Katherine Elizabeth Fisher m Robert GregoryIII

Katherine (Katie) was born at Dunedin, New Zealand on 3rd March 1865 the older daughter of Alfred George Fisher and Elizabeth Louise formerly Harbroe.
Katie married Robert Gregory at St Andrews Cathedral in Sydney on 21st June 1897 after which the newly weds moved to Gally Swamp where they proceeded to establish their home. Later they purchased land at Abbotsford where they built a home they called “Gerrobhar”. Katie spent her latter years in an apartment block of flats In Railway Avenue Chatswood. Katie died on 17th July 1952 in a North Shore Nursing Home.

Siblings
Two babies followed Katherine, Mary and Charlotte died in infancy, then came Alfred born 1869 and Louise 1870 who never married but inherited the old Harbroe home ‘Woodlands’ New Town Road Hobart a residence of ‘grand scale’. Louise sold ‘Woodlands’ after living in it for some time and spent the proceeds in the ensuing years on tripping around the world and giving lavish parties, Louise eventually lost all reason and passed away on 24th August 1957.
Alfred married a Miss Taylor the daughter of a wealthy Tasmanian family, they had three children Mary, Joan and Jack. Alfred died about 1940. Mary was a bookshop proprietor in Brisbane Street Launceston for many years Joan married Colin Edgell and lived in Canberra while Colin was badly injured in World War II and whose whereabouts and circumstances are not known.

Parents
Alfred George Fisher was born on 17th December 1839 at ‘Wellington Grange’ now the site of St. John’s Hospital Hobart. Alfred left for New Zealand at the age of 23 where he became a shipping merchant but returned to Hobart in 1863 to be married to Elizabeth Louise Harbroe. The couple were married at All Saints Church, South Hobart by Rev. S Parsons on 22nd December 1863 and moved to Dunedin New Zealand. Alfred visited England in 1874 and during his stay in London he became ill and passed away on 3rd April 1875.

Elizabeth Louise Harbroe was born at ‘Woodlands’ Newtown Hobart (the old home is now operated as a Youth Hostel) on 2nd August 1845 the daughter of George Harbroe and Rebecca Kerr (a convict on ‘Nautilus’ arrived 1838). Elizabeth Louise died in Sydney

Grandparents
John Fisher born on Norfolk Island on 27th October 1804 the son of Edward Fisher and Elizabeth formerly Gregory born about 1877 in England arrived a free settler from England on ‘Lady Juliana’ 2nd Fleet, died 1842 in Hobart.

Charlotte Herbert born Hobart 1812 and died Hobart 1897 the daughter of John Herbert and Elizabeth Smith who was a convict on ‘Lady Juliana’ 2nd fleet.

George Harbroe born 1816 in Ripley Surrey and died 1881 married Rebecca 1844.

Rebecca Kerr), was born about 1818 in London a convict on ‘Nautilus’ arrived 1838, married George Harbroe1844 and died in Hobart 1909.

Great Grandparents
Edward Fisher and Elizabeth Gregory

Edward Fisher was born in England circa 1753, sentenced to seven years transportation by the Staffordshire Court on 30th July 1788 for petty thieving on 12th February 1788

Thomas Gregory a convict on ‘Neptune (2nd Fleet) and

Sarah (formerly Clay) born England c1740 was a convict on ‘Lady Juliana’ and died Norfolk Island 1807 (grave #163).

A brief account of Katherine’s life

Katie’s early years
Katherine (Katie) spent her early growing years at Maitland New South Wales, where her father Alfred set up as an Auctioneer. Alfred died in 1875.
Some time later in Maitland, Katie’s mother met up with John Hern (the brother of Charles Hern a well-known artist and tutor to three daughters of the then Prince and Princess of Wales [note source below] (Edward VII acceded to the throne when his mother Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901), who was at the Maitland branch of the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney. Mr Hern was transferred to Woodburn, when Katie was in her early teens, and must have encouraged Katie’s mother to move to Woodburn also, because she married him in 1884. Both Katie and her sister ‘Dolly’ had had a good secondary education possibly boarding at the Convent at Lismore, in spite of there not being Roman Catholic. According to the letter to Katie from Mr Hern, Elizabeth Louise and the three children would have moved into the Bank’s residence at Woodburn after the marriage.

the exact wording of the letter is 'My Dear Uncle John, My being art tutor to their Royal Highnesses the Princesses of Wales is very ancient history now, I have been going to ''Marlborough House'' for the last eighteen months very often twice in one week. They are all three most friendly and sweet...............' The letter is both dated and postmarked 6th April 1889. David Hancock

Katie found it a very difficult relationship with her stepfather as can be read into this letter to Katie from him just prior to his marriage to her mother.

Katie reached university standard at the Convent at Lismore, which enabled her to return later to East Maitland where she opened a school for ‘daughters of gentlemen and boys under ten’

The three children were bought up according to very strict Victorian standards by their mother, who was not one to ‘spare the rod’, for example one saying that was passed down the generations was ‘children should be seen and not heard at the table’.

Katie was known to hate her Stepfather.

The impression given by Katie’s sons was that their mother came from a very well respected and wealthy Tasmanian family, who lived among the rich and opulent and enjoyed the best that life had to offer and which would have influenced them in their early years.

