Rockhampton to Melbourne

25 Jan 1947

Rockhampton is on the coast of Queensland, Australia, near Bundaberg where part of the McIlhagger family lived. Ernest Frederick George was one of the sons of George and Annie Elizabeth McIlhagger. George had emigrated from Belfast in 1883 with his parents. Ernest was born in 1911 and probably attended one of the several Churches of Christ churches in the area. There are today one in Bundaberg and two in Rockhampton. 'EFG' was to become a minister of that Denomination and to serve in the State of Victoria. In 1942 he married Margaret Coventry who I imagine was from Melbourne where they married and where 'EFG' did part of his training. Perhaps they went north to Queensland after their marriage for, according to the above newspaper cutting from the local Rockhampton paper, 'Mrs. McIlhagger' (I am presuming she was 'EFG's wife!) had for a time before 1947 been President of the Ladies' Guild of Rockhampton Church of Christ congregation. I assume that 'EFG' was the minister at the time. However, early in 1947 it was a move south again for them, apparently to Melbourne and this event was reported in the local Rockhampton newspaper on the 25th of January of that year. The report, as you can see, is entirely about 'Mrs. McIlhagger' with no mention of her husband. I hope I have got the sequence of events right. If not, I suspect someone will let me know.