Walter Tangee
Walter Tangee, the youngest child of Thomas and Margaret Tangee, was born in April 1895.
Seven years younger than his older brother William Edward, five years younger than sister, Eveline May and one year younger than Florence, Walter appears to have remained close to May throughout his life.
Born in Sale,
Walter and his siblings grew up on the Desailly Flats with his father
Thomas working as a labourer in the region. Compared to his siblings, Thomas appeared to strive for a quiet life, going about his jobs and keeping himself and his
children out of trouble, but then, in 1904, when Walter was only 9, and May was
14, the family would find themselves in the news.
According
to reports, Walter and May were sent down to the river to collect water when
their Uncle, Richard Davidson appeared. His
appearance and drunken actions resulted with him being charged with the
indecent assault of May and the case was heard at the Sale Court in July
1904.
The actions
of Thomas, Margaret and Kate, Thomas’ sister and Davidson's wife, could possibly indicate the dysfunctional environment and social constraints that the
wider family would be working within.
Evidence
was given by May, Walter and Margaret Tangee and maybe because of the delayed actions of the family to do anything immediately after the event, or maybe just
because of the times, Davidson was found not guilty and discharged.
The family
remained in Sale and in 1916, aged 20, Walter joined thousands of other young Australian men and enlisted for World War One.
At this time, the White
Australia Policy was being ‘strictly enforced’ and, while this was primarily to
prevent non-European immigration, an Act of Parliament, in line with the White
Australia policy prevented any men who were considered not white from signing up to go to
war. This included Chinese Australians
born here after their parents came for the gold rush of the late 1800’s.(1)
Australian
men needed to be 21 to enlist, add that to the policy, and we can surmise that Walter
must have been determined to do his bit as an Australian.
The 20 year
old sought the permission of his parents who both signed his enlistment forms
on February 28, 1916 and in his last will and testament, he left all of his worldly possessions to his sister May. By March 16,
Walter began his training at the 19th Depot in Geelong but
was soon discharged as medically unfit due to varicose veins.
It seems this was an issue which was escalated with discussions taking place as to whether Walter should be charged if he refused to have surgery. Ultimately, he would have the surgery and re-enlist on June 20, 1917. The labourer was assigned to work as a Sapper with the Engineering Department and left Sydney on March 22, 1918 on the Runic. In October, Walter arrived in France and was transferred to the 1st Signal Company.
As a Sapper with the signaling company, Walter faced the danger from enemy snipers daily as he delivered messages manually and repaired telephone lines. Appointed as a driver later that month, Walter was responsible for driving the teams of horses which pulled the guns.
In
C.E.W.Beans Official History, a Major Manton described how the Australian
Drivers had built themselves a strong reputation on the battlefield for how
they went straight through the nightmare barrages laid on the well known tracks
which they and their horses had to follow.
“Where many might hesitate, these men realised that the loss would be
less, and the job better done, if they pushed on without hesitation.”
In June
1919, Walter marched into Le Havre, a British Army Camp, returning to
England on June 5 and on September 7, aged 24, he returned to Australia on the
Takada, ten months after the war ended.
Rather than returning to Sale, Walter took the opportunity to start fresh, opening a Timber Merchant business in Burwood Rd Hawthorn with his father Thomas. Hawthorn was home to a number of large Chinese market gardens including one less than two blocks away in the Urquart Estate. Did Thomas know people working the gardens? He was a second generation gardener and something must have drawn he and his son to the suburb.
It was during this time that Walter met Mary Anne Doe, their marriage on June 1, 1921 was celebrated at St Mary’s
Church in Camberwell South.
During this time, William and Thomas closed down their timber business and with his
new wife, Walter purchased a confectionery business at Douglas Parade in
Williamstown which Mary Anne ran.
The 20’s appear to have been troubled for Walter who struggled to hold down jobs for periods of time. Maybe because of what he saw in France, he
was prone to disagreements with his employers which would lead to him leaving
the job. In 1924 Walter would break his
leg falling from a wagon in Glen Iris, an accident considered newsworthy enough
to be reported as the 29 year old was taken to the Melbourne Hospital.
Walter and Mary
Anne sold the business in Williamstown and bought a grocery business in
Camberwell Rd, Hawthorn. Mary Anne maybe
hoping that her husband would settle if they were closer to his family with May married and bringing up her family in the suburb. Sadly, this business would fail.
