The Croagh Family
Frances Bland and William Croagh were both born in Ballarat, and on the 25th January 1893 they married in St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
In 1900, Frances, William and their four children (at that time) moved to Schnapper Point to join Frances’ sister, Emma and her husband, William Foster, who owned a General Store on the corner of Vale and Main Street.
The Croagh Family c.1910
Frances and William ultimately had eleven children Gordon, Violet, Frances, William, Gerald, Eileen, Hilda, Evelyn, Kathleen, Rita, and Sheila.
Their eldest son Gordon enlisted in the A.I.F. in 1915 and was killed in action in 1917.
By 1924 mother, Frances, was working as a confectioner, and father, William, was a store man.
In 1931 William (son), married Eileen Atkinson and they were to set up a ham and beef shop (delicatessen) which they operated for many years, in Main St, Mornington.
The Croagh families were well respected and have many descendants in the area.
Gordon Croagh
Gordon was born in Mornington, in 1894, to William and Frances (nee Bland) Croagh. His address was “Eureka” Empire Street, Mornington, the home of his parents.
Gordon enlisted in Mornington on 19th July 1915, and gave his occupation as Grocer. He was working for Messrs Nunn & Co. in their Grocery Store in Main Street, Mornington at the time of enlistment.
The Attesting Officer on the Enlistment form was Dr. J.L. Edgeworth Somers, who was to subsequently lose two sons in the war.
Gordon embarked at Melbourne on 26th November, 1915 aboard HMAT AT3 Commonwealth - a member of the 23rd Battalion.
After some time in training schools he was posted to the 58th/59th Infantry Battalion.
He was promoted to Corporal while serving in the field, on 16th October,1916, and later spent some time in hospital with trench feet.
He rejoined his Battalion from hospital on 4th January 1917, and then sadly, was killed in action on 18th March, 1917.
Gordon had served in Egypt and France and is buried in the Bancroft Cemetery, France.
Gordon’s cousin, Sydney Foster, of Mornington, also died whilst serving his country.
On April 13, 1917, the Peninsula Post advised:
"News was received by Mr. and Mrs. Croagh of Mornington, last week that their eldest son Gordon had been killed in action in France after about eighteen months faithful service with the A.I.F."
Eileen Croagh, 2006
Eileen Croagh
Eileen was born in Portland in 1907, to William and Mary (Hodgetts) Atchison, and due to family illness, came to live with her aunt and uncle George and Alice Hooper when she was four years old.
Her mother Mary, and Alice Hooper were sisters.
George had lost his brother Charles, and nephew, 13 year old Charles, in the Football Disaster in 1892.
Eileen attended St. MacCartans Parish School, and so started a lifelong association with the church. When she left school, she worked as a shop attendant at Wilson & Livock.
The store was on the corner of Blake Street and Main Street and sold manchester, clothing and haberdashery, and that is where she met her future husband William Croagh.
William was working in the other half of Wilson & Livock, which was on the other corner of Blake Street, selling groceries and hardware.
Eileen and Bill married in 1931 and were in business in Mornington for many years, ultimately running a ham and beef shop (delicatessen) in Main Street.
Eileen worked tirelessly for the Catholic Church, on fund raising committees, running card parties and after her retirement from business, she took over the running of St. Vinnie’s op shop until well into her nineties.
When Eileen turned 100, in 2007, she was still living in her own home, and the day was celebrated widely with a special mass at church and festivities afterwards.
Eileen died in Melbourne at her daughter’s home in 2010, aged 103 years.
A lovely lady with a smile and a kind word, she will be long remembered in Mornington.
Violet Croagh's Medal Presentation
Mornington Dromana Standard 3 September, 1910, p.3
Ernie Sanderson, Bill Croagh, Jack Livock, Ray Swift, traveller and Dick McGregor
outside Wilson and Livock’s
groceries and hardware store in Main St, Mornington