EMMA ORCZY - WW1

Emma Orczy - How World War 1 affected women

A lot of women took new jobs in war industries because the pay was better, and the work more interesting, than what was open to them before (though the work was often hard and exhausting). It was also a way to support the war effort and indirectly support men they knew who were fighting.

Emma Orczy, the daughter of the composer, Baron Felix Orczy, was born in Hungary in 1865. Educated in Brussels and Paris, Orczy moved to London in 1880 to study art.

While in England Orczy met and married the English artist, Montague Barstow. In 1905 Orczy published her first novel, The Scarlet Pimpernel. The book was a great success but the numerous sequels such as I Will Repay (1906) and the Elusive Pimpernel (1908) sold poorly. Orczy also wrote detective fiction including The Old Man in the Corner (1909) and Lady Molly of Scotland Yard (1910).

During the First World War Orczy was actively involved in the Order of the White Feather, an organisation that encouraged women to give out white feathers to young men who had not joined the British Army.

After the Armistice Orczy moved to Monte Carlo where she continued to write novels and an autobiography, Links in the Chain of Life.

Emma Orczy died in 1947.

Financial Cost of the First World War

Allied Powers	Cost in Dollars in 1914-18
United States	22,625,253,000
Great Britain	35,334,012,000
France	24,265,583,000
Russia	22,293,950,000
Italy	12,413,998,000
Belgium	1,154,468,000
Romania	1,600,000,000
Japan	40,000,000
Serbia	399,400,000
Greece	270,000,000
Canada	1,665,576,000
Australia	1,423,208,000
New Zealand	378,750,000
India	601,279,000
South Africa	300,000,000
British Colonies	125,000,000
Others	500,000,000
Total of all Costs	125,690,477,000

MURRAY BROTHERS - Part 2

In 1889 Murray Brothers erected Parramatta’s first shopping emporium on the corner of Church and Macquarie Streets at a cost of 10,000 pounds which supplied all trades.  Household items were also sold i.e. furniture and furnishing, crockery, pianos, organs, clothes and jams. In 1890s Murray Brothers received a Certificate of Merit for colonial made furniture by Royal Agriculture Society.

During 1903 Murray Brothers was divided into two companies, Murray Brothers Ltd. and Murrays Limited, maintaining separate but adjacent businesses.  Drapery and furniture was under the control of Murray Brothers and the hardware section under the control of Murrays Limited.  W. R. Murray became sole proprietor of Murray Brothers.  The plumbing section was taken over by T. H. Harvey and E. N. Murray and became Harvey and Sons Pty. Ltd.

During the Second World War Murray Brothers donated 1000 pounds to the war effort. 

A new store was built on the north west corner of Church and Macquarie Streets after the National School was demolished in c1924.  Murray Brothers acquired extra property in August 1958 at the rear and a four storey building was erected with a Marsden Street frontage.  Fire guttered the furniture factory at the rear of the store damaging stores of furniture and expensive cabinet making machinery. Damage bill running into many thousands of pounds.

In 1947, Murray Brothers manufactured their last consignment of Blind and Curtain.  Also that year the business was purchased by Burns Philp and Co. Ltd.

1^st May 1954, Murray Brothers purchased the site from the Church of England for 250,000 pounds.  A store was built on the site while the land was still under the lease from the church.

Murray Brothers expanded to become Parramatta’s oldest and highly respected departmental store with the policy of supplying the needs of residents in and around Parramatta. Murray Brothers closed their doors in 1978 after 102 years of trading in Parramatta.  They stayed in the Parramatta location not spreading their wings into other suburbs.

References:

• T Kass, C Liston and John McClymont, Parramatta: A Past Revealed, Parramatta City Council, Parramatta, 1996

• Murray Brothers, Vertical File, Local Studies and Family History Library, Parramatta Heritage and Visitor Information Centre

• Photos from , Local Studies and Family History Library, Parramatta Heritage and Visitor Information Centre

• http://trove.nla.gov.au

• http://dictionaryofsydney.org

William Gregory Fargie - WW1

Private William Gregory Fargie was born in Gosford. He served in France in 54^th Battalion and was killed in action on 15^th May 1917. Private Fargie , prior to enlisting, was employed at the Clyde Works. He was the youngest son of Lira Barnett and resided with his brother Norman Fergie at Trongate Street, Granville. William Fergie died in action in France at the age of 31. He is buried in Villers Bretenneux Memorial – MR 26 – Part 11 C-F

MURRAY BROTHERS - Part 1

William Richard Murray came to Australia with his parents and siblings in 1856, his father J.H. Murray taking up a position of teacher opening the first National School in 1866.   On 29^th April 1876 E. N. Murray, brother of W. R. Murray, opened his hardware business in a small 12’ x 24’ shop. W. R. Murray acquired Charles Tuke’s general store in 1877 opened his own business in Church Street.  In this store the residents were able to purchase “Pianofortes and American Organs on easy terms and sewing machines on time payment, no interest” this was pioneering the field of selling by time payment.  About the same time E. N. Murray, brother of W. R. Murray, opened another hardware and crockery shop on the other side of the street selling hardware and crockery.

