Rose Bradley

(1887 – 1978) 

Coming full circle

When I mention to people that I permanently moved from the eastern states to the west in November 2020, the first question people ask me is what made you decide to come here? My initial response is my mother was born and raised in Fremantle, but it runs deeper than that, I have a family legacy here and it starts and finishes with the name Rose...

Rose Bradley was born on the 18 December 1887 in South Shields, Durham, England.  Rose was named after her Irish grandmother Rose Gunn. Rose's mother Mary Docherty (1855 - 1922), was born and died in Durham, along with Rose's father James Bradley (1856 - 1931). Mary’s father was William Docherty (1826 - 1979) and mother was Rose Gunn (1822 - 1887), both from Ireland.

Rose was born into a family of eight children, and it was necessary for Rose to find a suitable well paid work.

On 5 July 1911, with the blessing of their parents, Rose, aged 23, along with her sister Alice Mary Bradley (1890–1957) aged 21, boarded the ship Rangatira, bound for Fremantle, Australia.  Their brother James Bradley (1881–1963) was waiting for them in Fremantle as he had travelled to Australia a few years prior and no doubt this was a significant factor in the approval process of Rose and Alice’s parents to allow their two youngest daughters to travel alone and permanently migrate to a country so far away.

In the early 1900’s it must have been a very brave and emotional journey, not knowing if or when you would see your family again. As it turned out Rose did not return to England or see her family again, but always kept in contact via mail.

James would have been a great support to his sisters in their initial years of settlement in Western Australia, as he had wasted no time in assimilating into the Australian landscape.  By 1912 he was a mechanical electrical engineer (fitter and turner) in the Eastern Wheatbelt town of Yilgarn.

In January 1916 living in Wooraloo, James (aged 34) enlisted as a private with the 11th Infantry Battalion. In February 1916 army records list him as a Sapper (a trained combat engineer and soldier with a wide range of tactical and technical skills) in the Light Railway Operating Co, for the Australian Imperial Force. 

Wounded in action in the chest in France October 28th, 1917, he was sent to Sutton Veny in England to recover. No doubt wanting to take the opportunity to see his family whilst back in England, he was listed as AWOL for 8 days (as many soldiers at this time did- when denied leave), he forfeited 29 days pay and was sent back to Rouen, France.

In 1917 his Battalion took part in the brief advance that followed the German Army's retreat to the Hindenburg Line, and helped stop the German spring offensive in March and April 1918.

After being discharged from the army in June 1918, James married Norah Clarke in South Shields, Durham, on 8 January 1919. He returned to Australia with his new bride on the ship - Konigan Louise, disembarking in Fremantle on 2 August 1919 and they setup home in Railway st, Cottesloe. In 1943 James (working as an engineer) moved to 77 Fortescue-street, East Fremantle and he lived here until his death in 1963.

From her arrival in Western Australia at the age of 23, Rose worked as a house maid in the Wheatbelt region, with her brother James (prior to his enlistment in the AIF) & sister Alice near by. They supported each other as a tight family group, essential for them to establish new lives in what was a vastly different country, climate & lifestyle to their previous life in England.

Rose’s sister Alice married Percival George Jones in 1913. James gave her away and Rose was her bridesmaid.

Rose eventually obtained work as a house maid at Fremantle hospital. At the age of 30 she married James Davies (1881 - 1956) at St Patrick's Church, Fremantle on 4 September 1922. 

James Davies had arrived in Fremantle on the 3 February 1914, at the age of 32, on the ship Otranto, with his youngest brother Albert Burrows Davies (1891 - 1966). All his ancestors on his mother and father's side, were from Lancashire, England.

The brothers had followed their sister Alice Davies (1885-1962), who at the age of 27, and a weaver, had arrived on the Otranto in 1913. She married James Brindale on 4 September 1915. They lived in Fremantle.

Immediately after Rose and James married they settled into their home at Healy Road Hamilton Hill, South Fremantle. James had built or rebuilt a classic Australian home with a large wraparound verandah. He later built additional bedrooms under the verandah on each side of the house.

I believe James worked various jobs at Fremantle docks and at some stage cared for racehorses for various trainers, occasionally boarding one or two in stables at the back of his home at Healy Road.

James and Rose raised four happy and healthy children: Albert ‘Bert’ (1923–1997), Mary ‘Molly’ (1924–2001), Alice (1926–2021) and Gladys (1928–2010).

My connection to this family story is my mother Gladys Davies, she was the youngest of Rose and Jame's children, born in 1928. 

Keeping in mind the Depression years in Australia from 1930 to 1939 must have made raising four children all that much harder, Mum mentioned once that for a long while they did not have any more than the essentials, but her childhood was still full of wonderful happy memories.

As a child she attended St Joseph’s Catholic school in Fremantle, along with her siblings. St Joseph's has an interesting history dating back to its establishment in 1855, when it was founded by four French, Catholic sisters after their landing at Bathers Beach in Fremantle. It is now part of Seton Catholic College in Samson, not far from its original site at Lot 66 Henry Street Fremantle.

In her late teens Gladys worked at Charlie Carters in Fremantle and spoke fondly of those fun days, meeting her sisters for lunch at either Culley’s Tea Room or the upstairs cafeteria at Coles. 