Mr Hern and Elizabeth Louise moved from Woodburn and were established in Sydney before 1897. Mr Hern took over as Manager of the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney, George Street West Branch. There were two upper floors devoted to the Managers residence. It was this address that appears on the Marriage Certificate of Katie Fisher and Robert Gregory.
The young family moved to West Maitland New South Wales where Alfred set up business as an Auctioneer.
After Alfred’s death Elizabeth Louise married a banker John Hern (brother to the renowned artist Charles Hern)
After Alfred passed away Elizabeth was left to bring up three young children. She had a reputation that ‘she was not one to spare the rod’ and the children had a strict upbringing. It was not a happy set-up for the children, Katie was known to hate her Stepfather.
Even up to her death she was always a charming and good looking woman and these charms and good looks attracted Mr John Hern, Manager of the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney at Maitland. Mr Hern was transferred to Woodburn on the Richmond River New South Wales some time later where they married shortly after 10th January 1884. The young family would have lived on the Bank premises.

My dear Katie
As the time draws near for your mother to leave you for a little while I thought perhaps the event might make you feel sad and I feel it my duty to try to cheer you and explain my feelings in the matter.
No doubt at times you have thought me cruel unkind and passionate and not without good reason, but Katie this is not my true nature it is loving and affectionate and always will be towards anyone belonging to you.
I have always admired and respected you and felt so grieved that you were cool towards me for such a long time. I think you might have forgiven me long before for the unkind words I used towards you however it shall never happen again. And I must ask you not to look upon me in the usual light of a stern Stepfather but as a kind and affectionate brother who will protect and shield both you and your sister at all times. Not merely because of your sex to require protection but more on account of my great attachment to you all. This feeling is so strong that I look upon you almost as my own flesh and blood, and again never for a moment think that I would not like you to make my house your home.
Most sincerely, Katie I assure you, I should feel grieved and so should your mother if you ever allowed such a feeling to exist, let not the home be broken up only removed. We have lived together very happily at times in the past and I am sure we can do so again.
When you and Doll are absent I shall always feel anxious as I know too well what a cold cruel deceitful world it is. I have seen so much of it therefore Katie come and live with us and let me prove to you what I have written. You must not refuse, it would be unkind and wicked to do so. The change will do you good. I am sure and I will do all I my power to make you comfortable and happy, I am not rich but I possess a kind heart. In the meantime God bless you all and believe me to be the most sincere and loving friend you possess.

P.S. Since writing I have heard you are sick and feverish. I am very sorry Katie and sincerely hope you will soon get better. I have sent you some quinine which kindly take as its sure to do you good being pure quinine. Only a few days ago I cured a feverish person here with it. I have sent you six doses take two times a day between meals with a little wine. Should this not do you good I will send some more or some Citrate of Iron and Quinine.

Katie’s meets her husband
In 1896 Robert met Katherine Elizabeth Fisher at a Boarding House conducted by Elizabeth Louise Hern at 193 Macquarie Street North Sydney. Robert would have spent little time in Sydney because of the nature of his work. However he must have found time to court Katie and the marriage took place on 21st January 1897 at St Andrews Cathedral Sydney. The ceremony was conducted by the Precentor of the Cathedral and the two witnesses were Katie’s mother Elizabeth Louise Hern and her sister Louisa Margaret Fisher (Dolly). Katies address at the time of her marriage was Commercial Bank George Street west and Robert’s was Gally Swamp.

The newly weds made there way to Gally Swamp where Robert was employed as Constructional Engineer with Gallymont Goldfields Limited. The company provided a comfortable brick cottage for the couple and Katie furnished it in very good taste in keeping with the standard to which she had become accustomed. All the furniture, including a piano, had been purchased in Sydney and had been freighted by rail to Mandurama, thence by bullock wagon out to the mine a distance of some 16 kilometres.

The new family
Katie returned to her mother’s Boarding House at 193 Macquarie Street North Sydney. Harold’s was born at a hospital at 132 Flinders Street Moore Park on 19th May 1900. After which she moved to the residential Empire Hotel at the corner of Johnson Street and Parramatta Road Annandale. Early in 1902 Katie moved down the street to ‘Walhalla’ near Booth Street where the twins Robert and Gerald were born on 8th October 1902.

The family rented houses at various addresses before Katie was left a sum of money in a will by a relative sufficient to buy three blocks of land at Abbotsford and to build upon it a home of adequate proportion.

In 1914 the family had established themselves in a two-story home on the corner of Walton Crescent and Marmion Road Abbotsford built for Robert and Katie on three blocks of land not far from the Parramatta River. Later a lot of rock was excavated to make room for a tennis court, fernery, garage and workshop (Harold’s favourite hide-out)

Robert spent more time at home in the later years as the boys were in their late teens and early twenties. He had work at Rhodes on the Parramatta River and would return home each evening just as he had always thought appropriate for a father. However in 1924 to 1926 Robert managed Otway Coal Company at Yan-Yan-Girt in Victoria. After 1926 when Otway Coal was sold to another group, Robert went back to Gallymont and reopen the old workings, which meant that he was absent from home yet again. The twin boys who were at that time in their mid twenties were absorbed in an enterprise involving ‘Tasmanian Parlour Coaches’ a coach run between Hobart and Launceston Tasmania.

Katies widowhood
In 1933 with two sons married Robert and Katie sold the Abbotsford property for a pitifully small amount because at the time Australia was in the depths of the Great Depression. The reduced family rented a flat (apartment) in Mosman, however Robert returned to Canbelego to extract the residue from the old Mount Boppy dumps by some modern means of treatment. Robert died on 27th August 1936 while on this last assignment at Mount Boppy Cobar.

After her husband had died Katie moved in for a short time in with her son Robert. Robert had built a new bungalow at 79 Tryon Road Lindfield, in which he had hoped to make his family home, but World War II intervened the house was rented and Katie spent the last decade of her life in an apartment block of flats at Railway Avenue Chatswood.
Katie died on 17th July 1952.

To join her husband in death Katie’s ashes were sprinkled on either side of the front gate of ‘Woodlands’ 79 Tryon Road.

Source. Robert G Gregory’s Biographical Record 1970/71
(and his letter to Tony dated 1967)