Clarice Johnson, formerly Taney, nee Hemy, married a John Warland in Fremantle, Western Australia, in 1935. The history of this page started with the discovery of a Clarice Henrietta Warland who died in 1979 in North Rockhampton, Queensland. Clarice was not previously known and so her surname proved a mystery - until a couple of clues came up. Some of the details below have been provided by the granddaughter of Frederick Taney.
The name Hemy was once Hemmi. Johannes Hemmi (1740-?) came from Germany to the United Kingdom at a date still unknown.
Details of the Hemy family has been taken from the following sites:
Henri Fredrick/Friedrich Hemy (12 November 1818, Newcastle on Tyne, Northumberland - 10 June 1888) married Margaret MacDonald (1819, Newcastle on Tyne - ). They had children all born in Newcastle on Tyne - see second link above for more details)
The Hemy family migrated to Australia after 1850 (one source says Thomas was born during this trip, but that was in 1850).
Henri Christopher Hemy (30 January 1854, Newcastle Upon Tyne - 8 January 1934, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK) married Eugenie Elisa Harding (1856, France - 22 January 1936, Perth) on 10 July 1877 in Ribbon and had children all born in Newcastle on Tyne.
(Note, a Bernard Hemy with David H Thomas wrote a book titled 'The life of Henry Christopher Henry' in 1994. The book notes that Hemy may have been a Royalist whose estate was confiscated during the Commonwealth ... in 1879).
Claude Doughty Hemy married Sarah P Straughan in Perth in 1909 (BDM Ref 420). They eventually settled at 51 North Street, Mt Lawley, an inner suburb of Perth.
As we will see below, Clarice Taney (nee Hemy) married Peter Johnson in the same year that her husband Frederick Taney died. He stated in his application for naturalisation in 1913 that he arrived in Australia on 7 March 1911 on board the RMS Ottway, and disembarked at Fremantle.
In his application for naturalisation, a police officer 'entrusted with the enquiry' (believed to be John Joseph Walsh, sub-inspector of police based on one of the documents in the file) stated the following:
I have to report having made enquiries re Mr Peter Johnson mentioned in the attached file. He has been in Western Australia a little over two years and bears a good character, he was employed for seven months as a public servant and is now employed travelling for the Co-Operative Stores. There is no person in Western Australia that knew Mr Johnson in Russia, but from enquiries made by me, I ascertained from good authority that Mr Johnson did come from Courland*, Russia and that he is a very respectable man'.
*According to the Wikipedia article for Courland, 'Courland is one of the historical Latvian lands, located in western Latvia along the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga, with its largest city being Liepaja, the third largest in Latvia. The name literally translates to 'Land of the Curonians', an ancient Baltic tribe that inhabited the area situated in western Latvia. Courland roughly corresponds to the former Latvian districts of Kuldiga, Liepaja, Saldus, Talsi, Tukums and Ventspils. When combined with Semigallia and Selonia, Courland's northeastern boundary is the Daugava River, which separates it from the regions of Latgale and Vidzeme. To the north, Courland's coast lies along the Gulf of Riga. On the west it is bordered by the Baltic Sea, and on the south by Lithuania. It lies between 55° 45' and 57° 45' North and 21° and 27° East. The name is also found in the Curonian Spit and Lithuanian Karšuvos giria - the Courland wood.'
So, while Peter may have said he was Russian (and he may have been that), if he actually came from Courland he was more likely Latvian.
In his application for certificate of naturalisation dated 18 March 1913, Peter recorded his address as 56 Gardiner Street, Mt Lawley, Western Australia (the same suburb where Clarice Hemy's brother Claude was living in) and that he was a single man.
Frederick William Taney was a London-based magician.
