Olga Sophie BERTHELSEN

Olga Sophie Berthelsen 1881-1962

Introducing Olga Sophie

When Olga Sophie Berthelsen was born on 24 May 1881 in Pialba, Queensland, her father, Jørgen, was 40 and her mother, Elin, was 30. Olga was their second daughter and the third child in a family of nine children. She was born into a farming community of Danish immigrants who pioneered the area around Nikenbah by clearing and planting scrubland which they initially called Aalborg. The settlement was later renamed Pialba.

She married John Jackson on 27 June 1906, in Bundaberg, Queensland. John, aged two years, arrived in Queensland from England aboard the Western Monarch in 1883.

Siblings

• 1. Alfred Magnus Waldemar was born on 30 May 1876, in the Hervey Bay town of Pialba, Queensland.

  2. Thyra Eleanora, 11 December 1877, Pialba.

  3. Ida Matilda, 14 February 1883, Pialba.

  4. George Christian, 5 October 1885, Bundaberg, Queensland.

  5. Nellie Katrina, 21 March 1887, Bundaberg.

  6. Sissa Elizabeth, 14 September 1889, Bundaberg.

  7. An un-named male, 15 January 1892, Bundaberg.

  8. Arthur, 23 January 1893, Bundaberg.

Death of Mother

Ellen’s sudden demise at age 41, on 25 January 1893, only two days after giving birth to Arthur, her ninth child, was a devastating blow to Jørgen and his young family. Elin and Jørgen had only been married 19 years. Prior to her demise, Olga’s mother had lost her last three born—Sissa, named in memory of her sister, an un-named son, and Arthur. Olga was only 11 years old when her mother died.

Marriage

Olga met her prospective husband John Jackson while both worked at the Bingera Sugar Mill. He was a carpenter and she a 25 years old bride when the two wed in Bundaberg on 27 June 1906.