Ellen-Eleanor Kinder (b 1873)

parents Enoch Kinder & Matilda Maud Crask


born 13 October 1873, Stkilda, Victoria, Australia[1]
died 30 September 1953, Prahran, Victoria, Australia[2]
buried 2 October 1953, Springvale Botanic Cemetery, Springvale, Victoria, Australia[2,3]



Ellen-Eleanor Kinder

Ellen-Eleanor was born on 13 October 1873 at her parents home at 31 Evelyn Street, St Kilda.  Her name is recorded as Ellen on her birth certificate but she was always known as Eleanor and as Auntie Nel by her neices[1,4].


Eleanor's birth certificate

According to her niece, Lilian Punch, Eleanor was engaged to be married when her fiancé went to the Kalgoorlie gold rush where he caught pneumonia and died there.  It is very likely that this story was made up to disguise the true situation.  At the very young age of only 13˝ years, Eleanor fell pregnant.  She gave birth to a daughter, Dora on 29 January 1888, shortly after her 14th birthday[6].  There may well have been a young man who fled to Kalgoorlie and chose not to come back but in any event it is likely that Lilian’s story may have been a polite way to explain the unfortunate situation in which Eleanor and her family found themselves.

In 1903, Eleanor is noted as living at 58 Marlborough St, St Kilda (perhaps with her mother) and later in 1909 she lived in Maling Road, Canterbury, Victoria.  In both cases, her occupation is noted as Nurse[5].

From around 1914, Eleanor lived with a wealthy family named Armstrong at 32 Normanby Street, Brighton, Victoria where she looked after two mentally handicapped children.  She is noted there until 1949 and may have stayed even longer[4,5].  


As the years went on and she became older, she could no longer cope and she arranged to move in with her sister Ruby (Frances Ruby) at 10 Henry Street, Oakleigh, Victoria. 

She had some furniture and belongings moved but before her move was completed, she suddenly developed Pneumonia and went to hospital. 

She was at the Alfred Hospital, Prahran for 6 to 8 weeks and almost ready to be discharged when she suffered a severe Cerebro vascular accident and died on 30 September 1953.  She also suffered from Diabetes and Arteriosclerosis for a number of years[4,2].

Eleanor was cremated and interred on 2 October at The Springvale Botanic Cemetery (then known as the Springvale Necropolis), Springvale, Victoria, grave reference TRI-22-4D-59. 

She was 79 years old when she died.

Eleanor's death certificate




The Argus 1 Oct 1953


The Argus 1 October 1953



Dora Kinder

Dora was born at Eleanor’s parents house at 31 Evelyn Street, St Kilda.  The birth was registered by Ann Crask, Dora’s great-grandmother. Unfortunately, Dora died aged only six weeks on 10 March 1888 and was buried in a public grave at the St Kilda General Cemetery, Victoria, on 11 March 1888, grave reference OD-25-D-209.  Her cause of death is stated as marasmus exhaustion[6,7].

The Oxford Concise Medical Dictionary describes marasmus as follows:-

Severe wasting in infants, when body weight is below 75% of that expected for age.
The infant looks “old”, pallid, apathetic, lacks skin fat and has subnormal temperature.
The condition may be due to malabsorption, wrong feeding……….severe disease of the heart, lungs, kidneys or urinary tract or chronic bacterial or parasitic disease.
Maternal rejection may cause marasmus through under eating.
Acute infection may precipitate death.



Dora's birth certificate



Dora's death certificate




References
  1. Ellen Kinder b1873 birth certificate
  2. Eleanor Kinder b1873 death certificate
  3. Springvale Botanic Cemetery records
  4. Lilian Punch - private communication
  5. Australian Electoral Rolls 1903-1980
  6. Dora Kinder b1888 birth certificate
  7. Dora Kinder b1888 death certificate