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Una Hill née Horton (1905-1982) - Heddon Greta resident. Recorded 16 March 1979. Part 1/1.
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SummaryUNA HILL
Recorded 16 March 1979
Part 1/1
Mrs Hill née Horton of Stanford Merythr, mother of Laurie Hill, descended from the Testers of Tester’s Hollow. She is married to Herbert Hill.
00:45
Her grandfather was the original Tester from Tester’s Hollow. Her name is Una Hill née Horton and her mother was Elizabeth Tester. Her mother’s father may have been John. Her mother died when she was very young (10). Una was born at Heddon Greta – the Horton home.
The original house was shifted to opposite Bickmores.
2:30
Joseph Horton was her father. Her uncle Bill lived in Kurri. Bill Horton married Hilda with 4 boys and a girl. Her father came from Leeds in Yorkshire, England.
Elizabeth Tester had a sister called Aunty Thomas the eldest whose name was Thomasina, brother Uncle Bill Tester at Heddon Greta, sister Aunty Mrs Avison - named Mary but called Polly, brothers Uncle Jack and Jim. Una’s mother was the either the second youngest or youngest in the family.
6:25
Sylvia was her sister - married Bob Melville from Blacksmiths.
Her mother was her father’s second wife. She was natural beauty. Husband and wife were separated. Grandfather’s farm was on the way to Maitland.
10:21
She used to holiday on the farm. She lived with her mum in Perkins St. She was born in 1905. The railway station was just a platform. People didn’t work on the platform.
They went to Heddon Greta school when she came to stay with her grandmother.
She started school at Bolton Street aged 6.
13:19
Her grandfather died aged 90 and was a farmer all his life. He walked everywhere.
She married Herbert Hill. Her daughter Sylvia m Charley Raisby (Reisby?), Laurie and Ray were her sons (married a Ferguson who owned the PO at Wiseman’s Ferry).
Tester’s Hollow (Second photo of Tester’s Hollow)
15:55
In 1915 she moved when her mother died – she moved in with her grandparents. Her cousins – the Hortons (builders).
19:30
Bill Tester was a bowler and a cousin of Una’s. John Hill the bowler was the son of the eldest son of his mother, a nephew of Herb Hill, lived with them. Bill Tester told her, her Granny was the owner of the first dress shop in Heddon Greta. All Una’s aunties were skilled with their hands as the boys were to be builders.
The grandfather was a well - respected man, he was a big and wonderful man. The grandmother was cranky. The early household, her grandmother made grape jelly. It was a big house. Grandfather died when she was 11.
28:00
Her father owned Belmore dining rooms in Maitland. He was a kind man whose wealth ran through his fingers. He remarried after his wife died.
The Hills family. Her husband worked 46 years in the pit. Laurie Hill her son, a very straight man. She describes her three children from a photo.
Both her sons have the Tester skill with their hands.
34:33
End Tape 111A
SubjectHill née Horton, Una (Interviewee)PersonJack DelaneyCollectionVoices of the HunterLocation[1] Testers Hollow, NSW[2] Yorkshire, England[3] Heddon Greta, NSWIdentifier111A
Recorded 16 March 1979
Part 1/1
Mrs Hill née Horton of Stanford Merythr, mother of Laurie Hill, descended from the Testers of Tester’s Hollow. She is married to Herbert Hill.
00:45
Her grandfather was the original Tester from Tester’s Hollow. Her name is Una Hill née Horton and her mother was Elizabeth Tester. Her mother’s father may have been John. Her mother died when she was very young (10). Una was born at Heddon Greta – the Horton home.
The original house was shifted to opposite Bickmores.
2:30
Joseph Horton was her father. Her uncle Bill lived in Kurri. Bill Horton married Hilda with 4 boys and a girl. Her father came from Leeds in Yorkshire, England.
Elizabeth Tester had a sister called Aunty Thomas the eldest whose name was Thomasina, brother Uncle Bill Tester at Heddon Greta, sister Aunty Mrs Avison - named Mary but called Polly, brothers Uncle Jack and Jim. Una’s mother was the either the second youngest or youngest in the family.
6:25
Sylvia was her sister - married Bob Melville from Blacksmiths.
Her mother was her father’s second wife. She was natural beauty. Husband and wife were separated. Grandfather’s farm was on the way to Maitland.
10:21
She used to holiday on the farm. She lived with her mum in Perkins St. She was born in 1905. The railway station was just a platform. People didn’t work on the platform.
They went to Heddon Greta school when she came to stay with her grandmother.
She started school at Bolton Street aged 6.
13:19
Her grandfather died aged 90 and was a farmer all his life. He walked everywhere.
She married Herbert Hill. Her daughter Sylvia m Charley Raisby (Reisby?), Laurie and Ray were her sons (married a Ferguson who owned the PO at Wiseman’s Ferry).
Tester’s Hollow (Second photo of Tester’s Hollow)
15:55
In 1915 she moved when her mother died – she moved in with her grandparents. Her cousins – the Hortons (builders).
19:30
Bill Tester was a bowler and a cousin of Una’s. John Hill the bowler was the son of the eldest son of his mother, a nephew of Herb Hill, lived with them. Bill Tester told her, her Granny was the owner of the first dress shop in Heddon Greta. All Una’s aunties were skilled with their hands as the boys were to be builders.
The grandfather was a well - respected man, he was a big and wonderful man. The grandmother was cranky. The early household, her grandmother made grape jelly. It was a big house. Grandfather died when she was 11.
28:00
Her father owned Belmore dining rooms in Maitland. He was a kind man whose wealth ran through his fingers. He remarried after his wife died.
The Hills family. Her husband worked 46 years in the pit. Laurie Hill her son, a very straight man. She describes her three children from a photo.
Both her sons have the Tester skill with their hands.
34:33
End Tape 111A
SubjectHill née Horton, Una (Interviewee)PersonJack DelaneyCollectionVoices of the HunterLocation[1] Testers Hollow, NSW[2] Yorkshire, England[3] Heddon Greta, NSWIdentifier111Aloading google map....
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Delaney, Jack, 1919-2010, Una Hill née Horton (1905-1982) - Heddon Greta resident. Recorded 16 March 1979. Part 1/1., [111A]. Living Histories, accessed 07/12/2023, https://livinghistories.newcastle.edu.au/nodes/view/55688