billy

“X” – The Life and Death of a Courageous Digger 1 JULY, 2016 BY QUEENSLAND STATE ARCHIVES Private William (Billy) Elsdale. Believed to be the first Aboriginal digger to die during action in France, Billy’s sacrifice is acknowledged in this letter from W P Vance to Anthony Ogden: “I read in the papers some queer British names amongst those volunteering from Australia, Ah Chay and Ah Foo. Britishers these, yes, more British in spirit than many who bear old English names and Billy Elsdale, aboriginal half-caste, killed in France, and hundreds of our men with German names, more British than many of our own race.” It is estimated that over 1000 Aboriginal Australians enlisted for the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, although many were rejected on the grounds of race. Billy Elsdale found himself accepted and he enlisted on 10 September 1915, at the age of 28. A recipient of exemption from the Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897 since 1910, Billy gained employment in 1913 as a police tracker. Working under the command of Sub Inspector Graham of Charleville, Billy was described by Graham as “25 years old … 10 stone 9 lbs … and a good horsemen and bushman”. However, Billy wanted to enlist, and his AIF enlistment papers offers some insight into the man. The Army Medical Officer wrote the term “Half cast” for Billy’s “complexion” on his certificate of medical examination. At just over 6 feet, Billy was taller than average. He had black hair and brown eyes, and his religious denomination was Roman Catholic. For his next of kin, Billy nominated his friend, Jack Cockrane of Charleville, instead of his parents. Billy pledged with an “X” to truly serve his Sovereign Lord the King, in the Australian Imperial Force, for the duration of the war. Source: blogs.archives.qld.gov.au/2016/07/01/x-the-life-and-death...

www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE6006b.htm Here is some extra info about Harriet Brims and her work.

Her photographs were featured in the North Queensland Herald (1907) and the Australasian Photographic Review (1902), the latter in which she was described as 'the first lady photographer who ever dared, single handed, to face the "stronger sex" in fair and open competition.' From the same source.

The Internet provides a few tantalizing hints to who Billy Wood may have been. He may have been the British wrestler William Wood, who won the silver medal in the lightweight (up to 66kgs) division of the freestyle wrestling competition at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Link: Wikipedia article on 1908 Olympic wrestling. Or maybe he was the Billy Wood who was Britain's middleweight wrestling champion in 1909 (middleweight being at least 76kgs, he'd have had to pack on quite a bit of weight in a year if William and Billy were the same guy.) Link: Google html cache of a big .pdf, with suitable highlighting. Or (and?) was he perhaps W. (Billy) Wood, styled "Welterweight Champion of the World" in a book about wrestling published by W. Foulsham & Co. of London sometime around the 1930s? The book, with text by E.J. Harrison, features posed photos of W. Wood and C. Law, illustrating wrestling holds. This book shows up for sale on the Internet in various editions. Link probably soon to die: A recent ebay UK offering of the book.