According to this Wikitree page about Frederick Taney managed by Kerrie Garden (and last modified in November 2020), Federick Taney was born in 1878 (and baptised on 27 March 1878) in the town of Fakenham, North Norfolk, UK. He was the son of Frederick Taney, a store dealer/grocery store and Emma Charlotte (nee Chastney) who had married in 1876 at the Fakenham Parish Church.
The Wikitree page notes that Taney married Ada (or Adeline) Maria Jones (born about 1876) on 26 December 1898 at Christ Church, Greenwick, Kent, England. They had two children:
At some point, Frederick Taney left the UK (and his wife and children) and headed for Australia. It is not (yet) known if he was divorced from Ada.
An 'F Taney' is recorded in the coastal passengers listing on FindMyPast in 1910 travelling from Melbourne to Sydney. The Sydney Morning Herald of 29 March 1913 carried a listing of passengers, including Mr F Taney, 'by the Persic via ports from London', on page 20 (an earlier article on 10 February 1913 noted that the Persic would travel via Melbourne, so it's not impossible that Frederick boarded the ship there to travel to Sydney). In 1913, an F W Taney born 1889 travelled from Sydney to Melbourne. He is not listed in the outwards passenger lists for 1852 to 1923.
At some point after his arrival, Frederick Taney appears to have travelled to Western Australia. The Mount Magnet Miner and Lennonville Leader of 23 August 1913 carried a notice for 'Mr F W Taney - the well-known London Magician', who would be touring the goldfields and doing a performance at the Mechanics Institute, Lennonville on 30 August 1913, with 'the esteemed favor of the patronage of the residents of Lennonville and neighbourhood for the above entertainment'.
Frederick William Taney was recorded in the electoral rolls at Fremantle in 1914.
Clarice Henrietta Hemy married Frederick William Taney, a magician (according to his military service history) from Osborne Park, in Claremont in 1914 (WA BDM Ref 87). It is quite possible that she met Peter Johnson around this time. Neither Frederick nor Clarice are recorded in the Wise's directory for Western Australia from 1914 onwards, suggesting that they rented a place - or possibly lived with members of Clarice's family (see below).
Fred and Clarice Taney had two children:
See also below for a curious suggestion that these two children were actually the children of Peter Johnson.
Various Western Australian newspapers reported from February to May 1914 on the case of 'Peter the Painter'.
The Westralian Worker of 6 March 1914 noted how a shoot-out in the UK on 10 November 1910 with criminals linked allegedly to Russian anarchists led to the story that one of the criminals had escaped, who the police nick-named 'Peter the Painter'. Police in multiple countries attempted to arrest the alleged escapee. The article stated that 'The West Australian police, anxious evidently to share a little in the glory, likewise effected an arrest. A young Russian, a political refugee, arrived in Fremantle early in 1911 and proceeded with a friend to the country with they joined another Russian named Dreger'. Peter Johnson was then arrested on suspicious he was 'Peter the Painter' - despite them having a photograph of the original.
The Sunday Times (Perth) of 10 May 1914 carried a lengthy article written by Peter Johnson of Mt Lawley* defending himself against the accusation that he was 'Peter the Painter'. The article noted that 'the charge was that he, Peter Johnson (A Maren) about 20 April 1911 [a month after 'our' Peter Johnson arrived in Australia], conspired with Frederick Johnson to send one Ernest Dreger to prison [for reasons stated in the article]. As a result, Peter Johnson was kept in prison for seven weeks but eventually released, penniless and 'so broken down in health that he was taken to the Perth Public Hospital suffering from rheumatic fever'.
*Peter Johnson gave his address as 56 Gardiner Street, Mt Lawley, in his application for naturalisation in March 1913.
In the article, Peter Johnson stated that the suggestion he was 'Peter the Painter', a possible Russian anarchist and wanted criminal in the UK and 'the leader of all the high-class burglars in London', was not true - it was 'a statement made by a section of the press on its own responsibility'.
On the face of it, this appears to be the same Peter Johnson as noted on this page. But was it?
