the family of james belcher of waterford, ireland - University of ...

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rooms of weatherboard construction which had been added on. Over the next ten
years the property was slowly renovated. The home was called “Elmslea”, because of
the numerous elm trees around it.
The 640 acre sheep farm was only marginally profitable during the depression,
particularly as there were two droughts during that time. The income from fat lambs
and wool went from the agents directly to the bank to cover the mortgage and the
overdraft, and the family lived off the farm - meat, vegetables, fruit, milk and eggs,
with some small cash flow from cream and eggs, sold to the local Euroa butter factory
or grocer, and for some years, pigs and geese. Land was cropped each year, for oaten
hay and chaff for the cows and the horses needed for cropping, as well as drought
feeding of the sheep. Cropping and transport was basically using horses, with a gig
and buggy not being replaced by a car until 1935.
Over the post World War One years, William played cricket in the Euroa and District
Cricket Association for Tamleugh, and later for the Euroa Blues. He also played
tennis at the Moglonemby courts. He and his wife Ilma participated in the activities
of the district in connection with the schools which his children attended, and the
local Moglonemby hall, attending various dances, socials, card nights. concerts and
other functions. They took an active part in the local Moglonemby congregation of
the Presbyterian Church, and he served for a time on the Board of Management. He
was also an active member of the Euroa RSL. He was a member of the Country Party,
but did not engage in active politicos either at a local, State or Federal level. In fact
he regularly acted as a poll clerk for Moglonemby for State and Federal Elections.
William and Ilma had four children, all boys - Robert Stirling, who eventually
became an agricultural chemist, Geoffrey Jamieson, who was in the future to take
over and operate the farm, Henry Frederick Lloyd “Harry”, who was to operate a
wool classing business, and later become a social worker, and Bruce Fleming, who
also, after studying political science, later became a social worker.
William’s health had been seriously affected by his war service, and this caused
problems from time to time during the thirties. In 1939, just before the outbreak of
the second World War, he was to go into the Bundoora Repatriation Hospital, where
he remained until his death on 28th April 1968. He is buried in the Euroa cemetery.
From the time that he entered hospital, his wife Ilma was left to manage the farm
and bring up the four boys, until Geoffrey was old enough and experienced enough
to take over the management.