John Phillips
Image: Roylyn Phillips
FatherJames Phillips b. c 1825, d. 16 Sep 1866
MotherBridget McMahon b. c 1835, d. 25 Dec 1903
Pedigree

Birth, Death, Marriage

John Phillips was born on 25 July 1863 in Lal Lal, Victoria.1,2 
He married Ellen O'Loughlin, daughter of Michael O'Loughlin and Margaret Lee, on 15 April 1891 in Dunnstown, Victoria.3 
He died on 6 August 1925 in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, at age 62.4,5 

Family

Ellen O'Loughlin b. 26 Mar 1869, d. 24 Jun 1951
Children
ChartsO'Loughlin, Michael, descendant chart
Phillips, James, descendant chart
Phillips, Thomas, pedigree chart

Story

John Phillips was a well respected local who worked hard to provide for his family of ten children. He worked for 34 years as a line repairer for the railways, from before he married till a year before his death at the age of 62. He left ten children, but could only have known six of his eventual twenty-two grandchildren.
 
John Phillips was born in Lal Lal (or possibly Meredith), Victoria on 25 July 1863. He was the child of James and Bridget. On his sister's birth registration he is known as John Thomas.3,6,1
 
Birth Puzzle
The date and place of John's birth was unknown by the family. In 1996, his youngest daughter Eileen admitted she had never known her father's birthday (she was eight when he died). His birth registration has not been found.

On John's marriage registration, death registration and on most of the birth registrations of his children, his birth place is given as Lal Lal, about 20 km south-east of Ballarat. On the birth registration for his son Thomas, his place of birth is given as Meredith, about 40 km south-east of Ballarat and half way to Geelong. Meredith is also the place of birth listed for his sister Bridget Phillips, who was born in 1865. Lal Lal and Meredith are both on the Geelong to Ballarat railway line.

His date of birth has been found in a Victorian Railways list of employees in the Victorian Government Gazette.7,3,2,8,6,9
 
John's father, James, died when he was just three years old. By this time, he had a one-year-old sister, named Bridget after their mother.10,6
 
Marriage
John and Ellen were married in St Mary's Roman Catholic church in Dunnstown, near Ballarat, in 1891. This is where Ellen was born.

Witnesses to the marriage were Cornelius O'Loughlin and Margaret O'Loughlin, Ellen's cousin and sister.3
Phillips-O'Loughlin marriage registration, 1891
Image: Vic BDM registry
At the time of the wedding, both of Ellen's parents had died. And as John's only remaining family was his mother, she was the only one of the parents to see them marry.

John was a Catholic because of his Irish mother, the family name Phillips not normally being associated with Catholicism at the time. When they moved to Bacchus Marsh, they were the only Catholic Phillipses there.11
John & Ellen Phillips (O'Loughlin)
Image: Roylyn Phillips
Railway Servant
At the time of his 1891 marriage, John listed his occupation as railway servant and usual residence as Nhill. In every other document, such as childrens' birth registrations and electoral rolls, he is a 'line repairer' or 'repairer'.

John was appointed to the Victorian Railways on 19 August 1890 (age 27). His departmental number was 6314. In 1896 he was in the Existing Lines branch and working around Nhill. This was just a year after the line from Dimboola to Serviceton, through Nhill, was completed. Line maintenance would be required soon after construction as the sleepers settled into the ballast. By 1905, he was part of the Way and Works branch and working in Bacchus Marsh.

In 1908, Ellen began working for the railways as a gatewoman.

In 1902 John's wage was 7 shillings, in 1914 it was 8s 6d, and by 1921 it was 12s 3d. The significant jump in pay most likely corresponds with extra responsibilities. At the time of his retirement in 1924, John was on a wage of 13s 6d and was in charge of the upkeep of the line on either side of the Bacchus Marsh railway station.

John Phillips retired in 1924 after 34 years in the railways.3,12,8,2,13,14
 
Raising Family
Following their marriage in Dunnstown, the couple lived near John's work around Nhill in western Victoria. They likely lived in a railway house in Lillimur. The three eldest children, Larry, Mary and Tess, were born in Lillimur.

