What ladder did they walk under?

Many of us have issues we have to deal with in life, but next time you are struggling, spare a thought for George Henry Tunsted and his family.

Born in 1893 to George Tunsted and Margaretha (nee Antoniolli), George Henry grew up in the New Italy area on the Northern Rivers of New South Wales. The first sign of trouble in his life, would have been the difficult marriage between his parents.

In 1911, George Henry's mother had taken his father to court to pay for maintenance of their large family, indicating that they had separated. George Sr was given the ultimatum of paying 15 shillings weekly, due monthly, or face one month's hard labour in Grafton gaol.

Only seven months later, George Sr was pulled in front of the judge again and told to pay the maintenance he was neglecting. Margaretha eventually remarried and moved to the Tweed area.

In 1916 George Henry married Pearl Munkman and they went on to have a large family. Although no details are given, it was probably in the late 1920s that George lost sight in one eye due to an accident.

Then in 1932, while bullock-driving, George was crushed by a log when it rolled on him while working at Sly Bros at Woodburn. Both legs were broken and several ribs were fractured and he also suffered severe internal injuries. An ambulance was sent for and he was taken to the Coraki Hospital.

A number of tragedies happened in quick succession. In 1934 George and Pearl's 10-year-old daughter Joyce died and was buried in Woodburn cemetery. A wooden cross marks her last burial place. George Sr also passed away and was buried in the cemetery at Coraki.

Joyce Tunsted's simple grave in Woodburn cemetery. Courtesy Findagrave.

In 1941 George and Pearl farewelled two of their sons, Keith and George as they went off to war. In 1943 they received telegrams that both sons were being held in POW camps in Singapore and Thailand respectively. They wouldn't make it home until 1945.

Meanwhile, as their sons were being held in foreign camps in 1943, George Henry had another accident. This time he'd had a fall, again at the sawmill where he worked. Once again, an ambulance was called and he was treated in Coraki Hospital.

George Henry Tunsted's grave in Evans Head cemetery. Courtesy Findagrave.

George's wife, Pearl, didn't get off easily either. She had gone to visit her sister, Charlotta Adams, who had fallen into a bad depression after the death of her husband two years earlier in 1943. Pearl was confronted with her sister, showing where she had slashed her own throat. Pearl raced off to find someone to help, but when she returned, her sister had disappeared. Her body was found where she had drowned in a nearby creek.

Both George and Pearl's sons made it back to Australia where they lived long lives. George Henry died in 1967, followed by Pearl in 1980. They are both buried in Evans Head cemetery.

References

• 'Woodburn Police Court', the Richmond River Herald and Northern Districts Advertiser, Tuesday, 14 February, 1911, Page 2

• 'Crushed by Log', Tweed Daily, Wednesday, 30 November, 1932, Page 2

• 'Joyce Tunsted', findagrave, accessed 26th December, 2024, Joyce Tunsted (unknown-1934) - Find a Grave Memorial

• 'George Tunsted, findagrave, accessed 26th December, 2024, George Tunsted (1857-1934) - Find a Grave Memorial

• 'Woodburn', Northern Star, Monday 7 April, 1941, Page 8

• 'Tunsted Keith', National Australian Archives, accessed 26th December, 2024, Item details

• 'Tunsted, George', National Australian Archives, accessed 26th December, 2024, Item details

• 'Mill Worker Injured', Northern Star, Friday, 25th June, 1943, Page 4

• 'Inquest into death of Dungay woman', Tweed Daily, Monday, 23 April, 1945, Page 2