1 _FA1
2 PLAC born at Sandurst
James Forrest bought farm land 5 miles from parents property when hemarried Edith Hall.
Farm at Campbell's Forest.
When James died 1950, farm sold by estate to James's 3 sons Fred, Jim &Jack, Jim sold his share to
Fred & Jack.
Fred & Jack were successful farmers, the farm was sold in 1973, Fredretired to Bendigo with wife Jessie, Jack bought a few acres near GoldenSquare & had some sheep & cattle until approx 1999
when property was sold.
2002- Jack now resides in the Golden Oaks Nursing Home.
James Forrest( senior) used to cut timber ( to help with finances) , hewould cut the timber & when
some one was able to help him load the timber , he would then go intotown with horse & dray to sell timber.
He also used to go to Serpentine, collect a load of hay,bring it back tothe farm & next day take it in to
Bendigo to sell (? bought hay or was carting it for owner). Another meansof getting money was by selling sheep & rabbit skins. Eggs & butter weretaken to the grocer to help pay for the groceries.
The grocery list was dropped in on the way to Bendigo or Eaglehawk &collected on the way home.
Granddad used to look at Nanas' list & say "sultanas, what does she wantthem for," & cross them off the list, if money was short.
Nana would ask Granddad for money & he'd say "what did you do with thetwo pounds I gave you last time?"
Quite often they didn't go to town until the afternoon, as there werechores to be attended, hence it was dark by the time they got home. Mum(Betty) recalls the children meeting the buggy at the gate & by the timethey got to the house they had eaten a good portion of the fruit ( as itwas bought by the case or half case).
When Granddad used to ask if anyone wanted to go to Marong with him , thechildren jumped at the chance, sometimes they'd wished they'd stayed homeas Granddad took so long, & had to wet his whistle at the pub.
A regular visitor each year was " Scrubber Jack" & he would always say "6 weeks till Christmas", he
used to camp in the barn & do a few jobs around the farm.
There was no electricity , candles & hurricane lamps were used forlighting, electricity was not connected
until the1950's,( so even the grandchildren experienced the candles &lamps for light.)
Meat or any other produce you wanted to keep cool, was keep in a wiremesh cage & hung in a cool place, preferably in a breeze way, in summera dish of cold water was placed beneath cage, if it was extremely hot ,damp rags were draped over cage as well.
Granddaughter Pat Duggan can remember Granddad singing Irish songs, I(Val Zulian) can Remember him
calling us "Little Humbugs", & saying" Look at all that chook cack ,everywhere"
Going for a ride in the gig & Grandad driving on the edge of the damwhich scared us (town kids),
Granddad thought it was a great joke.
Grandad milking the cow , saying "Don't stand behind the cow" too late, Igot a good slap across the face with the cows' tail , have never stoodbehind a cow again.
Elsie (daughter) recalls , "The only time her father got really cross &raised his voice, was when Jim (son) upset his tin of tacks & sent themeverywhere".
1 _FA1
2 PLAC born at Sandhurst
items from The Bendigo AdvertiserMrs Edith Forrest, of Campbell's Forest, who is 90 yrs old today,celebrated with a family party at the
Campbell's Forest Hall.
It was given by her 4 daughters and 3 sons and their families - Mr Steve& Mrs May Duggan, of Myers Flat,Mr Alan & Mrs Jean Kirk, Bendigo, Mr Jim& Mrs Sylvia Forrest, Melbourne, MR Laurie Selkrig &
Mrs Elsie Selkrig, Melbourne,Mrs Betty Nolen, of Boort, & Mr Fred Forrest& Mr Jack Forrest of Campbell's Creek.
Present were 14 grandchildren & 6 great grandchildren, twins Tony & JohnRivett celebrated their 3rd
birthday on the same day as their great-grandmother.
Other guests included Mrs Forrest's sister, Mrs Dora Holland, of St.Kilda,also her neice Mrs Les
Norris of Yarraville.Violet st., State School, Centenary Celebrations, 1867 - 1967
Mrs Edith Forrest -( Maiden Name- Edith Hall) aged 92 years.
Campbell's Forest pioneer's wife is 100 on Monday.
Former Campbell's Forest & Eaglehawk resident, Mrs Edith Jane Forrest,celebrates her 100th birthday
on Monday.
Mrs Forrest born on April 21, 1875, was one of 6 daughters of William &Elizabeth Hall, of McIntyre st., Long Gully, now known as Eaglehawk Road.
