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...do YOUR families link back to first South Australian wheat growers?
Christina and Donald McLEAN from Scotland 1837
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 - 1961
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| Name |
James Thomas Percival. CONGDON [1] |
| Gender |
Male |
| Achievements |
James Congdon Drive (left off Hilton Bridge) in Mile End is named after him. |
| Biography Notes |
He lived in railway cottages at Mile End and went into Adelaide Railway Station to work. After getting home from work he would always, whatever happened, walk out to his front gate at 7 pm to watch the Melbourne Express go past. One of his duties had been to inspect the Melbourne?s brakes during the day before her return journey. |
| Biography Notes |
Remembering life at the Mile End railyards: Every night, without fail, Ailsa Pocock's father used to watch Australia's longest train, the Melbourne Express, shuffle past his front gate.
One of Adelaide's longest serving station masters, James Congdon, had a fascination for trains even an eight-hour, exhausting shift would not diminish.
"Dad would get home about 6pm, and he would always, whatever happened, walk out to watch the Melbourne go by", Mrs Pocock said.
"He had seen the Melbourne in station, inspect its brakes and come home for tea ... But at 7pm, he always went to the front gate."
Mr Congdon, who died in 1960, lived in one of the railway cottages, which were demolished in 1995, for some 20 years.
He served as station master at the Mile End railyards for 19 years, and a road in the Mile End redevelopment is named after him.
Mrs Pocock, who lives at Marion, also lived in the cottage with her family for three years as a teenager before she was married.
Although is was only a short stay, from 1934-1937, she fondly remembers the lively rail-yards - the continual stream of noisy trains, trolleys and the unloading and stacking of goods.
The family home was wedged between railway tracks, with a rail line only 'yards' from her back door. Mrs Pocock recalled catching the passenger train into town to go to school.
"We used to see the train signal go off (from the house) and of course we were running late, and we used to shoot out the front to cross the railway tracks be the time the train came," she said.
(source: Which newspaper, what date?)
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| Occupation |
Lived at Port Adelaide when first married
Railway cottage near the Mile End railyards for about 20 years |
| Occupation |
Rose grower [1] |
| Occupation |
Adelaide SA  [1] |
SA Rail Station Master at Mile End rail yards for 19 years.
He might have been one of Adelaide?s longest serving station masters at the main station in Adelaide (or was this Mile End?).
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| Residence |
Blackwood SA [1] |
| Died |
1961 [1] |
| Person ID |
I-1582 |
Christina and Donald McLean | Allan McLean's descendants |
| Last Modified |
24 May 2019 |
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| Sources |
- [S-3] BRB 'Donald & Christina McLean & Their Descendants', 1995 copies available, Copies of the BRB available Strathalbyn National Trust Museum & Library, several libraries around Australia including State Library SA, and Western Australian Genealogical Society Bayswater WA Request assistance for locating a copy through 'Contact us' on this website. .
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