Bert Hurren (1915-2012): a tribute and a sketch

 

Lieutenant AF Hurren during World War II

Royal Australian Survey Corps Association image

courtesy Peter Jensen

 

This article is a somewhat belated tribute to Bert Hurren who devoted most of his working life to the mapping of Australia during times of war and of peace.  Bert gave some 36 years to Australia’s mapping endeavours; initially as a senior non-commissioned officer and later as a commissioned officer in the Australian Survey Corps between 1940 and 1948.  He had earlier served as a Sapper in the Citizen Military Forces (Militia) with the Field Survey Unit of the Royal Australian Engineers from September 1939.

 

Immediately after leaving the Army, Bert joined the then National Mapping Section of the Department of Interior (later the Division of National Mapping) and went on to serve with National Mapping for some 28 years.  In National Mapping, Bert headed the Records, Information and Research Sub-section that later became the Technical Services Section of the Canberra office.  He was the go to man who had a ready recall of both National Mapping and National Mapping Council activities and could guide people through a vast repository of survey and mapping related information. 

 

The article seeks to provide a brief sketch of Bert Hurren’s life and along the way provide some glimpses into the lives of a few of Bert’s family members; many of whom also gave distinguished service to the Australian community and industry during peace and war. 

 

However, the reader is warned that this article is by no means a detailed biography of Bert Hurren but is simply the outcome of what could initially be gleaned by searching publicly available documents and from the memories of a few Nat Mappers who knew or worked with Bert Hurren.  The article also draws on information and images kindly provided by the Royal Australian Survey Corps Association per Lieutenant Colonel (Rtd) PA (Peter) Jensen.  Members of the Burrowes and Hurren families also provided useful information and images.  Ideally the article would have been written some years earlier but hopefully what follows will serve as a useful record of one of the original Nat Mappers.

 

The Beginning

Albert Francis Bert Hurren was born at Kyabram in the Goulburn Valley region of Central Victoria on 21 February 1915.  He was one of the six children born to Charles Edward Hurren and his wife Amy Frances Hurren née Stevens.  Bert’s parents married in 1906.  Bert’s five siblings were: Alma Theresa (later Mrs Coghlan); Amy Kathleen (later Mrs Cliff Hall); Marie; Edward Charles, and Claude James (whose preferred name was Jack but was also known as James Claude).

 

Bert’s older brother Edward Charles Hurren (1913-1985) was a 21 year-old plumber with the Ford Motor Company when he enlisted in the Citizen Military Forces (Militia) at Geelong on 29 October 1934.  Edward was allocated to the 23/21 Infantry Battalion (the City of Geelong Regiment) and was discharged on 1 May 1936.  On 7 August 1940, Edward enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force.  He served in the RAAF until discharged on 29 October 1945.  At the time of his discharge Edward was a Corporal at Station Headquarters RAAF Laverton.

 

Bert’s younger brother Claude James Jack (born 1916) enlisted in the Citizen Military Forces (Militia) on 15 August 1940 at age 24 years; he used James as his given name.  Jack served until discharged on 30 January 1946 at which time he held the rank of Staff Sergeant at Head Quarters Australian Military Force.

 

Bert Hurren’s uncle, James Rodney Hurren (1891-1972) served in World War 1 from February 1916 to May 1917.  James enlisted at age 24 years and became part of the second Reinforcements for the 46th Infantry Battalion.  He was with the Battalion as a Private during the battle at Pozières in August 1916 but was wounded at Rouen on 1 September 1916 and eventually evacuated to Australia for discharge.  James Hurren served again in World War II from February 1942 to December 1943.  He re-enlisted at age 50 years and served as a Lance Corporal with the South East Gippsland Volunteer Defence Corps based at Warragul until discharged due to ill health.

 

About some of Bert Hurren’s family members

Bert’s mother, Amy Frances Hurren was born in 1884 and was the youngest of twelve children born to Charles Henry Stevens (1844-1917) and his wife Mary-Ann Stevens née Panter (1849-1932).  The Stevens farmed at Corop, now a hamlet on the Midland Highway midway between Shepparton and Bendigo in Central Victoria. 

 

The Stevens’ farm was Block 164 that was located to the west of the main north-south channel and Lake Cooper that lies to the town’s south-east.  More recently, Block 164 has been owned by the winemakers Brown Brothers and used as a vineyard.  For more information on the Stevens family at Corop please see Appendix A and Appendix B.

 

One of Bert Hurren’s uncles Charles Henry Stevens (1872-1969), served in both the Boer War and World War II; he was one of Bert’s mother’s older brothers.  At about age 27, Charles Henry Stevens joined the Victorian (Citizen) Bushmen around 1899 and disembarked with that Contingent at Beira (now in Mozambique) in April 1900.  In South Africa, the unit was named the 3rd Victorian Bushmen.  On 25 October 1900, Charles Stevens was promoted Lance Corporal.  He was listed as missing at Eland's River on 2 September 1900 and was released by the enemy on 11 October 1900.  He was severely wounded at Wolve Kuil (about 220 kilometres south-west of Bloemfontein) on 14 February 1901. 

 

For further contextual information on the Boer War, please see Appendix C.

 

Charles Stevens recovered from his South African wounds and on 21 October 1940, enlisted as a Private in the Citizen Military Forces (Militia).  He was then 68 years of age but had understated his age by 15 years to claim he was a mere 53 years old.  Although he also stated that he had previously served in South Africa his enlistment application was accepted. 

 

Charles Stevens served as a fitter in several units including 120 Australian General Transport and was based at Coburg, Seymour and Fisherman’s Bend.  Charles served for some three and a half years but by then was having some periods of ill health.  He was discharged on 3 May 1944 soon after his health category was reduced from B to D.  Charles’ discharge was noted to be not due to disciplinary reasons.  Thus he had also given good service during his World War II stint in the Army.  Charles Stevens lived for another 25 years and passed away in 1969 around 97 years of age; clearly a remarkable man.

 

About Bert Hurren’s father

Bert’s father, Charles Edward Hurren, was born at Carlton in 1881.  He was the second of the eight children born to Charles Henry Hurren (1859-1917) and his wife Elizabeth née Rule (1857-1939) who married in Victoria in 1879.  CE Hurren’s siblings were: Elizabeth May, Edith, George, James, Catherine, Doris, and Irene Norma.  In 1906, Bert’s grandfather Charles Henry Hurren was a carpenter at Tatura and Bert’s grandmother Elizabeth was engaged in home duties.  Also in 1906, Bert’s father Charles Edward Hurren was a grocer at Tatura. 

 

In 1908, Bert Hurren’s parents moved to Kyabram.  Here Charles Edward Hurren took over Geldart’s cycle shop in Allan Street opposite the Mechanic’s Institute.  (Allen Street was named after local resident and Victorian Premier John Allan-1866-1936.)

 

Hurren’s Valley cycles were built on the Allan Street premises which was signed as Hurren’s Cycle Works.  By 1914, CE Hurren had expanded his business operations to include sales of internal combustion engines and automobiles.  At various times he was an agent for Hupmobile, Ford and Dodge vehicles as well as Ferro internal combustion engines, both acetylene and oil cycle lamps, Lake Breeze household fans, and Precision Four motorcycles.  Later he also operated a daily passenger transport service to Mooroopna.

 

In March 1920, the Kyabram Free Press advertised a clearing sale of the Hurren’s Albion Street household as Mrs Hurren was leaving the district.  Both Charles Edward Hurren and Amy Frances Hurren were listed on various electoral rolls between 1908 and 1919 as residing at Kyabram and having the occupations of cycle builder and home duties respectively.

 

Charles Edward and Amy Frances Hurren next appeared on a Victorian electoral roll in 1924.  They were listed as residing at High Street Echuca and being occupied as cycle mechanic and home duties respectively.  Similar electoral roll entries appeared for 1928, 1931 and 1934. 

 

At some stage between 1934 and 1936, Charles and Amy Hurren went their separate ways.  In 1936 and in 1937 Amy Hurren was listed on the electoral rolls as residing at 145 Canterbury Road Albert Park and being engaged in home duties.  In both years Albert Francis Hurren was listed at the same address and was employed as a clerk.  For 1937 only, James Claude Hurren (sic), mechanic, was also listed at that address.  These two rolls made no mention of Charles Edward Hurren.

 

Bert’s father, Charles Edward Hurren later remarried on two occasions; firstly to Elizabeth Rose Stoodley and afterwards to Gladys Fairthorne Lukey.  Charles Edward Hurren was next located on an electoral roll in 1943 when he resided at 44A Herries Street East Toowoomba and was occupied as a cycle agent.  Also residing at that address was Elizabeth Rose Hurren who was engaged in home duties.  Similar entries appeared on electoral rolls for 1949 and 1954. 

 

In 1958, Charles Edward Hurren was listed on an electoral roll as residing at 94 Curzon Street Toowoomba South but had no listed occupation.  Also listed as residing at that address was Gladys Fairthorne Hurren who was engaged in home duties.  In 1963, both Charles Edward and Gladys Fairthorne Hurren were listed as residing at 31 River Drive Surfers’ Paradise; Charles had no listed occupation and Gladys was engaged in home duties.

 

Charles Edward Hurren died in August 1967; at age 86 years.  On 25 August 1967 Charles’ remains were buried at Southport General Cemetery in section MO7, Grave 137; the grave is unmarked.

