STORIES OF OUR LIVES
Barker, Bax, Peard, Corney, Morris, Fish plus a little on Pike, Dunlop, Wallis, Tutty and some other names.
This website contains my explorations into the ancestors of the Barker Family, in particular for the descendants of Ian McClelland Barker and Nellie Fish.
Here you will find family stories, family trees and documents of interest,
plus some creative factional writing.
I have also included a few of my own memories with those I have known,
as well as anecdotes told to me by other relatives.
This is a work in progress. Any contributions are welcome: especially photos, memories, corrections etc. My contact details are at the bottom of the page.
I want to acknowledge my father's sister, Aunty Lynette Degotardi, who did substantial research into both of her parents lineage (Norma Peard and Charles Barker) which she put into a file and distributed to family members. This was pre-internet so she must have worked very hard to gather evidence.
PS I have a spare hard copy of this if anyone is interested.
Here you will find family stories, family trees and documents of interest,
plus some creative factional writing.
I have also included a few of my own memories with those I have known,
as well as anecdotes told to me by other relatives.
This is a work in progress. Any contributions are welcome: especially photos, memories, corrections etc. My contact details are at the bottom of the page.
I want to acknowledge my father's sister, Aunty Lynette Degotardi, who did substantial research into both of her parents lineage (Norma Peard and Charles Barker) which she put into a file and distributed to family members. This was pre-internet so she must have worked very hard to gather evidence.
PS I have a spare hard copy of this if anyone is interested.
Our history is collective history, and is meant
to be passed down to future generations.
For many years I was completely focused on moving ahead. Like a kangaroo. No reversing into the past. I knew nothing about my family history. I barely knew my grandparents on both sides. I also wanted to escape my upbringing, my childhood, my own parents. It took me a long time to realise that I couldn't shed my past and by embracing it I could finally begin to address the trauma and heal my wounded self. I started to write. I wrote about my own family of origin and the difficult and painful experiences. Before long though, I knew that I had to go further back to try and deepen my understanding of why my parents behaved as they did. It was a natural progression to keep delving further back. I believe now that the present and the future are intricately connected and time is not as fixed as I once thought.
My aim is to bring our ancestors to life as people who had hopes and dreams, who loved, struggled, celebrated, fought, cried, despaired, raged, laughed.
As people who raised children, worked hard and forged ahead despite the incredible difficulties and tragedies they faced. They were resilient, strong, resourceful people who paved the way for us to live our lives.
We exist only because they existed. Their stories are part of
who we are today.
I hope you enjoy reading about our ancestors and
learn a thing or two along the way.
PS Its mind boggling to think about how many ancestors we have.
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