Family History

This page is a brief photo history of important landmarks, between about 1977 and 2013 in reverse chronological order. More detailed memoirs are to be found elsewhere on this site under Biographies and in particular 2013 and onwards (where I have merged the two narratives) are to be found in 12 Turner, scrolling down to find 2013 and on.

2013

Now retired, completely different lifestyle from recent years. During the year I am mainly tidying up and simplifying affairs post-retirement and after Lois' death in 2012, writing these memoirs and a history of the Australian Mathematics Trust, and some travel, including to Europe and sometimes to places more local.

December

The remainder of the year saw further visits to Sydney and Adelaide. In Adelaide in December I attended the Ashes Test with my sister Susan and brother John on various days in the new look Adelaide Oval and Australia reversed recent fortunes with an outstanding victory.

Here is a view of the ground from the new southern stand. One can now only see the cathedral from the western stand but overall this is progress.

September and October

In most of September and the first week of October I went to Europe, visiting England, France, Italy and Germany. In England some of my English relatives first came to London where we visited the Shard building. I also went with my father's first cousin Michael Taylor to stay with him in Lincolnshire and a one day cricket game between Australia and England at Headingley, which was alas washed out.

At the top of the Shard building are myself, Robin's husband David, Michael's daughter Robin, Michael and his grandson William.

I then went on to Paris, where I had not before in several visits seen Versailles, and then to Sirmione in Italy, where I stayed at the same place I had stayed in 2012 twice on work duties. This time I was free to hire a car and visit many places in this part of the world, including Florence for the first time, Bolzano, places round Lake Garda, Monte Baldo etc. Above is Salo' on the western side of Lake Garda, which as can be seen was part of the Venetian empire. Florence was of particular interest, not just for the large duomo which inspired Christopher Wren, but also the two buildings which inspired the design of the Sydney and Melbourne Buildings in Canberra.

I was on my way to Hamburg and stopped by Munich to go up the Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain, by train and cable car, which was a very special day. I am shown above adjacent to the summit. In Hamburg I stayed with the Grabs family, where Stephanie had exchanged as a student and with whom we remain as friends. They had a special surprise for me, having helped traced my ancestry not only from Hamburg and then Luechow, but now several further generations back into the sixteenth century in Uelzen, between Hamburg and Hannover.

August

In mid-August I spent a weekend in Sydney with Ben and Sarah watching an All Black Test, at the Olympic Stadium, and next day Ben participating in the stair climb up the Sydney Tower.

Here is Ben crossing the finishing line.

28 July to 06 August

Stephanie and family had moved into a rental house with a flat where I could stay, while their house was being rebuilt. I had discovered there was a train once a week to Broken Hill, so travelled to Adelaide via this train.

Like the Westlander in Queensland, this train also stops at some outback towns, which I had not been to, to allow a leg stretch. Here is the train at Ivanhoe.

I had not been to Broken Hill for almost 40 years, but rather than being a depressed mining town, it now has a new vibrance, has great architecture, cultural traditions from the union days, Silverton, etc, and is in all a very attractive place to visit. Here is the corner of Argent and Chloride Streets.

I stayed a few days in Adelaide. Here are Maya and Jasmine giving me a concert.

25 June to 13 July

I have one piece of unfinished business in my job. I had been highly involved in Australia hosting the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) in Brisbane in July and in fact was the Chair of the event. I decided to have a break first and go to Charleville on the train. As a boy I had a map of Queensland which showed a road leading west from Brisbane to just a place called Charleville (central west) and then Birdsville (real outback, on South Australian border). And on visits to Brisbane I had at times stood on Roma Street station and seen that trains actually go to Charleville. So I had wanted to get on such a train.

This is the Westlander approaching Charleville Railway Station.

Then on to stay with my friends, Chris and Carol Harman on the Sunshine Coast and finally to Brisbane for the IOI. Here I am above in the actual exam room during the first exam.

15 June

Greg after being presented with an Australian Mathematics Trust BH Neumann Award for his work with the Australian Mathematics Competition Primary Schools Problems Committee at a function at the Ceviche restaurant, Coogee, on Saturday 15 June.

From left Peter, Nicki, Greg, Ben and Sarah.

Peter, Greg and Ben. There have been two husband and wife BH Neumann Awards, both simultaneous, but this is the first parent and child pairing, in this case 20 years apart.