 

More on Bert’s Mother Amy Frances Hurren

As mentioned above, Bert Hurren’s parents had gone their separate ways by 1936 and by that year his mother Amy and at least two of her sons had moved to Melbourne.  As previously mentioned, on a 1936 electoral roll Amy Frances Hurren and Albert Francis Hurren, occupied as home duties and clerk respectively, resided at 145 Canterbury Road Albert Park.

 

On a 1937 electoral roll Amy Frances Hurren, Albert Francis Hurren, and James Claude Hurren (sic), occupied as home duties, clerk, and mechanic respectively, resided at 145 Canterbury Road Albert Park.  On electoral rolls for 1943 and for 1949, Amy Frances Hurren, home duties, resided at 49 York Street St Kilda West.  Bert’s mother Amy Frances Hurren was last located on a 1963 electoral roll; she then resided at 122 Park Street St Kilda West and was occupied with home duties.

 

A death index record indicated that Bert Hurren’s mother Amy Frances Hurren died in Victoria during 1964 at age 79 years.

 

Bert Hurren’s early days

Bert was brought up at Kyabram until shortly after his fifth birthday when his family moved to Echuca.  Bert’s early schooling was undertaken at Echuca Primary School.  Afterwards Bert attended Echuca Senior Technical School where he often came top of his class.

 

During the 1930s, Bert Hurren undertook tertiary studies at the then Melbourne Technical College where he obtained a Diploma in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering.  Bert later noted that some of the subjects completed for his diploma were relevant to his later career as a topographical draughtsman.  Relevant subjects included:

Mathematics 1a-Algebra

Mathematics 1b-Trigonometry

Mathematics 1c-Geometry

Engineering Drawing 1

Mathematics 2a-Algebra

Mathematics 2b-Trigonometry

Mathematics 2c-Differential and Integral Calculus

Engineering Drawing 2b

Land Surveying 1

Engineering Drawing 3b

Mathematics 3a-Analytical Geometry

Mathematics 3b-Differential and Integral Calculus.

 

(Established as the Working Men’s College in 1887, the name Melbourne Technical College was adopted in 1934.  In 1954, the College was awarded royal patronage by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of its educational service to the Commonwealth and contribution to the 1939-45 war effort.  It was then renamed the Royal Melbourne Technical College and still remains the only higher education institution in Australia with the right to use the prefix Royal and the Monarchy's coat of arms.  The institution adopted the name Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 1960.)

 

As mentioned above, on electoral rolls in 1936 and 1937, Bert Hurren was listed as residing at Albert Park and being employed as a clerk.  In correspondence to the Army in August 1945, Bert stated that his civilian occupation had been engineering draughtsman.  At some stage during the 1930s, prior to enlisting, Bert was employed as a clerk in a patent attorney’s office.

 

Bert Hurren’s Army Service

On 4 September 1939, at age 24 years, Bert Hurren enlisted as a Sapper in the Citizen Military Forces (Militia).  He served with the Field Survey Unit of the Royal Australian Engineers.  The unit was then based at Mt Martha under Captain BP Lambert (Royal Australian Artillery-Militia).  Bruce Lambert (1912-1990) later joined the Australian Imperial Force as a Lieutenant in the 2/1st Corps Field Survey Company and was eventually promoted Major before the end of World War II; after the War he went on to become Director of National Mapping.  Bert Hurren was discharged from the Militia on 1 July 1940.

 

Bert Hurren Army Service during World War II-some milestones

Date

Event

4 September 1939

Enlisted as a Sapper in the Field Survey Unit, Royal Australian Engineers (Militia, Service Number 443400), then at Mt Martha under Captain BP Lambert (Royal Australian Artillery-Militia)

2 July 1940

Joined the Army (Permanent Military Forces) in Melbourne (Service Number VP7230 with rank of Sergeant)

2 July 1940

Home address 49 York Street West St Kilda

23 December 1940

Announcement of engagement to Helen Veronica Burrowes

25 January 1941

Married Helen Veronica Burrowes (now next of kin)

1 July 1941

Promoted Warrant Officer Class 2 Australian Survey Corps, Melbourne

20 October 1941

Home address now 94 St Vincent’s Place Albert Park

27 February 1942

Promoted Warrant Officer Class 1 at LHQ Cartographic Company, Melbourne

20 April 1942

Wife’s address now 49 York Street West St Kilda

7 August 1942

Discharged from Permanent Military Forces at Royal Park with rank Warrant Officer Class 1

8 August 1942

Enlisted in the 2nd Australian Imperial Force at LHQ Australian Cartographic Company, Bendigo (Service Number VX85058)

8 August 1942

Wife’s address now 28 Park Road Middle Park

8 October 1942

Wife’s address now 4 Hampden Ave Cremorne NSW

10 October 1942

Detached to No 27 Course for Potential Officers at Bonegilla

14 January 1943

Rejoined LHQ Carto Company at Bendigo from No 27 Course

12 March 1943

Wife’s address now Braeside Hillside Crescent Hamilton, Queensland

12 May 1943

Detached to No 1 Mobile Lithographic Company (Hamilton) Queensland in charge of No 3 Drawing Section LHQ Carto Coy

2 September 1943

Appointed Lieutenant Australian Survey Corps with No 3 Drawing Section, LHQ Australian Cartographic Company

27 January 1944

Wife’s address now 12 Camden St Albion, Queensland

May 1944

Director Survey, Colonel L Fitzgerald based at Advanced Land Head Quarters St Lucia, Queensland

23 June 1944

Transferred to LHQ Australian Cartographic Company, Bendigo as Officer Commanding No 1 Drawing Section

25 September 1944

Wife’s address now 501 Hargreaves Street Bendigo

10 March 1945

Wife’s address now 58 Myrtle Street Bendigo

30 October 1945

Unit redesignated HQ AMF Cartographic Company

20 December 1945

Wife deceased, next of kin now father Charles E Hurren Toowoomba

2 May 1946

Unit redesignated AHQ Cartographic Company

29 July 1946

Re-allocated to 3 Australian Field Survey Company AIF, Bendigo

14 October 1946

Marched out to 1 Field Survey Section, then at Colac

1 July 1947

Transferred to the Interim Army following disbanding of the AIF

13 July 1947

Transferred to HQ Southern Command (Melbourne)

8 September 1947

Transferred to Australian Survey Corps Northern Command

11 September 1947

Appointed Lieutenant, Survey, at HQ Northern Command (Victoria Barracks, Brisbane)

8 June 1948

Army discharge at Royal Park, Melbourne

 

On 2 July 1940, Bert enlisted in the Permanent Army with service number VP7230.  By then he was an experienced survey draughtsman and enlisted with the rank of Sergeant in the then Australian Survey Corps.  On 1 July 1941 Bert was promoted Warrant Officer Class 2 and on 27 February 1942 he was promoted Warrant Officer Class 1 and was the second in command of No 2 Drawing Section of the Land Head Quarters Cartographic Company.

 

Bert Hurren on enlistement in the Australian Imperial Force August 1942

Army service record image

 

On 8 August 1942, Bert Hurren enlisted in the 2nd Australian Imperial Force at Land Head Quarters Australian Cartographic Company, Bendigo; his AIF service number was VX85058.  On AIF enlistment, Bert retained his rank of Warrant Officer Class 1.  Between 10 October 1943 and 14 January 1943 Bert attended No 27 course for potential officers at the Officer Cadet Training Unit at Bonegilla.  After successfully completing this course he returned to LHQ Cartographic Company at Bendigo. 

 

On 12 May 1943 Bert was detached to No 1 Mobile Lithographic Company that was then located in the old town hall at the Brisbane suburb of Hamilton.  Here Bert was in charge of No 3 Drawing Section, LHQ Cartographic Company.  On 2 September 1943, Bert was promoted Lieutenant and remained in charge of No 3 Drawing Section.  On 23 June 1944, Bert was transferred to LHQ Australian Cartographic Company, Bendigo as Officer Commanding No 1 Drawing Section.

 

No 1 Drawing Section AHQ Cartographic Company circa May-July 1946

Rear : Sgt Greenwood; Spr Stapleton; Cpl Smith; Cpl Paterson

Centre : Sgt McDuff; Cpl Hall; Sgt Oldham; Spr Harkness; Spr Pleydell; Spr Robotham; Spr Edwards; Cpl Batten; Sgt Pratt; Spr  Kennedy

Front : Sgt Vincent; Sgt Woodford; Cpl Anderson; Lt Hurren; Cpl McGown; WOII Howard; Sgt Brandon

Royal Australian Survey Corps Association image

courtesy Peter Jensen

 

Bert Hurren continued to serve with Victorian-based cartographic and field survey units until July 1947.  On 30 June 1947 he was discharged from the Australian Imperial Force (upon its disbanding) and on 1 July 1947 Bert was enlisted in the then Interim Army. 

 

(During the closing years of World War II and immediately afterwards the Australian government and its defence advisers looked to the future size and shape of Australia’s defence force.  The Interim Army was formally created in May 1946 (with some retrospective effect) pending future consultations with Imperial defence officials on final planned strength.  By June 1947, the Army’s strength had been reduced from a 1945 war-time peak of 383,000 men and women to some 29,000 soldiers.  The Australian Imperial Force was disbanded on 30 June 1947 and any still-serving full time AIF personnel were transferred to the Interim Army (Sligo, 1997).)

