Myra's story (Part 3) - Robert Hollyford Whitworth
Here's the link to Myra's story Part 1 and Part 2. Myra is my half grand-aunt. On 11 October 1919, twenty year old Myra married fifty year old divorced father of two, Robert Hollyford Whitworth, in Sydney. Myra was estranged from our family in the second half of the 1920s. I found Myra in 2017.
The last piece of this puzzle was to find out about Whitworth's family.
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Family Notices (1919, October 20). Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954), p. 4. Retrieved December 9, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14007329 |
The parents and siblings of Robert Hollyford Whitworth
Robert Hollyford Whitworth was the fifth of the six children of Robert Percy Whitworth (RPW) and Margaret Rivers Smith. RPW was born in 1831 in Devonshire England (1). Margaret was born in 1834 in Lancashire. They married in 1854 at Manchester Cathedral. RPW was a barrister's clerk.
Their first child, Alma Rivers Whitworth, was born in 1855 in Manchester. She entered the Yarra Bend Asylum in Melbourne on 13 February 1872 suffering from "epileptic mania" and died the following year. She was sixteen.
After Alma's birth in 1855, RPW migrated to New South Wales with his wife and daughter. He worked as an actor in Sydney and horse breaker in the Hunter Valley. Their second child, Mary Beatrice Whitworth, was born in September 1857 in the Hunter. By the time of Mary's death in April 1858, the family were living back in Sydney. RPW joined the staff of The Empire and began his career as a journalist and author.
The couple's third child, John Percy Whitworth, was born on 1 February 1863 in Sydney. He died eight weeks later. The family then spent time in Queensland before moving to Melbourne in 1864. Here RPW worked on various newspapers and journals including The Age and The Argus.
Francis Percy Whitworth, their fourth child, was born in St Kilda in 1866 and baptised in Adelaide in the same year. It was not long before the family was on the move again. This time to the Otago region in New Zealand. RPW worked on the Otago Daily Times between 1868 and 1874. During this time, the couple's oldest child, Alma. died in Melbourne.
Robert Hollyford Whitworth was the couple's fifth child. He was born in Dunedin in 1869. His middle name reflects the name of the Hollyford River in south west of the South Island. The youngest of their six children, Emeline Margaret Whitworth, was born in 1872 on their return to Melbourne with their surviving children, six year old Francis and three year old Robert.
RPW spent the rest of his life in the Prahan area. He continued work as a journalist and author. He was described as a "prolific miscellaneous writer" even writing a cantata (2). He collaborated with Marcus Clarke including on A history of the continent of Australia and Island of Tasmania (often referred to as A History of Australia).
RPW died on 31 March 1901. The Argus reported on the following day-
"An old journalist of the Bohemian type passed away yesterday in the person of Mr. Robert Percy Whitworth. Mr. Whitworth was editor of the gazetteers of the different colonies, and the compiler of other works of reference. He was the author of a number of short stories, many of which were republished in book form... Mr. Whitworth also tried his hand occasionally at verse, and he was for a time associated in society journalism.... He was 69 years of age." (3)
Youngest child, Emeline, married John Patrick Joyce (1870 to 1936) in 1902 in Fremantle. They settled in Coolgardie about 650 kilometres east of Perth. John was a "traveller".
In the 1903 Australian Electoral Roll, RPW's wife, Margaret, was living at 5 Gladstone Street Prahran with her son, Francis. He was working as a clerk.
Margaret joined her daughter in Coolgardie between 1903 and 1906. She died there on 6 May 1910.
We know from the reports of Robert Hollyford Whitworth's divorce that his brother, Francis, worked in the travelling theatre. It's possible that Francis died in 1922 in Sydney (3). There's no evidence that he married or had children.
Robert Hollyford Whitworh died on 9 June 1934 in Prahran. He was survived by his first wife and two children and Myra, his second wife.
Emeline died on 25 April 1945 in Perth. She was survived by her daughter Alma Rivers Joyce who was born in 1903. Alma married Max Whisson Lambert in 1933 in Perth. They divorced in 1947. There's no evidence of any children.
Robert Hollyford Whitworth
Robert Hollyford Whitworth's (RHW) was born in 1869 in Dunedin, New Zealand. His theatre work first appeared in the Melbourne papers in 1894 when he was twenty five. He worked under the name of "Robert Hollyford" or "Bob Hollyford". He appeared along the eastern seaboard in "Dan Barry's Wonder Show" and then formed his own travelling company.
On 31 July 1906, he married Laura Jane Hanlon in Dubbo. Laura was performing with RHW. She was also born in Dunedin and was six years his junior. Laura was also know as Loris or Lois Bingham, her mother's family name. Laura first appeared with "Dan Barry" shows in 1903.
Amongst the many treasures at the National Archives of Australia, I've located documents pertaining to RHW's copyright of the name "Dan Barry's Dramatic Company" in 1908.
Looking at old newspaper advertisements for RHW's company, Loris Hanlon was certainly the star of the show. There are hundreds of advertisements in newspapers throughout New South Wales and Queensland similar to the one on the right over a ten year period ending in 1918 for "Robert Hollyford's Famour Dan Barry Dramatic Company".
