HMAS Castlemaine a former minesweeper

When I took a trip to Melbourne I was after a tour of the Yarra River and at the time due to the tide I was only able to go downstream, where I ended up in Williamstown. Earlier before leaving I had found information on the area and there was a navy vessel by the name of the Castlemaine that was run by volunteers. The ferry trip out to Williamstown was actually really nice and it took you out of the city itself.

After getting off the ferry, I went onto the ship, which turned out to be an old second world war anti mine ship. At the time I was only looking at how the navy had been along with the missions they had been on. After taking a walk through the upper decks since the ship had places like the radio room and bridge.

Before boarding I did not know all the people on the museum were volunteers until the man taking my money had said they were. The interesting part came when I went down to the engine room. One of the volunteers was an old veteran of the steam driven ships.. The man’s entire career had been in the engine room of the ships. He explained how everything worked from the pressure in the boiler and watching how the steam was supposed to go and what could actually go wrong down in the engine room. He actually started up the shaft for one of the propellers, although he explained that there were no propellers as the ship was not going to be sailing any time soon. The boat was still in working order. We were shown how easy it was for the people in the engine room to communicate with the bridge.

I did find it hard to walk around the ship especially going up and down the stairs as they were narrow and steep. The rest of the ship was interesting although I did like the commentary from the gentleman in the engine room and he took his time to talk to the people who came down to have a look. Sitting in the gunner’s chairs for the antiaircraft guns made me feel for the men who worked on the ships as it would have been uncomfortable and hot work. The stern of the ship had a display on how they used the minesweeper, while in the minefield clearing them out. The ship may have changed since I was touring it last time but the tour of the ship is interesting.

Imperial war museum

The Imperial War Museum during one Saturday in June 2010, was conducting an information session for those who have had family members who served during the two world wars. On that weekend I was actually going to be in London, so I planned my day to eventually visit the museum during my tour of the city. I was actually going to take the tour bus across the bridge while I was at Westminster, but the bus was held up by protesters protesting about the Gaza strip.  The bus tour was a hop on hop off tour so there was no problem getting back on later in the day. I decided the quickest was to the museum was to follow the map and walk. I did want to visit Greenwich at the time and find the museum later but I had found that the trip on the boat took around and hour and half each way so I decided that would not be a good idea.

When finding the museum and entering, my camera decided that was the time to inform me that it needed batteries. I had searched my bag and had found my spare batteries had been left in my hotel room. I did visit the counter, where they had the stall for those interested in their military ancestors who served. I asked them about how some records couldn’t be found due to the fire in the second war and I had some picture that I wanted to be identified as I have no idea what rank or even brigade the person I was after was in. I was directed to a room where they had those sorts of records and was also handed information especially their website. I told them at the time I couldn’t as I was time poor and did not have the time at that moment but would come back at a later date to visit their reading room.

Before exploring some of the displays, there was a need to find some food and purchase some fresh batteries from the gift shop. After eating a pie at the museum café, I wanted to visit several of the displays which I had only seen in books. One of these was the V2 rocket used by the Germans during the Second World War. At first glance the museum did seem to be cluttered and cramped, this could be because the displays were actually vehicles like the tanks and the aircraft suspended from the ceiling. The other explanation can be that I was tired and running around the city when I had only been in the country for several days. I did know that I wanted to return some other time when I was able to explore the exhibitions at my pleasure.

The next place on my list to visit was actually Temple church which was in the Da Vinci code. This time I took the underground instead of walking around as my feet would get sore and it was actually a bit far to even get that far on foot.

Finding Wilhelmina

When I first started researching my family tree, there were several mistakes I never knew about until sometime later. One of these mistakes was one of my family members never had children and never married. 

I only found there was a mistake, when I was looking at a census and I found something strange. Wilhelmina was staying in the house hold of John and Anne, her parents, but there was an addition. A young man called William who was a grandson. This William I never knew anything about and I knew I had another William Milverton who moved to New Zealand, also son of John and Anne. I did find William’s birth on the Online Parish website for Dorset.