In the 1914 and 1915 directories, Claude D Hemy was recorded living at Oxford St, Mt Hawthorn. Mrs E Hemy was recorded at Swanbourno Terrace, Cottesloe. Neither Frederick Taney nor Clarice Hemy were recorded in either directory.
In the 1914 directory, there are three Peter Johnsons - one recorded living at Harvest Road, North Fremantle, one a contractor at Cane Grass and the other (most likely to be 'the' Peter Johnson who would marry Clarice) is a miner at Warrawoona.
In the 1915 directory, there are four Peter Johnsons - the same two recorded at Harvest Road, North Fremantle and Cane Grass, the miner appears to have become a prospector at Bodallin (again, this is likely to be 'the' Peter Johnson), while the fourth is at Coronation Street, North Perth. It is not impossible that Peter Johnson also had a property in Perth.
In the 1915 directory, Paul H Hemy was recorded at 88 Mary St, Fremantle.
Claude D Hemy, of the Western Australian Artillery, who had fought in the Boer War, enlisted for WW1 on 14 August 1914 at the age of 35 years. He gave his occupation as a motor mechanic and his mother, Mrs S Hemry, of 90 Mary Street, Fremantle, as his next of kin. Claude served in Egypt with the 8th Battery Field Artillery, AIF (The West Australian, 16 February 1915). He was wounded in action and returned to Australia in mid 1916 suffering from 'partial paralysis R arm due to injury median nerve'
Claude was not listed in the 1916 Wise's directory in 1916 because he was in Europe.
Frederick William Taney and Clarice Henrietta Taney were both recorded in the electoral roll for Perth, Western Australia, in 1916 and 1917. They do not, however, appear in the Wise's directory.
Eugenie Isabel Hemy married Hubert W Froude in Claremont in 1916 (BDM Ref 1). They lived at Wittenoom Street, Collie where he was a local government councillor. They had a daughter on 12 February 1923 (The West Australian 19 February 1923). Hubert Froude died in March 1936, according to the Sunday Times of 22 March 1936.
Eugenie Froude died in 1965.
Peter Johnson enlisted for the AIF at Blackboy Hill, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, on 14 January 1916. His service file states that he was 30 years and 9 months old, 5'6" tall, of fair complexion with blue eyes and brown hair. He embarked for overseas service on 17 April 1916*, returning on 18 July 1919. He was discharged on 30 August 1919. He was assigned to the 51st Battalion (formerly the 11th Battalion) AIF.
*While nothing is yet proven, Peter was still in Western Australia when Clarice Taney (nee Hemy) got pregnant to a child (Eric) who was born in December 1916.
A note on his file dated 29 October 1929 addressed to Mr F H Goldsmith, c/o The Daily News, Perth, in reply to a letter sent to the Office in Charge, Base Records, Victoria Barracks, Melbourne, dated 21 October 1929, states: 'the abovenamed ex soldier stated on enlistment that he was unmarried and gave his occupation as an amalgamator'. The note stated that this information could be transmitted to Mrs Johnson. See below for the details of the letter to the Army.
Extract from Frederick Taney's unsuccessful attempt to enlist for WW1
According to his two-page service file (available from naa.gov.au - RecordSearch), Frederick William Taney aged 40 from Osborne Park and a magician, sought to enlist for WW1 on 11 March 1918. However, he was rejected as being 'UNFIT for the following reasons: Tubercule on lungs, has been in a sanitorium'.
In the 1919 Wise's directory, Frederick Taney is recorded at Fobisher [sic, Frobisher] Street, Osborne Park. This is now an open industrial area, it is not clear why Frederick was listed here.
A Mrs E Taney is recorded at 508 Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie. The location of Peter Johnson is not clear - aside from the Peter Johnson at Harvest Street, North Fremantle (which may be 'the' Peter Johnson), there is only one other Peter Johnson in the 1919 directory, 'lsehldr (?), Warriedar'.
