NORTH Family History

Marjorie Elizabeth North (Nee Campbell)
b 1934

Marjorie was one of four girls born to Gladys Beatrice Robinson and William James Campbell. She was brought up in the Wentworthville area and went to McArthur Girls High School until she got her intermediate certificate.

Marjorie enjoyed horse riding, playing tennis and dancing when she was younger. It was at one of those dances that she met her husband to be, Gordon. Marjorie was a shop assistant for most of her working life and worked very hard to bring up her three children whilst running a household.

Today, mum still plays tennis at least twice a week and volunteers for just about anything.

It all started when the Olympic games came to Sydney. Mum enjoyed being a volunteer so much that she actively participates in all forms of volunteer work. It's not uncommon for her to leave at 6am in the morning and be home late at night just to help out at a sporting venue for able bodied or disabled bodied athletics.

I remember a story she told me when she was volunteering for one of the tennis events that Serena Williams was playing in. Mum was in charge of one of the secured areas and could only allow people with the right accreditation into the player's area. Well, mum, taking her job very seriously, and asserting all of her 5' stature, advised Mrs Williams (Serena's mother) that she couldn't go through without the right pass. I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall.

When she is not out volunteering or playing tennis, she enjoys gardening and can be found out in the garden weeding until the sun sets. People admire her handy work so much that they often stop and ask for shrub cuttings.

Mum and dad have been in that house now for 39 years and although mum would like to move to a coastal retreat, I think they will spend their remaining years there, surrounded by family and friends.

Marjorie's family

Although Marjorie was born in Australia, her eldest sister was born in England. The family arrived in 1929 and settled in Melbourne before eventually moving to Sydney.

Gladys Beatrice Robinson was born in Halifax England on 13 December 1912 and married William James Campbell on 15 August 1928 at Barnsley.

Gladys' parents owned a drapery store and both died when she was young (her father when she was 6 and her mother when she was 16 years old). William was born in Alberta, Canada, on 25 June 1905 and became a soldier/bridge builder in the Australia Army. He was one of 16 children and his parents were originally from Scotland. His father married twice and had eight children to both wives.

I'm still in the early stages of researching this line. With names like Robinson and Campbell, there are just too many similar names to know whether you have the right one.