Olive's trip to the fortune teller

The second Bishop child-Olive Jessie Bishop, my Great-Grandmother.

My great-grandmother, Olive Jessie Bishop,(pictured above) was born on 5 a.m on Saturday morning, December 19, 1868, at Mount Rowan near Ballarat, the second child and first daughter born to 27 year old Henry Bishop and his 29 year old wife Bertha Hughan.
The first two years of her life were spent in the Ballarat district, then in the early 1870s her family-consisting of elder brother Roland and her parents- moved to Melbourne for her father's work.The Bishops initially resided in Hotham, where Guy Arnold Bishop was born just before Olive's second birthday in 1870.
Three more children were born during the 1870s, all of them little sisters for Olive- Violet Bertha Malvina in 1874 in Fitzroy; Myrtle Gwendoline Elaine in 1877 at The Hermitage, Jolimont (part of Governor LaTrobe's earlier residence) and finally Daphne Lorna Josephine in 1878 at St.Kilda.
After living in St. Kilda, Olive and her family moved to South Yarra, where they lived in a house in Mona Place for most of the 1880s.Henry finally bought his wife her own home, a lovely sprawling weatherboard house they named 'Fairmount'. It was in the suburb of Oakleigh, and the Road on which they lived was named Stamford Road. Olive's father was the Town Clerk of Oakleigh at one stage, and since Stamford, Lincolnshire, was his birthplace and childhood home, I think he may have played a large part in the naming of their residential road!
Olive would have attended school in whatever suburb they lived in while she was a small child, but her later schooling was completed at "Mrs Mitchell's School For Young ladies" ( or Ladies College, Fitzroy) at Victoria Parade,Fitzroy, where she boarded.Her first cousin Ivy McCallum, who was raised with Olive and her siblings from the age of seven, attended Presbyterian Ladies College in Albert Street, East Melbourne from its first year of establishment in 1875.
In her final year of schooling, Olive Bishop won the History Prize. Her award was dated December 19, 1887, which was her 19th birthday.The principal of the school was noted as being Mrs. Mitchell. Olive adored the study of history, particularly Roman and Greek ancient history, and I have several of her books which have been passed down from her youngest son Norman to me, his granddaughter.
After finishing school, Olive didn't wait around waiting to be swept off her feet and into marriage as many well-bred ladies of that period were wont to do. She tried her hand at several occupations, and during her twenties and early thirties she was employed as a teacher, worked in a shop in High Street, Prahran, and held a position in a South Yarra boarding house.
After her mother Bertha died in 1898, Olive's youngest sister Daphne took it upon herself to be the one who lived at home and cared for their father Henry.Sister Violet was married at 'Fairmount" in 1900, and third sister Myrtle was thoroughly out of favour with her father for daring to have a baby out of marriage in 1898. The baby died, but the disgrace remained...in a will that Henry wrote in October of 1899, he did not even mention Myrtle in the document, despite itemising in great detail what his other five children were to receive upon his death.
Olive came to meet her future husband, Harry Oakley, as the result of her strong friendship with Harry's sister, Amy Jane Oakley, known always as 'Jean'. Olive's mother, Bertha, had seen an advertisement in the paper for a teacher of the pianoforte, which had been placed by Jean Oakley.Bertha's mother had been Hannah Oakley, so Bertha contacted Jean to see if any blood ties existed between the two families. Even though they proved not to be related, a very close friendship developed between Jean Oakley and the Bishop family.
Jean was only five years older than Olive, and when she introduced Harry, her brother, into the Bishop family circle, she actively encouraged the friendship which grew between her brother and good friend.
Harry and Jean Oakley had emigrated from England in 1887, and according to his elder son, Gordon Oakley, Harry had been engaged to a girl back in England. The young lady in question followed her fiance out to Victoria and was so underwhelmed by what she witnessed of her new country she very quickly returned to her homeland, leaving Harry a free man.
So, footloose and fancy free, Harry was not at all adverse to the matchmaking efforts of his spinster sister, and he and Olive became very good friends.