Frederick William Taney died at the Wooroloo Sanatorium in Wooraloo, about 58 kms east of Perth, on 8 May 1919. (WA BDM Ref 92) The Western Mail (Perth) notice on 16 May 1919 stated that he was the beloved husband of Clarice Taney (nee Hemy) and loving father of 'little Doreen and Eric'. He was 41.
It is not known exactly how Clarice Taney (nee Hemy) met or knew Peter Johnson, but there wasn't much time between the death of Frederick Taney in May 1919 and Clarice's marriage to Peter Johnson, which seems to suggest that they already knew each other (see 1929 below). Either way, they married in Fremantle in 1919 (WA BDM Ref 2700185).
Peter Johnson was still recorded at Harvest Road, North Fremantle, in the 1919 West's directory. In the 1920 and 1921 directoroes, the only Johnson in that street (on the left between the then Bay Road and Elizabeth Street, either of which appear to exist any more) was Mrs Mary A Johnson.
A Frederick Taney of Osborne Park WA was recorded in the WA Gazette in 1923 owing money to the government. It is not known if or how he may be connected with Frederick William Taney and if this was simply an outstanding debt.
Clarice Henrietta Johnson was recorded in the electoral roll in 1925 for both Swan and Fremantle, Western Australia. This might suggest, given that she is recorded in Swan in 1931, that she first lived in the Fremantle area then moved to Swan (where Roleystone is located).
Peter Johnson is recorded in the Wise's directory for 1925 at Roleystone, Kelmscott. Two Peter Johnsons are recorded in the electoral rolls for 1925, one in Swan and the other in Kalgoorlie. The one in Swan is recorded living at Roleystone as a farmer, where Eric Taney is also recorded in 1926 and so is considered to be Clarice's husband. The connection with Roleystone may be how Clarice met John Warland - see below in 1936.
At some point after 1925, Peter Johnson appears to have travelled to Sydney, possibly to connect with follow Latvians.
The NSW Government Gazette of 7 June 1929 included a notice of elections to administer the probate of various deceased individuals including 'Peter Johnson, late of Peoples Palace, Pitt Street, sydney, in the State of New South Wales, and formerly of Western Australia, gardener, who died 25 March 1929, intestate.
Peter Johnson was said to have been killed in a traffic accident in Sydney in March 1929 (NSW BDM Ref 5464, aged 44 years, no parents' names given) although exactly how he died is not yet known (the cause would be recorded on his death certificate). No record of such an accident has yet been found in the newspapers (trove.nla.gov.au).
Three family notices were placed in The Sydney Morning Herald on 27 and 28 March 1929 after his death. The main one stated the following:
JOHNSON - The relatives and friends of the late Mr Peter Johnson (late of 51st and 11th Battalions AIF and of Perth, WA) are invited to attend his funeral to leave Wood Coffill's Mortunary Chapel, 810 George Street, City, tomorrow, Thursday at 1.15 PM for Independent Cemetery, Rookwood, via Mortuary Station
The second similarly-worded notice on 28 March 1929 was placed by a Mr J W Melkis, the 'respected friend' of Peter Johnson. A third notice was placed on 29 March 1929 by the 'Lettish Association of Sydney' and included the name of the President W Zihrul and Secretary J W Milker (probably the same person as JW Melkis).
Clarice appears to have wanted to get more information about Peter's military history so she asked a journalist at The Daily News (Perth) to write to the Australian Army Base Records at Victoria Barracks in Melbourne. The full text of the letter, dated 21 October 1929, is repeated below.
Dear Sir
On behalf of Mrs C Johnson of Roleystone, WA, I am desirous of obtaining certain military details concerning her late husband. Mr Peter Johnson was killed in a traffic accident in Sydney in March last, and the sudden shock has left her memory a blank on many details which are now necessary for her to complete certain legal requirements.
