Charles Pritchard

Ship name / Flight number: Largs Bay

Arrival date: 04/03/1929

Charles Pritchard (1912-2007)

Cr. Charles Pritchard was a member of Patrick Plains Shire Council for 30 years and was on the Board of Singleton Co-operative Store for quickly involved in district activities. His wages were two and a half times what he was earning in Herefordshire. It did not take long for21 years, being awarded testimonial dinners by both organisations on his
retirement.

He was born in suburban Manchester in 1912, losing his father just two weeks after birth. Later in his childhood the family moved to rural Herefordshire, and at the age of 14 he was at work as a ‘farm lad’ earning 5/- plus his keep. Despite enjoying farm life and with encouragement from his mother’s sister, who lived in Sydney and after a great deal of thought he decided to apply, through the Big Brother Movement to
become what was later called a £10 Pom.

SS Largs Bay left Tilbury docks, London, in late January 1929 with young Charles aboard. Six or so weeks later he was on a train from Sydney to Singleton (a five and a half hour trip). After being picked up at the station by a taxi he met his new boss, Mr Williams, at Lancaster’s garage. They were soon out at the farm at Mt Olive where, as so many lads have been, he was treated like family and was the Mt Olive community to make use of his many talents which saw him quickly elected secretary of the local hall committee and also the local branches of the Agricultural Bureau and Primary Producers Union – to name a few organisations.

It is probably a true reflection of the man that in the memoirs he wrote for his grandchildren in 1994 his greatest contribution to
Singleton, his Local Government involvement gets just two short paragraphs.

Thanks to The Singleton Times for permission to use their article. Author of this article is Michael Akrill.