Several years later after ordering William’s death certificate, I found that I had actually been tracing the wrong person for several years. William’s certificate said his mother was Wilhelmina, who I thought had only one child. This was when I ordered the marriage and found the person I had been tracing was actually the wrong person. The William, I was supposed to be tracing was Wilhelmina’s son. His father is unknown being deleted from his Baptism record in Dorset, but on his marriage certificate his father’s name is present. More research needs to be conducted to confirm thin anomaly to be correct.

Wilhelmina never married and had only one child, which was William. She was on several censuses recorded as a shopkeeper in Beaminster. She did actually vanish during the 1971 census and I had thought she was in a mental institution as she had died of dementia. She was later found under a different spelling as Melverton.

Not all family history research is correct when family hands you the information over, which is why it is up to you, the researcher to confirm it is correct. I have found birth dates to be written down that are completely incorrect by several years and even people’s names mixed up.

Antics of a councilor in Palmerston North, New Zealand

William Milverton was a councilor for the Palmerston North Council in New Zealand from 1927 to 1929, when he resigned. He appeared in the Palmerston North council minute books being sworn into council with several others.

During his career as a councilor there were two milestones, which stood out. One was an entry on the 15^th October in 1928. The title of the entry was Sewerage contract no. 98, Allegations Against Councilor.

The construction company involved with a sewerage contract had written to the council, informing them that they had found on several occasions their work had been tampered with. One of the councilors had been seen on top of pipes that had been laid during the day. Upon inspection, two joints were damaged and a concrete block beneath the pipes had been scraped out. When the Mayor asked which person had been responsible, William Milverton states he supposed he was the culprit. Two other councilors moved a resolution for a letter to be written to the council’s solicitor with instructions stating the council disassociates itself with the actions of the councilor complained about. There was another motion suggested that the councilor be censured. This was removed due to the fact the councilor had admitted his actions.

On the 8^th of May 1929, William Milverton resigned from his position as councilor and his resignation letter was accepted. The letter is as follows.

Sir.

I hereby resign my position as a councilor on the Palmerston. N borough council: I absolutely decline to sit as a councilor with the council as present constituted. Signed William Milverton.

In 1925, William donated 5 acres of land to the value of ₤5,000 with conditions attached. The land is to be named Milverton Park. The park was to be for recreational and amusement purposes for children and young people. The park was to be laid out in an artistic manner, fenced and properly drained. The title deed for the park was handed over to the council on the 22^nd March 1926

 

William Milverton passed away on the 1^st of July, 1950 in Palmerston North. He was buried at Terrace End cemetery. The council noted his passing in the council minute book. They placed on record their appreciation for past services rendered and expressed their sympathy to the widow.

When researching your family tree, you can find literally anything on your ancestors. The type of research depends on where the records on the person are found. When researching my family in Palmerston North, I was able to uncover information through the Ian Matheson city archives.

Ian matheson city archives 

On the trail of The Da Vinci Code

Temple church

When going on my journey to England and France, there were several places I wanted to visit.  The locations appeared in Dan Brown’s book The Da Vinci Code. I did not visit them all, although the ones I found satisfied me. I had seen the movie and read the book twice, so I could remember what places to visit.

The first location that I visited was Westminster Abbey, near big Ben. I never went inside as time was limited, but stood outside and went onto my next location. The second location was Temple Church, which was not easy to find as it was located in Temple square. I found I was actually wandering around in circles until I found the church. At the time it was closed to the public. The area was closed it and narrow, some of the streets were paved.

The third location was located in Paris. The Louvre and Mona Lisa were the two that I wanted to view in person. The Louvre and the pyramids caught my attention and this happens to be one of the entrances. I had a pass so was able to use another entrance, which meant quicker access. The walk to The Mona Lisa was longer than I thought it was as the area was huge. There was signs pointing to where the painting is located and she was smaller than expected. In front of the painting was a crowd at least four deep viewing the painting. The other painting mentioned in the book, I could not find unless I was expecting something different or spectacular. The building itself is worth the visit, especially the architecture inside. 

Both Paris and London are locations which should be visited more than once due to the size of both cities. There are numerous historic locations and museums for the traveller to visit.

Mona Lisa