Michael Henry O'Connell
Image: Val Williams
FatherWilliam Patrick O'Connell b. 30 Aug 1865, d. 13 Jun 1952
MotherMary Elizabeth Milovitch b. 10 Sep 1867, d. 23 Jan 1919
Pedigree

Birth, Death, Marriage

Michael Henry O'Connell was born on 20 January 1898 in Shepparton, Victoria.1,2 
He married Myra Mabel Tatlow, daughter of Walter Edward Tatlow, on 25 January 1922 in East St Kilda, Victoria.3,4,5 
He died on 21 June 1991 in Macleod, Victoria, at age 93.5 

Family

Myra Mabel Tatlow b. 8 Oct 1895, d. 23 Feb 1979
Children
ChartsMilovitch, Thomas, descendant chart
O'Connell, Michael, descendant chart

Story

Michael was the third of six children to reach adulthood. He was born in the house behind the family's wine shop in Fryers St, Shepparton.

When Mick was about three, the family moved from Shepparton to Mooroopna.2,6
 
He attended St Brendan's primary school in Shepparton with his older brothers.7
 
Nellie and Annie attended Mooroopna Primary School, and it is possible the four older boys attended for a time also.8,9
 
Mick (Michael Henry) O'Connell
Image: Val Williams
For most of the six children's childhood and early adult years, they lived at the back of the Mooroopna wine shop on the main road just west of the Mooroopna hospital.9
 
Mother Mary's Illness
In 1918, Mary became quite ill.
 
As the holder of the wine licence, being unable to work would have made it difficult for the family.

Added to this, the First World War had been going for four years, and the two eldest sons, Peter and Thomas, were on active service.
 
Mary made a will on 11 September 1918, appointing husband William as sole executor.

To son William, she leaves the piano (this is not her mother's Bord piano, but one she purchased from her own savings). To daughter Nellie (Mary Ellen), she leaves the sewing machine. To husband William, she leaves the balance including the wine licence and interest in the Elizabeth St property held jointly with her sister, Annie Fortin.

Mary also gives William the right to draw money for their sons Peter and Thomas while they are serving abroad.10,11
 
Mary died in Mooroopna hospital after a long illness and is buried in Mooroopna cemetery. She was 51 and left behind a husband and six children of which the youngest, Annie, was 12.12,13
 
She died three days after Mick's 21st birthday.13
 
A family photo was taken at the back of the wine shop, a couple of years after Mary died.
O'Connells: back: Will/Billy, Mick, Tom, Peter; front: Annie, William (snr), Nell (Mary Ellen); c. 1922
Image: Val Williams
Football
Peter, Tom and Mick played football for their local Mooroopna team.

In 1921 Mick was vice captain and played alongside his brother Tom. The following year, Mick's responsibilities included 'collector', member of the executive committee and pre-competition coach.14,15,16
Image: Mooroopna Football Club
Image: Mooroopna Football Club
Marriage and Family
Michael O'Connell and Myra Tatlow married in East St Kilda in 1922.3,5
 
The couple settled in Mooroopna and began their family with the arrival of two girls, Mary and Norine. They most likely lived at the back of the family's wine shop in Main St.17
Mick, Myra (Tatlow) & Mary O'Connell, c. 1923
Image: Val Williams
Between 1925 and 1929, the family lived in Skene St, Shepparton and son Kelvin Michael was born.18,6
 
Around 1930, the family moved to Melbourne, where Mick and Myra lived in Northcote (1931 and 1934), and later in Chelsea.19,20,21
 
Telephone Mechanic
Mick was a 'telephone mechanic' (the early phone system was electromechanical) with the Postmaster General's Department (PMG), Australia's public communications organisation at the time. He worked in the Mooroopna and Shepparton area for around seven years before he and the family moved to Melbourne.22,23,17
 
Mick and Annie worked at the Mooroopna telephone exchange at the same time.
Back: Michael O'Connell (left); front: Annie O'Connell (left), possibly Nell O'Connell (right), others uncertain, Mooroopna Post Office, c. 1922
Image: Val Williams
Annie O'Connell (left of doorway), Mooroopna Post Office, c. 1923
Image: Val Williams
Mooroopna Post Office, 1917-1930
Image: SLV
Mick was best man at his sister Nell's wedding.24
 
O'Connell Family
Even though most had moved away, the O'Connells maintained close contact over the years.
 