Her sisters, Florence, Caroline & Dora, are all deceased.
For a time Mrs Forrest worked as a millinery saleswoman in Bendigo.
On April 29, 1908 she married in St, Killian's Church, Bendigo, JamesForrest, a pioneer farmer in the
Campbell's Creek district.
Mrs Forrest remembers that water was a precious commodity on the farm &during dry spells water had
to be carted from 3 or 4 miles away.
All washing was done in an outside copper.
When provisions were required it involved a 13 mile trip into Bendigo byhorse & buggy.
In these tough, pioneering conditions, Mrs Forrest raised 7 children, 4daughters & 3 sons.
They are May (Mrs Duggan), Jean ( Mrs Kirk) Bendigo; James Forrest &Elsie (Selkrig) Melbourne,
Fredrick & Jack Forrest Bendigo,& Betty (Mrs Nolen) Boort.
Mrs Forrest lived on Campbell's Creek farm for 60 years & kept house forher sons who carried on the
farm after her husband died in 1950.
In 1968, Mrs Forrest, then 93, retired to live in Eaglehawk.
Two years ago, September 1973, Mrs Forrest was hospitalized for the firsttime in her life & since then
has lived at Mirridong Home for the Aged Blind, McIvor Rd., Bendigo.
Apart from her failing eyesight, Mrs Forrest, is still alert & capableof taking a keen interest in all things.
She will celebrate her birthday with the staff & residents of Mirridongwith afternoon tea & a special
birthday cake which will be shared among the guests.
Mrs Forrest has 16 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren & 3 great- greatgrandchildren.
Many of her family will visit her today & tomorrow & a champagneafternoon tea will be held by members of the family at 181 St., Aidan'sRoad on Sunday, to mark their mother's 100th milestone.NEWS FROM MIRRINDONG.
PRIDE OF PLACE TO: Mrs Edith Jane Forrest, a patient in theKatherine M. Rose wing who
celebrates her 100th birthday on April 21.(1975)To meet Mrs Forrest one would never guess her age.
Bright, cheerful & with an alert brain, she lives very much in thepresent. It was her wish to share her
birthday with everyone at Mirrindong.FLOWERS, BIRTHDAY CARDS, TELEGRAMS:
They came from relatives & friends.
Of special note were congratulatory messages from HER MAJESTY, QUEENELIZABETH,
Sir John Kerr (Governor General of Australia), Mr Gough Whitlam, ( PrimeMinister of Australia)
Sir Henry Winneke, ( Governor of Victoria) & Lady Winneke, The Hon.R.J.Hamer, (Premier of Victoria)
Mr Clyde Holding, ( Leader of the Opposition) & Mr J. Bourchier MHR forBendigo.On Sunday the first official visitors were the Mayor & Mayoress ofBendigo, Cr. & Mrs R.F. Turner,
they chatted informally with Mrs Forrest.On Monday Mrs Forrest joined residents & staff at lunch time to respondwonderfully to their good wishes.
Her family provided two lovely birthday cakes which were enjoyed atafternoon tea.HAPPY INTERLUDE:
Staff joined with relatives in Mrs Forrest's room to sing "A HappyBirthday" and offer their congratulations.
Her room was full of flowers, "All my family are good gardeners, " shesaid proudly.The Shire President Cr. R. Alexander & Mrs Alexander made a presentationto the centenarian
on behalf of the Australia Day Council.Nana never had a washing machine, doing the washing in the copper & handwashing, sons Jim &
Jack preferred her washing methods also,Jack said "washing machines wreckthe clothes & they don't
last as long."
Ironing was done with a cast iron (iron),heated up on the stove, whiteswere blued & starched,most
women in that era prided themselves on having linen, clothes etcstarched, ironed & stored a certain way.
Made the butter for the family & extra to be sold or exchanged at theGrocer for groceries.
Every year she would make a skirt & knit a jumper for Bettys' two eldestdaughters(when they were young) & send them by post ( the granddaughterswere thrilled to receive them) Edith was 70 years old when the eldest wasborn.) No doubt her other grandchildren received her handy work also.
Jean ( daughter) remembers Nana singing hymns.
Pat (Duggan) remembers Nana saying "I think I will see another singletout". another saying was" see you in the morning God willing", Nana usedto tell us when we went to stay on the farm, that we were "doing ourpenance", but we enjoyed our holidays there.