Around the turn of the century (1900 or thereabouts) Jean Oakley and Olive Bishop visited a fortuneteller for a character analysis and peer into their futures. Olive's son Gordon gave me the fascinating handwritten report jotted down by his mother after the experience, and he wrote the following about the occasion:
" After a visit to a fortune teller and character analyst, Mother wrote the accompanying report, which I feel is a very good report of her life and living. I have heard the story of her and Jean visiting two consultants. The first they did not appreciate, the second was better. It was probably written about 1900."
The actual report is in the next blog, but what it says is as follows:
" Matter-of-fact, independent, methodical, impulsive, rather original and unconventional, caring very little for form and ceremony and people's opinions.Have good reasoning powers and like to investigate things for myself. Am very tidy and do everything very thoroughly. Like everything to be nice and refined around me.Am irritable over trifles but very seldom lose my temper.
Am very nervous and sensitive and inclined to be touchy. Am not too imaginative or religious. Would always reason things out and would never become fanatic.Have a great presence of mind in time of danger and would always know what to do.
Am very determined and generally get my own way but would readily give way to one I liked.Would completely ignore anyone who really offended or annoyed me. Am inclined to be nervous when undertaking anything new but am very self confident when once I start.
Am very fond of painting and reading and should paint and play well.Am clever with my hands and would make a good cook. Would understand thoroughly all kinds of machinery.Am fond of animals, especially horses and dogs.
Have not much physical strength and always overestimate it and do not take sufficient care of myself.
Will be married- sometime. Will have a long life and be fairly lucky.Never overburdened with riches tho. after the great event will be happy, fortunate and well-cared for. Will have great influence over most people and especially over the poor unfortunate who marries me.
Am going the usual(fortune-tellers) journey and will be in great danger, probably shipwrecked, but all will end well.
Am going to have worry through relations or friends."

In her report Olive made reference to "the poor unfortunate who marries me"...this 'poor unfortunate' was Harry Meabry Oakley, and the couple married at St. Johns Church of England, Toorak, on February 24, 1904.Harry was 41 years old, and Olive 35.

Roland's poetry

The above photo was taken in 1927, and is the only one we have which features Lucy Knight. It was a gathering of Bishop siblings at the home of Violet Bishop Ramsden, who lived in Castlecrag, a suburb of Sydney. From left to right we have: Olive Bishop Oakley; Violet Bishop Ramsden; Ivy McCallum Robley; Lindsay Grant and his mother Myrtle Bishop Grant; Roland Bishop and his partner Lucy Knight( both photographers from Woollahra).
The bottom photo is Roland and Lucy, cropped from the first photo.

My knowledge of Roland Bishop's adult life comes mainly from his nephew, Gordon Oakley( the son of his sister, Olive), so I can't vouch for its authenticity beyond hunting for factual evidence to support his story.
Roland's chosen profession was that of a photographer, following in the footsteps of his uncle, Allan Hughan.The earliest record I have of him taking a commercial photo is 1890, when he photographed the officials of an Interclub Championship Meeting (bicycling), at the Exhibition building, Melbourne. This photograph can be found on the National Library of Australia Picture Australia website under 'R.O Bishop photographer'.There are several other examples of Roland's photographic works on this website, under both 'R.O Bishop' and 'Roland Bishop & Co.'
The other examples were dated 1894,1898, 1900 and 1902, and were mainly outdoor scenes and photographs, such as two of the Ormond College boat crew and supporters at Melbourne University in 1902, and a view of Jumbunna from 1894.The latter photograph was mounted on a board which had the information "Roland Bishop, Oakleigh'.The Melbourne Uni photo carried the caption "Roland Bishop & Co, 228 Collins Street, Melbourne."
When Roland married Maria Hughes in 1894, he stated that his occupation was 'Artist'...he must have meant 'photographic artist'. In my scribbled notes taken whilst sitting at Uncle Gordon's big old table one cold wintry afternoon in the 1980s, there is mention of Roland at one stage travelling through the Pacific taking photographs and holding lectures and exhibitions upon his return.
Like his father and great-uncle before him, Roland very much enjoyed playing the stock market, and he became quite wealthy as the result of some of his shrewd investments in real estate and industry made during the depression. He sold some of his real estate in Sydney and invested in Peters Ice cream Company and the then-dormant industries of concrete and glass manufacture. Roland's logic behind these investments was "People will always give their children a penny to buy an ice cream" and "The building industry will have to pick up from its depression-induced slump some time, and when it does concrete and glass will go through the roof."
Roland's success in these ventures enabled him to buy a house in View Street, Woollahra, a holiday house in the Blue Mountains town of Leura and a house boat on Sydney Harbour which he used at one stage as a photographic studio.

