Euphemia Lee, c. 1939
Image: Rene Barnes
FatherWilliam Henry Lee b. 1888
MotherBeatrice Maud Steer b. 12 Jul 1893, d. 1982
Pedigree

Birth, Death, Marriage

Euphemia Elizabeth Lee was born on 11 September 1918 in Lake Boga, Victoria.1,2 
She married John Forrester in 1939.3 
She died circa 1992.4 

Family

John Forrester
Child
ChartsSteer, Edward, descendant chart

Story

Euphemia Elizabeth Lee was born in Lake Boga on 11 September 1918. She was the second child of Beatrice and William. She was known as Effie.2,1
 
Effie and John Meet
At age 19 or 20, Effie had left the family home at Lake Boga and was working as head waitress in the dining room of the Swan Hill Hotel. She met a young Melbourne plasterer staying at the hotel and working on the new hospital. The two struck up a good relationship while he was there, and when the job was finished he was moving to Shepparton to work on a new bank building. After a couple of weeks she was missing him so much, her Mum suggested she go to Shepparton for a holiday, as Tom and Sis Phillips [Sis and Effie were cousins] had the hotel at Pine Lodge, about 5 miles out of Shepp. Effie gave up her job hoping that she could get another in Shepparton. [John Forrester]5

 
Time at the Pine Lodge Hotel 
Around 1939, Effie Lee stayed with her cousin Sis Phillips and the family at the Pine Lodge Hotel where Tom found work for her. Effie greatly enjoyed being with Tom, Sis and the three youngest children, Rene, Don and Brian (the oldest three were at boarding school in Kilmore). The camera recorded an occasion when they all dressed up for a day at the Shepparton Show.

There were two Albanians known as Sam and Louie who did work for Tom and lived at the back of the hotel. They made a necklace with intricate beadwork for Rene and another for Effie. Rene still had her necklace 80 years later.5,6,7
Don, Rene, Brian & Irene Sis (McDonald) Phillips, & Effie Lee, c. 1939
Image: Rene Barnes
Sis Phillips (McDonald) & Effie Lee, c. 1939
Image: Rene Barnes
Don, Rene & Brian Phillips, c. 1939
Image: Rene Barnes
Rene Barnes (Phillips) & Effie Lee wearing necklaces made by Albanians Sam & Louie while at the Pine Lodge Hotel, Shepparton East, c. 1939
Image: Peter Phillips
Effie and John became engaged while in Shepparton.4
 
Marriage
Euphemia Elizabeth Lee and John Forrester were married in Kerang in 1939.3,4
 
They moved to Melbourne to live.8
 
Jack served in the Second World War. Effie moved to Mooroopna with son John, to live. Her cousin, Bub Williams, was running the Cricketers Arms hotel and gave Effie a job as a waitress. Beatrice was also there, and was happy to have her daughter and grandson around.8
 
Euphemia Elizabeth 'Effie' Forrester died about 1992.4
 

Citations

  1. [S51] Margaret Sellwood, personal communication, 6 April 1996.
  2. [S270] Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, registry and index, 'Euphemia Elizth Lee' entry, birth registration no. 20828, 1918.
  3. [S270] Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, registry and index, 'Jno Forrester' and 'Euphemia Elizth Lee' entry, marriage registration no. 15194, 1939.
  4. [S148] John Forrester, personal communication, 26 December 2011.
  5. [S148] John Forrester, personal communication, 12 January 2012.
  6. [S15] Irene Barnes, personal communication, 4 December 2013.
  7. [S126] Peter Phillips, personal knowledge or recollection.
  8. [S376] From the Memories of the Life of Beatrice Lee, unpublished, 1987, p. 12.