The 1920’s
continued as they started and in 1926, Walter travelled to the country to
find employment while Mary Anne remained in Melbourne, Walter’s
mother Margaret living with her. Four days after he
left, Walter returned, unable to find work.
Walter would leave home regularly over the next few years on the premise
of looking for work, only to return home empty handed.
Perhaps
escaping the troubles of home and looking for the mateship he had in France,
Walter joined the Irish National Foresters, a friendly society that would
raise money for those struggling and who would meet regularly. Attending with May's husband, Henry
Heard, by 1929, Walter was elevated to the role of Chief Ranger of the Hawthorn Branch of Foresters.
The
pressure of Walter’s inability to find work and the lack of stability for Mary
Anne lead to numerous quarrels with the couple moving house regularly and
Mary Anne living with Walter's sister May and mother Margaret at different times. Making it harder was the nation falling into
a depression and 1 in 5 breadwinners being unable to find work.
In 1932,
Walter sold his car, the money enabling him to travel to Queensland to look for work and, in 1933, perhaps in a moment of desperation, he sold his war medals, quickly applying to have them replaced.
Returning
back to Mary Anne, this appears to be the last time they lived together with
Walter leaving and advising her in the middle of Camberwell Junction that he
would not be returning to their marital home at any time.
In 1940 Mary Anne applied for a divorce on the grounds of desertion. This application was granted on June 26 and the following year, at 46 years old, Walter remarried, his Albert Park wedding to Eva Granger described in the news.
A lovely
long sleeved period gown of white slipper satin, inlet with Limerick lace, was
chosen by Miss Eva Amelia Granger for her marriage with Mr Walter Tangee, which
took place at Albert Park. The skirt swept
away from a long sleeved tight fitting bodice to form a very full train, and
her tulle veil was secured to her head with a coronet of orange blossom
buds. A bouquet of azaleas, hyacinths and
carnations was a delightful finishing touch.
Walter and
Eva welcomed their son Louis Ronald Tangee in 1942. Louis would be Walter’s only child and sadly,
in 1948, the six year old would be killed walking to school on a cold Melbourne
morning.
The
Coroners Report would include two witness reports as well as that of the man driving
the vehicle which had hit and run over Louis on the fateful day.
“At about
8.40am on the 1st of July 1948, I was employed on the tram tracks in
Mills Street near Page Street, Albert Park.
I was standing at the north east corner of the intersection of Mills and
Page Streets at the side of an air compressor.
I noticed a small boy walking over the vehicular crossing in Page
Street. The boy was holding his coat up
with his left hand as though guarding his face from the strong wind which was
blowing, and looking north along Mills Street.
As the boy passed over the crossing, he walked straight in front of a
van which was travelling north. The boy
was knocked down and the front wheels of the van straddled him. The rear wheel on the driving side went over
his body. The van pulled up in about its
own length. I picked the boy up and the
driver of the van recognised him and carried him home.”
Louis was transported to
Prince Henry’s Hospital and announced dead at 3.45am the following day with Walter required to identify his young son at the City Morgue.
The 53 year old had not had
an easy life, anything but, but the next 15 years would be relatively quiet
until July 1963.
On the morning of July 16, Eva
had gone to her Doctor suffering from a severe pain in her back. Two hours later Eva collapsed in her kitchen
and it was here Walter found her and called the Doctor. An ambulance was called but by the time Eva
reached Prince Henry’s, she had passed away.
To add to Walter’s loss, the
death of Eva would be investigated with the autopsy specifically mentioning
that there were no signs of violence externally, or on the brain and that Eva
had experienced an intra-cerebral haemorrhage, non traumatic in origin.
Memories of Walter described
him as a hardened man and, in looking at his life experiences it is understandable.
From seeing men killed in the war, living through the devastation of the
great depression and an unhappy marriage.
Growing up at a time where those of Chinese descent were frowned and possibly experiencing generational trauma passed on through his father. ANd then there was the tragic loss of a much loved child. Any one
of those experiences would have an impact on the strongest of people.
Walter passed away in 1975. The 80 year old found in his car, his heart having stopped beating. Perhaps he had finally found his chance to rest peacefully.
Walter Tangee
Born: April 1895, Sale, Victoria
Died: December 19, 1975, Preston, Victoria
Uncle of Edward William Heard
1. 1. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-23/chinese-anzacs-not-white-enough-to-fight/6313928
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