Letter from J S Meagher to Frank Meagher [undated]
08/09/2024
Undated letter from John S. Meagher to Dr Frank Meagher
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Undated letter from John S. Meagher to Dr Frank Meagher
I came across a photo my cousin posted of herself with another cousin of ours on Instagram captioned, ‘Sticks and Squid’. I smiled as I instinctively knew which one was which. The nickname Sticks is new to me, whereas Squid is not too far removed from the nickname we used back in the day, Squiff or Squiffy. Sobriquets are an interesting form of family code, and to be honest, I’ve had a lot of fun unravelling who’s who. Now that I know about Sticks, it’s only right that Sticks’ name should stick, right?
Melbourne emerged from a second lockdown in November. Restricted to a five-kilometre radius of one’s home for thirteen weeks, Melburnians had no choice but to get to know the local surrounds intimately. These restrictions kept many from seeing family and friends, and from travelling.
The ‘Great Australian Dream’ conjures a picture of a home of one’s own, suburban security, a three-bedroom brick veneer, trimmed lawns and backyard barbeques. This collectively held aspiration for home ownership gained traction in media and literature from the 1960s.
Francis Richard Meagher, a 25 year old medical practitioner at St Vincent’s Hospital, enlisted in the Australian Army Medical Corps on 25 January 1918.
My dear Liffer,
We are in the middle of what promises to be a very severe influenza outbreak…
On 12 February 1919, my grandfather’s sister, Mary Meagher wrote to her brother Frank, a doctor stationed in France, about an influenza outbreak in Melbourne. It was to become known colloquially as the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1919, and it was a tragic postscript to the devastation of the First World War.
My aunty Moon will be competing in the 40th year of the Lorne Pier to Pub swim, held annually every January. A competitive swimmer all her life, she was the State champion in 400 and 800m freestyle and this will be her 21st consecutive Lorne Pier to Pub swim. Although the Pier to Pub swim event was established in 1980, the pier itself dates back to 1879 and the pub, the Lorne Hotel, was first opened to the public in January 1876. The Meagher family’s history also dates back well before Moon started swimming the Pier to Pub, her grandfather and uncle had quite a bit to say about that very pub over a hundred years ago.
Last year, I spent Christmas Day in Belgium, reconnecting with my old university friends and celebrating Christmas with their respective families. I enjoyed generous hospitality, food and conversation. It was a fitting conclusion to a superb three-month trip in Europe.
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Last year, I travelled to Ireland to visit the place where my paternal ancestors came from. The Irish call it the ‘homeplace’, and my family’s homeplace is close to the village of Dunkerrin in County Offaly. It’s a stone’s throw from the Barony of Ikerrin (Uí Chairín), the ancient homelands to one of the oldest Irish families, the O’Meachair/Meagher/Maher Clan.
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When was the last time you did a jigsaw puzzle? The family archive in my spare room is the ultimate games room to me. Boxes upon boxes of various pieces waiting to be put together to create a new understanding of my family's collective history.
What Will Be looks back at people, places and travel and uncovers stories hidden in diaries, letters, and photos. It pieces together obvious clues and obscure details; reveals the personalities of people we used to know and those we could not have known; and re-tells the stories that have been forgotten or hidden. Tell me your thoughts and put a piece or two in the puzzle while you're at it.