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Apr 18, 20222 min read

THE ELLIS FAMILY

Updated: May 4, 2022

FREDERICK JAMES ELLIS (1883-1953)

MARTHA ELLIS (1886-1959)


The Ellis family were tenants of Corio Bay Villa for about five years during the 1920s: a period of rapid economic and urban growth. Surrey Hills, and other newly developed suburbs, were experiencing a population boost and services could barely keep up. During the 1920s a new train station opened (Chatham station) and a second water reservoir was built in Surrey Hills to increase water supply to local residents. The Ellis family were also experiencing a period of rapid growth.


Frederick James Ellis and Martha McCormick (1886-1959) were, by now, in their late thirties, which would have been considered 'mature' in those days. The couple had married in 1914 and subsequently had five children in quick succession. Martha was already 28 when she married, which meant she had to get on with bearing children before she was deemed too old. Unfortunately their first child died in infancy. By the time they moved into Corio Bay Villa in 1921 they had with them two sons: Frederick James junior (1917-1975) and John Gilbert (1920-1967). The following year Betty Teresa was born (1922–1996), meaning that they now had three children under the age of five, and possibly another one on the way.


This was by no means the largest family who have lived at Corio Bay Villa. A decade earlier Emily and John Henry had lived in the same house with ten children aged sixteen and younger.


While the intimate details of Frederick and Martha's lives are not known, one can imagine that with three young children running around, it was both a busy and special time. We know that Frederick worked as a labourer and was therefore working class. Martha was a stay-at-home mother responsible for washing nappies, cleaning the house, preparing meals and looking after sick children. All children get sick at some time or another, but thanks to the compulsory reporting of infectious diseases, we know that both Frederick (aged 6) and Betty (aged 1) came down with diphtheria in 1924.

Diphtheria is a bacterial disease that causes severe inflammation of the nose and throat. In severe cases it can cause suffocation, leading to death for 10% of those infected. It is a contagious disease, so they were lucky the rest of the family didn’t catch it from Betty and little Frederick.


These days it's quite rare for diphtheria to occur in Australia as children are vaccinated against it. For the parents of Frederick and Betty however, it must have been a very anxious and worrying time. Fortunately, the children survived and the following year the family moved to nearby Box Hill, where they stayed into the 1930s.


Frederick and Martha later ended up in Dandenong where they spent their final years together. Frederick died in 1953, aged 70, and Martha died four years later, aged 73 years.



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