Robert Oldham

The method to unmask the true identity of “Our Own Correspondent” was very amateurish but simple and in the end gratifying. Given that success, we shall attempt to repeat that same process and achieve a similar outcome?
The serious complication in this case is there are two nom de plumes that are so subtly different in that one is writing under the call-sign of (“By Our Correspondent”) and the other under (“From Our Correspondent”)
However, on the positive side on this occasion we do have a hunch on who both of them might be and essentially, we can, in a preliminary way, distinguish them by their terms of tenure in the Tenindewa district.
In short, we will simply throw the might-be author into the picture, in this case Robert Oldham, and then trawl through every piece of Trove/Tenindewa Notes/Tenindewa Pars under the pen of (By Our Correspondent) and attempt to make him a non-fit? If we can’t make him a non-fit, we have hit the jackpot!!!!!
But to start with we list some of the things we know about this gentleman. We know he was an outstanding sportsman we also know he was a farmer and where he farmed, but we also know already from trawling through the hundreds of newspaper articles about Tenindewa the exact time he came to the district and the exact time he left, give or take a month or two in each case.

We note from one “Tenindewa Notes” article that on the 3rd of July fairly precisely when Oldham came

Geraldton Express
Tenindewa Notes
3rd of July 1911.
“Messes Tullock and Oldham, some new settlers have a nice field of 150 acres [60 hectares] under wheat“

And note from one of the local books that are held within this website “On the Road Again” by Kevin Critch.

“Our second year in Tenindewa was not a good one. As well as a poor crop due to dry conditions, one of our biggest shocks turned up in the mail one day. It was our taxation assessment saying we owed 10,000 pounds. This had come about through having a big crop in 1951 etc.”

It was the Critches who had purchased Oldham’s farm so by deduction it can be suggested that Oldham’s departed in the first half of 1951

The micro testing starts, in this case, with (By Our Correspondent’s) oldest Tenindewa Pars entry that we can uncover.

Geraldton Guardian and Express
Tenindewa Notes
8th May 1947
(No non-de-plume mention but very possibly, as above)

Late Mrs. Eves F. A. Eves (Thursday 8th May 1947)
The ever-thinning band of early pioneers of the northern districts was still further depleted with the death at the Mullewa District Hospital on Saturday last of Mrs. Francis Agnus Eves, wife of Mr. S. Eves of Ilma Station.
The deceased lady had been in ill health for some years, but despite this fact her death came as a painful shock to the members of her family and to her wide circle of friends and acquaintances scattered throughout the State.
The late Mrs. Eves was born on the Greenough in the home of her parents (The late Mr. and Mrs J Gilmore) near the old Golden Sheaf Hotel. Her father was for a number of years in the employ of the late Mr. John Maley at the old Greenough Flour Mill and the deceased retained vivid memories of the Greenough in its heyday. Forty-Five years ago, she married Mr. Eves who was then engaged in the Western Australian Government Railways. She resided at various centers in the northern areas before making their home at Tenindewa, and recalled with pride her association with a banquet tendered at Nabewa to the then Premier (Mr. Frank Wilson), Mr. M. F Troy and others distinguished in the parliamentary life of the State on the occasion of the opening of the railway running through the Chapman Valley. Immediately following her arrival at Tenindewa the late Mrs. Eves entered wholeheartedly into the embryo community life of the district. Although denied the opportunity of what would be termed today an adequate education, her services were ever in demand by the early settlers to assist in the transaction of business affairs and she conducted the first Post Office at the siding.
Water was then, as now, a pressing problem. The early settlers, in carving farms out of virgin country, had been vouchsafed [sic] little opportunity of making provision for water supplies, and their needs were drawn from the condenser at Geraldton and railed to Tenindewa. Orders for water were accepted by the late Mrs. Eves who supervised its delivery to the settlers. She was charged with the ordering of railway trucks for the farmers and in the transaction of innumerable business details for members of the small but ever-growing community.
In 1917 Mr. Eves moved to “Ilma” Station which is situated twenty-two miles [38 kilometers] south of Tenindewa and till almost the time of her death the deceased lady closely associated herself with the conduct of the property. She continued to take a live interest in the social life of the community and was prominently associated with the conduct of entertainments in the Railway Goods Shed for the purpose of raising funds for the building of the Tenindewa Hall. Despite her own family responsibilities, the late Mrs. Eves found time to bring happiness into the lives of the children of the district and was the organizer of Christmas Trees fetes [sic] held at Tenindewa for a number of years, whilst she assisted with the conduct of functions which resulted in the establishment of a school in the district.
She was ever a friend to those in need and many residents retain the happiest recollections of her ministrations in times of illness or misfortune. She is survived by a husband and two daughters (Mesdames M. Kember, of Geraldton and I. Lauder, of Perth) and two sons (Messrs. George of Ilma Station and Cecil Eves, of Bluff Point)
The funeral took place in the Anglican portion of the Utakarra Cemetery on Monday last, the prayers at the graveside being recited by the Rev. K. B. Halley.

