The Family of George Hunter and Ann Fraser

The Hunter Tartan

The Fraser Tartan

George Hunter was born the first son of James Halliday Hunter and Elizabeth Wotherspoon (Mum Hunter) in Blantyre (Lanarkshire) Scotland in 1916. George claimed that his family lived in the area for some two hundred years. He went to school at High Blantyre. His father worked in the coal mines and James (Dad Hunter) was adamant that young George would not follow him into the pits.

Scotland's economy had been in general economic decline since the 1890s however the Great Depression of the 1930s was devastating. George who left school at only 14 in 1930, was apprenticed for six years as a nurseryman. When the nursery closed down he worked at a soft drink factory in nearby Cambuslang, until war broke out in 1939.

Ann Fraser was born in Maryhill, Glasgow Scotland in 1917, the youngest of 12 children. Her mother Elizabeth Fraser (nee MacKay) was born in 1874 in Inverness and had first married James Dewar Munro whom she had 8 children to. Then on his death and at the age of 35 Lizzie married Angus Fraser also of Inverness born 1868 who was at that time 40 years old. The highlands were even more economically depressed than the rest of the country and despite Lizzie apparantly owning her own home they eventually they were forced to move to Glasgow.

Lizzie bore Angus 4 more children including Ann the youngest, and her much beloved brother Andrew who was the next eldest. Ann often recounted that she was born in a two-room tenement which she shared with her 11 brothers and sisters and her parents. At this stage we don't have information about Ann's childhood, although she seemed to have many happy memories despite the hardships.

Her father Angus died in 1936 and in 1938 she married George Hunter. They had very little money of the time and in fact Ann's brother Andrew Fraser actually paid for the wedding ring.

They first lived with Mum Hunter's sister Jen Fairlie at Low Blantyre, but it very soon was apparent that the two women did not see eye to eye. So they moved back up to George's parents home in Hunthill Rd.

Their first child Elizabeth (Betty) was born in 1939 and at that time George was already a member of the territorial forces. When war was declared he was immediately mobilised in the 52nd Lowland Division and he served for 6 1/2 years throughout World War II. He served as a staff (senior officer) driver and saw action in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany.

He recounts his experience when he drove all night to be evacuated from France in June, 1940 from the port of Cherbourg only hours before Rommel took the harbour. (audio file soon available). In 1944 he landed in France only days after Dunkirk and recounts how at that time he had 17 hours sleep in 10 days. He was away for 15 months before he was finally allowed home leave. He was actually discharged from the army while in Germany in December 1945.

During this period Betty, Jean Jim and George were all born,

Betty writes - We then moved to Calderwood which was a large estate in Blantyre. We had a couple of rooms above the stables, no electricity and out the back of beyond but Mum had her own door for the first time. I don't know exactly how long we lived there but our next move was into Glasgow to stay with Granny Fraser and there George (junior) was born at 439 Garscube Rd. This was not my happiest time I didn't like Garscube Rd.

We then moved to a large house back in Blantyre. Squatters had taken over 'Millheugh' a large mansion and we managed to rent a huge room on the 2nd floor. We looked right on to the Calder River and although the neighbours weren't the best we were back in Blantyre and could call in to Mum Hunter's every day on our way to and from school.

When Dad was demobbed (demobilised in 1946), we were at Millheugh and he got a job as a chauffeur/gardener at High Craigton, . So we moved into a tied house (the house comes and goes with the job) and stayed there for three years. Ann (junior) was born here.

He was paid 75 pound gratuity for his 6.5 years of army service. The money was used to by a radio set. Dad was paid barely enough to keep his family ( 3 pounds per week) and when his boss questioned his integrity over the loss of petrol and in frustration in being unable to convince his boss of his worth he quit and so we had to move again.

He then worked at Ledcameroch House and we lived on Chesters Rd, Bearsden during this time George and Ann became friends of Jimmy and Rena Davidson. This friendship was to become one of the most important in their lives. The house at Chesters was another tied house where they lived for two years before it the job got too much for Dad and once again we had to move.

This time Dad went to his member of parliament to ask him to help us get a council house and at first the MP was not interested. So Dad said that we would get a tent and camp on the MP's front lawn and a miracle happened, a house was found. Whitehurst, Bearsden, where Drew was born in 1953 and I really think these were the best years for Mum and Dad in Scotland.

At this time Dad started working as a mechanic and was earning 12 pounds per week.

The 1956 Suez crisis resurrected many fears for another war. Ann was adamant that she was not going to stay in Britain and endure with her family the wartime hardships all over again and so she convinced George (he said he was posted overseas) that they should follow the Davidson's and emigrate to Australia. George left Scotland in 1957 on his own to travel to Australia to establish a home for the family.

He travelled on the New Australia and on his arrival in Sydney was met by by the Davidson's and taken to their home to live. Jimmy Davidson had also arranged for George to get a job on the estate of Sir Garfield Barwick in Beecroft.

Sir Garfield bought a house in Eaton Road, West Pennant Hills for George (he says that it was bought in his name with an agreement to have first option to purchase of the job ended). George used to walk or ride a horse over to Sir Garfield's estate on the other side of Pennant Hills Road.

Ann and the children embarked on the maiden voyage of the SS Fairsky on 26th June 1958 from Southampton to Australia with 1461 passengers to join George in Australia. On the voyage Betty first met her later to be husband Alec Yeoman. The family arrived in Sydney and were met by George, Jimmy and Sandra (his daughter) Davidson. George said that that day was the highlight of all his life. We came to our home, which was soon renamed Blantyre and so our address was 'Blantyre', Eaton Road, West Pennant Hills.

In those days Pennant Hills Road was only a 2 lane sealed road and Eaton Road was unsealed. The house in Eaton Road was to remain the family home for almost the next 40 years. George left Sir Garfield's employment in 1960 but continued to rent the house and in 1963 Sir Garfield provided an interest-free loan so that they could purchase the home for themselves (at the same price he originally paid for it).

West Pennant Hills in those days was very rural and Eaton Road was mainly an orchard or market garden area, with barely a dozen houses between Pennant Hills Road and Oakes Road. Public transport was virtually nonexistent with the nearest railway station being at Beecroft some two miles away while public buses were irregular. In the very early days George used to ride a horse across Pennant Hills Road to get to work at Sir Garfield's estate. His first car, a black Vauxhall was his pride and joy although it was lucky that he had a large family because it took a number of people to push the car on its many breakdowns.

The family prospered well in Australia, George said "I don't regret ever coming to Australia". Betty married Alec Yeoman at the West Pennant Hills Presbyterian Church in 1960 and the reception was held in the garden of the Davidson's. Jean met and married Graham Jones in 1964 are married at the Carlingford Presbyterian Church and the reception was held at the Beecroft School of Art's. George married Kathleen Purvis (Alec Yeoman's cousin) in 1967 while the Jim married Stephanie Hannan and Ann married and Donald Horton in 1968. Drew married Narelle Hutchinson at Castle Hill in 1976.

George (senior) died in 1986 from complications as a result of emphysema caused by his lifelong smoking habit. Ann continued to live at Eaton Road until her late Seventies when she moved first to a retirement village at Normanhurst and later to a nursing home at Turramurra where she still resides.

Betty and Alec live at Hornsby Heights, Jean and Graham live at Toronto near Gosford, Jim and Stephanie live at North Arm Cove on Port Stephens, George and Kath live at Mount Victoria, Ann and Donald live at Kenthurst, while a Drew and Narelle live at Megan near Dorrigo on the north coast NSW.

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George and Ann before their marriage in 1938