Charles Walter Himstedt (1906 - 2001)

Born 13 Jun 1906 in Moore, Queensland, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Norah (Attwood) Himstedt — married 28 Sep 1935 in Kumbia, Queensland, Australia

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Biography

Charles was born in 1906. He was the son of Frederick Himstedt and Ada Francis. He passed away in 2001.

Charlie was born at Moore in the Brisbane Valley, the third child ofFred and Ada. His father worked on a nearby cattle property at Moore and also assisted at the historic Stone House which was a changing station for coaches to getfresh horses on the Esk to Nanango run.

Both Charlie and his sister, Alice, began school at Ottaba, but in 1912, when he was six years old, his father decided to leave Moore and move to Yarraman. Charlie remembers the family making the journey over the Blakbutt Range, which was slow and laborious. He was enrolled at the Yarraman School in 1912 which was just when the town was 'starling to get a go on' according to Charlie. He also remembers being present at the opening, in 1913, of the Brisbane Valley railway line that ran through Esk and Moore up to Blackbutt and Yarraman.

A house was builtfor thefamily in John Street, Ya"aman in 1914 and still stands to this day. He recalls that by the time he left school in 1920, there were five hotels, two banks, a dance hall, a new school and several stores in the town.

Charlie's first job was delivering milk around Yarraman using a horse and cart. In those days the milk was transported in billy cans. A little later on, he joined his father pulling logs from the scrub by bullock team and hauling them to the Yarraman mill. At the age of 16, he and his father were cutting Bunya and Hoop pine from the State Forestry. They felled the trees with a crosscut saw, striped the bark and pruned the branches with an axe, and then stacked the logs to await collection by men with horse and bullock teams. Charlie recalls that there were 40 to 50 teamsters working around Yarraman then.

Charlie met his future wife, Norah, at a Saturday night dance at Kumbia while working there for a short period. The couple settled in Yarraman and built their home, also in John St, where their two children Beverley and Errol grew up. With the approach of World War II in the late 1930's, Charlie joined the Light Horse Troop, and although he did not serve overseas during the War, he was involved in regular training sessions with the Volunteer Defence Corps.

At this time, the State Forestry Department employed Charlie where he workedfor 33 years. In his lifetime, Charlie has observed the growth of some of the hoop pine plantations near Yarraman from tiny seedlings planted in the ash of cleared vine scrub to the magnificent forest stands which flourish there today.

He eventually became a forestry foreman and his work entailed the clearance and burning of the scrub, planting the trees, weeding and pruning of the maturing plantations from Yarraman to the top of the Cooyar Range.

In 1972, Charlie retired from the timber industry and settled down in Yarraman. He had always liked travelling and during the next few years he visited New Zealand as well as many parts ofAustralia including North Queensland, the Red Centre and Tasmania.

His advancing years prompted him to move to Karinya, a retirement home in Nanango, in 1994. in 200 Norah was a resident of a nursing home in Brisbane. Charlie fondly remembers his beloved family, the forest plantations and the lovely town of Yarraman where he lived for 80 years.

Source References: . Type: Book, Abbr: Francis 2000, Title: Francis 2000, Auth: Warwick & Kate Francis, Date: 2000 ( Page 15)

Sources

• Charles Walter Himstedt

Event date: 13/06/1906 Event type: Birth registration Registration details: 1906/C/10300 Mother: Ada Maria Francis Father/parent: Frederick William Himstedt

Charles Walter Himstedt Event date: 28/09/1935 Event type: Marriage registration Registration details: 1935/C/4591 Spouse: Norah Attwood

BURIAL Yarraman Cemetery - https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/122355502