10 May

Very proud to be awarded Honorary Life Membership of the Canberra Mathematical Association at its 50th Birthday Party at ANU's University House by CMA President Erin Gallagher. I am the 7th on the list.

15 to 23 April

When a student I had hitch-hiked from Auckland to Invercargill and back the other coast over 6 weeks and then did a similar thing with Greg when he was 7, but this time driving and camping, including a boat trip to Stewart Island. But I had never been north of Auckland. I decided to go up there for a week or so.

I stayed at Whangarei, but got to Cape Reinga, the northern part of Highway 1, and the Bay of Islands, including Russell, the first capital and the Waitangi treaty site. The picture above is in Russell of the Duke of Marlborough hotel, one of the most pristine places I have visited, first licensed in 1827, when New Zealand was still part of New South Wales.

07 March

My friend from Germany, Gerhard Paasch with me on top of Mt Kosciuszko. Gerhard had been chief archivist in the church archives in Hamburg and helped me trace Hein family ancestry.

2012

A tumultuous year, Lois passes away, retirement, and celebrations early in the year for the wedding of Benjamin and Sarah.

29 November

At a retirement function in Canberra Peter is presented with this caricature, excellently worked by Gold Coast artist Phil Spratt.

Peter at this function with the two Chairmen of the AMT Board who he worked under, at left Don Aitkin (Chair 1992 to 2004) and Greg Taylor (Chair 2004 to present).

22 November

There is a special retirement function at the home of the University of Canberra's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stephen Parker. Professor Parker announces that Peter will be an Emeritus Professor.

Peter with Gregory, Stephanie and Benjamin at the function.

Peter is presented at the function with this plaque from the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers by CEO Will Morony.

01 November

While in Wellington as part of his final official trip to New Zealand Peter is presented with this glass koru statue, maori canoe and scroll, by New Zealand's Minister of Education, Hon Hekia Parata in Parliament House.

Peter with the Minister and Medallists.

At a Wellington brewhouse, Peter with Warren Atkins, New Zealand colleagues Alan Parris and Gus Gale and AMT manager Jan Collins.

28 October

While in Kuala Lumpur as part of his final official trip to Asia Peter is presented with this plaque.

22 October

While in Jakarta as part of his final official trip to Asia Peter is presented with this watercolour of him with Indonesian colleague and friend Ridwan Saputra.

17 October

While in Manila as part of his final official trip to Asia Peter is presented with this beautiful model of a filipino boat and framed certificate.

23 July

Lois passed away, peacefully at home after a long illness. The burial takes place at Gungahlin Cemetery four days later and at the memorial service later in the day at the Great Hall of ANU's University House, Peter, Gregory, Stephanie and Benjamin all give eulogies.

28 June

Very honoured to be presented an AMSI Distinguished Service Award by AMSI Chair Professor Ron Sandland.

05 May

Nakita joins the O'Connor cafe set.

09 March

We hold a family reception for Ben's and Sarah's wedding at the Boathouse on the Lake. Much of our family is in attendance.

Cutting the cake.

Sarah, Ben, Lois, Peter.

Ben and Sarah with Greg's family. From left Ben, Greg, Nicki, Imogen, Phoebe, Sarah, and in front Nakita, Alyssa, Kaylana.

Lois' sister June from Melbourne (right) and niece Dianne from Cairns (centre) stayed for a few days.

Others came from Adelaide. Here, after arrival, from left brother John, sister Susan, John's wife Jane, Ben, Sarah, and John's and Jane's younger daughters Zoe and Rachel.

There was also a barbecue beside Lake Burley Griffen for lunch the following day. Here are Rose, Steve, Jasmine, Stephanie, Maya and Iris. Rose and Iris are grand daughters of Susan.

2011

01 January

Stephanie, Steve, Jasmine and Maya have arrived for a few days.

Maya is growing up and doing well.

Jasmine under the watchful eyes of Stephanie.

05 January

A major family gathering.

Peter with the female descendents, from left daughter Stephanie holding Maya, Nakita (foreground), Alyssa (above), Jasmine and Kaylana.

Lois then hosts a tea party for the grand daughters.

Clockwise round table Lois, Nakita, Jasmine, Steve, Maya, Gregory, Alyssa and Kaylana.

