Boys home in Tasmania, possibly named Parkmore

[Eve45]

Hi all,

I'm trying to help a friend find out something about her father's early life. His name on her birth certificate looks like Ronnie Vernece (or Vernon?) Anderson. Apparently Ronnie ended up in a children's home in Tasmania. We found out that his mother was very ill for most of her life and probably didn't have much choice. She may also have been a single mother because there's no record of a marriage between Ronnie's parents (Helen McManus and supposedly Ronald Anderson). We think Ronnie was born in Tasmania too, about 1943, but he may have been slightly younger or older. The name of the home is believed to be something like Parkmore. Ronnie later changed his name, married and had children, but never said anything more about his early life. He died in 2004 without his wife or children knowing anything more. My friend is going to apply for a copy of his death certificate but I suspect it won't be much help considering that those left behind knew so little.

I've tried looking at Tasmanian Archives and Googling but have found no reference to any place called Parkmore in Tasmania. I'm hoping someone might have local or personal knowledge of a home or orphanage that fits the bill. It would have been active in the 1940s and 50s, I imagine. I don't even know what part of Tasmania it was in.

I know it's all a bit of a shot in the dark, but Rootschatters have shone a light in the darkest places before...

[cando]

May I suggest that your friend contact the BDM Registry in Tasmania and request a search for her father's birth entry.
http://www.justice.tas.gov.au/bdm

Homes and Orphanages Tasmania.

http://www.clan.org.au/homes/tas

Cando

[Eve45]

Thanks very much - I used your link to see if she is eligible to apply and she is, except the name change might make it tricky. She has her own birth certificate but her father's name on that is different to the name that would be on his birth certificate. I have a feeling she might need proof of his name change to confirm that he is the same person. He lived in New Zealand for a while and she believes he changed his name by deed poll there but I don't know that was necessary in NZ. He might have just chosen to use another name, which is quite legal in many countries. Guess I'd better have a look at NZ archives... thanks for your help.

[cando]

She may also have been a single mother because there's no record of a marriage between Ronnie's parents (Helen McManus and supposedly Ronald Anderson).

What was the source of this information please?

Cando

[sparrett]

Hi Eva,
Could you possibly post a little snip of the certificate showing the name of the man.

It may be  help if we can decipher the middle name about which you are unsure.

Sue

[Eve45]

We have a copy of Helen McManus's death certificate (1969). It says her first marriage took place in Melbourne to Ronald Anderson when she was 17 years old (c 1939). Her second husband was the informant - she married Edward Nichols in Melbourne when she was 28 years old (c 1950). I have Victorian marriages up to 1942 on CD and I've scoured it, looking for any marriage that could possibly be them, even just using given names, no surname. There was one marriage between a Helen/Ellen and a Ron* Anders*n that looked possible in 1939 but this couple were still together in the 1960s according to electoral rolls. I've also looked in other states where the accessible records go that far.

I guess the second husband could only repeat what he'd been told. Second husband Edward and the two other sons that Helen had are all deceased.

[Eve45]

Hi Sue, thanks for your reply. I don't have the certificate myself but will ask my friend I can have a copy. When he changed his name he used the middle name of Vernon so it seems possible that he kept that part. But you're right, I should get a copy of my friend's birth certificate. Cheers.

[Dundee]

His name on her birth certificate looks like Ronnie Vernece (or Vernon?) Anderson.

She has her own birth certificate but her father's name on that is different to the name that would be on his birth certificate.

I'm confused 

Debra 

[sparrett]

So on the death certificate the second husband Edward NICHOLS informs there was  a 1939 marriage for Helen and lists no other children of that marriage other than Ronald born in 1943?

Sue