The Hadwen Family of Lancashire

Walter Branch Simpel / Walter Francis Alfred Simple / Francis (Frank) Simpel

Walter Branch Simpel was born on the 11th May 1881. His birth was recorded by his father and gave his son’s birthplace as Maryvale. His name is recorded on his Birth Certificate and on Father’s Death Certificate as Walter Branch Simple, the name Branch coming from his Father’s Mother’s maiden name.

For some reason between 1890 and 1908 he removed Branch from his name and replaced it with Francis Alfred. Also the spelling of the name Simpel changed to Simple but this was probably due to the literate standard at the time. His father had done the same thing.

Documentation shows that he was born at Miriam Vale however we do know that he grew up on the family property on the banks of the Dee River near Piebald Mountain between Dululu and Mt Morgan in Central Queensland. Records show that after his father died in 1890, his mother married Thomas Flynn in 1893 and following discussion with Lance Dixon, he recalls playing with these children after that date so we know that when his mother married the second time the family continued to live in the same home on the Dee River for a period of time. It is not known where the family went when they left the property at Piebald Mountain but it would have been Mt Morgan or Rockhampton.

It is known that from 1908 and probably for some time before, he used the name Walter Francis Alfred Simple on all official documentation such as Marriage and his children’s birth certificates and also in attendances at court.

On the 5th May 1908, Walter Francis Alfred Simple married Barbara Alice woods in Mt Morgan. At that time he was working as a miner at Mt Morgan Mine.

Their first child, Myrtle Caroline Simple was born on the 18th December 1908 in Ilfracombe. They had gone to Ilfracombe where Alice Barbara’s parents lived for Myrtle’s birth. Records show that Walter Francis Alfred Simple was living and working in Ilfracombe in July 1909, six months after Myrtle was born. This fact was documented in the included newspaper clip which shows that he was called as a witness in an alleged assault case which happened while he was working as a Lengthsman, a person who looked after a length or section of railway line or road, in this case probably railway line because they used a handcar or pumper to get the injured man to hospital in Longreach. Sometime after this the family returned to the mining town of Mt Chalmers.

Alice Barbara Simple nee wood was pregnant with their second child in 1910 when her husband walked out on her and his daughter supposedly for another woman. She said he walked out the door, said nothing and never returned. Without support, she left Mt Chalmers and went to her parents place at Wattle siding near Gindie in Central Queensland to have her second baby. This child was a boy and he was born on the 14th January, 1911 and was delivered by her mother. She called her new born son Walter Thomas Simple after his father and his Grandfather

In October 1911, his wife took legal proceedings against her husband, Walter Francis Alfred Simple of Mount Morgan charging him with having deserted her and his two children, Myrtle Caroline Simple and Walter Thomas Simple. He agreed in court to pay the maintenance but failed to do so and the children were placed into an orphanage.

In 1912 Walter Francis Alfred Simple asked his wife for a divorce telling her he wanted to marry another woman. She refused to grant him a divorce. It is not known who this woman was. His wife stated in a later court hearing that the last time she saw her husband was in January 1913. She believed he had changed his name after that date.

Frank Simple / Simpel

In the 1913 Australia Electoral Roll, Frank Simple is recorded living with his brother Thomas Simple at Mt Chalmers. He gave his occupation as a Labourer. What he had done was to do away with the name Walter which he had been known as, and he was now using his second name of Francis which he shortened to Frank. Soon after he disappeared, probably to avoid paying maintenance and he next turned up in Brisbane.

In 1917 Frank Simpel married Norah Eileen McNally in Brisbane. Her mother ran a boarding house in Brisbane and it is likely Frank met his new wife there. They had one child, Francis Charles Simple, who died on the 24th January 1921 aged one year. The child died at home when they were living at 433 Upper Edward Street in North Brisbane from wasting and heart failure following 13 days of Gastro enteritis. He was buried from the Roman Catholic Church the following day on the 25th January and interred at the Toowong Cemetery. The informant for his death was his father, Frank Simple who gave the same address for himself.

On his son’s Death Certificate he gave his occupation as a Seaman which possibly explains why I have not been able to track him from this point. It is known that from the 1921 Australia Electoral Roll, Eileen Simpel was still living at 433 Upper Edward Street in North Brisbane but Frank was not registered there with her. Was this because he was at sea or had he once again walked out on his wife never to return? From this point Frank Simple has vanished and I am unable to find any trace of him in government records or newspapers. There is no death recorded for him in Queensland or NSW unless he has totally changed his last name. Most likely he has gone to sea and eventually set himself up in a new life in a new place.

There are still many questions to be answered about this man.

· Who was the woman he wanted to marry after he left his first wife? Did they have children?

· Did he stay with Norah Eileen McNally who he married while he himself was still married to Alice Barbara nee Wood?

· When and where did he die? I have searched the death records for Queensland and NSW using all the names he has used. There is no record there.

· Did he have any other children?

It is possible that one day someone may be able to track down more answers but I doubt that the full story will ever be learnt.