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From Coal Dust To Pacific Beaches - My Journey Through Lifeby Dennis Street
After some pressure from certain family members and friends who shall remain nameless (at this stage), I was prompted to write my memoirs. At first I thought it a silly idea but one that did grow on me after some time. I enjoyed writing about my journey from the coal mining town of Kiveton Park in South Yorkshire, England to the sunny shores of the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. To read more about the book and purchase it click on the picture above OR on the following link: From Coal Dust To Pacific Beaches Fate Takes A Hand??Looking back, it seems to me that fate was certainly at work from the middle of the 19th century, making sure that all those people who needed to be in the small village of Kiveton Park, in the 1850s a soon-to-be mining village, to make sure that I was born at the right time and in the right place. A fanciful notion? Perhaps, but great grandfather Street moved from south Derbyshire, actually just to the south of that renowned beer brewing town, Burton upon Trent, which is actually in Staffordshire, great grandfather Dennis moved from Leicestershire, while later grandfather and grandmother Pearson set off from the Notts/Derbys border to provide a mother for me. The Streets and the Dennis's made their way to Kiveton, and indeed James Thomas Street is reputed to have worked on the actual sinking of the shaft at Kiveton Pit, and John Dennis arrived shortly after. William Pearson moved to Dinnington 30 – 40 years later when Dinnington Pit was opened, and as was the way in mining villages, was followed down the pit by his two sons, Josiah and Charlie. After WWII, Joseph Wilson, newly out of the regular Marine Corps service, decided to join the West Riding Police Force. He moved to his native Yorkshire with his wife and two young daughters, Pamela and Yvonne, and in 1953, was transferred to Kiveton Park, providing the final link in the chain, bringing me my wife. In James Thomas Street's family, his son Levi, and two, possibly three grandsons followed him down the pit. But those grandsons were determined that their sons would not follow. My father, James Thomas Street, was so adamant that he advised migration to a land with more opportunity, as he could see that the area offered little for young families. And so, in 1963, Pam and I left England for Australia, where we have brought up our own family, and seen brothers and sisters do well in a much better climate. While the years have been kind to us, there is still a tug on the heartstrings when thinking of South Yorkshire, as it is now called. Not strong enough to move back, but certainly strong enough to put a warm glow in the heart when thinking of the past. As I have described the 'pulling together' of the threads needed to ensure my birth to the right parents at the right time, so is this web-site also a 'pulling together' of those various family groups to share in the past, to discuss it and to pass on favourite stories, facts, and information on family happenings, and to keep them abreast of present news. Upon reading these pages, we hope that you may be able to gain information for your own research, if researching is your aim. Should you wish to offer information you have which may help us please email me with your news. I will look forward to receiving it, as little or as much as it may be. Need your computer fixing? Live on the Gold or Tweed Coasts? Click here to visit Coastal PC Repairs |
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