8th May 1947
(No non-de-plume mention but very possibly, as above)

Late Mrs. Eves F. A. Eves (Thursday 8th May 1947)
The ever-thinning band of early pioneers of the northern districts was still further depleted with the death at the Mullewa District Hospital on Saturday last of Mrs. Francis Agnus Eves, wife of Mr. S. Eves of Ilma Station.
The deceased lady had been in ill health for some years, but despite this fact her death came as a painful shock to the members of her family and to her wide circle of friends and acquaintances scattered throughout the State.
The late Mrs. Eves was born on the Greenough in the home of her parents (The late Mr. and Mrs J Gilmore) near the old Golden Sheaf Hotel. Her father was for a number of years in the employ of the late Mr. John Maley at the old Greenough Flour Mill and the deceased retained vivid memories of the Greenough in its heyday. Forty-Five years ago, she married Mr. Eves who was then engaged in the Western Australian Government Railways. She resided at various centers in the northern areas before making their home at Tenindewa, and recalled with pride her association with a banquet tendered at Nabewa to the then Premier (Mr. Frank Wilson), Mr. M. F Troy and others distinguished in the parliamentary life of the State on the occasion of the opening of the railway running through the Chapman Valley. Immediately following her arrival at Tenindewa the late Mrs. Eves entered wholeheartedly into the embryo community life of the district. Although denied the opportunity of what would be termed today an adequate education, her services were ever in demand by the early settlers to assist in the transaction of business affairs and she conducted the first Post Office at the siding.
Water was then, as now, a pressing problem. The early settlers, in carving farms out of virgin country, had been vouchsafed [sic] little opportunity of making provision for water supplies, and their needs were drawn from the condenser at Geraldton and railed to Tenindewa. Orders for water were accepted by the late Mrs. Eves who supervised its delivery to the settlers. She was charged with the ordering of railway trucks for the farmers and in the transaction of innumerable business details for members of the small but ever-growing community.
In 1917 Mr. Eves moved to “Ilma” Station which is situated twenty-two miles [38 kilometers] south of Tenindewa and till almost the time of her death the deceased lady closely associated herself with the conduct of the property. She continued to take a live interest in the social life of the community and was prominently associated with the conduct of entertainments in the Railway Goods Shed for the purpose of raising funds for the building of the Tenindewa Hall. Despite her own family responsibilities, the late Mrs. Eves found time to bring happiness into the lives of the children of the district and was the organizer of Christmas Trees fetes [sic] held at Tenindewa for a number of years, whilst she assisted with the conduct of functions which resulted in the establishment of a school in the district.
She was ever a friend to those in need and many residents retain the happiest recollections of her ministrations in times of illness or misfortune. She is survived by a husband and two daughters (Mesdames M. Kember, of Geraldton and I. Lauder, of Perth) and two sons (Messrs. George of Ilma Station and Cecil Eves, of Bluff Point)
The funeral took place in the Anglican portion of the Utakarra Cemetery on Monday last, the prayers at the graveside being recited by the Rev. K. B. Halley.

