History: Sheep, drought, gunfire and a murder Cecilia Cissy Thompson, nee Cook, with her three children to Frank Snellgrove Thompson. Pictures: Contributed, Greenmount Homestead
People and Places Vicky Bowden, Greenmount Homestead 18th Mar 2021 5:00 AM
Albert Cook’s mother Elizabeth started her family in 1861 with Florence; a child was born roughly every two years thereafter, until the birth of her eighth and last child Ethel in 1878.
Of the eight children born to Elizabeth, six survived into adulthood.
Cecilia, or “Cissy” as she was known by her family, was child number five, born in 1871 with the given name of Cecilia Adelaide Maude Cook.
The schoolhouse at Balnagowan. Picture: Contributed
People and Places Vicky Bowden, Greenmount Homestead
The year 2020 introduced some significant changes to the daily lives of many Australians.
Not least of these was a prolonged period of home schooling for our children with parents having to take on the role of teachers while trying to manage all the other things that parents do.
Home schooling is not a new concept in Australia, particularly in the more remote regions of our country, but for most people this would have been completely new territory.
When the Cooks of Greenmount came to Queensland with their small but growing family in the late 19th century however, the role of teacher was often assumed by mothers at home, left to look after the children while the men worked away.
You hear the name Walkerston and instantly think of sport, and with good reason.
But thereâs plenty more to the town, the people who call it home and community stalwarts that give it its character.
Walkerston is also a town of great heart that rallies for each other when needed, most recently when Wests was given an almighty kick to the ground.
It is that community heart the
Daily Mercury wants to uncover, celebrate and find more of when My Town heads to Walkerston on Tuesday.
My Town is an initiative with the Mackay Regional Council that puts a different regional area in the spotlight each fortnight.