James Chard: The Final Chapter
James Chard was eighty nine when his wife died on November 8th 1919. Ellen suffered the paralysis of a stroke and the debilitation of a failing and fragile mind for two years prior to her death. |
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| Ellen Chard's funeral, conducted by Terang’s Presbyterian minister Reverend Ernest McNichol Baird (no relation), preceded her internment in the Presbyterian section of the Terang cemetery – a plot [1] she had reserved some years previously. Although life for Ellen and James had not been particularly harmonious for well over a decade, his wife’s passing sent James into total seclusion, cosseting himself in the darkness of the family’s “long room”. Near blindness coupled with an unhealthy consumption of whiskey, slowly but surely took its toll and when Terang surgeon Thomas Walter Scott was summoned to Devondale on the 25th of February 1924, James’ days were numbered. His funeral was conducted by Berkeley Addison Rowell, Terang’s Church of England vicar. |
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| The Religious Divide .... |
| James Chard was born into a family without any strong religious conviction even though he was baptised [2] in Churchstanton’s Church of England. However he quickly became aware of its Anglican teachings during his time as a Parkhurst inmate. In truth, as we have learnt previously [3], he had no choice. Contrastingly, Ellen Dowie’s religious upbringing was mixed. Her father, an Argyllshire Scot, was a Catholic, whilst her mother was a Presbyterian from the Berwickshire lowlands. Along with her two brothers Ellen was raised and educated as a Catholic and it was only just prior to her marriage to James that she converted to her mother’s faith. She also had no choice as it was a condition [4] of the marriage. James Chard, an Anglican, would marry a Presbyterian but NOT a Catholic. The Sabbath posed a dilemma for the young newlyweds as the nearest church was just a short buggy ride away at the end of Bryan O’Lynn lane, BUT it was Catholic. It wasn’t until 1861, when the Wangoom Presbyterian Church was established [5] that James, Ellen and their two young children would worship together. The family’s religious harmony did not last long however for when the Chards relocated to Devondale the community of Framlingham boasted both Anglican and Presbyterian congregations. Chard folklore, retold by the Noorat clan, describes the family Sunday thus; Everybody would pile into the wagon and father would drive them across the Hopkins River into Framlingham township – a journey of less than a mile. Leaving the wagon to be loaded with supplies, mum and the girls would head off on foot across the road to the Presbyterian Church whilst dad and the boys would march up the hill to the Church of England. Of their five married children only Helen (Lal) and Frederick remained Church of England, whilst bachelors David and John were buried in Church of England unmarked Terang graves. Mary and James lived their lives as staunch Presbyterians in the Terang and Noorat congregations respectively - James being more strongly influenced by his mother than his father - and his wife Annie’s dedication. The spinster sisters, Margaret and Janet also shared their mother’s faith. For James and Ellen Chard the religious divide in life was perpetuated in death. The respective prayers were indeed Protestant but uttered over James’ casket by a Vicar and Ellen’s by a Reverend Minister. |
| The Chard Obelisk |
| The monument, consisting of four distinct sections of polished travertine marble, stands in the Presbyterian section of the Terang cemetery marking the burial site of James and Ellen Chard. |
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| It was James' wish to be buried in the Anglican section of the Terang cemetery and those wishes were dutifully carried out by his sons Thomas and James Jnr. It was a situation that did not sit well with the other siblings. Eldest daughter Helen (Lal) Baird was extremely fond of her mother and was determined that the family reunite their parents in death and appropriately mark their graves. In the end her will prevailed but lack of funds in the depression prohibited the project's initiation. Another contributing factor was the schism amongst the siblings. Helen had support from her sisters and brother at Devondale but sister Mary (Williams) and brother James were opposed to such extravagance. Brother Thomas was in Melbourne and had no interest in family matters whilst her other three siblings, David, John and Freddie were outcasts and not considered part of the discussion. Sadly Helen never saw the fulfilment of her dream as she died in 1927. The project next fell on the shoulders of Helen’s widowed daughter Nellie (Mrs Charles “Nellie” Baxter) who pressed the Devondale residents Margaret, Janet and William into action persuading them that the only course of action was to borrow the necessary funds against a second mortgage on the farm. This decision particularly galled Mary and James as they had been profoundly influenced by their parent’s previous mortgage difficulties when they were teenagers. Despite James and Mary's objection to such a grandiose structure, and its unnecessary cost the Devondale residents proceeded with the monument being completed in 1929 - located at Ellen Chard’s original Presbyterian internment site. |
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| Nellie Baxter and her aunt Ginnie (Janet Fraser Chard) maintained the monument until Janet’s death in 1943. Nellie’s last commitment saw the internment of her uncle Willie in 1954. After Nellie passed in 1965, the Chard memorial deteriorated through years of neglect until a Terang reunion of the Chard ancestors in 1986 provided sufficient funds to have it refurbished. |
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| What's in a date? |
| Tombstone dates can generally be relied upon for their accuracy; family bible dates more so, but, in the case of James Chard’s birth date nobody knows the truth. James Chard’s “Australian” birth date is recorded as the 25th January 1832 which is fictitious and chosen by James probably just after he arrived in Port Fairy believing that the creation of a new persona might effectively mask his past. Churchstanton church records tell us that James Atkins Chard, son of Thomas and Mary was baptised [2] on January 6th 1830. Given that this was a Church of England ceremony and that the parents were farmers it is highly likely the baptism was performed well after his actual birth. Given that his parents married [6] in December 1828 it is possible he was born sometime in the English autumn of 1829. So, contrary to all existing Australian records, James Chard was at least 94 years old when he died. |
| Rough Justice Indeed ..... |
| We have read previously [7] that James Atkins Chard was convicted of theft on January 3rd 1843. |
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| What seemed newsworthy to the reporter in this particular case – given that a plethora of such felonies would pass through the County Assizes Sessions on any given day – was that the defendant, James Chard, pleaded GUILTY. Assessing the situation from James’ perspective immediately following his trial, a sentence of 10 years’ transportation for a crime other similar felons had hanged for may have (on the face of it) seemed acceptable. In the Exeter county gaol, awaiting his extradition, he had no way of knowing that his case had caught the attention of advocate Musgrave who had forwarded an appeal to the Sessions magistrate Sir John Graham. When asked, just prior to the appeal being heard, if he wanted to change his plea, James declined, probably in fear of a more severe penalty. What he didn’t know at this critical time - which might have changed his plea - was reported thus: “His mother (Mary) came up to the sessions to have the boy defended, so that the real facts of the case might come out – but from some unexplained reason he (James) pleaded guilty, her intentions were frustrated and he was sentenced to 10 years transportation”. |
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