Mag O'Connell (Noonan), Nell Bazley (O'Connell), Mick, Myra (Tatlow) & Will/Billy O'Connell, Annie Williams (O'Connell, seated), Mooroopna, Nov 1969
Image: Val Williams
Mick & Myra (Tatlow) O'Connell, Annie Williams (O'Connell), Nell Bazley (O'Connell, seated), Mag (Noonan) & Will/Billy O'Connell, Mooroopna, Nov 1969
Image: Val Williams
Annie Williams (O'Connell), Will/Billy O'Connell, Nell (Mary Ellen) Bazley (O'Connell), Mick O'Connell, c. 1963
Image: Val Williams
Nell (Ellen) Bazley (O'Connell), Mick O'Connell, Annie Williams (O'Connell)
Image: Val Williams
Back to Mooroopna
The 'Back to Mooroopna' celebrations were a great opportunity for ex-Mooroopna people to catch up with those who stayed, and the Easter 1963 'Back to' was very popular with the O'Connell, Williams and related families.
'Back to Mooroopna' celebrations, Apr 1963
Image: Laurie & Lorraine Phillips
'Back to Mooroopna' celebrations, Apr 1963
Image: Laurie & Lorraine Phillips
Bob Bazley, Annie Williams (O'Connell), Thelma Johnson (Williams), Myra O'Connell (Tatlow), Mag O'Connell (Noonan), Nell Bazley (O'Connell), Bill Hehir, Mick O'Connell, Rita Johnson (Williams), 'Back to Mooroopna', 97 Main St, Apr 1963
Image: Val Williams
Nell Bazley (O'Connell), Karen & Peter Phillips, 'Back To Mooroopna', Main St, Mooroopna, Apr 1963
Image: Val Williams
Bill Hehir, Annie Williams (O'Connell), Rita Johnson (Williams, front), Mag O'Connell (Noonan, standing), Thelma Jamieson (Williams, seated), Mick O'Connell (standing), Myra O'Connell (Tatlow, seated), Nell (O'Connell) & Bob Bazley (front), 'Back To Mooroopna', 97 Main St, Apr 1963
Image: Val Williams
Standing: Bill Hehir, Annie Williams (O'Connell), Mag O'Connell, Mick O'Connell; Seated: Karen & Peter Phillips, Rita Johnson (Williams), Thelma Jamieson (Williams, on chair), Nell Bazley (O'Connell, front), Myra O'Connell (Tatlow), Bob Bazley (front); 'Back to Mooroopna', Main St, Mooroopna, Apr 1963
Image: Val Williams
It was an occasion for young and old. Always up for a bit of fun, Annie dressed up for the occasion, donning the most 'youthful' clothing she could find and borrowing her grandson's school bag.

The O'Connells also caught up with the Foleys, family friends from over fifty years earlier.
Annie Williams (O'Connell),'Back to Mooroopna', Mooroopna State School, Apr 1963
Image: Laurie & Lorraine Phillips
Annie Williams (O'Connell), Back to Mooroopna, 1963
Image: Margaret O'Connell
Karen Phillips, Mary Williams (Budd), Anne Phillips, 'Back to Mooroopna', Apr 1963
Image: Laurie & Lorraine Phillips
Anne Phillips, 'Back to Mooroopna', Apr 1963
Image: Laurie & Lorraine Phillips
Helen Phillips, 'Back to Mooroopna', Apr 1963
Image: Laurie & Lorraine Phillips
Tom Foley, Peter Phillips, Bob Bazley, Lillian Foley & Mick O'Connell, 'Back to Mooroopna', Apr 1963
Image: Lost Mooroopna, Facebook
Mick O'Connell died in the Melbourne suburb of Macleod in 1991 aged 93.5
 