She told her daughter inlaw Jessie, that she asked her husband James forsome money & he gave her
threepence, when she was on the pension & James asked her for some money,she gave him threepence.(No doubt they agreeded on a more suitable amounton both occasions).
During the war Fred was in the Army , Albury area, (didn't serveoverseas),Fred used to send money to his father (no money around at thetime) the army over paid Fred & his father had to pay it back (as Fred
had sent the money to his father).
The block next to the farm house was cleared by Fred, Jim & Jack.
During summer the men & horses used to go for a swim in the dam to cooloff in their lunch break.
Granddad used to put his bottles of beer tied with string in the dam tokeep cool (the longer the string
the deeper the bottle could go & the cooler it would be).
Fred belonged to the Bendigo Rifle Club for many years & won manycompetitions & fine trophies.
Also won many prizes with his Dahlias ( can see some examples on EdithForrests' tombstone in
Ediths' scrapbook).
Fred remembers his father James, telling his mother Edith "The shearersare coming tomorrow",
when Edith said " What am I going to fed them?"James' answer was" youhave got a bag of flour."
The baker came 2rd daily , with such a large growing family the breadused to run out sometimes,
Fred remembers his mother had the rolling pin hard at work when they gotup & when the lunch time bell
rang at school, his mother would appear with cornish pasties for thechildrens lunch ,having walked
three & a half miles to bring their lunch & then walked home.
1 _FA1
2 PLAC born at Eaglehawk
From "Shades Of The Past" 1993
a history of Campbells Forest & Yarraberb.
Forrest.
Another of the pioneer families is that of James & Edith Forrest.
James' parents lived on a property near the Three Chain Road, about 5miles west of where he later raised his family.
James married Edith Hall in 1908.
Their home at Campbells Forest was named "Hillview".
They raised a family of seven: May (Mrs Duggan), Jean (Mrs Kirk),James,Elsie (Mrs Selkrig),
Fred, Jack, Betty (Mrs Nolen). Edith remembered the squatter DonaldCampbell & decided to name
their son Fredrick Campbell Forrest.
As children they would walk three & a half miles along a sheep track toCampbells Forest School.
Some of the birds & animals they saw were Mallee Fowl (long sincedisappeared), as well as kangaroos, wallabies, goannas & echidnas & alsokeeping a close eye on the ground for snakes.
Jack recalls walking to Sebastian to sit his Merit Certificate & walkinghome again, a distance of approximately eight miles. Walking was commonin those times. Often they walked to the football, &
then back to dance in the hall at night.
Another recollection was of Mr Rae Broadbent in 1935 buying a mob ofwethers for eight shillings a head.Jack Brasier shore these sheep withthe blades for threepence a head. The wool was sold for
eight pence a pound.
Edith lived on the farm for 60 years, keeping house for her sons afterJames died in 1950.
Some of our pioneers lived to a great age but Mrs Edith Forrest livedbeyond the span of all others,
dying at 101 years of age in July 1976.
Jack worked at Ardmona Fruit factory approximately 1949, to help with thefinances, farming wasn't
profitable till the middle 1950's.
Killed in retreat to Dunkirk. In Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. Information in a telephone conversation with Eric Rock, 12 February 2002.
All of the information on this family and its complex relationships with the Pinnington family came originally from Isobel Woods who sent it by email to Ann Wright. Ann sent it by email (much later) to Graham George Hawker on 21 February 2002. The original email from Isobel, as sent to Graham, reads as follows:
MESSAGE FROM ISOBEL:It is good to hear from you. I do know Scarisbrick quite well although I
don't live there but my grandparents did and over the years I have reseached
a number of families who are related. Being a close-knit, strongly Catholic
community centred around the Hall the families intermarried. They all had a
large number of children and all used the same Christian names from one
generation to the next so it has been a nightmare unravelling them.