 

Bert Hurren was discharged at Royal Park on 8 June 1948 due to demobilisation.  It would appear that Bert had wisely been making arrangements for his future prior to the actual date of his Army discharge.  On 15 June his appointment to the Department of Interior under the Public Service Act was tabled in the Senate.

 

Australian Survey Corps Operations

Bert Hurren was posted to Land Head Quarters Cartographic Company at Fortuna Villa, Bendigo at various times between August 1942 and July 1946.  Between 1943 and the end of World War II hostilities in August 1945, the Company was heavily engaged in providing mapping to support Allied operations in New Guinea and later in the Philippines.  Such was the intensity of the mapping requirements the Company had seven printing presses operating 24 hours per day on a 12-hour shift basis.

 

Fortuna Villa was a rambling mansion in Chum Street Bendigo.  Commencing in the mid-1850s, Fortuna was developed in several stages over a period of some 50 years in the hands of several owners.

 

Lovejoy (2003) noted that some of the people in the Cartographic Company at Fortuna provided a bohemian flavour to the unit.  Such people included some who went on to become notable as artists or as an architect; included inter alia were Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd AC OBE (1920-1999) who served from 1941 to 1944 and eventually became a Signalman in the 2nd Cavalry Division; John de Burgh Perceval AO (1923-2000) who was born Linwood Robert Steven South and served from 1941 to 1942; and Robin Gerard Penleigh Boyd CBE (1919-1971), a cousin of Arthur Boyd who served from 1943 to 1945. 

 

Lovejoy added that experienced and accomplished draughtsmen including Bert Hurren and Harry Raisbeck supervised those of the bohemians who had talent but little experience.  (Henry Charles Raisbeck served in the Royal Australian Survey Corps from 1942 to 1962 and at discharge held the rank of Captain.)

 

Between May 1943 and June 1944, Bert Hurren was posted to the 1st Australian Mobile Lithographic Section that was then located in the former Hamilton Town Hall at 36-42 Racecourse Road Hamilton, a Brisbane suburb.  While there the Section was involved in the preparation of maps to support Allied operations in New Guinea.

 

From 29 July 1946 to 13 July 1947, Lieutenant Bert Hurren was second-in-command of 1 Field Survey Section, 3 Field Survey Company.  The Section was under the command of Captain Barney Herbert and also included Lieutenant Jack Cullen and Warrant Officer Keith Barber (1922-2009).  A major task of the Section at that time was the survey of channel to divert water from Murray River to Murrumbidgee River.  From 29 July 1946 Bert was based with the Section at Fortuna (Bendigo) but around 14 October 1946 he moved with the Section to Colac.  Bert left the Section on 13 July 1947 when transferred to HQ Southern Command, Melbourne.

 

Drawing office of No 3 Section, 1st Australian Mobile Lithographic Section, Australian Survey Corps at Hamilton, Queensland on 24 November 1943

VX85058 Lieutenant AF Hurren (1); VX100405 Warrant Officer I TW O'Keefe (2); NX164376 Sapper RC Thornton (3); VX100879 Warrant Officer II R Ridge (4); VX85804 Corporal AD Grant (5); VX85243 Sergeant DV Sutcliffe (6); VX112606 Sergeant DK Daniel (7); NX2522 Sapper SF Hedger (8); VX124136 Sergeant IC McDuff (9); VX110688 Corporal TW Wade (10); VX112605 Sergeant NT Buzacott (11);

and VX112602 Sergeant R Godfrey (12).

Australian War Memorial image, ID No 060686

 

Army Service Summary

Between 2 July 1940 and 8 June 1948, Bert Hurren gave 2,132 days of effective Army service that included some 1,788 days of active service.  As outlined above, during this period Bert served in the Permanent Army, then in the Second Australian Imperial Force and later in the Interim Army.  During his Army service Bert was a senior non-commissioned officer and later a commissioned officer.  All of Bert’s service was within Australia.  For his World War II service, Bert Hurren was awarded the War Medal 1939-1945 and the Australian Service Medal 1939-1945, see image below.

 

The World War II service medals awarded to Bert Hurren

War Medal 1939-1945 (left) and the Australian Service Medal 1939-1945 (right)

Laurie McLean image

 

Bert and Helen Hurren 25 January 1941

Burrowes family image courtesy Jim Burrowes

 

Marriage to Helen Burrowes

In late December 1940, some five months after enlisting in the Permanent Army, Bert became engaged to Helen Veronica Burrowes.  Helen was born in Perth on 28 September 1915.  She was the second of the five living children born to Archibald John (Mick) Burrowes (1887-1942) and his wife Alice née Farrell (1891-1975).  Helen’s four siblings were her older sister Patricia Joan (1912-1986) (later Mrs WD Doug Hawthorne) and three younger brothers: Robert (1918-1942), and twins James (born 1923) and Thomas (1923-1943). 

 

In the early 1900s, Bert Hurren's future father-in-law, Mick Burrowes had farmed with his younger brother Leslie at Nungarin, located in what is now the north-eastern wheat belt about 280 kilometres east of Perth. The farming venture failed financially in early 1914. Mick later worked as a risk surveyor in the insurance industry. Leslie Burrowes served in the Australian Imperial Force from October 1914 to December 1919. He served with A Squadron of the 10th Light Horse Regiment at Gallipoli and in Egypt, Palestine and Syria and rose to the rank of sergeant; he was wounded on several occasions. After the War Leslie took up a soldier settlement block at Balingup in the southern Darling Range about 240 kilometres south of Perth. Mick and his family also lived on the Balingup farm until 1922.  

 

In 1922 Mick Burrowes moved with his wife and young family to Melbourne. Later in the 1920s the great depression impacted on employment opportunities and Mick could only find casual work as a wharf labourer on the Port Melbourne docks. In December 1940, the Burrowes family resided at 28 Park Road Middle Park.  

 

Helen Burrowes and Bert Hurren were married on 25 January 1941 at St Silas’s Church in Bridport Street Albert Park (since rededicated as St Silas and St Anselm Church).  Among Bert and Helen’s common interests was a love of tennis.  However, their separate war time commitments meant that Bert and Helen were forced to be apart at various times during their marriage.

 

Helen Burrowes had been employed as a stenographer in 1937 and her sister Pat had been a secretary.  Both Burrowes sisters later contributed personally to the war effort.  Between 1942 and 1946, Pat (by then Mrs WD Hawthorne) worked at the Allied Works Council in Melbourne including as Secretary to the Chief Mechanical Engineer.  Helen was employed with the United States Army in Australia. 

 

Helen’s assignments with the US Army included working as the Secretary to Brigadier General Frank Sheldon Clark (1885-1975).  General Clark arrived in Brisbane on 9 March 1942 in command of a convoy that brought two brigades of anti-aircraft artillery to Australia.  (On 18 March 1942, President Roosevelt appointed General Douglas MacArthur-1880-1964-as the Supreme Commander of the South-West Pacific Theatre.)  Under the US Commanding General in Australia Major General Julian Francis Barnes (1889-1961), General Clark was Chief of Staff of United States Army Forces in Australia.  When General Barnes returned to the United States in July 1942 General Clark was to assume overall command of the United States Army Forces in Australia.  However, General MacArthur wanted to promote one of his younger Bataan Brigadiers (Richard Jaquelin Marshall-1895-1973).  But General Clark was the more senior officer.  Thus in Clark’s own words… I had to be got out of the way.  (Clark 1962, page 400).  General Clark departed Australia for the United States on 20 July 1942.

 

Frank Clark was a kindly man and Helen Hurren’s mother Alice and her older sister Pat corresponded with him over the decades after the War.  Also, Helen Hurren’s niece Dr Helen MacDonald visited General Clark in America in 1968.  In a letter to Helen Hurren in July 1943, General Clark kindly wrote:   I shall never forget how valiantly you shared the load of our turbulent headquarters.

 

Helen Hurren continued with her United States Army service after she and Bert Hurren were married.  As part of her war time duties, Helen was required to travel interstate; note her various addresses in the table of her husband’s Army service milestones above.  However, soon after her husband was posted to LHQ Australian Cartographic Company at Fortuna Villa in mid-1944, Helen somewhat reluctantly gave up her career and joined Bert at Bendigo.

 

The Burrowes family endured a devastating time during World War II and immediately afterwards with four of their seven immediate family members dying or being killed.  Archibald Burrowes succumbed to a heart condition in August 1942 and Robert and Thomas were killed during the War; in 1942 and 1943 respectively.  Tragically Bert Hurren’s wife Helen died in child birth in December 1945 and the child was also lost.  For more details on the Burrowes family please refer to Appendix A and Appendix D.

 

Helen Burrowes circa 1940

Burrowes family image courtesy Helen MacDonald

 

Start of the National Mapping days

In June 1948, Bert Hurren was appointed to the then National Mapping Section of the Property and Survey Branch of the Department of Interior.  The National Mapping Section was then located in the Canberra suburb of Acton.  Bert’s appointment was listed in a paper on Department of Interior appointments under the Public Service Act that was presented to the Senate on 15 June 1948.

