descendant of George Patfield, see Paddle to Australia
Fitzroy Jardine MSc BA was born on 3rd March 1896 in Rockhampton, Queensland (Australia). He was the fifith and youngest son of Robert Jardine and Mary Pearce. [1] Fitzroy was a great great grandson of convicts George Patfield (Neptune 1790), Mary O'Brien (Bellona 1793), Thomas Anlezark (Perseus 1802) and Ann Starmer (Experiment 1804). Thomas Anlezark became famous as a Trooper in the Vinegar Hill convict uprising of March 1804.
Aged almost five years when Queensland joined the other five British colonies to federate as the Commonwealth of Australia, Fitzroy later attended North Rockhampton Primary School and Rockhampton Grammar School. [2]
Sailing to England in 1917, Fitzroy qualified as a pilot in the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and was appointed temporary Flight Sub Lieutenant. In April 1918 he transferred to the newly-formed Royal Air Force (RAF - from the merge of the RNAS and the Royal Flying Corps) and was sent to France where he served as an acting flight commander and flight navigating officer with No.243 Squadron (the RNAS No.43 Squadron prefixed with a '2'). He was Mentioned in Despatches, equivalent to today's Commendation for Gallantry. He resigned his commission in 1919, following the war. [2]
On his return to Australia, Fitzroy entered the University of Sydney on a repatriation scholarship, from which he graduated with first-class honours with Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1924 and Master of Science (MSc) in 1929. The responsibility of caring for his parents and two unmarried sisters induced him to accept the post of science master at Rockhampton Grammar School (RGS) in 1928. He was appointed headmaster in 1936; becoming the school's longest-serving headmaster and having a significant influence on education in Central Queensland. [2]
He also continued flying; in 1932 becoming an honorary examining officer of local pilot-licence applicants for the Department of Civil Aviation. [2]
Fitzroy married Adah Kathleen Williams, a fellow school teacher, on 29th December 1945 in the Williams family home Stanleigh, Caroline Street, Rockhampton, according to Methodist rites and officiated at by the Reverend Reginald Dingle. Kathleen, as she was known, was then 27 years of age and Fitzroy 49. [3] The Morning Bulletin reported briefly on the wedding (edited for readability): [4]
Aged 68 years, Fitzroy passed away of a coronary occlusion on 3rd August 1964 in Rockhampton Grammar School and his ashes placed in North Rockhampton Cemetery. His wife, son and daughter survived him. [5][6]
In 1957, the new science buildings at RGS were completed and named the Jardine Science Block, in Fitzroy's honour.
Fitzroy's extensive ethnographic collection from the Rockhampton and Fitzroy region, as well as the Torres Strait Islands, the North Queensland rainforests, Central Australia, the Territory of Papua and New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands is held by the Dreamtime Cultural Centre, Rockhampton. [2]
This week's featured connections are Summer Olympians: Fitzroy is 39 degrees from Simone Biles, 28 degrees from Maria Johanna Philipsen-Braun, 24 degrees from Pierre de Coubertin, 21 degrees from Étienne Desmarteau, 13 degrees from Fanny Gately, 22 degrees from Evelyn Konno, 45 degrees from Paavo Johannes Nurmi, 26 degrees from Wilma Rudolph, 38 degrees from Carl Schuhmann, 18 degrees from Zara Tindall, 16 degrees from Violet Robb and 21 degrees from Mina Wylie on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.
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Categories: Rockhampton, Queensland | Rockhampton Grammar School, Rockhampton, Queensland | Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), British Army, World War I | No. 43 Squadron, Royal Air Force | Mentioned in Despatches | British War Medal | Victory Medal | University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales | Educationalists | Australia, Teachers | Headmasters | Scientists | North Rockhampton Cemetery, Rockhampton, Queensland | Evans-20927 - George Patfield and Mary O'Brien Descendants | Australia, Notables in the Public Service and Professions | Notables