Peter Johnson serviced for about three years in France, returning about the time of or after the Armistice and was about 44 years of age this year. He was of Russian nationality and probably enlisted from Kalgoorlie or Boulder where he was employed in the amalgam-treating plant on the goldmines. If he enlisted in Perth he probably gave his occupation as manager of a co-operative store. He had two children - girl and boy (Eric) - by a former wife who are now in the car of the present widow who married him after the war. She has a hazy idea that he was with some part or reinforcement of the 11th Battalion but is sure he was attached one of the infantry units.
Unfortunately certain documents which he had in his possession when he was killed, prior to taking a holiday, have not been recovered to date. Therefore, any information which your department can give will be greatly appreciated by the undersigned on behalf of Mrs Johnson.
The reference to the two children being the children of Peter and not Frederick Taney is interesting as the BDM record shows Frederick as the father of both - but was he? Could the relatively quick marriage of Clarice to Peter after Frederick died have something to do with how they knew each other before?
The Peter Johnson who died in Sydney *may* be the same person for whom a funeral notice was placed in The West Australian on 17 March 1926 that read: 'The friends of the later Peter Johnson, prospector, late of Mount Magnet and East Murchison, ...' who was buried at Karrakatta Cemetery on the date of publication.
If she wasn't already living with her mother at the property in Roleystone, the chronology suggests that Clarice was living with her when or soon after Peter died.
Clarice Johnson almost certainly remained at Roleystone, likely living with a family so she is not recorded in the Western Australian directories.
Eric Taney was recorded attending a children's ball at school at Roleystone in The Swan and Canning Times and Hills Gazette of 17 December 1926. He was again noted winning an award for life saving in The West Australian on 27 March 1930. It may be worth noting that Clarice's mother was recorded living at Roleystone when she died.
No-one with the surnames Johnson, Taney, Hemy or Warland are recorded in the 1929 Wise's directory Kelmscott which included Roleystone, or in the 1930, 1931 or 1932 directory when Roleystone was listed separately. Perhaps Clarice had not got around to registering with the directory.
Clarice Johnson does not appear to be recorded anywhere in the directories, based on the alphabetical listings.
Clarice Henrietta Johnson was recorded in the electoral roll for Swan, Western Australia, in 1931.
According to her biography on the Carnamah Historial Society and Museum website, Dorine Taney was living in Three Springs, north of Perth (towards Geraldton and north of Carnamah), in 1932. Dorine Taney won First Prize for an entry in the Three Springs Agricultural Show in 1932, according to her biography. It is assumed she met her husband to be, Leslie Byrne in Three Springs.
A very detailed biography for Leslie Charles Byrne and his family may be found on the Carnamah Historical Society and Museum website.
Leslie Charles Byrne was the son of Edmund Keen Byrne and Isabella Woods who married in 1890 in Chittering, WA (WA BDM Ref 259). Leslie Charles Byrne was registered in the electoral records in Kalgoorlie from 1925 to 1936 which might offer a clue as to the connection that Clarice Johnson (perhaps via her daughter Dorine) had with Kalgoorlie, perhaps how she met John Warland.
Dorine Clarice Taney married Leslie Charles Byrne in Perth in 1933 (BDM Ref 997). They had several children, as recorded in the link above:
According to the Carnamah website, the family initially farmed at Eastbourne Farm at Three Springs with Lesley's father until 1938. They left the district and moved to the Perth suburb of Midland Junction. From 1949 to 1954, Leslie farmed in Woodanilling, between Wagin and Katanning.
Clarice Johnson's brother Claude Doughty Hemy and his wife Sarah lived at 51 North Street, Mt Lawley. Claude died at his home on 27 November 1934 (BDM Ref 2053). His funeral notice was placed in The West Australian of 30 November 1934. It noted that Hemy, of 51 North Street, Inglewood (Mt Lawley) and of Hemy Brown Motors Ltd, Perth, took place at the Roman Catholic Cemetery, Karrakatta on 29 November. 'At the conclusion of the burial service ... the last post was sounded by Bugler Yeatman, of the South African and Imperial Veterans, of which deceased was a member. Deceased was formerly a Lieutenant in the Australian Field Artillery and saw service with the 8th Battery in the AIF'.