 

In 1949, Bert was listed on the electoral roll as residing at Hotel Acton and being employed as a draughtsman.  (In the late 1940s Hotel Acton was a mixed accommodation facility for newly arrived Canberra public servants; during the later part of the War it was the headquarters of the then Department of Post-War Reconstruction.)  Bert Hurren was also listed on a 1949 electoral roll as residing at 80 Ruskin Street Elwood with his brother James (Jack) and sister-in-law Veronica.  The two separate electoral roll entries are probably due to the timing of Bert’s move to Canberra.

 

Marriage to Joan Brack

In October 1949, Bert Hurren became engaged to Joan Estelle Brack, the only daughter of James Brack (1888-1979) and his wife Frances Lillian Brack née Downey (1891-1971).  Joan Brack and Bert Hurren were married on Saturday 21 January 1950.  For further information on the Brack family please refer to Appendix A and Appendix E.

 

Bert and Joan Hurren were to have two children, sons James Francis (1951‑1974) and Steven Peter (born 1954).  Between 1954 and 1963, Bert and Joan Hurren were listed on electoral rolls as residing at 46 Froggat Street Turner.  On these rolls Bert’s occupation was given as public servant and Joan was engaged in home duties

 

By 1968, Bert and Joan Hurren had shifted home to 8 Yarrow Place O’Connor.  They were listed as residing at this address on electoral rolls for 1968, 1977 and 1980.  On these electoral rolls, Joan’s occupation was listed as teacher. 

 

Bert’s 28 Years Service with National Mapping

Bert Hurren used his technical skill as a survey draughtsman and his Army experience as a senior NCO and as a commissioned officer to become a manager within National Mapping.  Bert was appointed as the officer-in-charge of the Records, Information and Research Sub-section of National Mapping’s Canberra office.  The position was eventually classified at the Clerk Class 8 level.  Bert’s position and his sub-section’s title dated from the creation of the initial structure for the National Mapping Section within the Department of Interior in 1947.  In later years Bert’s area was known as the Technical Services Section.

 

In the Technical Services Section, Bert and his 34 staff members were responsible for collecting, collating, storing, managing, and retrieving a vast array of survey and mapping information and related materials.  Initially Bert’s sub-section also carried out geodetic survey computations and some draughting functions. 

 

The materials handled by Bert’s area included survey field books, survey computations and later computer print-outs, survey station summaries, aerial photography flight diagrams and related information and later satellite-sourced imagery records, map compilation and map reproduction materials, geographical information and products, and printed map sheets. 

 

As well as National Mapping’s own materials Bert’s section would hold information from various other Australian mapping organisations that National Mapping would use in survey and map preparation projects. 

 

As indicated above, there were many advances in technology during Bert’s time with National Mapping.  He led his section from the era of manual survey computations and index card-based record keeping into the world of computer based or supported systems.  Another advance was in aerial photography.

 

In the late 1950s, the Swiss survey instrument manufacturer Wild released a new RC9 aerial survey camera.  That camera had 230 mm format and a 120 degree super wide angle lens with a focal length of 88 mm.  National Mapping’s Director Bruce Lambert quickly realised the potential of deploying this camera to acquire the Australia-wide aerial photography coverage needed for national mapping purposes.

 

Thus, from 1960, systematic monochrome vertical aerial photography block coverage commenced being flown across the whole of Australia by a number of private sector contractor firms.  The contractors used (on hire) several new Wild RC9 aerial survey cameras supplied by National Mapping.  This photography was flown at a nominal scale of 1:80,000 with 80 per cent forward overlap on the basis of 1:250,000 scale map sheet project areas.

 

Generally 8 or 9 east-west flight runs each of up to about 50 photo frames were made for each map sheet area with occasional north-south tie runs.  Thus for the 544 map sheet areas covering Australia at 1:250,000 scale, of the order of about a quarter of a million photo frames were to be captured; a massive undertaking.

 

Once the aerial photography had been acquired and the films developed, multiple copies of each frame had to be printed as 230mm format paper prints.  Sets of aerial photography prints were produced for each 1:250,000 scale map sheet areas as follows, National Mapping (for both Melbourne and Canberra offices): four sets of paper prints plus one set of 230mm format film diapositives for use in stereoplotting machines; Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics: at least one set, Royal Australian Survey Corps: at least one set; the relevant state or territory mapping authority at least one set. 

 

Thus there were eight or ten sets of photographs to be printed for each map sheet area or between two to two and half million prints to be made.  However, the film processing and printing activities were undertaken by the Melbourne-based firm Air Photographs Pty Ltd and were supervised by National Mapping’s Melbourne office that also maintained the aerial film negative repository.

 

Bert Hurren personally managed the various aerial photography acquisition contracts with firms that included: Adastra Aerial Surveys, Associated Surveys, Australian Aerial Mapping, Civil Aerial Surveys, Kevron Aerial Surveys, Photomappers, and the Queensland Aerial Survey Company. 

 

Bert was responsible for the tendering and letting arrangements for these aerial photography contracts and for the subsequent monitoring of contract performance and the recommendations for payments to be made to contractors for work satisfactorily performed. 

 

Bert was also responsible for the periodic reporting of progress in the acquisition of aerial photography under each of the various contracts.  These reports were made directly to the Director of National Mapping who had a keen interest in the aerial photography program.  As well as contracts over mainland Australia, Bert also managed aerial photography acquisition contracts over Papua New Guinea.

 

Bert’s Technical Services Section would provide mapping-related information to meet National Mapping’s own needs and would also distribute vast amounts of such information to other government mapping organisations throughout Australia under the auspices of the National Mapping Council.  The section would also distribute finished map and geographic products to National Mapping Council member organisations and to Australian and overseas libraries.  Bert’s section was also responsible for the sale of maps and other National Mapping products throughout Australia and overseas.

 

Bert was an active member of the Australian Institute of Cartographers that was established in Victoria in 1952 as a professional organisation for cartographers.  The Institute later established branches in other states and in 1964 was affiliated with the International Cartographic Association.  In 1995, the Institute changed its name to the Mapping Sciences Institute, Australia. 

 

The March 1959 issue of the Australian Institute of Cartographers’ journal Cartography contained an article by Bert Hurren that summarised geodetic survey activities in Australia from the1820s to the end of 1958.  After World War II, under the auspices of the National Mapping Council a concerted effort was made to complete a national geodetic survey of Australia. 

 

This geodetic survey effort involved the Division of National Mapping, the Royal Australian Survey Corps, and state mapping organisations.  The initial geodetic survey of Australia was completed in 1965 and in 1966 the National Mapping Council adopted the inaugural Australian Geodetic Datum and the Australian Map Grid. 

 

The geodetic survey and the resultant datum were remarkable achievements that provided the nation’s first homogenous coordinate reference system.  In 1974, the British Directorate of Overseas Surveys remarked that...the Australian geodetic network, a great part of it completed in 10 years, must always remain historically one of the survey wonders of the world (Ford, 1979).

 

The National Mapping Council was established in 1945 as a forum to oversee the coordination of the post-war mapping effort.  The Council’s membership comprised the heads of commonwealth and state government mapping organisations and later included military mapping organisations.  From its inception the Council was chaired by the Director of National Mapping; initially Frederick Marshall Johnston (1945-1949), then John Noble Core Rogers ISO (1949-1951) and by Bruce Philip Lambert OBE (1951-1977).

 

For some years, a major part of Bert Hurren’s duties included carrying out the functions of Secretary of the National Mapping Council.  This task involved assisting the Chairman in preparing detailed arrangements for meetings of the Council, preparing and distributing meeting agendas and supporting documentation, drafting and distributing meeting minutes and other Council reports or papers; assisting the Chairman in carrying out actions arising from meeting outcomes and undertaking similar secretariat functions for the Council’s technical sub‑committee and some of the Council’s working parties.

 

As indicated in the table below, between November 1948 and April 1966, Bert Hurren attended 17 meetings of the National Mapping Council; mostly as secretary.  At the 1966 Council meeting, Nat Map surveyor Dave Cook (1931‑2013) also attended to learn the ropes of the secretary’s role from Bert.  (Subsequently, Dave Cook was secretary of the Council in 1967, 1968 and 1969.)

 

Bert Hurren’s National Mapping Council Meeting Attendance 1948-1966

Date

NMC meeting number

Location

Capacity

22 November 1948

7

Melbourne

Secretary

26-27 May 1950

9

Canberra

Observer

29-30 April 1952

10

Canberra

Secretary

24-25 March 1953

11

Melbourne

Secretary

27-28 April 1954

12

Canberra

Secretary

29-30 March 1955

13

Canberra

Secretary

23-24 April 1956

14

Perth

Secretary

8-9 May 1957

15

Brisbane

Secretary

25-27 March 1958

16

Hobart

Secretary

17-19 March 1959

17

Bendigo

Secretary

29-31 March 1960

18

Canberra

Secretary

11-13 April 1961

19

Adelaide

Secretary

10-12 April 1962

20

Hobart

Secretary

1-3 April 1963

21

Sydney

Secretary

8-10 April 1964

22

Canberra

Secretary

27-29 April 1965

23

Perth

Secretary

19-21 April 1966

24

Melbourne

Secretary (with Dave Cook)

 

In addition to his work at National Mapping Council meetings, Bert Hurren was involved in carrying out or overseeing any research projects required by the Council.  He was also involved in preparing or finalising various National Mapping Council technical documents such as special publications on standards for surveys, nomenclature, map accuracy, aerial photography and other matters.

