Borrett Family & History

My understanding is that the surname "Borrett" dates back to the 12th century, based around the area of Alford, Suffolk, England.

John Borrett (Great, Great Grandfather)

Most Borrett's in Australia trace their lineage back to one John Borrett, who was born in 1822 in England.

John Borrett settled in South Australia in 1837, which is very early in the history of that state. John Borrett married Agnes Donnen (1822 to 29-Dec-1897) at the Holy Trinity Church of England in Adelaide on 6-Apr-1843. Together they had eleven children:

1. Joseph Anthony (10-Sep-1844 to 24-Feb-1918),
2. Agnes (22-May-1846 to 24-Sep-1922),
3. John (11-Jul-1848 to 23-Jul-1905),
4. George (22-Sep-1850 to 12-Apr-1920),
5. Jane (1852 to 15-Feb-1943),
6. William (1854 to 1854),
7. Henry (1855 to 20-Nov-1937),
8. Priscilla (1857 to 17-Dec-1865),
9. Christina (25-Dec-1859 to 6-Dec-1930),
10. Betsy Pettit (16-May-1862 to 19-Jul-1949), and
11. William (24-Nov-1864 to 28-Oct-1922).

John Borrett ended up with large holdings of land near Langhorne Creek, where he lived at Raydon Farm, plus other properties in the Flinders Ranges. I believe he also at one time owned the Allgate Hotel.

Certainly, the phone book for the Strathalbyn and Langhorne Creek area is one of the few in which you can find numbers of entries for Borrett.

• Joseph married Esther Hill in the Wesleyan Chapel at Strathalbyn on 25-Mar-1868.
• Agnes married Edward Steer at the Holy Trinity Church of England, Adelaide on 10-Jul-1872.
• John Borrett (Jnr.) married Frances Cleggett on 22-Jul-1869.
• George married Henrietta Jeffries at Christ Church, Strathalbyn, on 31-Mar-1880.
• Jane married Edwin Oliver.
• Henry married Evelina Jones at the St Paul's Church of England, Port Adelaide on 17-Feb-1879.
• Betsy married Berry Smith.

John Borrett snr, died age 84 at "Raydon Farm", Langhorne Creek, South Australia on 21-Aug-1906 and is buried at the Langhorne Creek Cemetery.

You can read a more detailed account of John Borrett's life in Australia here.

William Borrett (Great Grandfather)

William Borrett, born at Langhorne Creek, South Australia on 24-Nov-1864, was the youngest of John Borrett's children.

William Borrett married Eliza Anne Lewis (27-Dec-1866 to 5-Oct-1940) at the Christ Church in Strathalbyn, South Australia on 23-Apr-1890. Together they had six children:

1. John (21-Jan-1891 to 27-Sep-1906),
2. Ethel (21-Nov-1895 to 17-Jul-1971),
3. Robert Lewis (23-Jun-1898 to 22-Oct-1969),
4. Agnes (16-Oct-1899 to 4-Jan-1965),
5. Lucy Francis (13-Jul-1901 to 10-May-1969),
6. Jean Helene (24-Apr-1905 to 14-Apr-1972).

William Borrett and Family, Langhorne Creek, South Australia, circa 1915.

William ran, and later inherited, "Lake View Farm" where my family often had holidays during the 1960s.

"Lake View Farm", Langhorne Creek, South Australia, circa 1965.

The only surviving son was Robert Lewis Borrett, my grandfather.

• Ethel married Robert Stanley Harvey on 24-Dec-1924 and together they worked "Lake View Farm". Robert Harvey died on 4-Jan-1948 and Aunty Ethel continued to work the farm with the help of Clarry Saltmarsh.
• Agnes married John Murray Bray.
• Lucy married Cecil Stanley Woolfit.
• Jean married Arthur Jubez Whittlesea on 16-May-1931.

William Borrett died at age 57 in a private hospital in Strathalbyn on 28-Oct-1922, and is buried at the Langhorne Creek Cemetery.

