BAKER, Rosina (ALMOND)

3 November 1901 – 20 April 1988

Origin East Harptree, England
First settled in Perth, WA
Original Occupation Domestic
Occupation in Australia Housewife/Mother

BENALLA

Departure Port Southampton
Arrival Year 1927

Fremantle

245 panel

Read their story

Married an Irish man - Des Almond - settled in Goomalling. Raised 3 children - Denis, Gerald & Marie. Moved to Rockingham in 1952. Rosina & Des were outstanding citizens & community members of the early days of both Goomalling & Rockingham.

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Visitor Submitted Comments

  • Desmond&Gerald

    Thu 29 Mar 2012

  • Denis and Gerald are both deceased and sister Marie servives in retirement in the south of Perth

    Thu 29 Mar 2012

  • Desmond Almond arrived also on the Benalla at Melbourne from Ireland in 1923. He was sponsered by an Aunt.

    He came to Western Australia, met and married Rosina Baker in 1933. They were married at St Mary's Cathedral in Perth, with Rose turning a Catholic.

    They settled in Goomalling where Des was Foreman of the Main Roads Department there. Their first two children - Denis (1935) and Gerald (1937 were born in Northam. Their daughter - Marie was born in Goomalling in 1940.

    In 1952 The family moved to Rockingham where Des was appointed Engineer on the Rockingham Roads Board. He retired in 1962.

    Both Rose and Des were strong community members in both Goomalling and Convent.
    Des was instrumental along with two other men - Lindsay Burkett and Norm Snow, in starting the Rockingham Football Club.

    They were both strong supportive members of the Catholic Church in both localities.

    Des died in 1972. Rose died in 1988. They are buried in Lot 177D , Catholic Lawn Cemetary, Fremantle.

    Denis and Gerald both attended Aquinas College, where Denis excelled at sport. Gerald was the academic.

    In 1960 Denis married Patricia Howell at Rockingham. They had four daughters, Denise, Kathy, Marjorie and Fiona.
    In 1971, that marriage broke up, pat and the girls moved to Victoria, where Pat remarried.

    Denis also remarried. He married Karin Watteau. Denis died in 2009.

    Gerald never married but after a short stay at New Norcia where contemplated becoming a Monk, he moved to Melbourne where he studied at Monash Univesity, achieving his Masters. He died in 1993 of cancer, whilst studying for his Doctorate.

    Marie pursued a career in Teaching and retired after forty five years with the Education Department of W.A..

    She is now living in South Yunderup with her partner Barrie Dearle. She is very involved with a number of Voluntary organizations.

    Sun 6 May 2012

  • Rosina was the daughter of Mr and Mrs Baker of East Harptree. There were nine children in the family - six boys and three girls. Rose was the only one to leave England and pursue a new life in Australia at the age of twenty-six. Rose had only one trip back to England - in 1978

    Sun 8 Jul 2012

  • Rose was born in the village of East Harptree near Bristol. She attended the local school there. She worked as an 'upstairs maid' for a local family.

    In 1926, she decided she wanted to move to Australia - a place only colonized one hundred years earlier.
    Rose actually followed her boyfriend of the time, to Australia. He had left a couple of months earlier. However when she arrived at Fremantle, after a six week voyage on a coal steamer (Benalla), the boy friend had made other arrangments for his life. It is very sad to think of the loneliness that Rose would have suffered. However, she soon made friends with a family. They remained friends throughout their lives.
    Rose never complained about anything.
    She met her husband - Des - an Irishman who had crossed the Nullabor from Melbourne - at a dance at the Perth Town Hall. They married in 1933 and moved to Goomalling where they raised their family.
    During the second World War Des was seconded to help build the East-West Highway across Australia- being responsible for the Mundrabilla / Cocklebiddy section.

    Rose was left on her own with the three children, in Goomalling.

    She took in boarders to help make ends meet. Some very good friends were made with those young people, including Joy Staples (Rogers) who became Marie's Godmother, again remaining life-long friends with the family. The young boarders worked in the Post Office, were teachers and bank employees.
    As kids, the children enjoyed playing backyard cricket with these young people before the evening meal.
    With Goomalling being in the wheat-belt region, temperatures were hot. there were no refrigerators or cooling systems.
    Food was kept cool in a Coolgardie Safe. (a 'cupboard' made from hessian sides placed on a stand with a metal tray on top that allowed water to drip down the sides. With an air flow that could penetrate the hessian, it made for a cooler environment inside to keep milk, butter and meat safe.)
    Rose enjoyed the evenings with her family on the front lawn, sitting on rugs to enjoy the cool evenings after the heat of the day. I can remember lying on the rug on many occasions just gazing at the stars, or playing 'Hidey' when it got dark.
    Life was hard for Rose, but simple. No washing machines, electrical gagets or luxuries. Even the iron was heated on the wood stove up til the fifties. She made the most of everything available - and never complainded about her lot in life. What a wonderful example for us all to follow as her family!

    Sun 7 Apr 2013

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