 

During much of Bert’s time with National Mapping, his immediate supervisor was Bruce Lambert who was Deputy Director of National Mapping from early in 1947 (soon after the organisation’s inception).  As mentioned above, in 1951, Bruce Lambert became the Director of National Mapping and Chairman of the National Mapping Council.  Lambert held both positions until he retired in 1977.  Bert Hurren had the highest respect for Bruce Lambert and was very vocal in his support and admiration of him.

 

Retirement

Bert Hurren ceased working at National Mapping due to ill health considerations around July 1975.  Bert’s initial retirement gathering was held at the Hibiscus function venue in Jamison.  It was a joint retirement function for both Bert and Jim Scherrenberg.  (Jim had joined the Department of Interior as a survey draughtsman in November 1948 and during the 1950s the Scherrenberg and Hurren families had both lived in Froggatt Street Turner.)  One highlight of the joint retirement function was Jim Scherrenberg’ short farewell speech that went for an hour and twenty minutes.

 

At the time Bert ceased work, the Division of National Mapping was part of the Department of National Development and was located in Derwent House at 28 University Avenue on the west side of the Civic Centre.  (In 1976 the Division’s Canberra office relocated to Morisset House in Morisset Street Queanbeyan.)

 

Around the time of Bert Hurren’s retirement, he and Joan down-sized to a townhouse at 14 Bourne Street Cook near the Jamison Centre at Belconnen.  They were to live there for nearly 30 years.  Around 2008, Bert and Joan Hurren moved again to a townhouse in nearby Nairn Place Macquarie; where Joan continues to reside.

 

Bert Hurren (at left) with John Yarra, Byrne Goodrick, TrevorTrevillian, Bob Robinson, Tony Bomford, John Cross, Norm Williams and others listening to Jim Scherrenberg’s farewell speech at the Hibiscus in July 1975

XNatmap image

 

After a period of extended leave due to ill health, Bert Hurren formally retired from National Mapping on 19 July 1976 at age 61 years.  Another retirement function was held for him and a farewell card was presented to him; signed by various Nat Mappers who had worked with Bert over the years.

Bert Hurren circa 1976

XNatmap image courtesy Colin Kimber

 

Bert Hurren’s 1976 National Mapping farewell card

Hand lettering by Nat Mapper KO Johnson

XNatmap image courtesy Colin Kimber

 

 

Bert and Joan Hurren circa 2002

Hurren Family image courtesy Steven Hurren

 

Some forty years after Bert Hurren retired from National Mapping he is still fondly remembered as a kindly person who was most helpful to newcomers trying to find their way in the organisation.  For some Nat Mappers, Bert is recalled as a docile diamond who had a very avuncular approach to fellow staff members.  Bert is also remembered as one who invariably arrived at the office early each morning in the era before flexible working arrangements.  However, Bert would not pick up tools until he had completed his personal morning research project, namely studying the form guide in the Melbourne newspaper The Sun News-Pictorial

 

Bert was also remembered as a fairly quiet man, at least in later years.  He was not one who attended many Nat Map social gatherings.  Nor was Bert a regular attendee of Royal Australian Survey Corps Association functions in Canberra.  An exception was the ANZAC Day march in 1989.  Reporting on this event the Association’s National Bulletin noted: A highlight was the appearance of Bert Hurren who turns out once every ten years when Harry Raisbeck visits Canberra.  Of course Bert and Harry had been friends since their early days together at Fortuna in the 1940s.

 

Bert and Joan Hurren circa 2012

The Canberra Times image courtesy Steven Hurren

 

Vale

Sadly, Bert Hurren passed away on 4 March 2012 at age 97 years.  Bert was survived by Joan his wife of some 62 years and by their son Steven and daughter-in-law Joy.  Bert’s funeral service was held at St Columba’s Church in Farrer Street Braddon and his ashes were interred in the remembrance area at the rear of the Church. 

 

Although Bert Hurren has now left us he is not forgotten.  Colleagues from the Royal Australian Survey Corps Association and from the National Mapping community who knew or worked with Bert extend their somewhat belated condolences to his widow Joan, son Steven and daughter-in-law Joy for their sad loss.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Acknowledgements

The author gratefully acknowledges the kind assistance received during the preparation of this article from former Nat Mappers Paul Wise, Colin Kimber, Ian Miller and Peter O’Donnell and from Royal Australian Survey Corps Association members Peter Jensen and Bob Skitch. 

 

Charlie Watson kindly provided comments from both Nat Map and RA Svy perspectives.  Nat Mapper Ian Miller shared his recollections of Bert Hurren. Comments on early drafts by Messrs Wise, Jensen and Skitch were especially appreciated.  Other people who kindly assisted were Bert Hurren’s son Steven Hurren who provided useful information, comments and images; Helen Hurren’s brother James Burrowes and her nephew and nieces: Robert Burrowes, Lesleyanne Hawthorne and Helen MacDonald; as well as Ursula Zamecnik of the Prahran Mechanics Institute.

 

This article was prepared by Laurie McLean during May-July 2016.

 

Appendix A

Some Newspaper Cuttings

 

Bendigo Advertiser, Tuesday 20 March 1917, Page 6 

Corop, 19th March 1917.

The death of Mr Charles Henry Stevens (Bert Hurren’s grandfather) which took place this morning, removes one of the oldest identities of the district.  For some years the late Mr Stevens resided in the Lancefield district, having arrived in the State from Wales in his youth.  He selected land near Corop over 40 years ago, where he farmed with success.  Several years ago he retired and came to reside in the Corop township.  He was of a clever mechanical turn of mind and used to exhibit at district shows a model of a plough he made.  The deceased gentleman, who leaves a widow and family of four sons and four daughters, was 72 years of age.  Mrs James Hicks, of the Corop post office, is a daughter.

 

Rochester Express, Tuesday 20 March 1917, Page 2 

We regret to record the death yesterday, at the age of 72 years of another old district pioneer in the person of Mr Charles Henry Stevens of Corop.  Mr Stevens was a native of Wales and came to this State in his youth.  After residing some years in the Lancefield district he selected land near where he resided for many years until he retired to Corop where he spent the remainder of his years.  He leaves a widow and sons: Joseph Thomas, at Corop; Charles Henry, Corop; Albert Edward, Kyabram; and Arthur Herbert.  There are also four daughters: Mrs J Hicks, Corop; Mrs T Harris, Launceston; Mrs H Moyle, and Mrs C Hurren, Kyabram.  The funeral will take place at 3 pm today to the Corop Cemetery.

 

The Argus, Wednesday 1 March 1939, Page 12 

HURREN-On the 28th February, Elizabeth (Bert Hurren’s grandmother), relict of the late Charles Hurren, of Tatura, daughter of the late Edward Rule, of Prahran, loving mother of May, Charles, Edith, George, James, Catherine, Doris, and Norma.

 

The Argus, Monday 23 December 1940, Page 6, Family Notices

Engagements

Helen Veronica Burrowes, younger daughter of Mr and Mrs AJ Burrowes, Park Rd, Middle Park, to Albert Francis Hurren, second son of Mrs AF Hurren, York St, St Kilda.

 

The Argus, Thursday 27 August 1942, Page 2, Family Notices

Deaths-(Bert Hurren’s father-in-law)

BURROWES-On August 25, at his residence, 28 Park Road, Middle Park, Archibald John, loved husband of Alice, and loved father of Patricia (Mrs WD Hawthorne), Helen (Mrs A Hurren), Robert (missing in Rabaul), Thomas (RAAF), James (HQ Signals), aged 54 years.  RIP.  (Private Interment.)

 

The Argus, Friday 21 December 1945, Page 2, Family Notices

Deaths

HURREN-On December 20, at private hospital Bendigo.  Helen Veronica Hurren of 58 Myrtle Street, Bendigo, dearly beloved wife of Lieutenant Albert Francis Hurren.  Aged 30 years.  At rest.  (Privately Interred Bendigo Cemetery December 20.)

 

HURREN (née Burrowes)-On December 19, at Bendigo.  Helen Veronica, loved daughter of Alice and the late AJ Burrowes, loved sister of Pat and Jim, and sister-in-law of Doug.

The Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday 22 October 1949, Page 40, Family Notices

Engagements

HURREN-BRACK-The Engagement is announced of Joan Estelle, only daughter of Mr and Mrs J Brack of Canberra to Albert Francis second son of

Mr and Mrs EC Hurren of West St Kilda, Victoria.

 

The Canberra Times, Wednesday 14 November 1979, Page 31, Deaths

(Bert Hurren’s father-in-law)

BRACK, James (MC)-November 12 1979 at Royal Canberra Hospital.  Late of 8 Yarrow Place, O'Connor.  Loved husband of Lillian (dec) and father of Bob (Melbourne), Tom (Sydney) and Joan (Mrs AF Hurren, Canberra).  Aged 91 years.

 

The Canberra Times, 7 March 2012

Death Notice (index summary only)

Albert Francis Bert Hurren died 4 March 2012, at age 97 years.

 

 

Appendix B

 

Threads–Discovering One’s Roots

The following is an edited extract from an article contributed by Peter Hall of Clayton to the Corop News, The Call of the Brolga, Issue No 26, May 2009.

