family_gedcom

All that ts known of him is that he was born ln Edfnburgh; educated at Westbourue School in St.Andrews and mlgrated to Australia as a surveyor, where there was ample opportuity for his profession. He is known to have worked extensively tn the Port Pirie and Port Augusta areas in South Australia, where conditions at the time were very primitive. His wife Elizabeth Jane Roberts used to tell stories of how the Aborigines crept through the bush, to peer in at the house
windows, while she kept guard with a loaded shotgun.

He was married in Sydney on 12 March 1879. The Roberts family were "well to do", owning city property and well known for their racing connections. They trained at Exeter N.S.W. and
Charles Hutchins Roberts owned "Masquerade" which won the two main Sydney racing events, The Epsom and The Metropolitan. The family fortune was gambled away by Ellzabeth's brothers.
one of whom lost a share ln the heart of Sydney on a race. The story as related by Milllcent Chiene is that he had two horses home in a treble, the the third losing by a neck. The stake £30,000!
This penchant for horse racing, on hls mother's side seems to have been inherited by her son George Patrick (q. v.).

The family finally settled in Sydney and George became Town Surveyor. The existing road to Narrabeen is one known area for which he was responsible at the time.

His penmanship was an outstanding work of art; apart from his professional talent. His appearances wa refined, tall and lean with fine features and a gentle manner. The quality of his intellect was reflected in his fine collection of books, among which was a prize for history and mathematics at Westbourne School dated 1859. In his latter years (he died when he was 89) his ind remained alert, he read widely and was a "cross word puzzle" fan, one of which he was solving when he died. Bette Knight's mother Millicent Power was very fond of the gentleman - her father in law and said while he was known to drink he was never seen "the worse of it", according to the family tree he had 10 of a family thus surpassing his father, "The Major". Bruce Chiene has his family Bible.