Basil Leo SPILLER b. 17 Oct 1916 Stanthorpe, Queensland, Australia d. 31 Mar 1996 Bolton Point, New South Wales, Australia: Colston & Wenck families in Australia

1916 - 1996 (79 years)

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Name	Basil Leo SPILLER
Born	17 Oct 1916	Stanthorpe, Queensland, Australia [1, 2]
Gender	Male
Military Service	22 Aug 1940 to 20 Oct 1945 [2]
	World War 2
	Service Record Name: SPILLER, BASIL LEO Service: Australian Army Service Number: QX39128 (Q22747) Date of Birth: 17 Oct 1916 Place of Birth: STANTHORPE, QLD Date of Enlistment: 22 Aug 1940 Locality on Enlistment: STANTHORPE, QLD Place of Enlistment: STANTHORPE, QLD Next of Kin: SPILLER, ESMA Date of Discharge: 20 Oct 1945 Rank: Private Posting at Discharge: 2/4 Pioneer Battalion WW2 Honours and Gallantry: None for display Prisoner of War: No
Died	31 Mar 1996	Bolton Point, New South Wales, Australia [3, 4, 5]
	Macquarie Shores Hostel, Macquarie Street, Bolton Point.
Cremated	3 Apr 1996 [6]
	Ashes at Stanthorpe Cemetery, Columbarium Wall Side 2 Eastern Aspect, Row D, Number 6.
Funeral Service	3 Apr 1996	Cardiff, New South Wales, Australia [5]
	SPILLER The Relatives and Friends of BASIL LEO SPILLER late of Macquarie Shores Hostel, Bolton Point and formerly of Maud Street, Cardiff are invited to attend his Funeral Service tomorrow WEDNESDAY April 3rd, 1996 commencing at 10 am in St Kevin's Catholic Church, Main Road, Cardiff. A Private Cremation will follow this Service May He Rest in Peace PARSONS Funeral Service Belmont Swansea Charlestown 45 9022
Notes	Warwick Daily News (Qld. : 1919 -1954), Wednesday 24 April 1935, page 5 FATHER AND SON UNHAPPY RELATIONSHIP BOY CHARGED WITH STEALING BENCH CASTIGATES PARENT Scathing comment upon the attitude shown by a father towards his son was made by Mr. E. J. Pearce, J.P., in the Stanthorpe police court yesterday, when dismissing a charge brought against Basil Leo Spiller (18) of having stolen an overcoat belonging to his father, Thomas Spiller. "In the opinion of the Bench," observed Mr. Pearce, "the father has made a malicious attempt to enlist the assistance of the law in gratifying his vindictiveness towards his son." The actual charge against the son was that on April 18, at Kyoomba, he stole an overcoat valued at £4, the property of his father. Constable Abraham testified that, in consequence of a complaint, he and Sergeant Bright went to the Stanthorpe railway station at 6.45 p.m. on Saturday and saw the defendant. In reply to questions by witness defendant informed him that he had obtained the overcoat he was wearing from his father's place on the previous Thursday. He admitted that no one had given him authority to take the coat, and that no one was at home at the time. Complainant, who was also at the railway station, then identified the overcoat his son was wearing as his own. Sergeant Bright asked him what he desired the police to do in regard to the matter, and the father replied, "I want him arrested. He has stolen things from me before;" Defendant was then arrested. When charged at the watch house he replied, "I am guilty. I stole the overcoat, as I wanted it for a dance at Wyberba to-night, and I was going to take it back on Monday." Witness added that the defendant did not live with his father, but resided at Passmore, and was unemployed. Thomas Spiller, mine engine driver, residing at Kyoonmba, gave evidence. When asked if the defendant was his son he replied, "He's supposed to be my son, and I have had to keep him." Witness added that his son did not reside with him at Kyoomba, and had not resided with him for the past two years. On Thursday last witness and his wife were away from home, but the house was not locked. They returned home at 5 p.m. and half an hour later witness missed the overcoat, which he paid £4/4/ for and which he now valued at £3/3/. When he identified the overcoat at the railway station he heard his son say, "I took a loan of it." When Sergeant Bright asked witness what he wanted the police to do with his son he replied, "I want him arrested and bound over." Sergeant Bright observed that it was a terrible thing for a father to have his son arrested, and witness said, "He has stolen from me before and steals every time I go away from home." Witness said defendant was not hunted from home, but left of his own accord. Anything he had taken on previous occasions he had not returned. Answering questions by his son, witness said it was more than two years since the defendant was living at home. The defendant came to the home when he was away, but was frightened to do so when he was there, because he knew that witness would lash him. In reply to questions by the Bench (Messrs. E. J. Pearce and J. Quilliman, JJ.P.) witness said he did not know where his son was now living, nor was he interested. He had been told that his son could find employment, if he wished, but he would not take it. The overcoat was two years old. "I am entirely disinterested in the defendant's welfare," added the father. "I will not have him near the home. If he were a good son I would consider there would be a moral obligation on me to provide for him. As soon as I missed the coat I knew my son Basil had taken it. I did not expect him to return it. Under further cross-examination by his son, witness said he remembered throwing a spanner at the defendant at the tin shed on one occasion. He had asked Mr. McNamara to put his son out of the Brisbane claim. He did so, because the son was stealing things from witness' house. He was antagonistic to the lad. On one occasion the defendant went to work for Charlie Hughes for his food only. When the son returned he did not find that half of the house had been pulled down and sold. At the close of the evidence Mr. Pearce remarked that the evidence did not substantiate a prima facie case, in accordance with the provisions of section 391 of the Criminal Code. Secondly, a father was under a legal obligation to provide the necessaries for his children until they attained the age of 21. In a climate such as Stanthorpe an overcoat may be considered a "necessary," "Even if the offence were committed," added Mr. Pearce, "we consider that the principle of natural justice would overrule any technicalities of the law, after taking into consideration the whole of the surrounding circumstances of the case. In the opinion of the Bench the father has made a malicious attempt to enlist the assistance of the law in gratifying his vindictiveness towards his son. Apparently the son has not been given a chance to make good, and his present circumstances are attributable to his father's attitude towards him." Mr. Pearce advised the defendant to refrain from going near his father or his father's home and to endeavour to lead a straight life solely from his own resources. The defendant was discharged, and an order was made for the return of the overcoat to the complainant. 1935 'FATHER AND SON', Warwick Daily News (Qld. : 1919 -1954), 24 April, p. 5. , viewed 06 Oct 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article177323170 [7]
Person ID	I7168	Colston & Wenck families in Australia
Last Modified	7 Oct 2018