 

Corop!  As a small child I remember my grandmother, (Bert Hurren’s mother) Amy Frances Hurren (née Stevens) going on about Corop.  So I concluded that she had lived there at some stage.  I wasn’t too sure where Corop was or what it was famous for, except that it was a country town up to the north of Melbourne, somewhere in the middle of Victoria...

 

…(Once at Corop) I proceeded to pepper Carmel (Pearson) with all kinds of questions about the Stevens family, to which she proved to be a great source of information.  I already had a genealogical chart researched by my uncle Albert (great-grandson of Joseph and Albinia Stevens, currently 94 and still firing on all cylinders).  Following the old biblical style of who begat whom, this chart goes back to Thomas Stevens of Bradwell UK (1776-1851).  He was the father of Joseph Stevens, who with his wife Albinia migrated to Australia in 1852.

 

Their second son was Charles Henry, whose youngest daughter was my grandmother Amy Frances Stevens.  She married Charles Edward Hurren in 1906 and they had six children; the second of whom was my mum-Amy Kathleen Hurren.  They ran bike shops in Tatura, Kyabram and Echuca.

 

Amy Kathleen Hurren became a primary school teacher and later married my dad Cliff Hall, an accountant.  This was where I came in.  I was the oldest of four.  I became a De La Salle teaching Brother for a few years and then taught at St Kevin’s College for 32 years before a career change to building.  Marie and I had three children: Louise-teacher, singer, actor and French playwright; Andrew-a multi-media instructional designer (whatever that means); and Simon-a singing comedian.  They in turn have five kids between them-Grace (the 2009 school captain of Balnarring Primary), Sophie, Jesse, James and Ben.  So there you are-eight generations of Stevens/Hurrens/Halls.  And there I was chatting with Carmel and trying to unravel all the threads that linked us together.

 

Charles Henry (Stevens) and his wife Mary-Ann, my great grandparents, produced a dozen offspring, four of whom died in early childhood.  Fortunately for us-the Hurren and Hall clans-Amy Kathleen was one of the survivors.  I suppose the kids divided their time between work on the farm, school and swimming in the lake.  Is hard to imagine this dry lake bed once brim-full of water, surrounded by shady trees, and with kids laughing and romping around in its cool waters. 

 

Later in the day, Marie and I went round to the farm site-Block 164 situated to the west of the channel and Lake Cooper.  We were interested to see that the property is now owned by Brown Brothers, winemakers.  It looked very business-like with its serried ranks of vines marching down towards the channel and the dry lakebed.  It appears that my great-grandfather, Charles Henry (Harry) Stevens was an enterprising character in his farming and business ventures.  He was also a skilled craftsman.  A miniature model of a plough, which he fashioned in his workshop, is in the possession of my Uncle Albert in Canberra and is a treasured family memento of Corop. 

 

 

Appendix C

 

A brief outline of the Victorian (Citizen) Bushmen in the Boer War

The conflict in South Africa was generally divided into three phases:

·       The early phase, from October to December 1899, when the British armies, mainly infantry, were defeated or besieged by highly mobile Boer mounted troops.

·       The second phase, from December 1899 until September 1900, which involved a British counter-offensive, resulting in the capture of most of the major towns and cities of South Africa.

·       The third and longest phase, from September 1900 to May 1902, when the war was mainly a guerrilla conflict between British mounted troops and Boer irregulars.

 

Like the Citizen's Bushmen's Contingent in New South Wales, the Victorian Corps was largely subscribed for by the public.  It was resolved that, in lieu of drawing the men exclusively from the local forces, a class of Australian yeomen and bushmen should be obtained; hardy riders, straight shots, accustomed to find their way about in difficult country and likely to make an expert figure in the vicissitude of such a campaign as was being conducted.  There was an enormous number of candidates for enlistment.  Those selected were, practically, untrained in military matters; no less than 230 being farmers, or connected with that industry.  They were selected by a committee, and passed a strict test in riding and shooting; as also, of course, medical examination.

 

The Victorian Contingent left Melbourne on 10 March 1900, in the transport SS Euryalus (a 3,570 gross tons single screw passenger and cargo steam ship operated by Archibald Currie and Company of Melbourne).  They touched at Cape Town, from whence they proceeded to Beira, arriving on 3 April 1900 and disembarked.  From Beira their route lay to Marandellas, in Rhodesia, where all the Colonial Bushmen were formed into regiments known as the Rhodesian Field Force; the Victorians and West Australians forming the 3rd under Major Visits.  Except Cameron's Scouts, which remained at Marandellas, they marched by squadrons through Rhodesia to Bulawayo; and from there to Mafeking, where they were again mobilized, equipped, and moved out in regiments, under (the later) General Baden-Powell, their destination being Rustenburg.

In that district on 22 July 1900, the Victorians, under Captain Hill, and other Contingents, encountered the enemy at Koster River, and lost 7 men killed, and many wounded.  In Rustenburg district also, a party of Victorians, under Captain Ham, with Bushmen from New South Wales and Queensland, were attacked and besieged by General De Is Rev at Eland's River; the siege lasting thirteen days, and the casualty list being heavy.  After enduring great hardships, and losing all their homes by the fire of the enemy, the garrison was relieved by Lord Kitchener on 17 August 1900.

Here the Contingent was divided, and those with Captain Ham were attached to Lord Methuen's Force until they reached Mafeking, to which place from Eland's River they marched on foot, no horses being available.  The other portion of the Victorian Contingent, under Major Vial, moved from Rustenburg to Pretoria and thence to Warmbad and Nylstroom; which, under General Baden-Powell, was captured, and then retired to Pienaars River. 

The party under Captain Ham, after being partially equipped at Mafeking, left that place at the end of August, and travelled south through Kimberley to De Aar, and from then to Naauwpoort, Bloemfontein, and Pretoria, where after a few days' rest they moved north and, rejoined the Regiment at Pienaars River.  From here the Regiment operated through the north-western portion of the Transvaal, and south as far as Rustenburg; and from there back once more to Pretoria.  Several engagements took place in these operations, and what with killed, wounded and sick men, the column under General Plumer who was now in command was sadly weakened.

At Pretoria the column was strengthened by the New Zealanders, portion of the 4th Queenslanders, some South Australians and General Paget with two companies of Munster Fusiliers (as infantry) also two batteries of Royal Artillery, pom pom battery, and several maxims.  Operations were undertaken this time in an easterly direction from Pretoria.  Several engagements at Silbrants' Kraal, Wagon Drift, and other places, culminated in the action at Rhenoster Kop on the 29 November 1900, where the enemy, under Viljoen and Botha, made a firm stand.  All the force was engaged from 4 o'clock in the morning until 7 in the evening, and the fighting line extended for a distance of four miles, and all of it under a hot fire.  At times the attack was pushed to within 600 yards of the Boer position, but it was impossible to dislodge them from the naturally strong position which they held, and the darkness of evening ended the battle. 

The Victorians, under the command of Captain Ham, were towards the left flank, and the New Zealanders were on the right.  The casualty list was a heavy one, but, compared with the Bushmen, the Victorians may be considered lucky.

From Rhenoster Kop the column moved north and west, and gave the commandoes under Viljoen and Botha a routing on several occasions, and once more camped at Pienaars River, north of Pretoria.  From here they started to clear up the north-western portion of the Transvaal, moving by forced marches to Rustenburg, Commando Nek, Hekpoort, and Nooitgedacht, arriving at the latter place soon after de la Rey and Beyers had attacked General Clements and the Northumberland Fusiliers.  Several smart engagements took place along the Magliesberg and Witwatersrand Ranges, and continued south to Krugersdorp and east to the outskirts of Pretoria, where the Bushmen again camped for four days.  From here they were ordered to Balmoral, east of Pretoria, and towards Middelburg.

The Bushmen were ordered to the town of De Aar to check de Wet and other Boer generals from invading Cape Colony.  It was a big move from Middelburg to De Aar, but the Bushmen did it.  In the swift and oppressive march that General Plumer made after de Wet, when other columns were tired out or withdrawn, the 3rd Regiment were with him to the last, and lost heavily in their attacks on the enemy. 

The Victorians had the majority of the wounded, including Lieutenant Gartside; only 60 men answered the roll call when orders came for the 3rd Regiment to be withdrawn.  These men had been on short rations: six biscuits for six days being their share, and 18 lbs of oats for the horses.  A few days recruiting in Bloemfontein, Weinberg, and Brandfort, and orders came to move once more to Pretoria, and from there to Pienaars River, where forces were once more concentrated with the object of attacking the enemy at Warmbad, Nylstrom, and Pietersburg.  These places were captured one after the other after considerable resistance, and General Plumer's Bushmen had the honour of capturing the last Boer capital.

Cameron's Scouts

These proceeded from Marandellas to Bulawayo and were appointed bodyguard to Sir Frederick Carrington; Sergeant Roderick William Howe was promoted to Lieutenant.  They entrained from Bulawayo to Mafeking, where the main body of the Rhodesian Field Force was mobilized, and marched from there to Ottoshoop and Zeerust, where there was a reconnaissance in force of 2,000 men.  These marched to Marion River, thence to Brakfontein, near Eland's River, where an engagement lasting eight hours took place against a commando of de la Rey. 