Robert Lewis Borrett (Grandfather)

Robert Lewis Borrett, 19 Ward Street, Whyalla, circa late 1960s

My paternal grandfather, Robert Lewis Borrett, was born at "Gum Cottage", Langhorne Creek on 23-Jun-1898. He married Ethlelwyn Higgins (27-Dec-1903) at the Holy Trinity Church of England in Adelaide on 1-May-1928, and together they had four children:

1. a stillborn daughter,
2. Dean Lewis,
3. Judith Agnes, and
4. William Whyard.

Robert Borrett worked as a builder in the Milang, Langhorne Creek district, with a particular fondness for cement based construction. He inherited the "Limestone Ridge" farm, where he proceeded to build a cement brick based house, plus other fixtures. The depression forced the sale of the farm, and after working at some small jobs in the district, he parked his wife and children with the Higgins family in Milang, and went to Whyalla in 1940 to work on the construction of the BHP steelworks blast furnace. Later he worked in the BHP Whyalla shipyard as a sawyer.

The Outhouse / Lockup, 19 Ward Street, Whyalla, Feb 2001

He purchased a block of land at 19 Ward Street in Whyalla. First he build an outhouse, which gave him somewhere to lock up his tools. Then he built a three room cement brick shack, in the South West corner of the block, to live in. At the time many other dwellings in Whyalla were white-washed hessian or 44 gallon tar drum shacks, so this shack was relatively luxurious. Once this accommodation was completed, the family joined him in Whyalla. He then started to build the main house, with my father often recalling how he helped to make the cement bricks after school and on weekends.

The Shack / Workshop, 19 Ward Street, Whyalla, Feb 2001

As a child I spent many Saturday's visiting my grandparents. The smallest room of the original shack, then served as my grandfather's workshop, and I would watch as he worked on various projects. Later I became aware that my father would use the workshop to complete whatever project was to be a birthday or Christmas present for us. Thus one could sometimes get a sneak preview by peering in through the workshop window.

"Raydon", 19 Ward Street, Whyalla, Feb 2001

Robert Lewis Borrett died age 71 in the Whyalla hospital on 22-Oct-1969 while my family were living in Port Headland. He was cremated at the Centennial Park Crematorium, Pasadena, South Australia and his ashes were scattered at Langhorne Creek.

Ethelwyn Borrett (Grandmother)

Ethelwyn Borrett, Whyalla, Dec 1968

My paternal grandmother was Ethelwyn Borrett (nee Higgins)who was born in Willunga, South Australia on 27-Dec-1903.

Her father Henry Alfred Higgins (4-Nov-1872 to 20-Sep-1956) was the Milang baker for many years. Henry married Mary Elizabeth Vipond (11-Nov-1879 to 12-Jul-1955) on the 24-Jul-1901 and had nine children:

1. Jessie Mary,
2. Ethelwyn,
3. Charles Henry,
4. David William (Bill),
5. Alfred James,
6. Elsie May,
7. Stella,
8. Laura Margaret, and
9. Lawrence John.

• Jessie married Hubert Banks, a pastoralist near Kingston.
• Charles married Laurice (Poppy) Lovegrove and became District Clerk, Kingston Council.
• Bill married Annie Moar, and was a successful sheep farmer.
• Alfred never married, was a headmaster of high schools, including Port Augusta for many years, and later a lighthouse keeper.
• Elsie married Thomas Beatty.
• Stella married Thomas Lomax.
• Laura married Eric Tuckwell.
• Lawrie married Isabel Balnaves and became a bank manager.

On Saturday's at my grandparents, I would spend time with my nana as she studied the form guide and carefully made her selections for the day. She would also let me make one selection and couldn't understand how I had a better success rate than her. To me it was always commonsense: if you are only making one pick then you're able to choose the most likely winner.

Ethelwyn died age 76 in the Whyalla Hospital on 1-Jul-1980. She was cremated at the Centennial Park Crematorium, Pasadena, South Australia, where her ashes are interned.

Borrett Family Genealogy

My Uncle Whyard Borrett has gone to much trouble to trace the family genealogy. Anyone interested should get in direct contact with him in East Bentleigh, a suburb of Melbourne.