His death notice in The West Australian of 28 November 1934 states that Claude Hemy was 'beloved husband of Sarah Hemy of 51 North Street, Ingelwood, and loved father of Jean; elder son of Mrs Eugene Hemy (of Roleystone), and brother of Paul (Roleystone), Ninette (Mrs Froude, Collie), Clarice (Mrs Johnston [sic], Roleystone); brother-in-law of Mrs and Mrs J Straughan (Perth)'. He was 56.
A memorial notice was placed in the West Australian on 27 November 1935 from J and R Straughan, Ron Mervyn and Joyce.
A letter on Claude's WW1 service file to the Officer-in-Charge, Base Records, Melbourne, from a company of chartered accountants dated 1 December 1934 sought information on a will that Claude may have had. Base Records replied on 10 December 1934 to advise that there was no will in his file.
Clarice Johnson's father Henri Christopher Hemy died in the UK in 1934. He was 80.
The Daily News (Perth) of 1 March 1934 carried the following article, which also seems to confirm that Clarice Johnson was living with her mother in Roleystone at the time:
Word has been received by Mrs. C. H. Johnson, of Roleystone, of the death of her father, Dr. Henri Christopher Hemy, the Veteran Newcastle musician, who passed away recently at his home in Lovaine-place, Newcastle, at the age of 8O years. Although commercial work first attracted Dr. Hemy, he later went to St. Paulinas's Academy, Catterick, as music master. He was subsequently appointed local secretary of Trinity College, London, and settled in Newcastle. At various times he was organist at St. Dominic's Priory and St. Andrew's R.C. Church, Newcastle, and St. Cuthbert's Church. North Shields. He took the diploma of A.Mus. T.C., London, in 1879, and 10 years later became a Mus.B. of Trinity University, Toronto. In 1894 he took the degree of Mus.D. In addition to his playing and teaching, Dr. Hemy did much work in the direction of critical writings: on music, the fine arts and the drama. His grandson is Mr. Claude Hemy, of Perth, while a brother of the late Dr. Hemy is Charles Napier Hemy, R.A., the famous painter of marine subjects. Dr. Hemy was a son of the celebrated author of Hemy's pianoforte tutor.
Henri's wife Eugenie Hemy (nee Harding) died in 1936 - see below.
Clarice Johnson's brother Gerald H S Hemy married Gwendoline H Kidd in Perth in 1935 (BDM Ref 1018).
Clarice Henrietta Johnson, with the occupation of 'home duties', is listed in the division of Swan, sub-division of Swan, in the 1934 electoral records. The following Hemy family members are also listed in the same rolls at Roleystone:
Roleystone had mostly the same 60 or so residents in 1934 and 1935, based on the Wise's directory listing. No-one with surnames Johnson, Taney, or Warland are listed. The population of the village then seems to have doubled by 1936.
Clarice Henrietta Johnson placed an advertisement in The West Australian on 16 August 1935 for land as follows: Portion of Canning Location 32, being Lot 95, standing in the name of Clarice Henrietta Johnson, containing 12 acres approximately 7 miles west of Kelmscott [just west of Roleystone]. Described as approximately 9 acres 1st class, balance 2nd class. Improvements: All cleared, 8 chains draining, 55 chains wire fencing. Permanent creek and spring, 4 room house, back and front verandahs, 3 sheds, 3 acres citrus and stone fruit trees. Quantity of stock and plant. Good garden land.
A person with the surname Warland but no first name, an orchardist, was recorded living at Roleystone in the 1936 directories for Western Australia. A person with the profession of orchardist usually means they own or run an orchard, or a supervisor of an orchard. This means that John had those skills (or claimed he did). He was not there in 1935 and he does not appear in the electoral rolls for that location.