 

A rear-guard action was fought back to Marico River, and two days after the order was given to return to Zeerust.  A rear-guard action was fought for three or four miles along the road to Zeerust.  From thence they proceeded to Ottoshoop; and after remaining there two days, advanced again on Zeerust.  After proceeding about four miles, a commando under General Lemmer opened fire on them and held them in check for about six hours.  They remained on the firing line all night; and, on advancing in the morning found that the Boots had retired leaving several dead upon the field.  The Scouts returned to Ottoshoop next day, remaining there nearly two weeks, during which time there were several small sniping engagements in which a few officers and men were killed.

General Carrington was then ordered to return to Rhodesia, and the Cameron Scouts were practically disbanded.  Their leader, however, saw that all who desired to return to Victoria were sent back.  Both he and Lieutenant Howe remained.

Return of Victorian Contingent

The Victorian Bushmen embarked at Cape Town on the transport Morayshire on 9 May 1901 and arrived at Melbourne on 6 June 1901, having called at Albany and Adelaide en route.  Captain Ham returned in charge.  The Bushmen were disbanded shortly after their return.  (SS Morayshire was a 5,851 gross tons single screw passenger vessel.  From December 1898, she was operated by the Elderslie Steam Ship Company on the London, Cape Town, Melbourne, Sydney, New Zealand service.)

 

Summary of Service

About 16,000 Australians fought in the Boer War.  This figure includes those who enlisted in an Australian unit, as well as the many raised locally, but it does not allow for double-counting of those who served in two contingents.  A small number of Australians are known to have fought on the Boer side.  The nature of the conditions under which the war was fought can be deduced from that in the Australian contingents 282 died in action or from wounds sustained in battle while 286 died from disease and another 38 died of accident or other unknown causes.  Six Australians were awarded the Victoria Cross in South Africa and many other soldiers received other decorations.

 

This Appendix is simply a collation of edited extracts from material referenced below, namely: Australian War Memorial (undated) and Murray (1911).

 

 

Appendix D

 

World War II and the Burrowes Family

 

Bert Hurren’s then in-laws the Burrowes family of 28 Park Road, Middle Park had a very devastating time during World War II and immediately afterwards.  In August 1942, Bert’s father-in-law Archibald John Burrowes died at home; aged 54 years.  At the time of Archibald’s death, the Burrowes’ eldest son Robert had been missing on New Britain for about six months following the Japanese capture of Rabaul in late January 1942.  In fact Robert had died about 6 weeks before his father but tragically the family did not learn of his fate until 1947, well after the War had ended; see below.

 

In December 1943, Thomas one of twin brothers born in 1923 was killed in action in air operations in the New Guinea area.  Fortunately, James his twin brother who served with the M Special commando unit survived the War.  More details are provided below.

 

Sadly a few days before Christmas 1945, Bert Hurren’s wife the Burrowes’ younger daughter Helen Veronica died during child birth at hospital in Bendigo at age 30 years; their child was also lost.  Thus the long awaited peace did not start well for the Burrowes and Hurren families.

 

Robert Burrowes was born in Perth on 17 February 1918.  He enlisted on 3 July 1940 at age 22 years.  He was a Sergeant in the 34th Fortress Company, Royal Australian Engineers when taken prisoner-of-war at Rabaul and died at sea when the SS Montevideo Maru was sunk on 1 July 1942. 

 

After the capture of Rabaul by the Japanese in January 1942, the first group of captives made up of 845 prisoners-of-war and over 200 civilian internees left Rabaul on 22 June 1942 for Hainan Island off the southern coast of China.  They travelled on the SS Montevideo Maru.  This freighter had been requisitioned by the Japanese Navy and sailed unescorted for Hainan Island keeping to the east of the Philippines in an effort to avoid Allied submarines.  Tragically on 1 July 1942 this vessel (which was not marked as a POW carrier) was torpedoed by the submarine USS Sturgeon close to Luzon.  The subsequent sinking resulted in the deaths of all prisoners and internees on board; only 17 of the 88 Japanese guards and crew survived.  The deaths on the Montevideo Maru were not fully revealed to Australian authorities or to the relatives until after the end of the War when a list of casualties was provided in October 1945.  (Note: on the English language translation list of Montevideo Maru casualties, Robert Burrowes was incorrectly shown as Robert Allards.)

 

Thomas Burrowes was born at Port Melbourne on 29 March 1923 and enlisted in the RAAF on 19 September 1941 at 18 years of age.  He was a 20‑year old Flight Sergeant (wireless operator/air gunner) on Beaufort A9-211 of No 100 Squadron RAAF when killed in action on his first mission on 14 December 1943. 

 

On the night of 14 December 1943, 10 Beaufort bombers of No 100 Squadron took off from Vivigani airstrip on the north-east side of Goodenough Island to attack the airstrip and dispersal bays at Japanese-held Vunakanau to the south of Rabaul; a flight distance of about 600 kilometres.  A tropical front whipped up some appalling weather conditions that reduced the Beauforts to flying on instruments.  Five of the aircraft did not reach the target; three aircraft managed to strike the target; and one aircraft diverted from the planned route to attack Gasmata on the southern coast of New Britain.

 

The next morning, Beaufort A9-211 was reported as missing on operations and the missing crew were later believed to have been killed.  As well as Tom Burrowes, the other crew members killed were: Flight Sergeant John Eardley Kenny (pilot), Flight Sergeant John Arthur Davies, and Flight Sergeant Murray Fairbairn.

 

No 100 Squadron RAAF was the first RAAF Squadron to be equipped with Australian-built twin-engine Bristol Beaufort bomber aircraft.  The Squadron was deployed to Queensland in May 1942.  No 100 Squadron then deployed to Milne Bay in September 1942, flying reconnaissance and bombing missions against coastal shipping.  The Beauforts usually had a crew of four: pilot, navigator/bomb aimer, and two wireless operator/air gunners.

 

On 6 October 1942, the Squadron conducted the first land-based torpedo strike and over the succeeding months a number of enemy vessels were damaged or sunk including a Japanese cruiser.  No 100 Squadron also took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in March 1943, when eight torpedo-armed Beauforts met with limited success against a dispersed Japanese convoy.  This mission proved to be the Squadron's last torpedo-bombing mission and thereafter it operated solely in the level-bombing mode, striking targets by night, in particular, the Japanese fortress at Rabaul.  From October 1943 onwards, the Squadron had a succession of moves, finally ending up at Tadji; from early November 1943 it operated from Vivigani airstrip on Goodenough Island.  Bombing operations against Japanese troop concentrations hidden in the jungles continued throughout this period.  The Squadron was disbanded in New Guinea on 19 August 1946.

 

James Burrowes was born at Port Melbourne on 29 March 1923.  He was Thomas’ twin brother and enlisted on 14 January 1942 at age 18 years.  James survived the War and was discharged on 14 December 1945 having served as a signaller Coast Watcher in the M Special Unit of the Second Australian Imperial Force.  James spent some 9 months with the United States 7th Fleet Amphibious Landing Force and another 10 months in enemy-occupied territory overlooking Rabaul in New Britain.  At discharge he held the rank of Sergeant.  James Burrowes OAM is now 93 years of age and is the last signaller Coast Watcher survivor in Australia, see links in references below.

 

M Special Unit was one of two multi-national combined forces commando units that were formed as part of the Allied Intelligence Bureau.  The other unit was Z Special Unit; both units were part of the Special Operations Australia Branch.  M Special Unit was used primarily to provide intelligence on Japanese naval and troop movements around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.  M Special Unit personnel were Coast Watchers inserted along the coast behind enemy lines where they would observe enemy movements and report back to the Allied Intelligence Bureau via radio.  This was invisible, unglamorous work, but there were considerable dangers for those involved and a number of M Special Unit members were captured by the Japanese and executed.  The unit was disbanded at the end of the War.

 

 

Appendix E

 

About James Brack and his family

The father of Bert Hurren’s second wife Joan, Captain James Brack MC enlisted in the ranks for the Australian Imperial Force on 19 August 1914 as a 26 year old clerk.  He served for over five years, including at: Gallipoli with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force from 5 April 1915 and then in Egypt, France and Belgium and later in England.  James Brack landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 and served there until 21 November 1915 when he was evacuated on the Hospital Ship Delta to Alexandria for treatment of malaria at No 17 British General Hospital. 

 

Initially at Gallipoli James was a Sapper with the 1st Divisional Signal Company and later with Divisional Head Quarters.  He was promoted Corporal on 27 July 1915 and Sergeant on 17 August 1915.  In June 1916, he travelled from Alexandria to France on His Majesty’s Transport Kinfauns Castle to join the British Expeditionary Force.  James disembarked at Marseilles on 10 June 1916 with the 4th Divisional Signal Company.  On 25 July 1916 he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant and on 28 July 1916 he was transferred to the 47th Infantry Battalion.  

 

The 47th Battalion was part of the 12th Brigade within the Australian 4th Division.  The 12th Brigade was formed in Egypt in February 1916 under Lieutenant Colonel Duncan John Glasfurd (1873-1916) and comprised the 45th, 46th, 47th, and 48th Battalions.  (An Indian born British Army officer, Glasfurd had been posted to the Australian Military Forces in 1913.  On 12 November 1916, Glasfurd was mortally wounded by shell fire about 5 kilometres north of the Somme at Cheese Road near Bernafay Wood.)

