George LATHAM
Born 16 September 1914 in Waddy Forest, Western Australia [30: item 6506118]
Son of "Frank" Francis Arthur LATHAM and Mary OLIVER [265]
He was born near Waddy Well in the Coorow district, the well having previously been sunk by his father [265]
Resided with his parents on Banna Station south of Payne's Find 1919-1922 and then in Eden Hill 1922-1924 [265]
Following the separation of his parents shifted with his mother and siblings to Coorow in 1924 [265]
Their mother fell ill with rheumatic fever and was taken to Perth by train [265]
During their mother's absence his siblings were taken to a convent however he continually hid from police and wasn't found [265]
Their mother returned in 1925 and himself, his brother Arthur and sister Mollie attended the Coorow State School [265]
He later skipped school and instead went out on his horse to catch kangaroos[265]
For a number of years worked looking after "Geoff" Geoffrey G. JOHN's farm in Coorow when he was away [265]
Worked harvesting for a mate of JOHNS and then got a job seeding with "Bill" William FLANAGAN in Gunyidi [265]
Left Gunyidi to work with his elder brother "Fred" Frederick LATHAM in Waddy Forest [265]
For five months he worked fencing on Ullawarra Station in Carnarvon, and then returned to the Coorow district [265]
Farmhand for Malcolm L. PATTON on Longforest Farm in Waddy Forest in 1931[265]
While working on Longforest Farm he broke in a few a horses and looked after the farm's cattle and sheep [265]
Fell ill in the winter of 1933 and Carnamah doctor Cecil P. ROSENTHAL diagnosed him with appendicitis [265]
Went to the North Midlands District Hospital in Three Springs where he had his appendix removed [265]
Resided in Coorow in 1933 and 1934 [300: pages 41, 42]
In December 1933 the Carnamah District Road Board paid him £35 for clearing Vanzetti Road in Marchagee [300: page 79]
Paid £4/10/- in Vermin Bonuses by the Carnamah District Road Board in 1933-34 for killing two wild dogs and two foxes [300]
Attended the Annual Meeting of the Coorow-Waddy Forest Football Club on Saturday 14 April 1934 [5: 20-Apr-1934]
At the age of 20 in 1934 he purchased car and went kangarooing in the Gascoyne and also spent time in Perth learning boxing [265]
Purchased a few ponies and was given a six month old foal which he drove from Perth up to Coorow, with the foal following [265]
The foal, named Derby, grew up to be a great horse and won the high jump at a Carnamah Show with a height of 5 feet 3 inches [265]
In 1935 he worked water boring and well sinking in Waddy Forest with his brother Fred, and at times also worked as a farmhand [265]
At 5 feet 3 inches he won the High Jump at the Coorow-Waddy Sports & Dance in Coorow on 9 November 1935 [5: 15-Nov-1935]
Member of the Coorow Cricket Club in 1935-36 [5: 13-Dec-1935]
Came 2nd in both the Hurdle Race and the Obstacle Race at the Athletic Sports Meeting in Coorow on 1 January 1936 [5: 3-Jan-1936]
He and his brother Fred ran into trouble when returning to Waddy Forest from Marchagee on Wednesday 29 January 1936 [5]
Rolled scrub had caught alight and was burning out of control when a change in the wind turned the fire towards their truck [5]
The heat from the fire caused their truck to function improperly and they had no choice but to abandon it and run for their lives [5]
They were both severely burnt around the arms and face, and the newly purchased truck was burnt to cinders [5: 31-Jan-1936]
Peter W. THOMSON of Marchagee found them in a shocked state and conveyed them to their home in Waddy Forest [5]
In 1936 he paid rates for the 4,820 acre Victoria Location 9516 in Coorow, until it was forfeited on 27 November 1936 [3]
Contract bag sewer in Coorow over the harvest of 1936 and then again worked for Malcolm L. PATTON in the winter and spring [265]
Member of the Coorow Football Club in 1936 and 1937 [5: 29-May-1936, 28-May-1937]
Worked making concrete tanks with Coorow builder Augustus F. L. CROFT and then went up north mustering stock [265]
In 1939 took up shearing with his brother Fred and they shore sheep in Coorow, Dalwallinu and Calingiri [265]
Won the Sheffield Handicap and the Hurdle Race at the Sports Meeting in Coorow on Boxing Day 26 December 1936 [5: 8-Jan-1937]
Shearer in Coorow until enlisting in the Australian Army in Coorow on 28 January 1942 [30: item 6506118]
Gave his brother Arthur LATHAM of Coorow as his next of kin [30]
He was recorded as being 5 foot 10 inches tall with dark hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion [30]
Private W20476 in the Australian Army's 13th Training Battalion and then 3rd Field Regiment during the Second World War [30]
Without permission he permanently left the 13th Australian Infantry Training Battalion in Northam late at night on 2 May 1942 [30]
A Court of Inquiry on 8 June 1942 declared him an "Illegal Absentee" and a Desertion Warrant was issued on 25 July 1942 [30]
In civilian clothes he surrendered himself the Australian Army's General Details Deport in Claremont on 3 April 1944 [30]
A District Court Martial in Claremont on 17 April 1944 found not guilty of desertion but guilty of absent without leave [30]
He was sentenced to 18 months detention, and was discharged from the Australian Army in Perth on 25 April 1944 [30]
At the time of his discharge he was working on Erribidie Station near Meekatharra and still had to serve his detention [30]
From 1946 he worked mustering stock outside of Carnarvon, and sometimes drove the stock to Mullewa [265]
Musterer, Shearer and Water Diviner on Callytharra Station in the Gascoyne 1950-1988 [265]
Married (1) Grace M. EVANS in 1952 [66]
Leyland Brothers filmed him during their "Wheels Across the Wilderness" film through the middle of Australia in 1966 [265]
Partner of (2) Lorna Robina BLACKWELL nee LIZARS from 1957 [265]
In 1958 purchased a house for £60 from the closed down Big Bell Mine and had it erected on Callytharra Station [265]
With his wife Lorna, left Callytharra Station in 1988 and shifted to 100 acres on Bookera East Road in Dongara [265]
Father of Margaret [265]
Died 9 November 2004 [29]
| Reference: Carnamah Historical Society & Museum and North Midlands Project, 'George Latham' in Biographical Dictionary of Coorow, Carnamah and Three Springs, retrieved 19 December 2024 from www.carnamah.com.au/bio/george-latham [reference list] |
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