My father John (Jack) Andrew Drennan (1926-2021) enlisted in the Navy 20 June 1944, and was trained at HMAS Cerberus on the Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne.  He served on the HMAS Geraldton Corvette (with an approximate crew of 108), in the Pacific in WWII. The Corvette is a smaller navy ship able to reach higher speeds than the larger ships and carriers. Its prime function in the Pacific was to act as a decoy to enable the larger and slower warships to penetrate enemy lines undetected.

When the HMAS Geraldton Corvette was docked at Fremantle, Jack met Gladys Davies at the local Fremantle dance.  They wrote to each other until Jack’s Navy service was finished and he returned to marry Gladys on 18 September 1948 at Christ the King church in Beaconsfield.

They initially moved to Jack’s place of birth – Hopetoun Victoria, then lived in Mildura for a short time before settling in the suburbs of Melbourne. Their first child, Norman Stephen Drennan was born in Mildura, in 1949, and tragically, only lived for a few days.

The rest of us were born in Melbourne: Michael John (1951), Bernard George (1952), Margaret Rose (1956), Carmel Anne (1959) and me- Teresa (Tess) Mary (1964).

Growing up a Fremantle girl never left mum and over the years, as a family we travelled from Melbourne to Perth for many Christmas holidays, staying with my Nana, Pa (until 1956) & my uncle Bert at Healy Road Hamilton Hill, Fremantle.

We have fond memories of our travels by car, bus, train & plane… maybe not so fond of the car trips in the HR Holden Station Wagon, due to some unmade roads in the 1960’s. One mishap that my older siblings remember well was somewhere across the Nullabor Plains, trying to miss a pot hole, the car swerved and all our luggage that was piled high on the car roof was thrown clear. The roof rack followed the luggage and damaged the bonnet on its way down, but we collected ourselves and the luggage, borrowed a rope from a passing traveller and continued on our way.  But without doubt, South Fremantle beach was our most treasured and visited place during our holidays. 

Those times spent in Fremantle allowed us to get to know our mum's siblings;

My Uncle Bert enlisted in the Australian Army on December 12th 1941 and served 4 1/2 years in the 2/6 Australian Infantry Battalion, stationed at New Guinea fighting the Japanese. He was discharged 17 June 1946 and like many war veterans, he never spoke of it and I respect his privacy. Like most war assignments it was a tough battle in jungle conditions. The 2/6 Australian Infantry Battalion first met the Japanese in battle as part of the force defending Wau in New Guinea and after desperate fighting they successfully secured Wau and held off a determined Japanese counter attack at Lababia Ridge.  On 6 December 1944, the 2/6 Battalion disembarked at Aitape NG for its final campaign and spent the next eight months engaged in arduous patroling to clear the Japanese from the Torricelli and Prince Alexander mountain ranges. I include a photo to show the hard jungle conditions in WWII New Guinea.

After he was discharged my Uncle Bert lived with my Nana (Rose) until her death in 1978, he was a kind and caring person, Rose was very well looked after. He looked after my family on all our Fremantle holidays, drove us everywhere and shared in the fun on our visits to South Fremantle beach.  Uncle Bert could build anything, he built his own fishing boat with a motor and furniture when required.  He was instrumental in the building of their new home on the block next door, in the early 1970's. Unfortunately the lovely old house that they grew up in was unable to be saved, a sign of the times in the 70's, as now we would have taken the option to restore such a grand old Australian style house.

When my Aunty Molly (Mary) was a young woman she contributed to the war effort as well, as a member of the W.A.A.A.F (Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force). Formed in 1941, it was the largest of the Second World War women's services. They played an integral role in the overall Allied war effort and paved the way for the introduction of women into the Royal Australian Air Force in 1951.

What I mostly remember about my Aunty Molly was her wildlife rescuing abilities- towards any animal in need of care, especially birds, she was an untrained natural at it. It was always fun to visit and see what new rescue she had.

My mum and my Aunty Alice were closer in age and from the time they were kids, they were inseparable, like twins. It was hard for them to be separated through most of their adult life, but they certainly made up for it in their twilight years, travelling interstate and overseas together. I will be forever grateful for my Aunty Alice for her unconditional love towards my mother and her adorable playful spirit!

Rose died 11 March 1978 in Fremantle, aged 90. She was buried in Fremantle Cemetery.

I was mum’s youngest, born and raised in Melbourne. I have lived and travelled overseas and for the past 20 years I have lived in Sydney.

As I grew older I often thought I would one day retire to live somewhere in Perth, then the Corona Virus presented itself with the push I needed, so I decided to change my life completely, I packed up and moved west!

Its been wonderful to spend so much time in Fremantle again and immerse myself in the happy memories of my childhood. I often have lunch at Culleys and catch a movie at the Luna Cinema on Essex or grab a snack at the South Beach cafe and just sit on South Fremantle beach, looking for dolphins.

My mother kept the connection to Rose Bradley and her life in Fremantle close to my family's heart, leaving wonderful Christmas holiday memories.

Mum also named her first daughter Margaret Rose, and that tradition has been passed on to Margaret’s only daughter named Jessica Rose and Jessica’s first born, Ava Rose.

I recently watched Ava Rose (aged 8) play with her younger sister Scarlett in the ocean at South Fremantle Beach.  She was fearless in pushing herself into the rough waves and I thought to myself maybe she will have some of those brave pioneering attributes of her namesake Rose.

Researched & written by Tess Drennan tessdrennan@mail.com

All photos courtesy Tess Drennans family.