This has me thinking:
"Engagement Notice (as hand transcribed from source)
Warren - Beilby - The engagement is announced of Ian Colin Warren eldest son of Mr and Mrs L N Warren of the Gresham Hotel Brisbane
to Norah Josephine second youngest daughter of Mr and Mrs T Beilby of "The Cottage" Galatea Street Charleville. Both are aged 19 and intend
wedding on the 10th of May. Bridesmaids are Rosemary Beilby, Joyce Spinster and Marion Warren. Best man is Dr Simpson of Dr Arriottis Surgery
also Lex Woods and Sid Fitzpatrick; flower girl is un - decided but Asmin Harding is expected to take the part.
Ref The Charleville Times Thursday3 April 1952."
This is sheer nonsense. I do not recall Norah's (daughter of Thomas Geo.) middle name. But 'Josephine'? Sounds unlikely. She was not the 'second youngest daughter' of Mr and Mrs T. Beilby. She was the elder of Thos. George's two daughters. In 1952, Norah was working in the Q.N. Bank in Charleville. In 1952, there was a young teacher in town called Ian Warren. However, in 1952, Norah and her father, Thomas, did not live at The Cottage, Galatea Street. They lived on the corner of Parry and West Street. In 1952, Norah would have been about 19. I would have thought Ian Warren would have been a little older since he was teaching Commercial subjects in the Secondary Department of the school at that time.
What is certain is that no such wedding ever took place and certainly I never heard it spoken of - and I was at the house frequently enough. Were I to take a guess, I'd say that the C'vlle Times notice was a hoax, an April Fool's joke - note the date of the newspaper - 3 April 1952. What's more Mary Rose was Mary Rose or Maryrose, not Rosemary. What I could say with certainty is that Thomas George, Norah's father, would have been ropable and ready to take a whip to whoever inserted the notice and to the Editor of the C.T. for publishing it.
So we have an address wrong, Maryrose's name wrong, I expect Norah's middle name is wrong - and how Dr Simpson would seem to have been involved with his name in this notice, I cannot imagine. I can only assume that the notice got the town either talking or laughing for a day or two and was then promptly forgotten. It must have seemed quite inconsequential to me since I have absolutely no recollection of it and since Norah and I were very close, an engagement to Ian Warren would have registered permanently since I knew them both. (As for Norah's middle name, the record of her death in the Queensland Justice Department would set the matter straight.) Sounds to me as if someone with only a vague knowledge of the personal details of the pair concocted the story. I see Ian Warren's parents are listed as The Gresham Hotel, Brisbane. That may be so, but I thought he came from Toowoomba or thereabouts - but on this point I could be very wrong.