Costa records

Nicholas Costa's death cert. states he was a labourer who died in Dubbo on 29 July 1891, aged 87, born Greece, 40 years in colony of NSW, Father Costa Wild, occup unknown, mother Sarah, surname unknown.He was married in Greece, Children: Angelo 41 living, 1 male 1 female deceased. According to this, Nicholas was born in 1804 and arrived in NSW in 1851.

Nicholas fits the details of a  person identified in three other records, with dates different to the above, but consistent with each other;

1. Record 1, 1832, Mentioned in Court records and newspaper reports of piracy between Africa and Jamacia, in which the crew of the schooner "Panda" attacked the brig "Mexican" on 22 Sept 1832. A cabin boy on the Panda, Nicholas Costa was acquitted due to his age, of piracy against the American brig which was transporting slaves.

2. Record 2. 1853, Nicholas Costa born 1817 was listed in a register of British Merchant Seamen (see image immediately below) in 1853, location in Great Britain.

3. Record 3. Nicholas Costa, age 38 was listed as crew member on the ship Ashburton, of the nation Corfu, which arrived Sydney 3 Jan 1855. Corfu is now part of Greece, but  from November 1815 Corfu came under British rule following the Napoleonic Wars, and in 1864 was ceded to modern Greece by the British government. Hence he could have held a British passport. 

All three identify Nicholas as a seaman born in 1817. The surname Costa was rare in NSW prior to 1870. A search of the NSW BDM register produced 5 Costa births, 2 marriages and 1 death (an infant) in that time. In summary, then, it is reasonable to say the birth date and arrival in Australia recorded on Nicholas' death cert were inaccurate estimates by his son Avangelo, and that he was born in Corfu in 1817, was a seaman with a British passport, was married in Greece and had a son, Avangelo (who also migrated to Australia but seperately) and two other children who were not alive in 1891. Nicholas arrived in Sydney on the Ashburton in 1855 and stayed here, moving at some time to Dubbo, reason unknown. There is no record of a wife or children in NSW. Nicholas died in Dubbo in 1891 of "senile decay" and is buried in the Roman Catholic section of Dubbo cemetery.

John (Johannes) Muller was born on 26 August 1820 in Wurttemburg, Germany, the son of Johannes Muller aged 36 and Christina Muller.(Reichel) aged 39. He arrived in Australia around 1851, as his 1907 death certificate states 56 years in NSW.   

Catherina Barbara Weiss was born 2 June 1835. Her father was Johann Nikolaus Weis, age 40 and her mother Anna Dorothea Flikerin, age 35. She left Hamburg, Germany on 30 June 1856, aged 21 on the ship Reihersteig, with a group of German migrants including her siblings, Johann Weis aged 33yrs, Philipp Weis aged 24 yrs,  Johann Peter Weis aged 31yrs and his wife Maria Katherina (nee Schlessmann) aged 26 with their children Barbara aged 3 and Anna Barbara an infant.  The Weis brothers were shepherds from the small town of Vockenrot approx 1 Km west of Wertheim.   Their father and mother had since passed on. Their eldest brother chose to stay in Germany. It is thought that the Weis brothers were in search of gold and came to Australia to join the gold rush. 

Catherina and Johann  held an unregistered marriage in 1857 and started a family in 1858 in Parramatta NSW. Their first two children Mary and Katherina (Catherine) were registered under the surname Muller but the following children John, Christina, Sarah, Rosanna and William were registered under the surname Miller. It appears that sometime around 1864, the family chose to be known as Miller and it is about this time they moved to the Rylestone/Cassilis area of NSW and later to the Mudgee area. Their last two children, Sarah (1871) and William (1875) were born in Mudgee.  

 In 1891 Johannes married Catherina under the surname Muller at the St Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney, when he was 70 years old. One possible reason is that he was not able to marry Catherina earlier until the death of his first wife and this supposition is made on the fact that at the time of marriage his marital status was 'Widower'. Their daughter Katherina’s birth certificate indicates they were married in Nov 1857 in Sydney. Maybe this marriage was not registered. Around 1891, the family name was changed back to Muller. Their children married into the Box, Costa, Chant, Mason, Standen and Warner families. Johannes died in 1907 in the village of Buckaroo, in wine country north of Mudgee. He had been an invalid for 30 years. Catherina died in 1915 at her daughter Sarah Standen’s place at Five Dock Sydney and is buried in Mudgee.