Citations

  1. [S270] Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, registry and index, 'Michl Hy' O'Connell entry, birth registration no. 6487, 1898.
  2. [S472] Michael Henry O'Connell, birth registration no. 6487, 20 January 1898.
  3. [S270] Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, registry and index, 'Michael Hy O'Connell' and Myra Mabel Tatlow entry, marriage registration no. 1234, 1922.
  4. [S56] Margaret O'Leary, personal communication, 9 July 1996.
  5. [S49] The Ascendants of Michael Henry O’Connell, The Descendants of Michael Henry O’Connell, family tree, unpublished, 28 June 1991.
  6. [S233] Shepparton Shire & Town Rates Index, 1885-1939/1941, computer file, Shepparton Family History Group, O'Connell entries.
  7. [S165] History of St Brendan's Primary School 1891-1991, St Brendan's Centenary History Committee, 1991, p. 67.
  8. [S201] 'Coming of age', Shepparton Advertiser, 1914-1953, newspaper, Thomas Pettit and William Callender, 5 December 1924, p. 2, viewed 11 March 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article174035075
  9. [S21] Lorraine Phillips, personal communication, 28 August 2012.
  10. [S81] 'Mary Elizabeth O'Connell', VPRS 7591 Wills, 163/157, will, 11 September 1918.
  11. [S430] 'Mary Elizabeth O'Connell', VPRS 28 Probate and Administration Files, no. 163/157, probate, 1919.
  12. [S220] 'Deaths: O'Connell', The Argus, 1848-1957, newspaper, Argus Office, 24 January 1919, p. 1, viewed 4 October 2017, http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1421945
  13. [S440] Mary O'Connell, death registration no. 3219, 23 January 1919.
  14. [S201] 'Football: Mooroopna v. Shepparton', Shepparton Advertiser, 1914-1953, newspaper, Thomas Pettit and William Callender, 2 Jun 1921, p. 3, viewed 9 OCtober 2017, http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/174156831
  15. [S201] 'Mooroopna: Football club', Shepparton Advertiser, 1914-1953, newspaper, Thomas Pettit and William Callender, 6 Apr 1922, p. 5, viewed 9 OCtober 2017, http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/179181583
  16. [S201] 'Football thrills: Mooroopna win', Shepparton Advertiser, 1914-1953, newspaper, Thomas Pettit and William Callender, 18 September 1924, p. 11, viewed 15 September 2017, http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/174033872
  17. [S392] Australia, Electoral Rolls 1903-1980, online, Commonwealth division of Echuca, Victorian division of Rodney, subdivision of Mooroopna, 1924.
  18. [S392] Australia, Electoral Rolls 1903-1980, online, Commonwealth division of Echuca, Victorian division of Goulburn Valley, subdivision of Shepparton, 1927.
  19. [S392] Australia, Electoral Rolls 1903-1980, online, Commonwealth division of Batman, Victorian division of Northcote, subdivision of Northcote, 1931.
  20. [S392] Australia, Electoral Rolls 1903-1980, online, Commonwealth division of Batman, Victorian division of Northcote, subdivision of Northcote, 1934.
  21. [S392] Australia, Electoral Rolls 1903-1980, online, division of Isaacs, subdivision of Chelsea, 1977.
  22. [S246] 'Postmaster-General's Department', Wikipedia, online, Wikimedia Foundation, viewed 27 December 2018, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
  23. [S392] Australia, Electoral Rolls 1903-1980, online, division of Echuca, subdivision of Mooroopna, 1921.
  24. [S201] 'Wedding', Shepparton Advertiser, 1914-1953, newspaper, Thomas Pettit and William Callender, 30 November 1925, p. 4, viewed 20 May 2018, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/173264651