Shep's Place Family Tree

She then became the only girl in a family of five boys until her sister Lily was born in 1890. Being the only girl, and a bright sensible girl at that, Ethel became "Sissy Mummy" to her brothers and sister. One can imagine what a great help to her mother she was.

Uncle Felix Buttfield, mother's brother, had a store in Beltana. We were to take over his business, as Uncle Felix was opening a store near the Ediacara Mine, close to a pastoral station which was several hundred miles north of Port Augusta. The store in Beltana was right in the town opposite the post office. The school was up the hill from the post office. The post master was Mr. Bee. His wife was a real lady. One of their sons later came to Adelaide and for a living played his piccolo in Rundle Street and King William Street ‎[Beehive Corner]‎. He was well known as Piccolo Pete.

The school was up near the police station. It had a galvanised iron shed. One day is was 117 degrees F. There were other days like this. One the way home one day a lady called me to come and see something. Her little baby had died, and she had it in a rack wrapped in a sheet on the side of the room.

We had some great experiences up there. The cattle: we had 20,000 through one day. Uncle ‎[Monty Buttfield]‎ was a drover; and as the cattle came down, a very wild one ran up and ripped his horse's side. There were wild things altogether like that.

One night when we went to bed at night there was no rain, nothing, dry. We were awakened by a crash and another crash as the trees were washed over. The creek ‎[Warioota Creek]‎ was half a mile wide. The water came down from the mountains, and it flooded. There were two wells in the middle of the creek. They were never seen again, and the train line was washed away.

One the other side of the creek, Father had a magazine right on the banks where he put all the explosives so that no one would ever go near. Of course we were inquisitive and poked about.

Father got all his goods from the town directly the train got in, as men on the train would open the cases of fruit and vegetables and eat them, and we wouldn't get a full case.

Father was an artist. We were great chums, and we'd go out and sketch Sliding Rock. I would help him. ‎[That was when the Shepherds were in between living in Beltana and Blinman. They stayed in Aunt Eva Davies' house.]‎

On the way back to Blinman we stayed overnight on the way, sleeping by the side of the road. Next day we had to go down a very steep road. Mother had one conveyance with two wild horses. It was as much as she could do to hold them up. She held on with all of her might. The wagon was laden with all our furniture,as we had to take everything with us. One of the horses was a very wild colt. She had to have a strong hold on it. At one place we had to go down a big hill. There were three gates to go through, so Father went first to open them. Our dog, a mag mastiff, was tied on behind. Father stood at the gate and put up his hand for us to stop, but Mother couldn't. The horses were too headstrong. Our poor old dog Prince died. He was a beautiful old dog, a faithful dog.

Bullock carts were mostly use, or else people walked. Mr. Middleton, the minister, used to walk from Blinman to Beltana. He had a bad leg and walked with a limp; but he got there. He'd cut across the way the crow flies.

Father's store was in Blinman, but we lived in Blinman South which was three miles away. We walked to school in Blinman. I was sitting in school one day looking out of the window, of course. I saw Fred Williams chop another boy's finger off. He put it on the block and said, "You chop him," and he did; and there was the boy with his finger hanging. I don't know what happened after that."

Alan's comment about Ethel's marriage may have something to do with Ethel's attachment, when young, to her second cousin Bertram "Bert" Fidler. They were in love, but family opposition to cousins marrying prevented their marriage. Bert was the grandson of Elizabeth Shepherd Fidler, who was Henry's aunt.