Slater

DESCRIPTION

NameSlaterDescriptionAbraham Slater was born 1846 in Lancashire, England, to William and Mary Slater. He arrived in Melbourne aged 24 years in 1870. Three years later he married Catherine Stead in Victoria.

Catherine Stead was born in 1855, Victoria, to John and Mary Ann Stead (nee Perkins).

Abraham and Catherine had nine children;

William John b.1875 (married Florence Ann Wilks, died 1936, Stockton)
Joseph James b.1877 (married Nora Humphrey, died 1954, Maitland)
Grace Mary b.1879 (died 1880, Lambton)
Esther Mary b.1881 (married William Henry Horder, died 1957, Maitland)
Robert Maudsley b.1883 (married Beatrice May Russell, died 1950, Kiama)
Isabella Jane b.1885 (died 1912, Ryde)
Abraham Parker b.1887 (married Winifred Ada May, died 1929, Newcastle)
Edward Hastings b.1889 (married Laura Florence Ella Farley, died 1965, Taree)
Edmond Young Edgar b.1893 (died 1917, France WWI)

After Abraham’s death in 1890, Catherine married Thomas Farnham and had another two children.

Robert Maudsley Slater married Beatrice May Russell at Waverly in 1923. They had two children;

Robert William b.1924 (died 1988, Kiama)
Isobel May b.1930 (married Wallace Raymond Hartley, died 1986, Albion Park)

Soon after their marriage, Robert and Beatrice moved from Sydney to Oak Flats. Robert worked as a timber getter for Bernard Kirton, a saw miller from Thirroul who had a contract to supply pit props for the local coalmines.

Robert built the family home on the west side of Horsley Creek, Albion Park Rail, from bits and pieces of building materials one room at a time. The floor of the Slater cottage was given to the family from the local rifle range and was four inches thick, and the front doors were made from tram seats.

Robert also worked as a bridge builder: constructing one on the Esplanade at Oak Flats, and helping build the first Windang Bridge in 1938. He built the first bridge across Horsley Creek, but it was lost some years later in strong floods. The replacement bridge, Slater’s Bridge, is named in honour of the family.

Robert died in 1950 and Beatrice remained in the same home that her husband built until she was 100 years old. She outlived her two children. Beatrice used to swim in Horsley Creek every morning at 6am. One day, a group of eight children jumped off the bridge into the creek and got into trouble. Beatrice swam each child back to the shore, one after the other. She was 75 years old at the time. Beatrice died in 2000, aged 102 years.

External LinkAbraham Slater Funeral 1890Funeral Abraham Slater 1929Obituary WJ Slater 1936Horse Committed for Trial 1930Obituary MR Robert Slater 63 Years 1950Mr R Slater 1950

Document

Beatrice Slater Oral History

Object

Toy Army Tank - Slater Family

Place

Slater's Bridge

Slater's Cottage, Albion Park Rail.

CONNECTIONS

CollectionFamiliesLocalityAlbion Park RailOak FlatsPlaceSlater's Bridge

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Slater