Father	Thomas SPILLER, b. 21 Mar 1882, Queensland, Australia , d. 12 Jan 1948, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (Age 65 years)
Mother	Catherine HARTIGAN, b. 5 Apr 1890, Queensland, Australia , d. 6 Sep 1961, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (Age 71 years)
Married	11 Nov 1908	Queensland, Australia
Family ID	F5067	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family 1 (Divorced) Ena Olive WALTON, b. Abt 1923, Queensland, Australia , d. Yes, date unknown

Married 8 May 1944 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia [8, 9]

Truth (Brisbane, Qld. : 1900 - 1954), Sunday 22 July 1945, page 17

Amazing Tangle Of Lovers

SHE BEGAN AT 17!

THE spirit of Salome, super siren of screen and story— she is credited with having possessed a male harem of the bare 1000 tall'n handsome men in "The Tale Of The Wandering Jew' - must surely have a kindred kink with that of Mrs. Ena Olive Spiller, in the light of revelations in court.

For the Spiller "siren," finding herself in an unfortunate predicament at the age of 17, was forced by her parents' command, to send the father of the expected babe - later, her husband, Basil Leo Spiller - packing; the parents then married her off to a man named Allen, "to give the child a name"; soon after that Allen died, so Ena, a widow at 18, picked up the threads again with Spiller, now a soldier at a Northern battle station: And thereby she continued a series of some of the most amazing and extraordinary matrimonial and romantic situations ever to be uncovered!

SPILLER told all this to Senior Puisne Judge Macrossan in Brisbane Divorce Court during the week, when he requested very earnestly to be got out of this tantalising tangle.

Spiller told the judge that he had married Mrs. Ena Olive Allen, a widow, at Wickham-terrace, Brisbane, on May 8, 1944, and that there were no children of that union, but he had lived with her before that, and there had been a child then.

"After our marriage in May, '44, I lived with her for only one night at Marr's boarding house, before rejoining my unit," the soldier went on. "When I had gone away in 1942, I got an allotment for her, as a de facto wife.

Mr. L. Brown (for Spiller): You had known her for two years before you married her, and when the child was expected, you wanted to marry her?-- Yes, I did, but her parents objected to me and would not let her. Eventually she married a man named Tom Allen, in order to give the child a name. Soon after that Allen died and she was a widow at 18.

While you were away at a Northern battle station, did you receive a letter from your wife, dated July 26, 1944?-- Yes.

Witness then tendered this letter, which read, inter alia:

"Dear Leo...... I am not quite sure whether I want to forget John. It isn't that I have no confidence in you, but I think that John has a right to care for his own child it he wants to, and also for the one who bears his name.
"Leo, I'm telling you the truth, I love John, and it can never be any other way, but I just can't get him, as he's married back home. I married you for Tommy's sake, hoping I would forget John and learn to love you like I used to.
"John will soon be going away. Their outfit is supposed to be leaving here in August. I'll really know if he cares for me, Leo, and for his child, which is not yet born.
"I'll admit, Leo, that I want John and his child more than anything else in the world, but I guess it just isn't laid out that way for me. Leo, I often sit and wonder how you'll treat John's child when it grows up...
"I'll say cheerio, with best of love to you from your loving wife and son, Tommy."

His Honor: Who is John?--He's an American, John Reid, my wife knew before I married her.