I was a little confused by some advertisements where the number of performers was increased with the appearance of "Mr Robert Hollyford, Mr R Whitworth, Miss Lois Bingham and Miss Laura Hanlon"! (4)
RHW and Laura's first child, Lorna Frances Whitworth, was born in 1908 in Melbourne. Their other child, Robert Barry Whitworth, was born in 1914 in Newcastle at the time RHW commenced his relationship with Myra Woodland.
Laura was busy advancing her professional career at the very time that RHW was beginning his affair with the young Myra. In 1916, she appeared in an Australian silent film, The Woman in the Case. (5) Laura plays Clare Foster. The plot is described as follows-
"Julian Rolfe has an affair with Clare Foster, as a young man but then settles down to marriage with Margaret. Clare tries to blackmail Julian but Margaret destroys the letters. Clare murders Julian's ward, Phillip, and tries to frame Julian for it. Julian is sentenced to death but Margaret manages to get Clare to confess."
Just as well Laura kept her murderous ways on the stage or the outcome could have been much different for RHW and Myra.
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| http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article117857720 |
This curious article appeared on 4 April 1919 in the Orange Leader-
"Bob Hollyford does not now tour the backblocks, but is earning his living at manual labor in Sydney (which is no crime), having disbanded his theatre company some time ago. ... He was a very successful country show man, but fortune deserted him just at the time he most needed it."
By the time of his 1919 divorce from Laura and marriage to Myra, his performance days were over. Within in the next few years, RHW and Myra had moved to Melbourne.
However, Laura needed to support her two young children and acing was her trade. Daughter Lorna was enrolled as a boarder at a Catholic school in Hunters Hill. Lorna moved into the world of performance and writing by the age of fifteen.
In 1931, Lorna's performing in Sydney in "What's in a name" as Lorna Whitworth. Another cast members is Loris Bingham, her mother. (6) How aptly named as Lorna had also been using the stage name of Lorna Bingham since 1922. (7)
Laura, Lorna and son, Robert, lived in the Darlinghurst area in the 1920s. Robert enlisted in the Second World War. By this time he had adopted Barry Robert as the order of his given names. After the war, the family lived in Thornleigh. There's no evidence of any contact between RHW and his family between 1919 and his death in 1934.
Laura, Lorna and Dad and Dave
Dad and Dave of Snake Gully was a much loved Australian radio series between 1937 and 1953. Lorna Whitworth under her stage name of Lorna Bingham wrote, produced and appeared in many episodes from 1940 until the series ended in 1953. While Lorna played one of the lesser characters, her mother, appearing as Loris Bingham, was one of the two actresses who played "Mum" in the series. This 1951 article gives a good insight into the lives of mother and daughter.
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| https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/143037796 |
We learn that mother Laura made her way from the stage into radio in the very early days and was followed by her daughter Lorna in 1940.
Lorna was also involved in preforming and writing other radio series. She was renowned for imitating children's voices. She wasn't able to adapt to working in television and her career ended in the late 1950s. (8)
Here's the link to the first episode of Dad and Dave where Laura is performing as "Mum".
Lorna also wrote children books in the 1940s. A number are available on Trove. Some of the content reflects the approach of the times in references to indigenous Australians.
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| https://trove.nla.gov.au/people/624247 |
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| Third from left is Lorna Whitworth (Bingham) Is that her mother, Laura, to her left? |
Laura Jane Whitworth died on 4 August 1953 aged seventy eight. It seems that she had a successful life after her divorce from RHW thirty four years earlier.
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| https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/1062446 |
After her mother's death Lorna moved to Kings Cross. While she reports her occupation as a writer in the 1963 Australian Electoral Roll, there's no evidence of any works she was involved in after the mid 1950s. Lorna died on 7 July 1970. She was cremated and is interred at Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park, Matraville.
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| Death Notice, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 July 1970 |
Barry Robert Whitworth
After his return from the Second World War, Barry lived with his mother and sister at Thornleigh. In 1957, aged forty three, he married Dawn Wright at Hornsby. He was working as a store supervisor during the period. Barry and Dawn had a daughter, Karen-Jean.
In the 1960's, the family moved to Queensland where Barry worked as a store manager in Nambour and Townsville. The family moved to Brisbane in the 1970s where Barry had a change of career to become a writer (1972 and 1977 Australian Electoral Rolls). I can't find any record of any published works. Barry died in June 1991 aged seventy five years.
In 1968, Karen-Jane, Barry and Dawn's daughter, was enrolled in Stafford State School in Brisbane. She's shown as a student living with her parents in the 1980 Australian Electoral Roll. Dawn died in April 2017. Her death notice shows that Karen-Jane predeceased her.
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| http://tributes.couriermail.com.au/notice/394032012 |
Concluding....
There are still so many unanswered questions. However, I feel that we can now at least answer the question of what become of Myra Woodland. It's a story of what was and what might have been for the Woodland and Whitworth families. My hope remains that Myra, Laura, Lorna and Barry found peace. RHW remains the villain to me in this saga!
(1) You can read about RPW HERE
(3) NSW Death Registration 19952/1922
(5) Laura Bingham appears in The Woman in the Case