Avangelo Costa (variously spelt Angelo or Evangelo) was born in 1848 in Greece according to his April 1874 Naturalisation Certificate. He arrived in NSW 1n 1865 on the ship Euronemy. 

Like many others, he may have been attracted to the Mudgee area by the lure of gold. In 1874 he was a labourer living at Pipe Clay Creek near Mudgee and wished to become a conditional purchaser of land. A Conditional purchase was a way of obtaining a Crown Grant for land before it was surveyed. Established in 1861, the grant was dependent on a set of conditions being met, ie the area being limited to 40 to 320 acres at £1 per acre, paying a deposit of one quarter of the purchase price, adding improvements to the value of £1 per  acre, the selector residing on the land, and occupying the land for three years. It was also known as 'free selection before survey'.

Catharina Rosina Muller was the second living child of Johannes Muller, aged 41 and Catherina Weis, aged 26, born at Toongabbie, NSW on 26 Nov 1861. Some time after 1864 the family moved to the Cassilis/Mudgee/Merriwa area, maybe to search for gold. Cassilis was settled as farming country but there was some gold in the area.

On 2nd Sept 1878 Avangelo and Catharine were married at Church of St John the Baptist (C of E) in Mudgee. As she was aged under 21, probably 17, her father's consent was obtained. Avangelo is estimated to have been age 30. Catherina did not sign her name, she just made her mark. Ages were not stated on the certificate. He was living at Pipe Clay Creek and she at Buggee Budgee, both about 12 km northeast of Mudgee. 

Angelo, of Pipeclay Creek, registered a horse brand.in 1879, under the 1866 registration of brands act. This was probably to mark his ownership of a particular horse in case of any dispute.

They had nine children, Ellen (1879) and Sarah (1880) were born in the Mudgee area, Nicholas (1882) in Dubbo, Rosina (1885), John (1887), and Christine (1889) in Cowra, Mary (1890) maybe she died very young, Ernie (1893) and Avangelo (1896) in Dubbo. Young Angelo was listed as a pupil at Dubbo superior public school in 905. In summnary, the family settled at Pipe Clay Creek because Angelo owned land and Catherina's family lived nearby. They lived in Dubbo for the birth of Nicholas, then moved back there after a few years in Cowra. Avangelo had family in Dubbo, it is unknown why they lived for a time in Cowra.

Avangelo died of influenza and double pneumonia at Dubbo on 23 August 1895, aged 47, a few months before the birth of his son, Avangelo in 1896.His occupation was variously recorded as farmer (1878), labourer (1882 and 1893).  and Sleeper squarer  (1885) 

Catherina is recorded on the electoral roll in 1913,aged about 52, living in Hale Street Warren and in 1933,34 and 35 with domestic duties at Burlong Creek, 20 km nw of Warren. Her son Nicholas' WW1 enlistment states he was living in Warren also daughter Christina married George Swain in Warren, where several other Swains lived, including a butcher who lived at Burlong Creek. Catherina is also recorded in Warren at 1930's rolls and died there, aged 80  in 1940. She is buried in Warren. Nick and Criss are noted as erecting her headstone.

Nicholas was bornin Dubbo in 1882, the third child of Avangelo and Catherina Costa. He may have attended school in Dubbo and then in Cowra, where three siblings were born (1885 to 1889). His  father died in 1895, and youngest brother Avangelo was born a few months later, in Dubbo.  His sisteer Rosena was married in Dubbo in 1905 and Nicholas "gave her away".  Between then and 1908 , he moved to Warren, perhaps with his mother and siblings, as the Dubbo Advocate announced on 1st August 1908 that "Mr Nicholas Costa, late of Dubbo, has been elected unopposed to the vacancy in the Warren Municipal Council, as an alderman".  His sister Christina was married in 1910 in Warren. Years later, officials of Coonamble Shire Council gave references for Nicholas, stating he worked there prior to 1910, as a licenced plumber, and "carried out works associated with water supply". Then in 1913, he and his brother John Avangelo were listed on the electoral roll as living in Hunt St Cobar, John was a fitter and Nicholas a foreman.