Clarice Johnson married John Warland in Fremantle in 1935 (WA BDM Ref 35). It is not clear if they actually married in Fremantle, or if this was where the marriage was registered. Nobody with the surname Warland, Worland or Warlond was recorded in the 1935 or 1936 electoral rolls for Freemantle.
As at September 2026, nothing is known of the identity of this John Warland. See below for present thoughts n the identity of John Warland in Queensland in 1939 and the details of Clarice and John Warland living in Helidon, Queensland, in 1943.
Eugenie Eliza Hemy died in Perth in 1936 (BDM Ref 208). The West Australian of 24 January 1936 included a death notice for Eugenie Eliza Hemy 'widow of the late Henri Christopher Hemy and loved mother of Henry, Paul, Frank, Eugenie (Mrs H W Froude), Vincent and Clarice (Mrs J Warland); aged 79 years'.
Clarice Henrietta Warland, with the occupation of 'home duties', is recorded at Roleystone in the 1936 and 1937 electoral rolls in the Division of Swan, sub-Division of Swan. John Warland is not listed, however he may not have registered to vote (or perhaps not in that location).
For reference only (there being no obvious connection with Clarice), Alfred Augustus ('Gus') Warland, a teacher, was transferred from H.T. Thargomindah to H.T. Westbrook school in December 1927 (The Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette, 12 December 1927) where he worked until 1936 when he moved to Moresby, south of Innisfail in Queensland.
A John Warland, labourer living at 'off Leslie Street, Rangeville', was registered to vote in the Division of Capricornia, Darling Down sub-division in the 1939 electoral rolls. This man may be somehow linked with one of three families:
Note: There is no reason to believe that Clarice's husband John Warland was the son, born in 1898, of Edward and Johannah Warland; that John was a miner from NSW who went to Kalgoorlie in the early 1930s and died in Perth in 1954.
Clarice Henrietta Warland, now aged 48 (born 1892) and her son Eric Taney moved to Toowoomba by 1940. Clarice Henrietta Warland is recorded in the 1940 electoral roll for the Division of Capricornia as a 'governess' at a property known as Glendarroch, Tanby (near the coast). She was recorded there again in the 1941 electoral rolls for that location.
Glendarroch was owned by Raymond Fulke Strange and his wife Jean in February 1936. They had married on 24 April 1929 in Brisbane (QLD BDM REf 1929/B/5877; Jean is shown as 'Jean Isabel known as Jean Isabella Thompson known as Roberts'; their son was born at Yeppoon Private Hospital, which may be why they sought a governess (The Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton) 26 February 1936). Raymond Strange was recorded at Tanby as late as 20 October 1951. Raymond Fulke Strange, the son of William Robert Strange and Henrietta Edith Burrell, died on 3 October 1978 (QLD BDM Ref 1978/C/6957).
John Warland is not recorded in the electoral records for Queensland but this is not to say he wasn't there as well, he just may have not enrolled to vote.
Eric Taney (a 23 year old labourer) enlisted for World War 2 (QX10248) at Toowoomba on 25 June 1940.
Eric Taney's enlistment photograph (one of four)
Eric gave his next of kin as Clarice Warland. Several addresses are shown on the file:
Eric was assigned to the 2/11 Australian Field Company. He was discharged in September 1943 for being 'Medically unfit'. His total period of service was 3 years and 58 days, or which 1 year and 184 days were on active service.
The West Australian of 11 September 1943 noted that P/O Claude Dominic Hemy, RAFVR, the son of Mr and Mrs P H Hemy of River Road, Kelmscott and brother of Henzell Hemy, was missing presumed killed in the Bay of Biscay during Anti-Submarine Patrols. The notice recorded that he was the much-loved grandson of the late Mr H C Hemy, MusDoc, Newcastle on Tyne, and the late Madame E Hemy of Roleystone.
