Charles Archibald Brookes Hoadley CBE (1887 - 1947)

Ancestors

Member of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition led by Sir Douglas Mawson from 1911 to 1914

Member of the Western Base Party — Cape Hoadley was named after him upon discovery by the exploration party

Awarded the King's Polar Medal (1915)

Chief Commissioner of the Scout Association's Victoria Branch (1927 to 1937)

Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1936)

Biography

Charles Archibald Brookes Hoadley was born on the 1st March 1887, in Burwood, Victoria, Australia, the son of Abel Hoadley and Susannah Ann Barrett.^[1] He was the tenth of fourteen children, although not all his siblings survived infancy.

He attended the Toorak Grammar School, Wesley College, and the University of Melbourne (where he completed degrees in mining engineering and science). After his return from the Antarctic, he took his Masters degree in Science, following which he was employed as a lecturer in engineering at the Ballarat School of Mines, after which he became the Principal of Footscray Technical School (a post he held until his death).

Having travelled to Antarctica as part of Mawson's 1912 Australasian Antarctic Exploration Expedition, Charles also volunteered to participate in the relief expedition to rescue Ernest Shackleton's men in 1916 . (He did not go on that expedition.) In 1915 he had been awarded the the King's Polar Medal. Also in 1915, he joined the Freemasons, eventually becoming foundation Deputy Worshipful Master of the Baden-Powell Lodge (1930). He also joined Melbourne Rotary (1932), as well as other local societies, and was an active member of his local Church of England.

He married Rita Cadle McComb in 1932,^[2] subsequently having two children, both sons.

Having founded one of the first Scout Groups in Footscray in 1909, from 1927 to 1937 he was Chief Commissioner of the Scout Association's Victoria Branch. Arguably his greatest achievements were the creation of Counties in order to de-centralise administration, the founding of Gilwell Park, Gembrook (he had visited Gilwell Park in England for which the Victorian park was named), and becoming one of the state's two first Deputy Camp Chiefs (integral to Leader training). He was made Warden of Gilwell Park, Gembrook—a position he held until his death—in 1924.

He received the Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1936.

Charles Archibald Brookes Hoadley CBE passed away suddenly on the 27th February 1947, at his home, "The Oddynes," Geelong Road, Footscray, Victoria, Australia,^[3] survived by his wife and two children. He was cremated, and his ashes buried beneath the altar at the Gilwell Park Scouts camping facility, Gembrook.

Sources

1. ↑ Birth Registration — Victoria State Government, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Birth registration details: Registration number: 1191/1887; Family name: HOADLEY; Given name(s): Charles Archibald Brookes; Event: Birth; Mother's name: Sarah Ann; Mother's family name at birth: BARRETT; Father's Name: Abel; Place of Birth: ;BURW Reg year: 1887
2. ↑ Marriage Registration — Victoria State Government, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Marriage registration details: Registration number: 3352/1932; Family name: HOADLEY; Given name(s): Chas Archd Brookes; Event: Marriage; Spouse's family name: MCCOMB; Spouse's given name(s) : Rita Cadle; Reg. year: 1932
3. ↑ Death Registration — Victoria State Government, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Death registration details: Registration number: 2555/1947; Family name: HOADLEY; Given name(s): Charles Archibald Brookes; Event: Death: ; Mother's name / Spouse's name: Sarah Ann; Mother's family name at birth: BARRETT; Father's Name: HOADLEY Abel; Place of birth: MELBOURNE; Place of death: FOOTSCRAY; Spouse at Death: ; Age at Death: 59; Reg. year: 1947

• CBE (Civil Division) : "Victoria" Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954) 9 January 1936: 45. Web. 2 Apr 2022 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92338729>.

• Obituary : "DEATH OF TEACHER- EXPLORER" The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954) 27 February 1947: 3. Web. 2 Apr 2022 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article245859020>.

• Obituary : "SCOUT CHIEF DIES" The Riverine Herald (Echuca, Vic. : Moama, NSW : 1869 - 1954; 1998 - 2002) 28 February 1947: 2. Web. 2 Apr 2022 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116563573>.

• Probate : "Australia, Victoria, Index to Probate Registers, 1841-1989," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JVZN-43F : 2 March 2021), Charles A B Hoadley, 10 Jun 1947; citing Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, series 389, record 179, Public Record Office, Victoria; FamilySearch digital folder 004105384.

See also :

• Wikipedia : Charles Hoadley
• Wikidata: Item Q1064857, en:Wikipedia

• ADNB : Australian Dictionary of Biography Hoadley, Charles. Volume 9, (Melbourne University Press), 1983