Table of Contents

1913-1976 Reg Charles ADAMS of Bairnsdale

Birth Name Reg Charles ADAMS
Known as Reg
Birth Date 12 July 1913
Birth Place Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia
Death Date 17 June 1976 (age 62)
Death Place Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
Cause of Death Bronchopneumonia and Diabetes
Burial Date 21 June 1976
Burial Place Bendigo Public Cemetery
Height 5ft 10in (178cm)
Weight 175lb (80kg)
Complexion Dark
Eyes Brown
Hair Dark
Religion Church of England

Parents

Grandparents

Marriages

1937 Marriage of Reg Charles ADAMS and Adelaide Ena McROBERT

Life Story of Reg Charles Adams

Reg was born in Bairnsdale in 1913. He had many occupations over his lifetime. He was a pig farmer, a motor mechanic, a surveyor in the mines, a flight navigator in the Air Force, a bar tender, and a postal officer. He was a bit of a gambler, and loved to drink.

I have a few memories of my Pop. He used to like doing woodwork in his shed in Keck Street, Bendigo and I remember him making me a balsa wood aeroplane. He used to sit in his chair and eat coolmints, and he had an alligator nut cracker to crack open the almond nuts that came from the tree in his backyard. He was a big man, but a friendly man with a big laugh.

Ena and Reg married in 1937 in Bendigo. They had first met at a local dance. The story my mother tells me is that Reg walked in the door and Ena was taken with him right away. Ena, from a well to do family and a legal secretary, must have been very much in love to decide to marry a mechanic. She turned her back on all the trimmings of her privileged upbringing and her job as a legal secretary and went off with Reg. They moved to Broken Hill immediately after they married and Reg worked in the mines there. While in Broken Hill their first son Morris ADAMS was born. They then moved to Norseman in Western Australia where Reg worked in the mines as well. After that they returned to Victoria and lived in Newport where Reg worked in the local munitions factory as an engineer. As the war progressed Reg decided to join the RAAF and he trained to become a flight navigator and wireless air gunner. He was on his way to his posting in Darwin when the Japanese bombings occurred and arrived just after the declaration of surrender by the Japanese. He remained in Darwin for a short period flying various missions as the war effort wound down. He then returned to Newport and left the airforce. Shortly afterward his daughter Lyn ADAMS was born.

After the war the family moved to Taradale where his daughter Kathryn was born. While living in Taradale Reg had a bad car accident where he nearly died. He was sued by the occupant of the other car for injuries they incurred in the accident. He lost the case in court and had to pay substantial sums of money to the woman.

The family then moved to Brunswick where they lived for a time before they moved to Mount Evelyn and then Hurstbridge where they lived for several years. They later moved to a farm in St Andrews. Then in 1975 they moved back to Bendigo and lived in Keck Street.

Reg fell ill in 1976 and died in the Bendigo hospital from Bronchopneumonia and Diabetes. He was buried in the Bendigo Cemetery. Ena remained in Bendigo, where she had been born, for the remainder of her very long life and never remarried. She was finally laid to rest beside Reg in May 2004.

Stories about Mum and Dad

Information about Reg

Year Details Reference Location
1913 Birth 1913 Birth Certificate Bairnsdale
1934 Motor Mechanic 1934 Electoral Roll 564 High Street, Golden Square
1936 Motor Mechanic 1936 Electoral Roll 125 Creek Street, Bendigo
1937 Motor Mechanic 1937 Electoral Roll 125 Creek Street, Bendigo
1937 Marriage 1937 Marriage of Reg Charles ADAMS and Adelaide Ena McROBERT St John's Presbyterian Church, Bendigo
1937 Photo 1937 Photo of Reg and Ena at Fortuna Fortuna, Bendigo
1938 Birth Birth of Morris Broken Hill
1939 Surveyor 1939 Electoral Roll for Reg and Ena ADAMS, Norseman, Western Australia Norseman
1942 Fitter 1942 Electoral Roll 15 Laurie Street, Newport
1943-1946 RAAF 1943-1946 Service Record for Reg Charles ADAMS
1943-1946 John Giffard 1943-1946 John Giffard and Reg Adams RAAF Service
1945 Pilot Officer 1945 Government Gazette
1945 Photo 1945 Photo of Reg, Ena, Morris, and Russell at Newport Newport
1946 Home Duties 1946 Electoral Roll for Reg and Ena ADAMS, Newport, Victoria Newport
1949 Farmer 1949 Electoral Roll Castle Hill, Taradale
1950-09-27 Car Accident 1951 Court Case Taradale
1951 Court Case 1951 Court Case
1953 Postal Officer 1953 Postal Officer
1954 Barman 1954 Electoral Roll Ormeau Road, Mt Evelyn
1963 Barman 1963 Electoral Roll Main Road, Hurstbridge
1968 Barman 1968 Electoral Roll Main Road, Hurstbridge
1971 Visit 1971 Farm visit at St Andrews St Andrews
1972 1972 Electoral Roll Kinglake Road, St Andrews
1974 1974 Visit to Johnston's home at Greensborough Greensborough
1976 Death 1976 Death Certificate Bendigo
1976 Burial 1976 Cemetery Placque for Reg Charles ADAMS Bendigo

Pictures

Reg, Ena, Morris, Russell at Newport in 1945 Burial Placque for Reg Charles ADAMS (d. 1976)
Reg and me (Ena) at Fortuna, Bendigo in 1937 Reg, Ena, and Diane at the farm in St Andrews in 1971
Reg and Ena with Ross (grandson) at Greensborough in 1974 Court case finding against Reg in 1951
Reg Charles Adams noted as a postal officer in 1953

Referencing Pages