From his home in Warren, Nicholas applied to enril in the AIF in Nov 1915, and was sent to Dubbo for processing and was attached to 54th Batallion in Dubbo. During training he committed several disciplinary breaches, including drunkenness, insubordination, violence, AWOL, and was discharged on 25th April 1916, "unlikely to become an effective soldier".

After the war he had moved to Sydney and was living in Petersham. He met Margaret May Carre and they married on 24 Jan 1924. He was an engineer and she a waitress in Sydney. The ceremony was at 26 West St Petersham, conducted by a Presbyterian minister. The groom's father and the bride's mother were both deceased. He was aged 41 and she was 29. 

After their marriage, Nicholas and Margaret Costa settled in Bankstown in a 2 bedroom house in Stacey Street, near to Rose, widow of Nicholas’ brother, who lived in North Terrace, Bankstown, near the railway station. They had three children;

• Edith Catherine was born on 24 Aug 1924 in Sydney NSW Australia. 

• Ernest Roy was born on 13 Dec 1927 in 254 Stacey St Bankstown NSW and died on 22 Jan 1976 in Sydney NSW Australia, at age 48. Roy worked as an engineer with Duly and Hansford, a tool manufacturing firm in Sydney that no longer exists, Their "Dufor" brand spanners sockets and wrenches, etc. were of a very high quality. Roy married Judy Frances Keyworth on 9 Sep 1972 in St Phillips, York St Sydney. 

• Pamela was born on 26 Dec 1938 in Earlwood NSW Australia and died on 21 Mar 1989 in 30 Baringa Road Earlwood NSW Australia, at age 50.Pam worked as a secretary for Kennard Bros. a wholesale domestic hardware merchant. Pam married Stan Stratford on 3 Aug 1974 in Congregational Church Earlwood NSW. 

When Edith was 12 (1936) her parents bought a new house in 30 Baringa Road Earlwood. The suburbs of Bankstown, Campsie, Canterbury, Bexley were developed as they had railway lines. Earlwood was an in-fill area. Their house was in a new street.

Edith provided the following information about her father. Nicholas worked on the railways, she thinks as a fitter and turner. He became a shearing contractor, which means he didn't shear sheep, he organised a gang of shearers and a cook, wool-classer, etc. The graziers contacted him when they wanted their flock shorn. He maintained the equipment. He worked in the north-west of NSW mainly, Moree, Kootingal, Gunnedah, etc also went to Yass and maybe other places.

The team worked about 1/2 the year, but long hours in season. He had an assistant, Mr Howard who was bookkeeper and who supervised a team when Nicholas had 2 sheds working at once. They also did crutching for sheepfly and footrot.

he In 1932, a newspaper reported Nicholas Costa was a shearing contractor, at Courallie, west of Mudgee and was called as a witness to a suicide by the cook on 4th April. Niucholas said he had picked the cook up at Gosford on his way from Sydney and brought him to Courallie, where he held the shearing licence. 

Nicholas was home quite a bit out of season - he had to repair and maintain combs and cutters. He did a bit of opal fossicking - Edith has some uncut stones that he left. He was handy, eg he made the small metal trunk that Edith uses to keep family things in.

He was a Licensed Water Fitter for the year 1926 (maybe other years as well), with the Sydney Water Board.

Nicholas died in Nov 1947 in Earlwood NSW Australia, at age 64, nine months after the birth of his first grandchild. He was buried on 19 Nov 1947 in Rookwood Cemetery Sydney NSW. 

May died on the 5th March 1964 in Sydney. She was aged 69, and was living in her home at Earlwood with two of her children, Roy and Pam.

Edith was born in Sydney on 24 August 1924, oldest child of Nicholas Costa and May Carre. Her first home was in Bankstown, situated in Stacey Street where the Bankstown Square shopping centre is now located.  The Bankstown Church of Christ was around the corner from the Costa family Mr Way from Bankstown C of C visited, inviting families to send children to sunday school. Edith’s Mother took her to the sunday school. when she was 3, in the same year her brother Roy was christened in the Presbyterian Church. May took Nicholas to special services at Bankstown Church of Christ. That was the commencement of Edith’s link with the church. The family moved to Earlwood and Edith was later baptised after confessing Christ as her Saviour at the Earlwood Church of Christ by the late E.C Hinrichsen.

