THOMAS5 FEURY DILLANE (Mary4 Feury, James3, Thomas2, James or Thomas1) was born on 16 Jul 1865 in Kinard, Co. Limerick Ireland. He died on 28 Apr 1934 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Thomas was married twice – (1) ANNE TREHY, daughter of Thomas Trehy and Mary Quinlan, on 11 Nov 1888 in Cairns, Queensland Australia. She was born on 18 Sep 1868 in Fethard, Tipperary Ireland. She died on 19 Oct 1902 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. He married (2) ROSE GERTRUDE CROXFORD on 03 Sep 1906 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
Notes for Thomas Feury Dillane: He arrived in Brisbane, Australia on 11 January 1886, with his sister Mary. They arrived on the ship, Duke of Westminster. Mary and her husband Patrick Donnelly were the witnesses, when he married Ann Trehy. He worked as a carrier of goods and owned a bush hotel along side the Kuranda Railway line. He last job was as caretaker at the Cairns Show Grounds and before this he worked at the Palace Picture Show.
Funeral Notice: Thomas Feury Dillon, old resident. Caretaker at Parramatta Park. He had a hotel at Stoney Creek and worked on the railway. His son Dan Dillon in Dutton Street, and Mr. W. & T. Dillon of Bondi are his sons. Funeral held at St. Monica’s on Sunday 29 th, 1934. He was buried a Catholic. The funeral number is No. 2736 ( 29 April 1934 ). Thomas Feury Dillon is buried in the Martyn Street Cemetery.
Notes for Anne Trehy: At the time of her birth in Fethard, Co. Tipperary, Ireland, her parents address was given as ” The Green “. When she was baptized her godparents were Thomas Purcell and Alice Keating.
As with most people from Southern Tipperary, she migrated to Australia. She arrived on the ship Waroonga in Townsville, Australia on the 22 March 1886. Her sponsor was a Mrs Mahoney, who kept a hotel and store in the Daintree. After she left the Daintree River area and went to Sudest Island off the coast of Papua New Guinea. Miss Beatrice Grimshaw made her the heroine in her book “The Queen of Sud Est”. Mrs Mahoney her husband and children lived on the Island of Sudest. She went there because of the discovery of gold.
She died from Brights Disease, and was buried in Cairns McLeod Street Pioneer Cemetery , No. 57, as a Catholic. The cost was 3 pounds and 10 shillings. The inscription on her tombstone says, Mrs T. F. Dillon born in Fethard Co. Tipperary, died 19 October 1902, age 33.
She was the second daughter of Thomas Trehy and Mary Quinlan. At the time of her death in 1902, she had been joined in North Queensland by her sisters, Margaret and Mary and her brother John Joseph. She also left behind three boys William, Thomas and Daniel, born in Cairns and her husband Thomas Feury Dillon from Kinard near Glin in Co. Limerick
Thomas Feury Dillane and Anne Trehy had the following children:
i. WILLIAM THOMAS6 DILLON was born on 02 Sep 1889 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. He died on 17 Jan 1986 in Dundas, Sydney, NSW Australia. He married IRIS.
Notes for William Thomas Dillon: He served with the 2nd Field Squadron of Engineers.
ii. THOMAS FRANCIS6 DILLON was born on 02 Jul 1892 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. He died on 06 Sep 1975 in Moree, NSW Australia. He married Hilda E. Fleeting in 1920.
Thomas Francis Dillon and Hilda E. Fleeting had the following child:
i. THOMAS7 DILLON was born in 1921 in Annandale, New South Wales, Australia. He died in 1921 in Annandale, New South Wales, Australia.
iii. DANIEL6 DILLON was born on 03 Sep 1894 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. He died on 09 Jan 1967 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. He married Elizabeth Sarah Hobson, daughter of Robert Hobson and Mary Hannah Drayton, on 18 Oct 1919 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. She was born on 08 Dec 1896 in Georgetown, QLD.Australia. She died on 05 Apr 1983 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Daniel Dillon & Elizabeth Sarah Hobson were the grandparents of Mary King whom I’m so indebted to for providing me with the majority of the information in this blog.
Notes for Daniel Dillon:
When I was growing-up in Cairns, my grandparents lived at 20 Kenny Street in Cairns. My grandfather used to come home from the hotel and teach me these pub songs, which my father and he had some very strong words over. Grandfather Dillon had a wonderful singing voice, he sung with a few friends at the hotel. The owner of the hotel would give them free beer, because when they were singing men would stay at that hotel. When he came from the hotel, he would often bring a glass jar of beer, he added sultanas to the beer, so it would go flat. Then he buried the jar in the cool sand under the house.
He was an excellent fisherman, who used to make his own fishing nets. He taught me to mend fishing nets. Grandfather Dillon hated cleaning cat fish, so he swapped them for mangoes with Mr Ah Hing, who lived across the road. He used to collect mangrove timber for the wood stove, as this timber was the best wood for cooking. On the return boat trip with the mangrove wood, if the wind was blowing from the south, he would use a small mangrove tree as a sail. As they grew older his sons tried to avoid fishing with him, as he would stay in the boat and let the boys grab the net.
