreath of fern and flowers carved into

the marble. As far as I can tell the

inscription although it contains phrases

that are commonly used on graves it is

not in total something that is commonly

used and thus was probably composed

by Jane herself. I have reproduced the

inscription here using the lettering styles

that are on the gravestone. So what is

the story of William who died at forty

six?

William was the son of William Hollow a

miner in St Just and Jane Warren.

William junior was a miner too and

travelled to Australia on the ship

Constance arriving in Melbourne on

October 1st 1855. Presumably he went to the gold diggings as

in 1863 he is the father of a child, Jane, born at Clunes a gold

mining town near Ballarat in country Victoria. The mother’s

name is Jane Lawson. In 1865 his marriage to Anne Jane

Lawson is registered in the Victorian records. The next

reference to him in records is his death in Clifton Hill, an inner

Melbourne suburb. The grave indicates that by that time the

Hollows were quite well off. In the Melbourne Directory of

1882 and 1883 William Hollow is listed as a draper of the

Victoria Arcade in the city. In 1884 and 1885 the business is in

the name of Jane Hollow but then the entry ceases. There are

no other William and Jane Hollows that fit this occurrence so I

am sure this is William from Ninevah. The story goes cold

then, to date I have found no other references to either

William’s wife or daughter in our Victorian records. Perhaps

they returned to England. I have found that one of William’s

sisters who married a Noah James, also a miner from St Just,

Headstone on the family grave of

Edwin Davis Hollow (1843 – 1925)

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord THY

WILL BE

DONE

ERECTED

By

JANE

In affectionate remembrance of

HER BELOVED HUSBAND

WILLIAM HOLLOW

NATIVE OF NINEVAH ST JUST CORNWALL

ENGLAND

WHO DIED 23RD

MARCH 1883

AGED 46 YEARS

WEEP NOT FOR ME SHED NOT A TEAR

TEARS DO NOT IDLY FLOW

AND WAKEN IN THE BREAST A FEAR

TRUE SORROW NEER SHOULD KNOW

PLANT ON MY GRAVE PRETTY FLOWERS

A LOVING PLEDGE BE

AND WATCH THEM BLOOM IN SUMMER

HOURS

BUT DO NOT WEEP FOR ME

The inscription on William Hollow’s grave.

The Hollow Log, Issue 37 Page 10

and came out to Australia and in lived in Ballarat from 1870.

That is the only family connection William had here. Jane’s

background is unknown. She probably was not Cornish as

Lawson is not a common name there. To get any further I

would have to look for clues on the marriage certificate.

So the story stops there but the monument to William surely

hides a bigger story. The stone you will see has room on it for

a further inscription. So Jane at that time possibly intended to

stay in Melbourne, but a check of the cemetery records shows

that William lies there alone. As often happens with family

history we are left with many questions. In this one there is a

hint that there lies a story of love and devotion that was cut

short.

The Cemetery Design

The Melbourne General Cemetery was originally divided into

sections of the main denominations, Church of England,

Roman Catholic Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Jewish and

finally a section for other denominations. Over the years the

original cemetery was enlarged and open areas filled in. The

main entrance was moved from the western side opposite the

West Gate to its present position on College Crescent. The

outer edges of the cemetery when it opened were all lawn. The

picnic shelters that were dotted all around the”park cemetery”

are still there but they are now surrounded by gravestones.

Not many peoples’ idea of a great picnic spot now but in its

day it was one of Melbourne’s attractions. The boundaries of

the denominational areas are now very complicated the map I

have included is simplified but shows the sinuous path

structure. Many of the paths are lined with graves and finding

graves often requires the help of the cemetery staff.

In this article we have covered ten of the Hollow burials in the

Melbourne General cemetery, the rest I will save for another

time. ♠

By Colin Hollow

Some cemetery information and the map are from “The Melbourne

General Cemetery” by Don Charmers, Hyland House 2003.

Layout of the Melbourne General cemetery, note the path

structure and the denominational areas.

The grave of William Hollow (1835 – 1883)