Be assured there was no 'The Cottage' in Galatea Street and no Beilby lived in that street. In 1952, there were only two T. Beilbys in Charleville. One lived in King Street, the other, lived in Parry Street. There was only one Beilby family in town, all members having derived from the original Beilby settler, John Beilby. I do admire the energy and dedication that has gone into tracking down this elusive Thomas George Beilby and his various relatives - but sometimes the records can confuse, especially where identical names are involved over two generations or when a particular record turns out to have been no more than an April Fool's joke. The name, Thomas George Beilby, is confusing in Charleville. By about 1960 there were three members of the extended Beilby family in the town, each of whom bore that name. They covered three generations and two households. As for Norah, allegedly of 'The Cottage', as I continued to cast my memory back, I'm pretty sure she had no middle name - nor did her sister, Maryrose. To attribute to her the middle name of 'Josephine' would have seemed to local townspeople and to Norah herself, insofar as she might have enjoyed the joke, somewhat amusing. 'Josephine' in that town at that time would have been seen as the sort of name one would find in Music Hall burlesque. There was an old 'tramp' lady in the town named "Jo" - and that was the extent of the name's use. "Jo" had a horse and cart and collected pigs' slops from cafes and hotels. She also had a shotgun that she wasn't backward in brandishing at those who might attempt to shoot wild ducks from her billabong. The Beilby family knew it well. I had long forgotten the 'engagement' notice of 1952. The only detail I do vaguely recall is Norah's mentioning to me some amusement or otherwise about 'The Cottage', a name that no self-respecting western Queensland pioneer would have dreamed of using - and certainly not Thomas George Beilby. He may have named his residence, say, "The Gunyah" - but not 'The Cottage'. As it happened, his sole Charleville residence in Parry Street had no name. As for the perpetrator of the hoax, I have no idea who it might have been. The whole thing cannot have been taken all that seriously otherwise there'd have been some family discussion, some family outrage perhaps. And given that I was in the alleged fiancé's class at the time, I think I'd have known if Ian Warren had been 'courting' my cousin. Further, had he been engaged to her, I feel sure he'd have sought my goodwill rather more readily than he did.