01 February

Alyssa arrives for her first day at school.

07 September

Ben and Sarah marry on a glacier at the top of the Southern Alps, near Mt Cook, NZ. We were not there but it was a very happy occasion. Sarah and Ben met in New York and she comes from Charlotte, NC.

2010

10 March

Peter visits Ben briefly in New York, where he is working as an engineer.

Here he is on the Brooklyn Bridge.

April

I am descended from two German immigrants, Emil Boehm and Christine Hein who married and settled in Mount Gambier in the 1850s. During past visits to Hamburg and Rostock friends there had helped me trace the Boehms in Breslau (now Wroclaw in Poland) and the Heins in Hamburg (and earlier other places such as Luechow near Hanover). Through the help of my mother we discovered another family of Heins in Mount Gambier and I established in Hamburg that we were related. Their ancestor had been Christine Hein's younger brother.

As it happened my sister Susan from Adelaide and I were then invited to a family reunion in Mount Gambier, attended by about 150 descendents.

On the first morning there were talks. I gave a talk detailing the links between their family and ours and the German heritage beyond. In the afternoon there was entertainment. It was amazing the range of talents which was revealed, in various forms of the arts. And to conclude, on the second morning there was a service and a tour of historic family sites, culminating in a visit to the key graves in the main cemetery.

Susan and I at the Boehm grave, which other members of the Hein family had impressively restored.

07 May

Lois and I move into our new 6th floor apartment overlooking Mt Ainslie and the two towers of the Australian National University's Fenner Hall. These towers were formerly the Commonwealth single persons' Gowrie Hostel, where Lois and I had lived and met in 1972, when I first moved to Canberra from Adelaide.

14 May

Maya Ruby Galluccio is born to Stephanie. Here she is being welcomed on the day of her birth by big sister Jasmine.

05 June

Peter and Lois get to Adelaide and see Maya. Here is Peter with her.

July

I attend the IMO in Kazakhstan, attend a meeting in Leeds and go on to the WFNMC Conference in Riga.

On the visit to Leeds I get a chance to visit my cousin Michael Taylor, and here we are outside his Lincolnshire house with Jack the dog.

2009

22 April

A complete family get-together at the farm before Ben leaves to take up a job as an engineer in New York.

Above are Gregory, Benjamin and Stephanie, while below cousins Jasmine and Kaylana are together.

04 June

Peter and Lois leave

the farm to move into the inner north part of the city of Canberra, renting a townhouse while looking for something permanent to buy.

22 December

The farm

has been sold and a new apartment on the 6th floor of a nearby property in Turner is bought. Below is the building containing the new apartment in Turner as seen from the rented townhouse.

2008

January

Peter with brother John and sister Susan at Adelaide Oval during the cricket Test against New Zealand.

March

Lois, Jasmine and Peter after Jasmine's Christening.

September

Peter, Lois and friends Sally and Norman Bakker take their 4 wheel drives on an outback adventure. Here they are, from left Lois, Peter, Sally and Norman en route at the hotel at Wanaaring, between Bourke and Tibooburra.

Peter, Lois and Sally at Cameron Corner, where the borders of South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales meet. It is true Outback west of Bourke, including Wanaaring (previous photo) and definitely Tibooburra. But here at Cameron Corner it is further into the Outback. Here there is a population of 1 (the publican). Timezones, postcodes, telephone prefixes and other things are spread among the three states. But quite a few people meet here, from different directions. A very good sense of humour prevails.

September

Alyssa, Nakita and Kaylana visit Peter's office.

2007

February

Peter and Lois celebrate their 60th birthdays at a street party at their farm.

14 March

Jasmine Isabella Galluccio is born

Here she is on the day of her birth.

And here she is the following day with mother Stephanie.

11 August

Benjamin graduates in Engineering (with Honours) and Arts at the University of Melbourne.

Here he is with Peter and Lois.

11 September

Nakita turns 5 and visits Peter in his office.

16 September

All four grand daughters are together in Canberra. From left Alyssa, Kaylana, Nakita and Jasmine, with Stephanie.

2006

04 March

Stephanie and Steve are married. Here the bridal party prepares for departure from an Adelaide hotel.

