Australian marriage Walter George SMITH c 1903

[sparrett]

I have a feeling I found him on an electoral roll in Melbourne not long before he left the country. I'll check my notes. At what point did women go on electoral rolls in Australia? If she were on it with him, it would help to establish if they married before 1903.

In 1903 Melbourne the Electoral register shows 3 men named Walter George SMITH .
Two seem unlikely one being a laborer and another a collector.

The third-
SMITH, Walter George
42 Gipps Street Melbourne. Occ.Reporter
Sharing the  address
SMITH Mildred, Home Duties.

Sue

[sparrett]

 There is birth in NSW to a couple of those names, but it post dates the time you say your people left the country. Seems not likely.

 
Marjorie L. SMITH
Year 1908
At Corowa, New South Wales, 
Father Walter G SMITH 
Mother Mildred
Reg 3070

Sue

[sparrett]

There is this marriage

Walt Geo SMITH
Mildred  Mary ACHON
Year1901
Registration 218

Sue

ADDING. In Victoria

[Liza115]

Hmmm. The date of immigration to the USA is given as 1903 on at least one census record, and also on the 1918 passport application, which says he lived 'uninterruptedly' in the USA for 15 years.  He did return to New Zealand in 1923 and again later. There is a further passport application in 1920, which mentions a trip to Europe for a month in 1912 and the Red Cross trip in 1918. No mention of his wife anywhere.
That electoral roll with Mildred sounds like the one I saw. The occupation and name sound good, but the wife's name and evidence of a child suggest it's not the right one.
There's the possibility that Kate was a nickname. If my name was Mildred, I'd probably change it too! I know of lots of people from around that time who weren't known by their official names.
From news cuttings in Trove, I got the impression he studied in Bathurst, then worked in WA, then in Melbourne, but he may have lived somewhere else after that.
Of course he could have married twice, if Mildred died, but she was having a child in 1907, so that doesn't sound likely.

[Liza115]

You can see why I've had a bit of trouble tracking Kate down. . . .

[sparrett]

I don't think "Kate"  was a nickname for Mildred.

Mildred ACHON of the marriage I have listed, had a second given name of Mary.
I think Mildred was a wife or partner of Walter George SMITH at the time of electoral  registration.

Sue

[sparrett]

Depending on your level of interest and/or closeness of relationship to yourself, I would purchase the marriage certificate of Walter George SMITH and Mildred.
Victorian certificates contain a great deal of information and will be downloadable immediately after payment.

Date
Couple's names
Couple's ages
Couple's birthplaces
Previous status
Couple's occupations
Couple's residences
Fathers' names
Fathers' occupations
Groom's mothers name
Bride's mothers name


This way you will know whether or not the electoral  enrollee is you person of interest.
Sue

[Liza115]

Thanks, sparrett, it looks like a marriage certificate for the right people will be very useful.
If Mildred shows on later electoral rolls in Australia, that would show it's definitely a different couple.

[majm]

The Vic bdm image of that marriage will have that Walter's signature ... which could be compared with the USA draft rego or similar document for Walter the court reporter's signature by some of the experts on RChats decipher & handwriting board ...

JM