Around 1897, the family moved to Bacchus Marsh. They initially lived in Turner St in what would likely have been another railway house. There is a Bacchus Marsh railway manifest for April 1897 that mentions a Mr Phillips. It is likely that this was delivery of some or all of the family's belongings in their move from Lillimur to Bacchus Marsh. This is just two weeks before the birth of son Tom. More children arrived while in Turner St, Jack, Joe, Jim and Annie.

In 1908, the family moved into the gatehouse on Vallence Rd. Son Danny was born soon after they moved. And tenth and last child, Eileen, was born in 1911.

The children all attended one of the two local Catholic schools. Either St Bernard's School in Gisborne Rd, or St Joseph's Convent School adjoining St Bernard's church in Lerderderg St. The family is recorded as having made a donation towards the construction of the new convent school.11,15,16
 
In 1890 four sisters of the order of St Joseph's, arrived from Sydney to act as educators. A house was purchased for them to use as a convent and high class ladies' school. In time, a detached schoolhouse was erected at the site and it was then that the students were relocated for the last time to our current site in Gisborne Rd - St Bernard's School.

Our beautiful convent was erected in 1900 with classes being held in the downstairs area and the upper floor being used as convent and boarding school. The attached chapel was built in 1905.

St Bernard's was the first Catholic school to be run by the Sisters of St Joseph, founded by Saint Mary MacKillop. Mary would often visit the convent on her journeys between Sydney and Melbourne and past students fondly remembered her handing out boiled lollies to the children.17
 
One Grandparent for the Children
The children would not have known what life could be like with grandparents. Ellen's mother died when she was only three, John's father died when he was only three, and Ellen's father died before John and Ellen married. So John's mother was the only grandparent that any of the children knew, and she died of dementia when the eldest, Larry, was just six.18,19,20,10
 
The Gatehouse
The gatehouse was next to the railway line on the north-east corner of the Vallence Rd crossing (this crossing was removed in 2004). It was a small four-roomed house, and the older boys slept in a tent in the back yard.

The children would play with any children nearby or who were known through school or St Bernard's church. There was a strong connection with all the Vallence families with a number living nearby including Nell, Eddie, Amy and Harry, who were just over the railway line. Lifelong friendships were known between the Phillips children and Vallences. And Mary married Bill Vallence.

The wide age range of the children, nineteen years to the day between the eldest and youngest, created an interesting household. Larry was working as a hairdresser before Eileen was born. He married when Eileen was just three, and made her Auntie Eileen at age four, before she started school.

During and following the First World War, the children gradually started leaving home.

Larry was first to leave the gatehouse, around 1914. About five years later he was followed by Tess and Tom. Last to leave home from the gatehouse was Mary in 1923.11,21,22
Railway gatehouse (Phillips family home), Vallence Rd, Bacchus Marsh
Image: Bacchus Marsh & District Historical Society
Preparation For Retirement
Ellen and John prepared for his retirement. In 1921, John's pay increased significantly and Ellen purchased land from the railways on what was later Vallence Rd.

The property was just over two acres with a 56 m frontage to Vallence Rd, and was about 150 m south of the gatehouse.

During the next four years, they built a house there.23
Title held by Ellen Phillips, Bacchus Marsh, Jul 1921
Image: Land Registry Services
Health and Final Years 
John was described as 'always a hard-working and respectable man'. He was also described as 'a bit grumpy'.

For the majority of John's time on the railways, the work was physically demanding. By his retirement in 1924, he had a duodenal ulcer and a heart condition, and reportedly got puffed on the way from the railway gatehouse to the church.