When I was young he used to chase the ibises away from the chicken yard by using a shanghai, with which he used to land stones close to the birds. One day Dennis asked if he would show him how to do it. In very strong language, he told Dennis what he thought of that idea. However he taught me how to use it. Daniel Dillon worked on the waterfront on the Cairns Wharves. In the early days the men to work were selected by a few men. The method of selection was that near Lake Street, the person doing the selection would climb a ladder to stand above the men and he would indicate, who was to work that day. The men used to call this the ” Bull Pen”. Often the way you tried to make sure that you were selected was to arrange with the barman at the Oceania Hotel, to give the selectors a free drink and tell him, which waterside worker had paid for the drink. He also worked for one season at Babinda Sugar Mill. He is buried in Cairns Cemetery No. A 236. (Mary King).
Notes for Elizabeth Sarah Hobson:
Grandma Dillon was a very special lady. I used to often visit her, on the mornings, when she and her neighbour shared morning tea. She was a brilliant cook. She was an excellent horsewoman, who rode a horse to dances. Her first job was as a parlour maid at the Atherton Hotel in Cairns. It was here she met my grandfather. She is buried in No. 429 Forest View Memorial Park. (Mary King)
Daniel Dillon and Elizabeth Sarah Hobson had the following children:
i. DANIEL FRANCIS7 DILLON was born on 20 Sep 1920 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. He died on 25 May 2006 in Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia. He married Margaret Christopher, daughter of Thomas Christopher and Florence Mary Dunn, on 09 May 1953 in Sans Souci, New South Wales, Australia. She was born on 11 Mar 1928 in Glebe, Sydney New South Wales Australia.
Notes for Daniel Francis Dillon:
Daniel Francis Dillon grew up in Cairns. The family lived at Dutton and Kenny Streets. He attended the Cairns Boys State Primary School. He enjoyed the Boy Scouts, when he was young. His younger brothers Shorty and Gordon enjoyed short-sheeting his bed often. He didn’t like horses, especially after his brothers Shorty and Gordon put him on the family horse “Pet”. The horse took a sharp turn, but Danny did not follow. The only person this horse obeyed was his youngest sister Olive. He enlisted on the 11 August 1943 and was discharged 7 February 1946. He served as a Leading Aircraft man At Horn island. His first job was delivering papers in the mornings. Most of what he earned was given to his mother. He worked at the mill, Samuel Allen’s Warehouse and later as a labourer on the waterfront in Cairns, Brisbane and Sydney. He was a very good greyhound trainer, who also trained the Neighbours’ dogs, but he would not train the family’s dogs.
Danny was a good dancer, who always dressed very smartly. The suits that he wore reminded his younger siblings of the clothes that a doctor would wear, so they called him ” the Doc “. His brothers Shorty (Allen) and foggy ( Gordon) would borrow his clothes without his permission. His mother warned them to get the clothes back before Danny came home. Often they did not do this and he caught them in his clothes. On time he was so annoyed about this he chased them with a bayonet. Gordon said to Shorty, “You go one way, I will go the other way, so he doesn’t catch both of us”. (Mary King)
ii. ALLEN WILLIAM7 DILLON was born on 25 May 1922 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. He died on 02 Feb 1984 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. He married (1) ESMA MAUREEN DOYLE, daughter of Bailey Doyle and Isabel May Barrett, on 08 Jul 1945 in Babinda, Queensland, Australia. She was born on 22 Dec 1924 in Babinda, Queensland, Australia. She died on 09 Jan 1958 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
He married (2) MAVIS MARY COLLETON on 23 May 1960 in Cairns, Queensland,Australia. She was born on 26 Dec 1923 in Babinda, Queensland, Australia. She died on 30 May 1980 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
Notes for Allen William Dillon:
My father grew up in Cairns. Dad and his brother Gordon built a merry-go-round, which they let others ride for a bottle, a turn. They returned the bottles to the shops for a refund. Their sister Edna used to take a bottle from their pile of bottles, so she could have a free ride. Dad and Uncle Gordon had the job of taking food to their grandfather Thomas Fury Dillon, when he worked as caretaker at the Cairns Show Grounds. Before they arrived at their destination, the boys would eat what they liked on the plate of food.
One day Uncle Gordon and Dad had taken their sister Lorna with them in the rowing boat. Grandma had to send them back for her, as they had left her in the, boat. Grandma used to send the boys to the Presbyterian Sunday School inCairns. She gave each boy a penny for the plate at church. Dad and Uncle Gordon would not go to Sunday School, so they could spend the penny. Dad and Uncle Gordon used to borrow their brother Daniel’s clothes. Uncle Danny always dressed smartly. Their mother told Dad and Uncle Gordon that they had tobe back before Danny, so Danny didn’t find out they were borrowing his clothes.
Uncle Danny saw them wearing his clothes and chased them with a bayonet. Uncle Gordon said to Dad, “You run one way and I’ll run the other way, so he doesn’t get both of us.”
He is buried with his son.