Relationships get very complicated.I probably could work out how the majority of Halsalls in the 1881 census
are related. My biggest gaps of knowledge are in more recent times when
they moved away from the village so I hope you will be able to help me
there. There is a big empty space in my file for the descendants of your
William/Margaret Pinnington nee Halsall. ((Graham That's us)) I do know
that one of their sons was Rt.Rev Monsignor William Pinnington b1856 Do you
know about him? Another son was James Pinnington who lived in Ormskirk
about 1913.Bishop Joseph Formby Halsall b1902 was the 3rd s/o William/Ellen Halsall nee
Formby of Kiln Farm, Ainsdale. William was the youngest of the six children
of William/Mary Halsall nee Pinnington. Mary Pinnington and the Monsignor's
father William Pinnington were siblings. Confused?Your William Pinnington b1833 Scar was the 4th s/o John/Martha Pinnington
nee Howard, a farmer of Scarisbrick. They had 11 children. His wife
Margaret was the youngest of the 12 children of James/Margaret Halsall nee
Fairclough who farmed New Hall,Scarisbrick. He was a wealthy man. At one
time New Hall was the Dower House of the Scarisbricks.4 of the children of John/Martha Pinnington married 4 of the chidren of
James/Margaret Halsall!! A 5th child, Charles Pinnington married Ellen d/o
Henry/Isabella Halsall of the Morris Dancers. ((Graham A pub in
Scarisbrick))I ((Isobel Woods)) am descended from both of these Halsall families. Ann,
eldest d/o James/Margt. was my 2x gt gr mother and my grandmother, Anne
Frances Halsall was the grandaughter of Henry/Isabella. I also have a
direct link to William Halsall, Uncle of James so as you can see I have a
big interest in the Halsalls.
There is such a lot of information but I think it will help you if I tell
you more about the Halsalls of New Hall.James/Margaret Halsall nee Fairclough
James Halsall married Margaret Fairclough 6 Apr 1807 Scarisbrick RC The
witneses were John Culshaw & Helen Fairclough.
They had a dispensation from the Bishop to marry as they were related to the
fourth degree of kindred. I haven't got back far enough to work this out.
All their children were baptised at Scar.RC I took the data from the copy
register at Lancs RO which finishes in 1824. The original registers which
began in 1773 are still at the church.Ann bapt 28 Mar 1808 Gd P: Robert Halsall Helen Fairclough
mar John Charnock of Heatons Bridge
Elizabeth bapt 27 Apr 1810 Thos Dobson Margt.Dobson
mar John Williams of Aughton
Helen bapt 11 Jun 1812 James Halsall Alice Fairclough
mar Michael Charnock brother of John Charnock
Henry bapt 27 mar 1814 Robert Halsall Mary Fairclough
mar Elizabeth Whalley
Mary bapt 3 Dec 1815 William Kershaw Helen Kershaw
mar David Pinnington
William bapt 24 Jun 1817 William Fairclough Mary Bullen
mar Mary Pinnington
Robert born 2 Jun bapt 4 Jun 1820 Henry Heyes proxy for William Cammack
Elizabeth Heyes
mar ?
James born 26 Apr bapt 27 Apr 1822 William Cammack Jane Halsall
mar Mary Sharrock
Richard born 4 Aug bapt 8 Aug 1824 Sylvester Moorcroft Elizabeth
Heyes
died unmar.11 Jul 1889
Joseph born 1826
died unmar. 23 Dec 1893
Margaret born 1831
mar William Pinnington
John/Martha Pinnington (Pennington )
I have really done much research on the early Pinningtons. They were not a
long established Scarisbrick family. John Pinnington was the first to
settle in Scarisbrick around 1818. He died before 1851 so I am not sure
where he was born. I did hear it may have been Liverpool.
He married Martha Howard 28 Nov 1818 Scarisbrick R.C. Witnesses Thomas
Pinnington and Elizabeth Bullen. According to the census Martha was born in
Woodborough, Nottinghamshire. She had a sister Mary Howard also born
Woodborough who married William Culshaw of Scarisbrick. Martha Pinnington
died 10 Jul 1874 and was buried at Scarisbrick with her two unmrried
daughters and son David.Ann b.1819 married Robert s/o James/Margaret Halsall
David bapt 26 Mar 1820 St Mary's R.C Aughton Gd P:William Stock, Elizabeth
Stock
mar Mary d/o James/Margaret Halsall
Mary b.1822
mar William s/o James/Margaret Halsall
John bapt 12 Aug 1823 Ormskirk R.C. GdP: Thomas Pinnington Mary
Higgins(on?)
mar Ann d/o Robert/Ann Kershaw nee Halsall
Martha b. 1826
died unmar 1864
Elizabeth b. 1827
died unmar 1849
Thomas b. 1830
mar Jane d/o Robert/Ann Kershaw nee Halsall
William b.1833
mar Margaret d/o James/Margaret Halsall
James b.1836
no more known
Benjamin b.1838
mar Mary N.K.
Charles b.1839
mar Ellen eldest dau of Henry/Isabella Halsall nee Kershaw of the
Morris Dancers, Scar.
died 22 Nov 1877 aged 38
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