Walter Henrry BARNICOAT
| First name | Walter Henrry |
|---|---|
| Last name | BARNICOAT |
| Country of Origin | England |
| Date of Birth | 21/01/17 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | c1948 |
| Submitted by | Gaynor Boyd |
Story
Walter, or Buckle as he was known, was the second son and third child of Albert and Maud Barnicoat. He was born in Gosport Hampshire which is situated on the south coast of England and was a butcher by trade. After service in WW2, both at home and in North Africa he worked in Lee-on-the-Solent where the family then lived. Lee-on-the-Solent is a small sea-side village to the west of Gosport. He worked for a Mr webb and when Mr Webb emigrated to Australia he carried on working for the next owner.
In 1947/8 he applied to emigrate and joined Mr Webb in Perth, Western Australia in his butchering business. When Mr Webb decide to sell up and run a chicken farm Buckle looked for another butchering job which he found in Kalgoorlie.
For the rest of his life he lived in the Federal Hotel, Kalgoorlie, having never married. He had a wealth of friends and enjoyed cricket, pool and darts and worked hard for the Federal Hotel Social Club where he ran the weekly raffle. He returned to England only for a couple of holidays and to catch up with the family.
Little did Buckle know, that 100 years earlier, his Great Grandmother, Keziah Rowe, formerly Barnicoat, nee Kempe, arrived in Port Philip on the emigrant ship, General Palmer where she and her husband made their way to the goldfields around Bendigo. She is buried in Castlemaine with other members of her family.
Buckle died suddenly on 27/09/1983 following a bout of ‘flu. The many tributes received variously described him as: ‘small in stature but big of heart’; ‘a fine English gentleman’; ‘true gentleman and friend’; ‘respected employee of Butcher Bros.’; ‘nature’s gentleman’; ‘small in stature and big in sincerity’; ‘fine gentleman and friend’; ‘our good friend and critic’.
He is survived by one brother in England and many nieces and nephews plus great nieces and nephews. He also had, unknown to him, many cousins once or twice removed in Victoria, Australia.