He served with C.M.F. from 30 September 1941 – 1 July 1943.
He was a member of Australian Imperial Forces , from 2 July 1943 to 18 October 1945. He was Corporal Dillon a Cook with H.Q. A.N.G.A.U. He would have arrived in Papua / New Guinea about 15 February 1942. Dad owned a boat called the “Nancy”. He was an excellent swimmer, who used to dive with his divers looking trohcus shells. He employed South Sea Islanders, One such Islander was Joe Carava. After the war, because a market for this no longer existed, he became a cook. He cooked for Babinda Hospital. Later when we were growing-up in Cairns, he worked as a cook on the Sugar Lighters including the Wortana. Many of the watersiders were often hungry, especiallywhen work was scarce, so Dad put aside food in the fridge for them to eat, while working on the boat that Dad was employed as a cook. Dad stopped doing this when two waterside workers, Forsythe and Doug Shullet helped themselves to the food prepared for the crew. He left around 19 63, when the Sugar Lighters were no longer used because of bulk handling of sugar at Cairns. He then worked as a cook on Iron Ore Carriers carrying iron ore from Yampi Sound in Western Australia to Newcastle in New South Wales. One of the boats, which he worked on was the Lake Barrine. Dad and Mum were living at Babinda for a time. Dad was a cook at the Babinda Hospital. They moved to White Rock, south of Cairns. However Mum did not like the isolation, when Dad was away, so we moved to Bunda Street, Cairns close to Dad’s family.
Notes for Esma Maureen Doyle:
Esma, my mother, first worked in Babinda for Mr. & Mrs Kelly. He was a sugar chemist at the mill. She was a housemaid. When the family was evacuated at the start of World War Two to Brisbane, She was employed at a fruit shop near the southern side of the Story Bridge. When they returned to Babinda she enlisted in the Australian Women’s Land Army.
Cause of death nephritis and heart disease. She is buried in Babinda Cemetery next to her parents. (Mary King)
Notes for Mavis Mary Colleton:
Plaque; Mavis Dillon In loving memory of Mavis Mary Dillon passed away on 30 / 5 / 1980 aged 56 years. Beloved wife, mother, sister, aunt and grandmother sadly missed by all.
Thomas Feury Dillane and Rose Gertrude Croxford had the following children:
iv. IVY ROSE6 DILLON was born on 03 Jun 1908 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. She died on 05 Jun 1908 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
Notes for Ivy Rose Dillon: She is buried in No. 1497 in the Mc Leod Street Pioneer Cemetery.
v. FREDERICK HENRY CROXFORD6 DILLON was born on 05 Jan 1910 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
vi. ERIC JOHN6 DILLON was born on 22 Dec 1913 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. He died on 21 Jun 1919 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
iii. GORDON THOMAS7 DILLON was born on 17 Oct 1923 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. He died on 19 Feb 2021 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. He married Enid Towning, daughter of William Frederick Towning and Elizabeth Ann Frances Murphy, on 01 Jun 1948. She was born on 21 Feb 1926. She died in 1992 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
Notes for Gordon Thomas Dillon:
Uncle Gordon and Dad did most things together. Uncle Gordon went to St. Joseph’s school for six months, then to Paramatta State School. He wasn’t there long when the school asked him to leave, so Grandma sent both boys to Boy’s State School (Central Cairns).
iv. RONALD JAMES7 DILLON was born on 30 May 1925 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. He died on 10 Oct 2013 in Brisbane Queensland, Australia. He married MARY AGNES GRAHAM. She was born on 29 Jun 1918 in Innisfail, Queensland, Australia. She died on 07 Feb 2018 in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.
v. EDNA MARY MAY7 DILLON was born on 06 Feb 1927 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. She died on 12 Jan 2015. She married (1) EDWARD NELSON. She married (2) EDWARD NICHOL. She married (3) JAMES MCKAY.
vi. LORNA ELIZABETH7 DILLON was born on 11 Aug 1928 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. She died on 24 Jun 2020 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. She married ALBERT DOOZ-SKINNER.
vii. THOMAS7 DILLON was born on 26 Jul 1932 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. He married Rhoma Valray Sloan, daughter of James Sloan and Evelyn Elizabeth Howell, on 09 Nov 1957. She was born in 1837 in Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia.
viii. OLIVE7 DILLON was born on 19 Aug 1934 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. She died on 04 Jan 2004 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. She married (1) WILLIAM LITTLE. She married (2) CLIVE STANLEY SWIFT on 15 Aug 1967 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. He was born on 11 Jun 1928 in Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. He died on 05 Oct 2001 in Townsville, Queensland, Australia (at St.Mary’s).
iv. IVY ROSE6 DILLON was born on 03 Jun 1908 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. She died on 05 Jun 1908 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
Notes for Ivy Rose Dillon:
She is buried in No. 1497 in the Mc Leod Street Pioneer Cemetery.
v. FREDERICK HENRY CROXFORD6 DILLON was born on 05 Jan 1910 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
vi. ERIC JOHN6 DILLON was born on 22 Dec 1913 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. He died on 21 Jun 1919 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
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