Margaret Elizabeth Taylor Garden – From Scotland to Australia

This one was a tough pick as there have been quite a few family members who have migrated, myself included. But I decided to write about my great grand-aunt Meg.

Margaret, known as Meg, was the middle daughter born to Elizabeth Garden. She was born at Little Pitglassie, Mortlach on 11 March 1900. Her father Mr Taylor, didn’t hang around.

Her mother passed away in 1913 from diabetes, at the age of 35.  Meg stayed with her grandmother, Margaret at Little Pitglassie.

L-R: Bet, ? Bower, Meg and Polly (Megs Cousin) – taken in Dufftown 1920s

In the 1920’s, like many other Scots, she was lured to Australia by better opportunities. It is possible Meg went to Australia under an assisted migration scheme. Which encompassed a two to three month journey by steam ship. She was leaving behind everyone and everything she knew, most likely to never return. This would have been terrifying for her, but exciting at the same time. An adventure awaited.

After her arrival in Melbourne, Meg got work as a domestic.

On 7 Apr 1934, Meg married Alleyne Godfrey Palmer, a mechanic from Derby, England. The ceremony took place at 69 Bourke Street, Melbourne. It was led by Albert Penberthy, an officer in the Salvation Army.

Meg continued working as a domestic after her marriage, working for a Mrs Moffat-Pender in Toorak.

Alleyne deserted Meg and they ceased living as a married couple by 1935. Alleyne was not only verbally abusive, he was allegedly physically and psychologically abusive towards Meg.  He constantly sought money from her. He threatened violence if she didn’t comply, targeting not only her but also himself. After struggling with her own health, and sick Alleyne’s threats and lies Meg started divorce proceedings. Absolute decree nisi was granted 29 September 1939.

Meg married Elliot Telfer Heard after her divorce in 1939.  Elliot affectionately known as Jock, a fellow Scot, who came to Australia in 1927. Elliot had two children Eve and Edgar with first wife Eva, who sadly passed away in 1934.

Elliot passed away on Christmas day in 1951. Meg continued to live in South Yarra up until she died 20 October 1983. Meg and Elliot’s ashes are buried in Springvale Botanical Cemetary.

Meg never returned to Scotland after her move to Australia, but she kept in touch with family back home. After her rocky start to her new life down under, she settled in South Yarra, Victoria.

Sources

• Photographs from Stephen Family private collection.
• Birth record, Margaret Elizabeth Taylor Garden. Scotland’s People; digital image (statutory registers births 162/ 33). Original data: National Records of Scotland. Accessed 18 August 2008.
• Victoria, Australia, Divorce Records, 1860-1940; digital image. Ancestry. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/61565/. Original data: Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV); North Melbourne, Victoria. Accessed 11 February 2021.
• Victoria, Australia, Marriage Index, 1837-1950. Ancestry. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/61649/. Original data: The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Victoria, Australia, Marriage Records.
• Victoria, Australia, Death Index, 1836-1988. Ancestry. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/61650/ . Original data: The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Victoria, Australia, Death Records.