8th May 1947
(No non-de-plume mention but very possibly, as above)

Late Mrs. Eves F. A. Eves (Thursday 8th May 1947)
The ever-thinning band of early pioneers of the northern districts was still further depleted with the death at the Mullewa District Hospital on Saturday last of Mrs. Francis Agnus Eves, wife of Mr. S. Eves of Ilma Station.
The deceased lady had been in ill health for some years, but despite this fact her death came as a painful shock to the members of her family and to her wide circle of friends and acquaintances scattered throughout the State.
The late Mrs. Eves was born on the Greenough in the home of her parents (The late Mr. and Mrs J Gilmore) near the old Golden Sheaf Hotel. Her father was for a number of years in the employ of the late Mr. John Maley at the old Greenough Flour Mill and the deceased retained vivid memories of the Greenough in its heyday. Forty-Five years ago, she married Mr. Eves who was then engaged in the Western Australian Government Railways. She resided at various centers in the northern areas before making their home at Tenindewa, and recalled with pride her association with a banquet tendered at Nabewa to the then Premier (Mr. Frank Wilson), Mr. M. F Troy and others distinguished in the parliamentary life of the State on the occasion of the opening of the railway running through the Chapman Valley. Immediately following her arrival at Tenindewa the late Mrs. Eves entered wholeheartedly into the embryo community life of the district. Although denied the opportunity of what would be termed today an adequate education, her services were ever in demand by the early settlers to assist in the transaction of business affairs and she conducted the first Post Office at the siding.
Water was then, as now, a pressing problem. The early settlers, in carving farms out of virgin country, had been vouchsafed [sic] little opportunity of making provision for water supplies, and their needs were drawn from the condenser at Geraldton and railed to Tenindewa. Orders for water were accepted by the late Mrs. Eves who supervised its delivery to the settlers. She was charged with the ordering of railway trucks for the farmers and in the transaction of innumerable business details for members of the small but ever-growing community.
In 1917 Mr. Eves moved to “Ilma” Station which is situated twenty-two miles [38 kilometers] south of Tenindewa and till almost the time of her death the deceased lady closely associated herself with the conduct of the property. She continued to take a live interest in the social life of the community and was prominently associated with the conduct of entertainments in the Railway Goods Shed for the purpose of raising funds for the building of the Tenindewa Hall. Despite her own family responsibilities, the late Mrs. Eves found time to bring happiness into the lives of the children of the district and was the organizer of Christmas Trees fetes [sic] held at Tenindewa for a number of years, whilst she assisted with the conduct of functions which resulted in the establishment of a school in the district.
She was ever a friend to those in need and many residents retain the happiest recollections of her ministrations in times of illness or misfortune. She is survived by a husband and two daughters (Mesdames M. Kember, of Geraldton and I. Lauder, of Perth) and two sons (Messrs. George of Ilma Station and Cecil Eves, of Bluff Point)
The funeral took place in the Anglican portion of the Utakarra Cemetery on Monday last, the prayers at the graveside being recited by the Rev. K. B. Halley.

Mullewa Mail
3rd October 1947
Tenindewa Notes
(By a Correspondent)