In 1884 the brothers join forces - E.N. Murray joining his brother on the site; this was the beginning of the firm “Murray Brothers”.  A furniture section was added to the many other branches of the business. They were importing goods, selling pianos & organs and manufacturing household items like clothes and jams.  At one stage the furniture and jam factories were located in the old Ice Works in Smith Street beside the river. Their progress resulted in Murray Brothers becoming a household name in Parramatta.

Murray Brothers purchased the Woolen Mill from the French family in 1887 for 2000 pounds and operated under the name of Parramatta Woolen Mill.  They installed the machinery acquired from the Byrnes Australian Mill in Granville.  Water from the nearby Hunts Creek was used for scouring the wool which was then dried in the sun, sorted, carded and woven into medal winning rugs and blankets.  Parramatta Woolen Mills won gold medals at Royal Agriculture show in Sydney in 1897, 1898 and 1899 for rugs and blankets. In 1908 Parramatta Woolen Mills won gold medal at Franco-British exhibition for uniforms. In 1911 the mill was sold to A. E. Daking Smith.

Murray Brothers employed over 100 people working in the shop and the various factories also the woolen mills.  The items supplied by these factories were sold in the shop. 

Stay tuned... more in the next blog!

GALLIPOLI

Gallipoli

The Battle of Gallipoli was one of the Allies great disasters in World War One. It was carried out between 25th April 1915 and 9th January 1916 on the Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire. The doomed campaign was thought up by Winston Churchill to end the war early by creating a new war front that the Ottomans could not cope with.

On  25th November 1914, Winston Churchill suggested his plan for a new war front in the Dardanelles to the British government’s War Council. On January 15th 1915, the War Council gave its agreement and British troops in Egypt were put on alert. The Central Powers were fighting primarily on two fronts – the Western and Eastern Fronts. Fighting against such he armies as the Russian and French armies put a great deal of strain on the German military. The input of the smaller Austrian army into the major battles had been small when compared to the German army’s input.

Churchill’s idea was simple. Creating another front would force the Germans to split their army still further as they would need to support the badly rated Turkish army. When the Germans went to assist the Turks, that would leave their lines weakened in the west or east and lead to greater mobility there as the Allies would have a weakened army to fight against.

The Turks had joined the Central Powers in November 1914 and they were seen by Churchill as being the weak underbelly of those who fought against the Allies.

Churchill had contacted Admiral Carden– head of the British fleet anchored off of the Dardanelles – for his thoughts on a naval assault on Turkish positions in the Dardanelles. Carden was cautious about this and replied to Churchill that a gradual attack might be more appropriate and had a greater chance of success. Churchill, as First Lord of the Admiralty, pushed Carden to produce a plan which he, Churchill, could submit to the War Office. Senior commanders in the navy were concerned at the speed with which Churchill seemed to be pushing an attack on the Dardanelles. They believed that long term planning was necessary and that Churchill’s desire for a speedy plan, and therefore, execution was risky. However, such was Churchill’s enthusiasm, the War Council approved his plan and targeted February as the month the campaign should start.

There is confusion as to what was decided at this meeting of the War Council. Churchill believed that he had been given the go-ahead; Asquith believed that what was decided was merely“provisional to prepare, but nothing more.” A naval member of the Council, Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson, stated:

“It was not my business. I was not in any way connected with the question, and it had never in any way officially been put before me." Churchill’s secretary considered that the members of the Navy who were present “only agreed to a purely naval operation on the understanding that we could always draw back – that there should be no question of what is known as forcing the Dardanelles.”

With such apprehension and seeming confusion as to what the War Office did believe, Churchill’s plan was pushed through. It would appear that there was a belief that the Turks would be an easy target and that minimal force would be needed for success. Carden was given the go ahead to prepare an assault.

On February 19th 1915, Carden opened up the attack on Turkish positions in the Dardanelles. British and ANZAC troops were put on standby in Egypt.

The next phase of the battle started in August. Hamilton ordered an attack on Suvla Bay that was not heavily defended. The landing took place on August 6th and involved the landing of 63,000 Allied troops. This time the secrecy behind the operation was so complete that senior officers were unaware of what others were doing. These 63,000 men were meant to take the area around Suvla Bay and then link up with the ANZAC’s at Anzac Cove. The plan very nearly worked but the ANZAC’s could not break out of Anzac Cove. The British at Suvla were pushed back by a frantic attack led by Mustapha Kemal and by August 10th, the Turks had retaken Suvla Bay.

However, the opponents of the campaign in London had become louder and more numerous. Hamilton was recalled and he was replaced by Sir Charles Monro. He recommended evacuation and the task was given to Birdwood. The evacuation of Suvla Bay and Anzac Cove was a brilliant success. It was accomplished on December 19th to December 20th. Not one casualty occurred.

The evacuation of Helles occurred on January 8th to January 9th, again with no loss of life. Thus the campaign ended with two successes.

However, the overall campaign was a disaster of the first order. Over 200,000 Allied casualties occurred with many deaths coming from disease. The number of Turkish deaths is not clear but it is generally accepted that they were over 200,000.