They are married at Blackwood, a suburb of Adelaide. Here are Ben, Peter, Steve, Stephanie, Lois and Greg before the reception held afterwards at Clarendon, in the Adelaide Hills. Welcome Steve!

Late March

Gregory and Natasha separate.

29 July

In July Lois and I undertook a long trip involving the ICMI Study 16 Conference in Trondheim, the IMO in Ljubljana and the WFNMC Conference in Cambridge, all held consecutively. At the end of this we had the opportunity to meet for the first time my English cousin Michael Taylor, with whom my sister Susan had by email re-established contact, and his wife Lisa. Michael is a retired teacher and school principal who also taught for many years in Hong Kong, and now lives back in Lincolnshire. Actually Michael is my father's first cousin. His father, Uncle Harry had stayed behind when my grandfather migrated to Australia with his parents and other siblings in 1912. I had met Michael's mother in 1978 while on study leave in England.

On 29 July Michael arranged a lunch in the Conservative Club at Long Sutton, a former ancestral home where his father and my grandfather had lived and been born. Also there were Michael's older brother Maurice, who my father had met, Michael's son Timothy, a doctor in Somerset with his wife Margot and daughter Katy (son William was unable to attend) and Michael's daughter Robin with her husband David, both graphic designers living in London.

From left Peter, Lois, Maurice, Margot, Katy, Timothy, Robin and Michael at the Long Sutton Cemetery.

2005

18 January

Peter presents the Hanna Neumann Lecture in Sydney at the conference of the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers.

13 April

Stephanie and Steve Galluccio announce their engagement. They are shown here a few weeks before on our property.

07 July

Alyssa is born. Here she is being welcomed by sisters Nakita (left) and Kaylana.

2004

Well, Nakita looks as though she's playing the piano.

Kaylana getting into the swing of things

2003

13 March

Elly dries down her calf Bruno shortly after giving birth. Bruno is a paternal grandson of Australia's premier Murray Grey bull, Temar Lotus, and goes on at the age of 18 months to get 19 fertilities in a paddock of 19 cows.

31 August

In a triumph over her difficult premature beginning, with 24-week birth, Nakita has finally become mobile and crawls for the first time, and I think she knows it and is celebrating her achievement. Later Nakita is to become a monkey bar kid (rather like her father).

03 October

Nakita welcomes arrival of sister Kaylana.

15 December

Stephanie graduates with Honours in Medicine, University of Adelaide

2002

11 September

Identical twins are born to Greg and Natasha.

They are born prematurely and commence some months in post natal intensive care. Pictured on the day of their birth are Nakita (915g) above and Lani (545g) below.

12 September

Overshadowed by the previous day's events, Ben turns 21. Here he is with Greg and Stephanie at his party.

08 October

Lani passes away after failing to recover from an operation two days before, having suffered infection complications.

03 December

Nakita is released from the intensive care unit at Canberra Hospital, weighing 2145g and goes home. Here she is at home with Peter's mother, Peter and Greg (making four generations). She still needs a little oxygen support for a little while but has progressed very well in her last month before discharge.

30 December

Lois with cows Doris (left) and Elly (right) and Doris' bull calf Blue while Blue was about to go up the race for his first vaccination.

2001

We move to a 47 acre property 40km from Canberra.

The vineyard and house (above) and with some Murray Greys (below).

2000

Greg and Natasha are married in Queanbeyan on 15 January.

Stephanie is in third year medicine at the University of Adelaide. She is seen below with her "Stephoscope" and giving brother Gregory a checkout.

Benjamin has completed Year 12 and is spending 2000 working and back-packing in Europe before commencing study in Chemical Engineering at the University of Adelaide in 2001.

1999

December

Gregory graduates from the University of Canberra with Bachelor of Education.

1998

Gregory is into the third year of an Education Degree (Primary Teaching, with major in mathematics) at the University of Canberra.

Stephanie commences first year studies in Medicine at the University of Adelaide.

Benjamin goes in to Year 11 at Canberra Grammar School.

1997

Stephanie was anounced as Joint Dux of Canberra Church of England Girls Grammar School.

In this panel Stephanie is photographed at her Graduation Dinner with Lois (above) and me (below).

1996

Benjamin, Stephanie, Lois and Gregory, On top of Mt Buffalo, Victoria, January 1996

1977

Peter, Greg, elder son, then 4 months, and Peter's father Jim Taylor.