I would like to record the proceedings of a meeting held in Tenindewa for the purpose of finalization in record to the local hall building. Mr. W. Brenkley presided, and the attendance included representations from practically all parts of the district. By resolution it was agreed to “incorporate” the Progress Association and legalize the precedence of raising money by debenture issue. A debate look place regarding the question of interest free or interest-bearing debentures, and a divisional vote on the subject resulted in a decision that debentures would be interest free repayable in ten years. The building will be constructed out of timber secured by the demolishment of a military hut purchased at Narngulu aerodrome by Mr. Brenkley and will be 22 feet by 40 feet and will provide a much-needed place for people to meet and hold social and other meetings.
The writer, a visitor to the meeting, was greatly impressed by the. high order of the de bate on finance and some arguments in favour of interest bearing money conveyed the impression that public opinion was beginning to realize that cheap and a plentiful supply of money might easily be a bad thing for everyone For instance, hundreds of pounds were available here free of interest to pay for our hall, but material and labour are not available because as .money becomes more plentiful the purchasing power of it recedes, as does’ the incentive to earn of required money resulting in the rapidly vanishing supply of existing commodities, with no inducement by way of remuneration for replacement. People on fixed incomes becoming worse off and more people forced into the fixed income category in the downhill rush to ” Communism” and “disaster,” and we will have to wait a long time before we will have our Hall completed. From enquiries made among the farmers attending the meeting I learned that an excellent season was concluding under fairly good climatic conditions and good wheat and wool were assured, On the average crops had passed the critical stage and the wool clip was better than the last’, while prices for both ‘wool and wheat never looked better. Lambing in most cases had resulted in a very high percentage, while here was little trouble with flies or foxes, but there were complaints about the sudden appearance of rabbits which seemed to have made their presence felt. Just after the annual inspection of a departmental inspector I was informed that farmers were advised to the seriousness of this invader and systematic steps will be taken to deal with this pest. Another nice thing is the hundreds of acres of fallow on farms that had been abandoned and neglected during the war years preparing for seeding next year and wiping out the grasshoppers.

Mullewa Mail
17 October 1947
TENINDEWA NOTES
By a Correspondent

Recording the continuance of favorable weather conditions assuring good late crops, coupled with an announcement by Mr. Pollard that an advance of 4s 6d per bushel on new season’s wheat make good reading for the farmer directly, and indirectly the balance of the community shares in the good resulting. In the last notes it WAS mentioned a likely difficulty regarding labour and some material for our new hall I am pleased to be in a position to advise that a contractor has the job well in hand and the needed material has been made available by a public-spirited resident and it is believed the opening ceremony will take place early next month. After the above event we can look forward to a continuance of our dart competitions which had become very popular last summer and it is understood that the first try out will be against the Railway Hotel, Mullewa, to whom a game is owing. Our main opponents are, by the way, Mr. Paddy Keeffe and his unbeaten team of the Club Hotel. Shearing is slowly drawing to a close and as the summer came in with an early dose of dry weather, the grass seeds have caused a lot of bother and probably reduced the value of the district clip by many hundreds of pounds. We have to depend on a few shearers who could do much better by following the big sheds but stand loyally by us. As the local flocks are growing bigger each year and the shearers are getting older each year the time is not far distant when some of our younger men have to take a place on the shearing boards, and it has always been a mystery why the Agricultural Society does not offer a substantial prize each show for amateur shearers. It would not cost as much to train a youngster to shear as it does to train a youngster to take the hunters’ hurdles, and it would not take a quiz champion to answer the question of which would be the most useful—a good hunter or a good shearer. It is understood that a movement is afoot to offer £50 for the best amateur shearer, rules conditions will be worked out before the next annual show.
Some two weeks back we had the honor of a visit to the district by the General President and the General Secretary of the Farmers’ Union. In their report upon their return to headquarters they reported that at one single center, and one single dissent, motions against private bank nationalization was condemned. The single center was Mullewa and the single dissident was a local farmer. The farmer in question challenged the General President regarding the political nature of the question, and his single vote was recorded as a protest against a political matter being discussed by a nonpolitical party. Since then, an important church gathering and the Returned Soldiers’ League conference threw out the motion for exactly the same reason, I now ask the General President’s local supporters the following question: “If the nationalization of private banks is not a party-political question, please tell us what is, and define the difference?”
It is pleasing to learn that the local governing authority has decided to take stern steps to eradicate the star thistle. Another pest is the grasshopper, and these should be declared vermin, and all breeding grounds marked, and the owners be compelled to deal with them, Surrounding the town of Mullewa there is far too much untitled land, and all unused land should be resumed and put to use.