Maria Celia Hughes Bishop died in South Yarra in 1926, aged 70. Roland was 60 years old, and I am not sure whether he was still in Melbourne with Maria or had already moved to Sydney (although I strongly suspect the latter).I can't find him in the electoral rolls for either Melbourne or Sydney until 1930. The Ancestry data base only has electoral rolls for NSW in 1930 and 1936 (Roland appears in both), but Victoria is covered for the years 1856, 1903,1909, 1914, 1919, 1924, 1931 and 1936. Roland doesn't appear in any of the Victorian electoral rolls, which seems to suggest that he was in Sydney long before 1930.
Ah ha!!!!! Just solved part of the mystery and created another one! I couldn't find "Maria" Bishop on the electoral rolls, but a search for Marie Celia Bishop came up trumps. She appears in the electoral rolls for South Yarra in 1909,1914, 1919 and 1924, and on no occasion was Roland living with her. HOWEVER, in 1914 and 1919, Roland's brother Guy Arnold Bishop WAS living at the same address, 97 Leopold Street, South Yarra. Guy had been widowed in 1906, leaving him to raise a 4 year old daughter, Elaine.
I just checked out the address for 97 Leopold Street, South Yarra on Google Maps Australia Street View, and amazingly it appears to be remarkably similar to what it would have been like in the time that Guy and his daughter lived there. The narrow street is lined with beautiful old terrace houses and cottages on both sides, some modernized but many with original lacework wrought iron on the verandahs.
The details for Marie Celia Hughes Bishop as found on electoral rolls are as follows:

1909: Marie Celia Bishop, 97 Leopold Street, South Yarra Home Duties

1914: Marie Celia Bishop 97 Leopold Street, South Yarra Home duties
Guy Arnold Bishop 97 Leopold Street, South Yarra salesman

1919: Marie Celia Bishop 98 Millswyn Street, South Yarra home duties
Guy Roland Bishop 97 Leopold Street, South Yarra salesman

1924: Marie Celia Bishop 37 Hope Street, South Yarra Home duties
Guy Arnold Bishop 97 Leopold Street, South Yarra Salesman

Millswyn and Hope Streets both come off Toorak Rd West, as does Leopold Street, and the former two streets are only 3 or 4 streets away from Leopold Street.

I would love to know the circumstances of Guy and Marie sharing a house. I'm sure Marie would have stepped in to help some time after Guy's wife Edith died in 1906. I wonder if Roland and Marie parted company under relatively good terms...you would think this would have to have been the case if Roland's brother was going to welcome his ex-sister-in-law into his small family.

Whatever the story, Roland ended up living in Sydney, pursuing his photographic career and forming a relationship with another lady. Known as 'Lucy', her real name was Louise Grace Knight, and she also was listed as a photographer at the home they shared together at 52 View Street, Woollahra.Their house was named 'Chetwynd', and they lived there together until Roland's death.
Roland's family didn't seem to be over-fond of Lucy, from what I can make out...Gordon Oakley mentioned that there was resentment in the family amongst Roland's sisters when, upon Roland's death, Lucy was left the sole beneficiary of his will. This was despite Roland promising his sisters that he would 'not forget them' in his will.
Gordon also mentioned that Roland never openly displayed affection towards Lucy in the presence of his family, yet two poems that he wrote for Lucy suggested that he adored her. One reads:
"My Lucy once had nut-brown hair,
Once Lucy's hands were soft and fair,
And diamonds gleamed within her eyes,
Flashing the vision of a paradise.

