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 Orford, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom.

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 born in Thebarton, South Australia (10-Sep-1844 to 24-Feb-1918);
2. Agnes born in Thebarton, South Australia (22-May-1846 to 24-Sep-1922);
3. John born in Angas Survey, South Australia (11-Jul-1848 to 23-Jul-1905);
4. George born in Highland Valley, South Australia (22-Sep-1850 to 12-Apr-1920);
5. Jane born in Adelaide, South Australia (26-Aug-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 born in Langhorne Creek, South Australia (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 in in Mount Barker, South Australia, on 22-Jul-1869.
• George married Henrietta Jeffries at Christ Church, Strathalbyn, on 31-Mar-1880.
• Jane married Edwin Olliver at Strathalbyn, South Australia, on 23-Oct-1878.
• 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 born in Langhorne Creek, South Australia (21-Jan-1891 to 27-Sep-1906);
2. Ethel born in Strathalbyn, South Australia (21-Nov-1895 to 17-Jul-1971);
3. Robert Lewis born in Langhorne Creek, South Australia (23-Jun-1898 to 22-Oct-1969);
4. Agnes (16-Oct-1899 to 4-Jan-1965);
5. Lucy Francis born in Langhorne Creek, South Australia (13-Jul-1901 to 10-May-1969); and
6. Jean Helene born in Langhorne Creek, South Australia (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.
• Robert Lewis married Ethlelwyn Higgins (27-Dec-1903 to 1-Jul-1980) at the Holy Trinity Church of England on North Terrace in Adelaide on 1-May-1928.
• Agnes married John Murray Bray (11-Nov-1898 to Deceased).
• Lucy married Cecil Stanley Woolfit (10-Aug-1889 to 31-Jan-1971).
• Jean married Arthur Jubez Whittlesea (2-Oct-1904 to 14-May-1950) 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 to 1-Jul-1980) 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 born in Strathalbyn, South Australia (19-Jun-1932 to 2-Mar-2019);
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 born in Willunga, South Australia (27-Dec-1903 to 1-Jul-1980);
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.

Dean Borrett (Father)

Dean Borrett calf riding, Langhorne Creek, circa 1938

My father Dean Lewis Borrett was born in Strathalbyn, South Australia on 19 June 1932. He lived until 1939 on the "Limestone Ridge" farm at Langhorne Creek in relatively poor circumstances. He attended a 17 child school with 7 grades, having to walk 3 miles to school with occasional laps behind an 8-horse team on the way. He then spent a year living in Milang while his father was away.

Dean Borrett sailing, Spencer Gulf, circa 1961

At age 8, the family moved to Whyalla where he attended the Memorial Oval Primary School and later the Whyalla High School.

His teenage years were busy with sailing, camping, shooting, Australian rules with the South Whyalla football club, and school holiday work as an assistant to a plumber or electrician. He was in the Whyalla Sea Scouts until age 16 and Rover Scouts until age 19.

There was a progression of motor bikes, starting with a very basic 1927 AJS and finishing with a 1951 Triumph TR6 Thunderbird.

In 1949 at age 16, Dean started work as a Fitter & Turner apprentice with the BHP steelworks in Whyalla and achieved state recognition. After 4.5 years in the workforce he was invited to be a draftsman and embarked on tertiary part time studies for the next 15 years through the SA School of Mines and SA Institute of Technology. This resulted in an Associate Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and some management qualifications.

Marie Williamson, Whyalla, Dec 1952

Dean Borrett met Marie Elizabeth Williamson in 1953 and they began going out together. Dances at the Whyalla Yacht Club and Institute Hall were a highlight.

Dean and Marie married at the St Martin's Church of England in Whyalla on 8-Oct-1955. Together they had four children:

1. Lloyd Robert born in Whyalla, South Australia (22-Jul-1956);
2. Susan Margaret;
3. Kym Andrew John; and
4. Paul William.

Initially after their marriage, Dean and Marie lived with my paternal grandparents at 19 Ward Street, Whyalla, until they moved into their new home at 91 Playford Avenue, Whyalla, with Arthur and Marcia Finch as neighbours.

Dean and Marie Borrett, Sydney, Dec 1986

Dean was a member of Apex, Rostrum, School Councils, and for a short time joint District Commissioner of Scouting. He found it very interesting to have been part of the Whyalla community that had grown from some 7,000 people in 1941 to just over 30,000 when he left in 1978.

In 1969, Dean was seconded from BHP to Mt Newman Mining in Port Hedland for just over a year as Chief Engineer. The first three months were spent at the Mt Newman mine, and then rest of the time at the port facility in Port Hedland. The family returned to Whyalla in January 1970, and took up residence at 43 Wood Terrace.

Dean "Luigi" Borrett, Frenchs Forest, Dec 1986

In 1979 Dean and Marie moved to Frenchs Forest, Sydney, with just my youngest brother Paul living at home. Marie kept Dean busy with a never ending list of jobs to be done around the house.

Dean worked with BHP Engineering from their North Sydney office, consulting on many BHP projects in Australia and around the world. He retired from BHP in 1994 after a total of 45.5 years of service.

He then immediately began work as a consulting engineer, regularly working with Harrison Gray, a firm of insurance loss adjusters.

Dean Borrett passed on Saturday, 2nd March 2019, at age 86 years, 8 months, 11 days, whilst living at Abbey House nursing home in Mittagong, New South Wales.

William Whyard Borrett (Uncle)

Whyard, Jeffrey and nana Ethelwyn Borrett, April 1976

William Whyard Borrett was born in Strathalbyn and grew up in Whyalla. He moved from Whyalla to Melbourne shortly after I was born and I saw little of him whilst growing up. That changed when I moved to Melbourne in 1996 to work for BHP, in their Head Office where Uncle Whyard was the Paymaster.

Whyard married Lois Elizabeth Mee (21-Feb-1938) at the St Martin's Church of England, Middle Brighton, Victoria on 3-Jan-1967, and together they had four children:

1. Lewis Alan Whyard;
2. Elizabeth Anne Whyard (deceased);
3. John Dean Whyard; and
4. Jeffrey Peter Whyard.

Amongst other interests, Whyard and Louis were life members of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Victoria.

Borrett Family Genealogy

My Uncle Whyard Borrett went to much trouble to trace the Borrett family genealogy. Sadly, no-one has picked up the reigns.