Mullewa Mail
21 November 1947
Tenindewa Notes
(By a Correspondent)

The unfortunate accident that removed one of our old settlers caused genuine sorrow in the locality. The late Mr. Kemp had no enemies, and his many neighborly acts will be lasting memories.
Bindu is having a run of bad luck. A fire started at the men’s quarters on Mr. Franklin’s farm and might easily have swept the district. Fortunately, Messrs. Byron and Stokes were giving a tractor a run prior to harvesting and in a few seconds a 10-disc plow at nine miles per hour was in operation and within a few minutes fire breaks were made across the path of the fire, and in less than two hours had the outbreak under control. The fire was fought practically single-handed, o wing to the absence of settlers at a tennis match at Tenindewa. It would appear that a smoke-signal is not regarded as a call for assistance in the district, we can only attribute this to the absence of any serious fires in the past. We can only hope this happy state of affairs continues. Some day we will have a firefighting brigade, but we will have to have a disastrous fire first.
The result of the State election in Victoria once again demonstrates the powers of finance. Democracy as we knew it was the election of a parliament by the people but controlled by finance. This was not giving satisfaction, so we await to see what results a parliament provides that is elected and controlled “by fi nance entirely”. I know you have turned the tap off recording some differences of opinion regarding the political feature of the Government’s proposal to nationalize private banks and I accept your ruling, but I must say that Mr. Johnstone’s letter, in answer to my notes, confirmed my contention, but as a certain word was accidentally missed in his quotation of the preamble of the Union’s constitution lends to the belief that I had errored, but if so, I have errored in good company. In any case the person that makes no mistakes made little else.

Mullewa Mail
October 1947
FARMERS’ UNION OF W.A. Monthly Meeting
(No correspondent but most likely as above)

A meeting of the above branch was held in the commercial room of the Club Hotel, Mullewa, at 3 p.m. on Saturday, 25th October. Mr. H. H. Diprose, president was in the chair.
After the general business of the Union was disposed of there was a general discussion on the wheat delivery at sidings and it was moved that the secretary get a ruling on the question ”Is it possible for a wheat grower to deliver wheat to the bin and not pick up his warrant? Has the Commonwealth Government power to take control of the wheat, or does it still belong to the farmer until such time as he does pick up his warrant? ” It was moved that the next meeting be held on the 6th of December and that the notice of motion (on the monthly meeting) be held over until that date. If necessary, a special meeting may have to be called to deal with the wheat delivery motion, all members present endorsed the secretary’s answer to the Tenindewa ”correspondent ” The secretary was instructed to write to the Head Office requesting that Bulk Handling open the wheat bins on the 5th of November as many are stripping now. This particular season is a lot earlier and a number of farmers have wheat ready for delivery now. Moved, that the branch protest against the Commonwealth first advance of 4/6.
The meeting was unanimous that the first advance should be not less than the cost of production.
It was also requested that Mr. K. E. Jones, President of the wheat section, pay a visit to Mullewa at his earliest opportunity.
It was moved that Mr. P. Keeffe be thanked for the excellent accommodation provided for the members. Mr. H. H Diprose thanked the members for their attendance. The chairman was complemented on the able way he had conducted the meeting
The meeting closed at 5 20 pm
This is the answer to the letter sent to Head Office re the subscription paid in March by members of the late Wheat and Woolgrowers Union members. ” Unfortunately, quite a large number of Wheat and Woolgrowers’ Union members allowed their bank orders with that organization to remain in force and despite several attempts we have been unable to get this money returned.
The managing trustee refuses to take any notice of our requests other than to state that the monies are safely banked and will be returned to the individuals concerned when the winding up is completed, in view of this you will readily appreciate that it is impossible for us to grant credits against membership of this organization,”‘

Geraldton Guardian and Express
Tenindewa Pars
14th April 1949
(No nom-de-plume mentioned but very possibly, as above?)