 

On 9 February 1917 James Brack was promoted Lieutenant and on 20 July 1917 he was promoted Captain.  Owing to the heavy casualties sustained within the 12th Brigade and the lack of available reinforcements, the 47th Battalion was formally disbanded on 31 May 1918.  In May 1918, Captain Brack was transferred to the 46th Battalion and appointed Adjutant (staff officer assisting the commanding officer).

 

Captain Brack was twice recommended for the Military Cross which was eventually awarded on 3 June 1918.  Firstly in October 1917, he was recommended for gallantry in action at Passchendaele Ridge (north-east of Ypres in the Flanders region of Belgium).  In part, that recommendation noted that on 12 October 1917 Captain Brack took command of the 47th Battalion (in the 4th Australian Division) after the commanding officer (Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Peter Imlay DSO and Bar-1885-1959) was severely wounded.

 

Captain Brack tended the commander’s wounds under very heavy shell fire.  Later Captain Brack disposed the troops to meet a threatened enemy attack; and with initiative, organising ability and devotion to duty carried out his duties in a most efficient manner. 

 

(The Australian 3rd Division suffered 3,199 casualties in the 24 hours of this battle and the supporting Australian 4th Division that included the 47th Battalion suffered 1,000 casualties.  New Zealanders also suffered around 3,000 casualties in this first action at Passchendaele that achieved no valuable gains.  Between November 1916 and May 1918 the Australian 12th Infantry Brigade was commanded by Brigadier General James Campbell Robertson CB CMG DSO-1878-1951.)

 

The second Military Cross recommendation for Captain Brack was in March 1918 and, in part, referred to his conspicuous good service, and ability in the field as signalling officer with the 47th Battalion and later as a company commander where his work was especially marked by coolness in action and care for the men. 

 

The 46th Battalion that James Brack joined on 26 May 1918 was raised in Egypt in 1916 and served in France from June that year.  The Battalion rotated in and out of the front line throughout the winter of 1917-18.  In the spring of 1918, it played a role in turning the great German offensive by defeating attacks around Dernancourt in the first days of April just prior to Captain Brack’s posting. 

 

During the Allied offensive that commenced in August 1918, the 46th Battalion played an active part, including fighting in the battle of Amiens on 8 August 1918 and in the battle to secure the Hindenburg outpost line on 18 September 1918.  The Battalion was out of the line when the War ended on 11 November 1918 and was disbanded in April 1919.

 

After serving as a training officer in England, Captain Brack returned to Australia on His Majesty’s Transport Ceramic; he embarked at Liverpool on 9 August 1919.  After embarking further troops in France and landing troops at Adelaide, the Ceramic berthed at Port Melbourne on 27 September 1919 en route to Sydney.  Captain Brack was discharged from the Australian Imperial Force on 26 November 1919.

 

James Brack and Frances Lillian Downey were married at Warburton, Victoria on 7 October 1919.  They had three children, sons Bob and Tom and daughter Joan.  The Brack family moved to Canberra in 1927.  James Brack went on to become an Assistant Secretary with the Department of External Territories prior to retiring in 1951; he had earlier served in overseas posts. 

 

Upon arrival in Canberra, James Brack was active in rifle shooting as a sports interest.  He was both club captain and club champion for six consecutive years.  Later he was both president and patron of the Canberra Rifle Club.  (Bert Hurren’s younger son Steven followed in his grandfather’s footsteps and was a member of the Canberra Rifle Club from 2001 to 2012.  During this period, Steven’s achievements in open class included the ACT championship (2002), the Riverina championship (twice), and the Tumut 1,000 yards championship (twice).)  After competitive rifle shooting, James Brack took-up lawn bowls as a sporting pursuit.  Here he also achieved great success.  James was a club champion at the Canberra City Bowling Club when aged in his 80s. 

 

During World War II, James Brack served as a Major with the 21st Battalion, Volunteer Defence Corps and was Commandant of the Volunteer Defence Corps in Canberra.  Both of the Bracks’ sons served during that war. 

 

The Bracks’ elder son Robert William Brack (1921-2005) served in both the Militia and later in the 2nd Australian Imperial Force from 1941 to 1945.  Before the War he worked as a clerk for the Customs Department and was studying at university under a Coronation scholarship. 

 

Bob Brack was posted to Singapore in October 1941 with the General Base Depot of the 8th Division and soon afterwards was promoted Staff Sergeant in the 2/19th Infantry Battalion.  He was listed as missing after the fall of Singapore from February 1942 to November 1943 when he was confirmed as a prisoner-of-war. 

 

In April 1943 he was part of the so called F Force that the Japanese sent to Thailand to work on the central section of the Thai-Burma railway from Kanburi to Moulmein in Burma.  Bob returned to Australia in September 1945 and was among the prisoner-of-war welcomed home at the Lady Gowrie Services Hut in Manuka and later at Government House.  Bob Brack was discharged at his own request in November 1945.

 

After the War Bob Brack rejoined the public service and was sent to Geneva in 1947 as part of a trade delegation to an International Trade Conference.  He then spent two years in London undertaking post-graduate studies on trade issues.  He also had a posting to Washington DC in the 1950s. 

 

In 1974, Bob Brack was appointed chief executive of Australian Consolidated Industries Ltd.  In 1981 he became chairman of Telecom Australia the then trading name of the Australian Telecommunications Commission and later of the Australian Telecommunications Corporation. 

 

Bob Brack was recognised for his service to industry, commerce and education with the award of Officer of the Order of Australia in June 1978.  Robert Brack died in Melbourne in July 2005 at age 83 years; he was survived by his wife Joan and their two children Ruth and Robert.

 

James and Lillian Brack’s younger son Thomas James (Tom) Brack (1924‑1984), served in World War II in the Militia and later in the 2nd Australian Imperial Force as a cipher clerk and later as a Staff Sergeant with the Signals Section of the 5th Australian Division.  He served in Australia, New Guinea and later on Morotai.  After the War, Tom Brack worked in public service and private sector organisations and later became involved in employer organisations. 

 

In 1968, Tom Brack was appointed as a Commissioner of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission where he continued to serve until his death at age 59 years.  Thomas Brack died in Sydney in June 1984 survived by his second wife Norma Gwen McKelvey (née Green) and by Cathy and Garry; the two children from his first marriage.

 

As a high school student, the Bracks’ only daughter Joan excelled at elocution and in music.  The Canberra Times of 4 December 1942 (on page 4) carried a brief report of the first music and elocution examinations conducted in Canberra by the London College of Music.  As a pupil of Miss Yetty Landau for the Licentiate Diploma in Elocution, Joan Brack topped the examination and was awarded honours with 89 marks.  In the music examination, Anne Keague, received the top award with a first class pass with 94 marks.  Anne was a pupil of Joan Brack. 

 

The Canberra Times of 14 January 1944 (on page 4) reported that Joan Brack had successfully completed the leaving certificate examinations at Canberra High School with first or second class passes in all six subjects.

 

After her marriage to Bert Hurren, Joan became a teacher and from around the mid-1950s was teaching at the Turner Pre-School where one of her 1957 pupils was her then three-year old son Steven.  Joan Hurren went on to become principal of all pre-schools on Canberra’s north side.

 

 

 

References

Anonymous (various dates), Searches of newspaper Family Notices and editorial articles as listed in Appendix A, from National Library of Australia, Canberra, digitised newspaper service accessed at: http://trove.nla.gov.au/

 

Anderson, Don (1990), Charles Edward Hurren Circa 1881-19? (sic); a 14 page monograph held in the Prahan Mechanics Institute and Circulating Library and referenced at: http://library.pmi.net.au/fullRecord.jsp?recno=11240

 

Australian Capital Territory Government (undated), Brack, Robert William entry on ACT Memorial website, accessed at: http://www.memorial.act.gov.au/person.php?id=2245

 

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(Mr Burrowes is a brother of Bert Hurren’s late first wife Helen née Burrowes).

 

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Ford, Reginald Arthur (1979), The Division of National Mapping’s Part in the Geodetic Survey of Australia, in The Australian Surveyor, June, September and December 1979: Volume 29, No 6, pp. 375-427; Volume. 29, No 7, pp. 465-536; Volume 29, No 8, pp. 581-638, The Institution of Surveyors, Australia, ISSN 00050326.  Accessed from XNatmap website at: http://www.xnatmap.org/adnm/ops/prog/rafgeosvy/index.htm

 

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Hawthorne, Lesleyanne (2016), Personal communications, June-July 2016.  (Professor Hawthorne is a niece of Bert Hurren’s late first wife Helen née Burrowes).

 

Herival, Jan (undated), Beaufort A9-211 entry on ADF-Serials, Australian and New Zealand Military Aircraft Serials and History, RAAF A9 DAP Bristol Beaufort, A9-201 to A9-300 website, accessed at:

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Jensen, Peter Allan (2016), Personal communications, June 2016.  (Lieutenant Colonel (Rtd) PA Jensen served with the Royal Australian Survey Corps and the Royal Australian Engineers for over 38 years.)

 

Kimber, Colin (2016), Personal communication via Paul Wise, May 2016.  For a period in the early 1980s Mr Kimber was the officer-in-charge of the section Bert Hurren used to manage.)

 

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