David Hayes (1861-1941)
married (1885)
Mary Stewart Sefton (1866-1928)
David and Polly of "The Oaks"
Most of the information on this page was complied using the story as recorded in the "Stories from the Hayes Family: Volume 1 - Dec 2011", pages 59-62 'David Hayes' by his grandson Stewart, with the assistance of Stewart's siblings Neil, Ruth and Wilma.
David growing up ...David was born 12 July 1861 in Tooborac, Victoria. His parents, Mark and Maria Hayes, were living on what is now called Hayes Reserve where Mark had bought 213 acres at McIvor Creek. David's birth was registered in Heathcote.
Mark was in the process of building a house on his land, "Leicester House", about this time. David's niece Violet said he was "born in the little cottage now still beside the McIvor road on the way to Heathcote." So baby David was either born in the tents over the road from Leicester House and moved in as a young child, or born after they moved in. Mark used the property for sheep farming and market gardening. At birth, David had a big sister, Mary Ann and big brothers, George, William, Edward, Mark and James. Two years later, Joseph arrived. Sadly Joseph drowned as a toddler. Everyone thought someone else was watching young Joseph, yet no-one saw him fall into the water. The family must have been devastated. Just one month earlier, Maria had given birth to Alfred. When David was 7 years old, his final brother, Albert was born 1868. Thus David grew up on this family property working with his dad and seven brothers. Of these, Alfred was in some way disabled yet we can only suppose he helped the men on the land. They only had the one big sister, the first born, Mary Ann.
David was educated at the Tooborac Common School (later becoming State School No. 622) which stood at the top of the hill at Norman Hayes’s. David and his brother Albert later boarded in Heathcote for a period to receive further education. According to Jack Hayes, this may have included bookkeeping. After leaving school, David became a teacher for a number of years, before becoming a storekeeper at Gobur. He was later to display considerable entrepreneurial flair as a businessman, becoming, according to Jack Hayes, the most successful of the Hayes brothers. |
Mary Growing up ...Mary Stewart Sefton (Pollie) was born 4th June 1866 in Moddewarre in Victoria, some 30 kms west of Geelong. Her parents were William Sefton and Elizabeth (nee Lawrence) .
William Sefton had come as a child with his family from Belfast in Ireland. William's parents were David Sefton and Mary (nee Stewart). Pollie's mother Elizabeth was the daughter of James Lawrence & Elizabeth (nee Lemington) from Calne in Wiltshire, England. Elizabeth grew up with her parents in Barrabool Hills in Geelong were James was a shoemaker. William and Elizabeth's first child, William James, was born in 1857 in Geelong but had died about one year later. They then had their second son, William Jasper Sefton, in 1861 also born in Geelong. Thus Mary, who was normally called "Polly", grew up with one big brother, five years older than her. (So, were the family always living in Moddewarre with the sons being registered in Geelong or did they move?) At some point the Seftons moved to Longwood (between Seymour and Euroa) where William died. Pollie's mother Elizabeth was in Youarang near Numurkah at the time of David and Polly's wedding. David was working as a store keeper in Gobur, east of Seymour. We struggle to know how they met yet the the family were told that David taught Polly at some point. They then surmised that David was teaching in Youarang thus bringing them together. |
Wedding BellsOn 29th Dec in 1885, David and Polly married at her mother's place in Youarang. The Argus claimed that David's father Mark had died but Mark didn't die until 1893. The announcement also states that Polly's father William had died yet the wedding was at her 'parents' home. The article was a "late announcement", so there may have been some mistakes.
Whatever the truth, David at 24 years of age married his Mary when she was 19 years old. On the marriage certificate, David address was Gobur and his occupation was storekeeper. Thus it is assumed he ran a store in Gobur. So who is being referred to in The Argus as having a "Present address - Alexandra"? THE ARGUS Newspaper Announcement
MARRIAGE. HAYES-SEFTON.-On the 29th December, 1885, at the residence of the bride's parents, Youarang, by the Rev. Robinson, David, son of the late Mark Hayes, of Tooborac, to Mary Stewart, daughter of the late W. Sefton, of Longwood. Present address - Alexandra http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/10488071?searchTerm=hayes%20sefton%20marriage&searchLimits= |
The Family GrowsSix children eventually defined their family.
Alma Emily 1887-1941 born Youarang died East Brunswick Polly presumably went home to her mother to give birth to Alma. Harold Sefton 1889-1973 born Longwood died Leongatha Clifford Searcy 1892-1976 born Youarang died Queensland Isabel Constance was born in Yarck in 1895, married George Faragher and died in Brunswick in 1967. David had a store in Yarck at this time. He sent workmen to cut tree branches off gum trees to put on the roof of the cottage to try to keep it cool when Pollie gave birth to Isabel. The cottage was later destroyed by fire but the Store still remains and was resold in 2004. Millicent Elizabeth 1901-1981 born Sth Yarra died Croydon Some of the Seftons were living in South Yarra when Millicent was born, so Polly may have gone there for support with her four older ones until Millicent was born. Lillian May 1905- born Mirboo North The family were living at the farm "Allambee" in Mirboo North. The children did not go to school this year as it was too far to travel. |
"The Oaks"In 1907, the family moved into their beautiful home, "The Oaks" at Thornton.
The family grew and fell in love and married and moved on during this period. Alma married Archibald Balding in 1910 with little sister Lillian only 5 years old. Whilst at Thornton, David served on the Alexandra Shire Council, occupying the position of Shire President for a term, which he resigned from in December 1918, citing the fact that he was leaving the district. |
David had decided to sell ‘The Oaks’ soon after his eldest son, Harold, returned from the war. Harold had served in the 13th Australian Lighthorse, and saw active service in Egypt, France and Turkey (Gallipoli). Lilian Manning, David’s youngest child (affectionately known in the family as ‘Auntie Babe’) confirmed that David sold ‘The Oaks’ because he wanted to give his sons Harold and Clifford a start, so that they could acquire properties of their own.
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After selling ‘The Oaks’, David and Polly Hayes moved to Bolingbroke Road, Pascoe Vale where the census registers them as living there in 1919. He soon involved himself in business activities, building several shops near the Pascoe Vale Railway Station. He also enjoyed playing bowls, possibly introducing his brother Albert to the game when Albert retired to nearby Essendon in 1925. Their brother Edward moved to Camberwell in 1928 to retire. One wonders how often they saw of each other.
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In the End ...
David's wife Mary died 29 January 1928, after which he continued to live with his youngest daughter, Lillian.