Edith trained to be a secretary, including shorthand and typing and took up a secretarial job in Sydney till she was married. Walter has written of their meeting this way: 

"I first took notice of Edith at a prayer meeting at Earlwood Church of Christ. I don’t know the date but it was in August or September 1944. I was sent by my Army unit from Lae in New Guinea to the School of Military Engineering at Liverpool. That provided the opportunity to be home with my Parents from time to time. The church met for prayer each week and Edith was amongst those who attended. 

Edith was asked to write a paper to be read at the prayer meeting, I don’t remember the subject but I was impressed with Edith and felt attracted to her. Later we were both at a church social and I offered to walk home with her – a distance of a little over one mile. That was the beginning of our relationship. 

I remember the night we were talking on the front verandah of her home and in my clumsiness I kicked the milk billy, which had been placed there for the milkman to fill. Out came her dad Nick Costa to see what was happening. I was apprehensive.

Upon my return to Army service - this time to Bougainville in the Solomon Islands- we began to correspond and eventually I proposed and she accepted. The wedding took place at Earlwood Church of Christ on 1st May 1946".

Their first home in Wagga was a flat at 98 Crampton Street. It was part of an old house in which the owner, Miss Sharpe also lived. Walter's sister, Janet married Hilton Renison on the 31st August 1946 and moved into an adjoining flat in the same house. Later Walter and Edith moved to 63 Thorne Street to flat with a Mrs Roberts.

They had a home built for them by Bill Powell, a friend from Wagga Church of Christ, at 6 Sullivan Avenue. where all their children were raised. All were born in Wagga.

• Peter James was born in Feb 1947.

• Janette Margaret was born in Feb 1949,

• Graham Walter was born in Dec 1951, 

• David Roy was born in October 1954 with an incomplete bowel. He had three operations to heal the issue but he collapsed from the third surgery and died in February 1956, aged 16 months. 

• Adele was born in December 1959, completing the family. .

As was normal, Edith didn't work outside the home, her day was filled with domestic duties and childcare, with few labour-saving aids. Water was boiled on washing day in a copper in the laundry then clothes hand washed in a concrete tub, clothes were fed through a roller type hand wringer into a second tub, then taken out to the line, which was 2 or 3 parallel wires stretched between posts in the back yard. The bathroom had a small woodchip heater over the bath which was lit each evening. An open fire in the lounge room and a slow combustion heater in the kitchen/dining room kept the house cosy in winter, until town gas was connected in the late 1950's Milk and groceries were delivered, an order man from Edmondsons in Gurwood St would call on his bicycle and food was delivered the next day. Electric fridges only became common in the1950's. Before then, Edith had an ice chest to keep food cold. 

They kept chooks and had a vegetable garden and several fruit trees. A lot of fruit was stewed and vacuum sealed in Fowlers Vacola jars. Stewed fruit with icecream or custard (both home made) were enjoyed most main meal times. "Cakey pudding", a light butter cake and custard were also popular with the family. The most common main meal was lamb chops, mashed potato and vegetables. Chicken was a treat, enjoyed when Walter killed a chook, particularly for Christmas Day. 

Edith was a prolific knitter, supplying her family with warm jumpers. She sit with the children in the warm kitchen and knit on cold or wet winter days when they came home from school. Her social life mainly comprised family and church outings, with car trips to nearby places, such as Batlow/Tumbarumba area to pick wild blackberries, and church activities. She sang in the church chior and was a member of the s fellowship. Edith and Walter were close to Walter's sister Janet and her husband Hilton Renison and often visited each other's homes and took care of each other's children when a sleepover was needed. Edith and Walter also accommodated several people who visited Wagga for church activities. 

They moved to a new house on 5 acres on Kooringal Road, which allowed them to continue with chooks, vegetable gardens and fruit trees, and as well run a milking cow and raise poddy calves which would be sold for meat. The block had a lucerne paddock to help feed the animals. After a few years, their children began to leave home, so they moved again to a home on the corner of Fay and White Avenues in Kooringal, then later retired to a villa in Tatton. After Walter died, Edith stayed there till ill health required a move to RSL Village in Mt Austin, where she stayed for less than a year. She died on 2nd Nov 2014, having reached her 90yth birthday, which gave her great satisfaction. 

Together Edith and Walter were a caring and stable influence on their children, who always knew they were greatly loved. In their younger days, when one child needed correction, it was usually "Go to your room and wait till your father gets home" and then the required discipline was applied.