Both Clarice Warland and John Warland were recorded in the electoral rolls for the division of Capricornia and sub-division of Darling Downs, Queensland in 1943.
The reference to Helidon suggests a link with the descendants of Alfred Augustus Warland who lived in Helidon from 1914 but as noted above, this appears to be a coincidence only.
The obvious question is - why is John Warland's death not recorded anywhere?
Eric Taney married Julia Elizabeth McDevitt in the Canterbury district of New South Wales in 1945 (NSW BDM Ref 20419). They had seven children.
A 'C Warland' - almost certainly Clarice - arrived in Perth in October 1946, as recorded in the West Australian of 7 October 1946.
The electoral records show Eric Robert Taney in Fisher, Queensland, from 1949 to 1980.
The husband of Dorine Byrne (nee Taney), Leslie Charles Byrne died in 1955 in Katanning, WA (WA BDM Ref 13).
Dorine Byrne then married Arthur Edwin Morrow, in Perth in 1960. They lived in the Perth suburb of Como, then at 108 Brookton Highway, Roleystone and finally on Valentine Road at Binningup.
For reference, a Harry Warland Browne, aged 58, died at 37 Vacey Street, Toowoomba, on 25 May 1955 (QLD BDM Ref 1955/C/2448). His wife Dorothy Mary (nee Barnard) who he married on 8 July 1922, died in Sydney on 28 April 1924 aged only 28. They had lived in Bishop's Avenue, Randwick; it is not yet known where Harry was before he ended up in Toowoomba. Harry was the brother of Frank Warland Browne in Tasmania. (The Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette of 28 May 1955). Could Harry have also been known as John and travelled to Western Australia after Dorothy died?
Some time before 1955, Clarice Henrietta Warland moved to Rockhampton. She was recorded (by herself) at (12) Archer Street, Rockhampton in the 1955 electoral records as the housekeeper for the Country Women's Association (CWA, also known as the Queensland CWA). Curiously, her sex shows as 'M' or male.
Clarice Henrietta Warland was recorded (by herself) in the 1958 electoral rolls in Rockhampton, Queensland. A John Warland was recorded in the rolls in Oxley in this year; his identity has yet to be confirmed.
Clarice Henrietta Warland, with occupation of 'home duties', was recorded in the 1963 electoral rolls at 'c/- Rideout, Valentine Plains' in the Division of Dawson, sub-division of Biloela, about 130 kms south of Rockhampton. Rideout may be a reference to the Rideout family who lived at Biloela. (see https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/187629327/william-john-rideout)
Clarice Henrietta Warland, now aged 76, was recorded in the 1968 electoral rolls at 'Bethany', Spencer Street, Rockhampton, in the 1968 electoral rolls for the Division of Capricornia, sub-division of Fitzroy. Bethany refers to Bethany Home, now part of Mercy Aged Care Services.
Clarice was again recorded at the same location (Bethany) in 1977.
Eric Robert Taney died in Brisbane on 6 February 1978 (QLD BDM Ref 1978/B/84429).
Clarice Henrietta Warland (the daughter of 'Henry Henry' and 'Egiene' [sic] who died on 12 June 1979 aged 86 (QLD BDM Ref 1979/C/3182, therefore born around 1893), was buried at North Rockhampton Cemetery (Ref 8 10 19 RC).
The relationship - if any - between Frederick William Warland who died on 29 December 1949 (QLD BDM Ref 1950/C/775) is buried in the same cemetery and Clarice Henrietta Warland is not yet known. It may be no more than a coincidence that she was buried in the same cemetery.
Page created 8 May 2020, last updated 27 September 2026 (edits, added more electoral rolls info for Clarice, Eric Taney's marriage in NSW). Copyright © Andrew Warland. (andrewwarland(at)gmail.com)