Mortimer Conway (1903 - 2000)

Born 1903 in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 2000 at about age 97 in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia

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Biography

Mortimer Conway is an Indigenous Australian.

Mortimer was born to an Arunta Woman, Lillian Hablett, and a white pastoralist and at the Alice Springs Telegraph Station, and like his mother became a traditional custodian of Alice Springs. He appears in Ida Standley's first class in Stuart (now Alice Springs) in 1914 in a group photo (see Sources: ^[1] and Traynor, Stuart, 2016, between p.142 and p.143 [NTAS NTHP 498 National Trust Collection] taken before December of that year and "was given his name from the name of the mountain by her, the first school-teacher in Alice Springs". Mount Conway was possibly named by or after Archibald Conway (1843-1904), who was the Manager of Owen Springs Station, owned by Mr. W. Gilbert, of Pewsey Vale^[2]. Archie was related to the great land owner Sir Sidney Kidman-91, whom Mortimer was later to work for as a drover, becoming a boss-drover. The photo is indicated to have been taken outside Stuart Police Station in Parsons Street in the Ancestry FT (above). It was located behind the Stuart Arms Hotel and known as the Bungalow, diagonally opposite the Police Station, until 1928 when it moved to Jay Creek (see Traynor, Stuart, 2016, caption to a 2nd photo) when Topsy Smith was also there looking after the children.

Mortimer joined the Army Citizen Military Forces in 1942, but the date of his marriage to Hilda Liddle does not seem to be known, although it was probably after the war, as he gave Dick Gillen as his next of kin when he enlisted.

In 1943, Mort Conway was on the Electoral Rolls living at Alice Springs and giving his occupation as a Butcher. On the same roll at the same place are Alex and Jessie Conway, the former a Laborer and the latter a Domestic. This is repeated in 1949, with Mortimer as a Drover, and in 1954. A World War II Military Service record for Alex gives his name as Alec Conway, born at Timber Downs in the Northern Territory and with Jessie Conway as his next of kin.

In 1949, Mortimer's son Ian was born in Alice Springs, but largely owing to his father's droving commitments, Ian did not meet him until he was six years old. Based on the Electoral Rolls, sometime between 1954 and 1958, Mortimer gave up droving and became a taxi driver in Alice Springs. This would appear to have been around 1955.

At the last published Electoral Rolls record with Mortimer's name on it in 1977, he was living at 5/3 Gap Rd, Alice Springs, with his son Ian Barry Conway and Ian's wife Lynette Joy Conway, who were married in 1974, and have dedicated their lives to help the Ukaka Aboriginal Community in the Kings Creek Station area 300 kms west of Alice Springs. Despite questioning the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd-78, they received no support from the Government. Subsequently they have been raising funds to send the Aboriginal children to school in Adelaide to get a meaningful education, and showing the young Aboriginal men how to become skilled stockmen on their own cattle station and how to muster the abundance of feral animals^[3].

No further information has been found for Mortimer's life after 1977 until his death in 2000.

Mortimer Conway. ^[4]Source: CULTURAL VALUES ASSOCIATED WITH ALICE SPRINGS WATER, R.G. (Dick) Kimber, 2011 ISBN 978-1-921937-28-6. https://denr.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/254606/Cultural-Values-of-Alice-Water-Kimber-2011.pdf.

Born 1903 Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. ^[5] Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20170216040900/http://kingscreekstation.com.au/history.html.

Died 2000 Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. ^[6]

Education: Attended the first school. 1914 Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia.

MILTID Service No. S111352. Ancestry.com. Australia, World War II Military Service Records, 1939-1945 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. B884: Army Citizen Military Forces. 18 APR 1942. Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia.

Occupation KIDMAN: THE FORGOTTEN KING. The true story of the greatest pastoral landholder in modern history. 1987 Jill Bowen. Angus & Robertson. Pp.306, 366, picture.

Residence On Electoral Rolls as a drover with Jessie a domestic and Alex a labourer. Ancestry.com. Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. 1949 Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. As for 1949. 1954 Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. A second version of the 1954 ER has Mortimer Conway alone, as a drover.

A taxi driver. Ancestry.com. Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. 1958 Was living, as a taxi driver, with Mrs Espie, a housewife, his sister or cousin(?) at 25/295 Gap Road, Alice Springs and a Mrs Kitty Taylor. Also there were 9 yrs old Ian Conway, Robert E Espie (12) and Linton Espie (10), Mrs Espie's sons, and Edward Taylor (7). Mrs Espie was single being separated. They had all been living there for 1 year. National Archives of Australia Part Coloured Housing Program Policy F1 1958/351. http://www.cifhs.com/ntrecords/nthcc/F1_1958-351_P-C_Housing.html. Series F1 Item 1958/10 Welfare Branch Proposal for further erection of Part-coloured housing Alice Springs. http://www.cifhs.com/ntrecords/nthcc/F1_1958-10_Housing.html. 1963 10 Kempe Street, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. As for 1963. Ancestry.com. Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. 1972 10 Kempe Street, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. With son Ian Barry and daughter in law Lynette Joy. Ancestry.com. Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. 1977 53 Gap Rd Alice Springs 550 Northern Territory, Australia.

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.ancestry.com.au/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/41856112/person/142203335860/media/a375d258-4204-4437-bdb9-e12a84b67a54?_phsrc=JZc3435&usePUBJs=true&galleryindex=1&sort=-created
2. ↑ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/56761342
3. ↑ "The man who loved crocodiles and stories of other Adventurous Australians", Marg Carroll, Allen & Unwin, 2011, Ch 10 The Promise - Ian and Lyn Conway - Fighters for justice for First Australians, Kings Creek Station, Kings Canyon, Northern Territory
4. ↑ Source: #S2 Database online. Record for Mortimer Conway Link: http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=34022992264&indiv=try
5. ↑ Source: #S2 Database online. Record for Mortimer Conway Link: http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=34022992264&indiv=try
6. ↑ Source: #S2 Database online. Record for Mortimer Conway Link: http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=34022992264&indiv=try

• Traynor, Stuart, 2016, 'Alice Springs: From singing wire to iconic outback town', Wakfield Press, South Australia.