Mother was the third daughter born on 2.04.1929 to Horace and Alice Daniell. Alice was 46yo. She was born at their Coburg home. Later they moved to 33 Rosamond St Balaclava, Melbourne Victoria. She was named when she was three months old; Veema Raomi. Her name was obtained from the ‘To Be Married’ column in the Melbourne Age. She has since found out it was also a name used by a nun in a Melbourne monastery. It has also been seen as a street sign. Mum’s great grandmother was Maltese which explains the dark brown hair and brown eyes both she and my elder sister Vicki had.
Horace Wellesley Wade Daniell was born on 25 September 1885 into English Gentry and was the youngest of 13 children. They were Catholic. His wife, Alice Annie Newton was born into an English Roman Catholic family on 15 May 1884.
As he was a ‘gentleman’ who lived on an allowance he did not need to work until at age 32. He lost his ‘gentlemany’ status when all the inheritance went to the eldest son, as was custom in those days.
Horace became a builder and made beautiful furniture. In the 1929/30 depression he lost everything. He then turned to being a baker. Dad had fond recollections of his scone making and told me that he would be served piping hot scones in 10 minutes. They were delicious! Horace also loved fishing.
His sister Loti Snider (married name) was a successful actress. She married a Jewish man. They had no children. There are very nice paintings of her, however I don’t know who has them.
Horace had a cousin, Charles Web Gilbert, who was a Sculptor and has a statue which is exhibited in Swanson St, Melbourne.
Alice was a schoolteacher and she ran the school in Muscreek Daylesford. This is where she met Horace.She loved to paint and was very accomplished. My youngest sister Lisa has her artwork. Daylesford - Visit Melbourne
They lived on a wheat and sheep farm and had their own horse and jinky. Alice would travel to school on her horse. Her father came from England and became a wheat and sheep farmer. Heart problems were inherent in her family, Mum remembered how ill she was and mostly bedridden. Sadly, in May 1940 at 56yo she died. Mum was only 12yo. I don’t think she ever got over losing her mother. Her sisters held a birthday party for her 12 months after Alice’s death. It was her first and last.
One story mum told me about her childhood was the swear box. She said when they got really angry and things just didn’t go as planned, they would go to their swear box, open it and swear imagining the foul language being thrown in. Then they would shut the lid and feel much better.
Mother’s recollections of her father’s treatment of her was that he was extremely harsh. Losing the tender touch of a mother left emotional scars that continued well into her adulthood. She had to rise at 4am to do the early morning deliveries before school. Her father needed her to work in his bakery so she had to leave school at 14yo.
Ava, mum’s sister, worked on the trams after her husband walked out on her and left her to raise two sons from an early age.
Aunt Ava attempted to burn her house down after her husband left her. Mum and Dad let her stay in police custody overnight thinking it might teach her a lesson.
Mum married Dad on 25 February 1950. Both Ava and mum were excellent sewers and made their own wedding dresses. Wish they were passed on to us!!
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