She has a child to him, too, as well as a child to you?--Yes.
This is another child?--Yes, born after we were married.

How old is the child, Tommy, you say is yours and hers.--Three years and nine months.

Spiller also referred to a letter he received from his wife, dated January 15. 1945. This was produced by Major Portley, of the Army D.F.O., and read, inter alia:

"Dear Leo. I may as well come straight to the point. I'm asking you to divorce me..... I'm keeping company with an Australian soldier, and I'm deeply in love with him. As far as I am concerned, there is no one in my estimation I could love better. I've committed adultery with him and will again.
"Leo, I'll never live with you as your wife, as I would be so unhappy, and so would you. I've adopted the two children out.
"Well, I trust this will find you O.K. as it leaves me. Signing off and hoping you'll do the right thing, your wife, Ena."

His Honor: You allege in your petition that she committed adultery with another man, but she says that she lived with another man?--But I don't know who the last man, the Australian, was.

Did you know she was pregnant to Reid when she first married you?--Yes, she wrote and told me that she was, and that's why I married her, and because the first child was mine and hers. I asked her to register the second child in my name, but she christened the child in the name of Reid. And now she's got herself in trouble with the other man, the Australian fellow.

Where is the first child--your child?--In an orphanage. She put him there herself.

His Honor granted Spiller a decree nisi for divorce therefore, on the grounds of his wife's adultery with a man unknown.

Mr. Brown was instructed by Mr. Leo Power (Messrs. Leonard Power and Power). [8]

Divorced Jul 1945 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia [8]

Children

1. Living

Last Modified 9 Mar 2019

Family ID F5352 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Family 2 (Divorced)	Mabel FARRELL, d. Yes, date unknown
Married	1946	Dungog, New South Wales, Australia [10]
Divorced	1950	Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia [11]
Divorced	Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954), Wednesday 14 June 1950, page 8 DIVORCE COURT Ten more undefended petitions were heard by Judge O'Sullivan at Newcastle District Court yesterday. SPILLER v. SPILLER The issue was found answered In the affirmative when Basil Leo Spiller, railway employee, of Tudor street, Hamilton, sought divorce from Mabel Spiller, formerly Farrell, of Newcastle, because of her failure to comply with an order for restitution of conjugal rights. Mr. S. S. Mitchell appeared for Spiller. 1950 'DIVORCE COURT', Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954), 14 June, p. 8. , viewed 07 Oct 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article135307992
Last Modified	10 Oct 2020
Family ID	F5366	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family 3	Marjorie Ada LAWSON, d. Yes, date unknown
Married	1952	East Maitland, New South Wales, Australia [12]
Last Modified	11 Oct 2020
Family ID	F5365	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Event Map

	Born - 17 Oct 1916 - Stanthorpe, Queensland, Australia
	Married - 8 May 1944 - Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
	Divorced - Jul 1945 - Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
	Married - 1946 - Dungog, New South Wales, Australia
	Divorced - 1950 - Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
	Married - 1952 - East Maitland, New South Wales, Australia
	Died - 31 Mar 1996 - Bolton Point, New South Wales, Australia
	Funeral Service - 3 Apr 1996 - Cardiff, New South Wales, Australia

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Sources

[S2] Queensland: Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, Birth registration: Basil Leo Spiller, Birth date: 17/10/1916, Mother's name: Catherine Hartigan, Father/parent's name: Thomas Spiller, Registration details: 1916/C/14495.
[S72] WW2 Nominal Roll [database on-line], (http://www.ww2roll.gov.au), Service Number: QX39128 (Q22747).
[S160] The Ryerson Index [database on-line], (http://www.ryersonindex.org/), Death notice, Newcastle Herald 02APR1996.
[S73] Headstone transcription.
[S493] The Herald, (Newcastle, NSW), Death notice, 2 April 1996.
[S488] Stanthorpe Burial Register, Burial reg no. 5828.
[S342] Australian Newspapers, National Library of Australia, 1935 'FATHER AND SON', Warwick Daily News (Qld. : 1919 -1954), 24 April, p. 5. , viewed 06 Oct 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article177323170.
[S342] Australian Newspapers, National Library of Australia, 1945 'Amazing Tangle Of Lovers', Truth (Brisbane, Qld. : 1900 - 1954), 22 July, p. 17. , viewed 06 Oct 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203120171.
[S2] Queensland: Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, Marriage registration: Basil Leo Spiller, Marriage date: 08/05/194, Spouse's name: Ena Olive Allen, Registration details: 1944/B/59556.
[S4] NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, (http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au), Marriage 3177/1946, SPILLER BASIL LEO and FARRELL MABEL, DUNGOG district.
[S342] Australian Newspapers, National Library of Australia, 1950 'DIVORCE COURT', Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954), 14 June, p. 8. , viewed 07 Oct 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article135307992.
[S4] NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, (http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au), Marriage 18016/1952, SPILLER BASIL LEO and LAWSON MARJORIE ADA, EAST MAITLAND district.