John Phillips died from a duodenal ulcer haemorrhage and heart failure at the gatehouse in Bacchus Marsh on 6 August 1925, aged 62. He was buried at Maddingley cemetery on 8 August with his mother Bridget.24,25,26,7,5
DEATHS
PHILLIPS.- On 6th August, at his residence, Bacchus Marsh, John, beloved husband of Ellen Phillips, and loved father of Laurence, Mary (Mrs WJ Vallence), Teresa (MRS T O'Loughlin), Thomas, John, Joseph, James, Annie, Daniel and Eileen. Aged 62 years.
RIP.27
 
[Obituary]
The death is announced of Mr John Phillips, who has resided at Bacchus Marsh for 30 yrs; he was a member of the Railway Department staff in charge of the upkeep of the line on the section either side of the local railway station. Mr Phillips was always a hard-working and respected man, and it is a pity that he was not spared to enjoy more of his retired life, which took place just a year ago. He was born at Lal Lal 62 years ago, and leaves a widow, also a large grown-up family of ten - six sons and four daughters. The funeral will take place this Saturday afternoon, at the Maddingley cemetery.24
 
BEREAVEMENT NOTICES
MRS PHILLIPS and family desire to express sincere thanks to all kind friends and neighbours for letters, cards, telegrams, floral tributes and personal expressions of sympathy in their recent ead bereavement. Will all please accept this as a personal acknowledgment of our deepest gratitude.
"Sunnyside," Bacchus Marsh. [Sep 1925]28
 

Citations

  1. [S244] Victoria Government Gazette, 1836-1997, Victorian Railways list of employees, 4 February 1896, p. 690.
  2. [S358] Eileen Phillips, birth registration no. 223, 17 January 1911.
  3. [S22] John Phillips and Ellen O'Loughlin, marriage registration no. 3056, 1891.
  4. [S270] Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, registry and index, John Phillips entry, death registration no. 7850, 1925.
  5. [S359] John Phillips, death registration no. 7850, 6 August 1925.
  6. [S29] Bridget Phillips, birth registration no. 23864, 6 September 1865.
  7. [S31] Eileen Redden, personal communication, 16 November 1996.
  8. [S10] Thomas James Phillips, birth registration no. 8018, 2 May 1897.
  9. [S357] Annie Eileen Phillips, birth registration no. 23661, 25 September 1906.
  10. [S34] James Phillips, death registration, 16 September 1866.
  11. [S318] Bacchus Marsh & District Historical Society, personal communication, 8 November 2013.
  12. [S244] Victoria Government Gazette, 1836-1997, 4 February 1896, p.690.
  13. [S244] Victoria Government Gazette, 1836-1997, 1902, 1905, 1921 and 1924.
  14. [S392] Australia, Electoral Rolls 1903-1980, online, division of Corio, subdivision of Bacchus Marsh, 1908.
  15. [S276] '[No title]', Bacchus Marsh Express, 1857-1983, newspaper, Christopher Crisp & George Land, 17 April 1897, p. 2, viewed 23 June 2014, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88346650
  16. [S392] Australia, Electoral Rolls 1903-1980, online, division of Corio, subdivision of Bacchus Marsh, 1903.
  17. [S2] 'History', St Bernard's Parish Primary School, online, St Bernard's Parish Primary School, Bacchus Marsh, August 2021, viewed 12 September 2021.
  18. [S54] Michael O'Loghlen, death registration no. 5727, 1 June 1890.
  19. [S47] Margaret O'Loughlin, death registration no. 2885, 15 February 1873.
  20. [S48] Bridget Phillips, death registration no. 18989, 25 December 1903.
  21. [S38] Lynette Dow, personal communication, 18 December 1996.
  22. [S331] Joan McClure, personal communication, 11 December 2013.
  23. [S561] LANDATA, online property information, certificate of title, vol. 4466, folio 186, Bacchus Marsh 1921-1990.
  24. [S276] '[no title]', Bacchus Marsh Express, 1857-1983, newspaper, Christopher Crisp & George Land, 8 August 1925, p. 2, viewed 4 September 2021, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/262252670
  25. [S44] Roylyn Phillips, personal communication, 13 March 1996.
  26. [S52] Doris 'Nene' Courtie, personal communication, 30 December 1996.
  27. [S276] 'Deaths: Phillips', Bacchus Marsh Express, 1857-1983, newspaper, Christopher Crisp & George Land, 8 August 1925, viewed 8 November 2013.
  28. [S572] 'Bereavement notices', Melton Express, 1905-1943, newspaper, Christopher Crisp, 5 September 1925, p. 2, viewed 4 September 2021, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/254706533