Charles James Lenard Gwyther (1922 - 1992)

Born 18 Apr 1922 in Leongatha, Victoria, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Joyce May (Milburn) Gwyther — married 1943 in Victoria, Australia

Husband of Ruby Margaret (Raphael) Gwyther — married 1956 in Victoria, Australia

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Biography

Lennie Gwyther is Notable.

Lennie Gwyther was born in Victoria, Australia

1922 Lennie was born to Captain Leo Tennyson Gwyther and Clara Amelia Simon.

Lennie had four younger siblings, Beryl Ferrier née Gwyther, Noel Harry Gwyther, Keith Roy Gwyther and Leta Gardenal née Gwyther who was born in 1934, two years after Lennie's journey. They grew up on a farm, known as 'Flers' in the country town of Leongatha.

The story of LENNIE AND GINGER MICK (his pony)

It’s 1932 and Australia is in the grip of the Great Depression. One in three workers are unemployed. Decrepit shanty towns hug the outskirts of the big cities. A scrawny rabbit caught in a trap will feed a family for a week. Country roads are filled with broken men walking from one farmhouse to another seeking menial jobs and food.

On the outskirts of the South Gippsland town of Leongatha, an injured farmer lies in bed unable to walk – or work. World War I hero Captain Leo Tennyson Gwyther is in hospital with a broken leg and the family farm is in danger of falling into ruins. Up steps his son, nine-year-old Lennie. With the help of his pony Ginger Mick, Lennie ploughs the farm’s 24 paddocks and keeps the place running until his father can get back on his feet.

How to reward him? Lennie has been obsessively following one of the biggest engineering feats of the era – the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. He wants to attend its opening. With great reluctance, his parents agree he can go. So Lennie saddles up Ginger Mick, packs a toothbrush, pyjamas, spare clothes and a water bottle into a sack, and begins the 1000+ kilometer (600+ miles) trek to Sydney!

Alone.

That’s right. A nine year old boy riding a pony from the deep south of Victoria to the biggest and roughest city in the nation.

But even then it doesn’t take long before word begins to spread about a boy, his horse and their epic trek. The entire populations of small country towns gather on their outskirts to welcome his arrival. He survives bushfires, is attacked by a “vagabond” and endures rain and cold, biting winds.

When he reaches Canberra he is welcomed by Prime Minister Joseph Lyons, who invites him into Parliament House for tea! When he finally arrives in Sydney, more than 10,000 people line the streets to greet him. He is besieged by autograph hunters. He becomes a key part of the official parade at the bridge’s opening. He and Ginger Mick are invited to make a starring appearance at the Royal Show. Even Donald Bradman, the biggest celebrity of the Depression era, requests a meeting and gives him a signed cricket bat!

A letter writer to The Sydney Morning Herald at the time gushes that “just such an example as provided by a child of nine summers,", Lennie Gwyther was, and is, needed to raise the spirit of our people and to fire our youth and others to do things – not to talk only. “The sturdy pioneer spirit is not dead ... let it be remembered that this little lad, when his father was in hospital, cultivated the farm – a mere child.”

When Lennie leaves Sydney for home a month later, he has become one of the most famous figures in a country craving uplifting news. Large crowds wave handkerchiefs. Women weep and shout “goodbye”. According to The Sun newspaper, “Lennie, being a casual Australian, swung into the saddle and called ‘Toodleloo!’”. He finally arrives home to a tumultuous reaction in Leongatha. He returns to school and soon life for Lennie – and the country – returns to normal.

These days you can find a bronze statue in Leongatha commemorating Lennie and Ginger Mick.

Sources

• FamilySearch ID: KWRP-63N
  

Google Lennie Gwyther - lots of references

BDM VIC INDEX:

Record information Event: marriages Registration number 7483 / 1943 Family name: GWYTHER Given name(s) Chas Jas Leonard Personal detail Spouse's family name: MILBURN Spouse's given name(s) Joyce May

Record information Event: marriages Registration number 1396 / 1956 Family name: GWYTHER Given name(s) Charles James Le Personal detail Spouse's family name: RAPHAEL Spouse's given name(s) Ruby Margaret

Memorial:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/214994695/charles-james_leonard-gwyther

See also:

• Wikipedia : Lennie Gwyther
• Wikidata: Item Q65943240, en:Wikipedia