The hands are not as soft today,
The silken hair has turned to grey.
On Life's rough waters, tossed and swirled,
She battles with a sordid world.

But in those eyes still lives a light
That shines and makes the world seem bright.
Still through the mists her face I see-
The sweetest face on earth to me!"

Roland enjoyed writing poetry- a Hughan trait- and several original poems will be reproduced in this blog in the near future.

Gordon's memories of 'Uncle Ro' also involve remembering him as a bit of an old rogue. In his later years, Roland insisted that he was almost blind, and required an escort during the long walks that he loved to take. Roland employed the services of young Gordon Oakley on one such stroll alongside the Murray River lagoons at Mulwala, and Gordon remembers him forgetting to uphold his blindness guise when he paused to exclaim over the beauty of the reflections on the water!

Roland Oakley/Oakleigh Bishop died on February 15, 1946 (63 years ago today!), at the age of 79 years.Initially, his family could find no will. Lucy came forward with a will that had been made in 1933, and which named her as sole beneficiary of Roland's 5,322 pound estate. According to Gordon Oakley, the family were furious and initially planned to contest the will, but the idea was eventually dropped and Roland's 'Lu' received everything.
Lucy lived for another year after Roland's death. She died at Woollahra in 1947, aged 65. I have not been able to find any information at all about Lucy's background. Her age at death as given on her death certificate puts her year of birth as c. 1882, making her about 16 years younger than Roland.

POSTSCRIPT: I have since obtained the death certificate of 'Lucy' Knight, and it explains why I couldn't locate her birth in Australia or England...she was born in India to a father who was serving in the Army!
   Unfortunately, her death certificate didn't provide many concrete details. The informant was a man named Alfred Joseph Loves, who gave his address as 52 View Street, which was the same as Lucy's and Roland's home. I think that this house may have been home to several occupants during the time that Roland and Lucy lived there, as apart from Alfred Loves there were other families named in the Sydney Morning Herald as having lived there ( for example, Daisy Mary Bryant died in January 1945 and her home was given as 52 View Street, Wollahra...electoral rolls for 1943 show that Eve Grace Bryant, dressmaker, was also living there). An advertisement placed in the SMH on October 14, 1953, reads:
"Under instructions from the Public Trustee, estate of L.G Knight, deceased. Woollahra Part Vacant Possession, 52 View Street. Double-fronted, two storeyed brick house. V. P of three furnished rooms and kit. Other rooms to let furnished at 286 pounds per annum. Land: 40 feet X 129 ft 8 inches. Title: Torrens. Opportunity to obtain V.P residence and income.- H.E Vaughan & Son."
  So...it appears that Roland and Lucy owned 52 View Street and supplemented their income by renting out rooms.They appear together living at 52 View Street in the 1930 Sands Street Directory:
Miss L. Knight & R. Bishop. The address is located on the north side of View Street, between Adelaide and Bathurst Streets,

 The details on Lucy's death certificate are as follows:

Died April 4, 1847, 52 View Street, Woollahra.
Grace Louise Knight
Female, 65 years.
Cause of death: Cerebral thrombosis, 2 days duration. Medical attendant: Allan V. Smith (registered); last saw deceased 4th April 1947.
Father: - Knight, Army Officer. Mother not known.
Informant: Certified by Alfred Joseph Loves, no relation, 52 View Street, Woollahra.
Burial details: Delivered to the Crematorium. Northern Suburbs, 5 April, 1947, There cremated April 5, 1947.
Minister: Alfred Venn, Church of England. Witnesses: C.E Cook; C.J Houghton; Harry C Fraser.
Born: In India. 60 years in Australian states."

The Champion with his wares

You know...I have began to question whether in fact this is Roland Bishop, as always assumed by family members, or in fact his brother Guy? My Uncle Gordon Oakley once told me that Guy was actually a better cyclist than Roland, but didn't put in a great deal of training for events. Guy's death certificate also states that he spent two years of his life in Tasmania, where this photo was taken.
The brothers were very much alike in looks, and I've always thought that the cyclist in this photo has a longer face than the earlier photos of Roland.
Any guesses??? Input very welcome!