John Hill

     NOTE: The information on this page is my research to date and is subject to change as I become better informed. I very much welcome any corrections or additional info you might have - my email address is at the bottom of this page. Whilst historical facts are not copyright, my writing about these facts are. If you wish to use any text from this site on Ancestry or on any other website, please ask me first - Tim Hill.


(For a brief history and context on the Hill family see this page)

John was born at 'Thalaba' Muston St. on Wednesday, 20 December 1905 at the Sydney suburb of Mosman.^1,2 He was the son of Joseph William Hill and Mary Alberta MacCallum Bourke. His baptism name was Geoffrey John Hill however he was never called that. His common name was John or Jack.





Early Life
John Hill was baptised at St. Clement on Tuesday, 6 March 1906 at the Sydney suburb of Mosman.^3,4 He lived with his parents at at 'Woniora' Addison Road in the Sydney suburb of Manly in 1908. They only stayed there a short time before moving to 51 Wood Street, about 650 metres away. For the rest of their time in Manly they gave their houses the name 'Woniora'.^5,6 He was a student at Sydney Church of England Grammar School.⁷ He lived with his parents at at 'Woniora' 78 Osbourne Road in the Sydney suburb of Manly in 1912. This extended family, which at that time included Mary's sister Susie until she moved to London, were to live in this house until about 1917, when they moved to 58 (now 30) Addison Road, next door to Mary's older brother Don on one side, and their friends the Gahan's on the other. Joe and Mary were to stay in this house for the rest of their lives.⁸ A photograph was taken of the Bourke and Hill houses in at 32 and 30 Addison Street, Manly c.1918. John was active as a child, being in the Scouts and in the school rowing team. He was also reputed to be a strong swimmer, eventually becoming a member of the Manly Surf Life Saving Club.⁴

On Saturday, 5 May 1923 John Hill was one of the Shore school eight who competed in the Regatta on the Parramatta river. Although the Shore team came last of four teams, it was seen as a significant acheivement. Eleven days later Mary Alberta MacCallum Bourke gave a tea party which John acted as host.^9,10

On Thursday, 14 February 1924 Jack attended a party hosted by his parents at The Ambassadors, in Sydney, for his uncle Don and friend of the family Val Boyle. It was attended by many friends and family.¹¹

His early working life was quite varied; he was a trainee cattle auctioneer and he contributed to a radio show on cars.¹² He lived with his parents at at 'Woniora' 58 (now 30) Addison Road in the Sydney suburb of Manly in 1925. They also had the telephone connected (Manly 1013), as had the Bourke's next door.^13,14 John was employed with General Motors Holden in 1926. Within two years he was an assistant service manager, and a year later he was a technical section head.^15,16,7

John and Margery (along with John's mother Mary) attended the 'Shore' Old Boys dinner dance at Sydney on Monday, 5 July 1926. John was likely on the organising committee.¹⁷

John and Margery (along with John's mother Mary) attended a dinner dance organised by the School Clubs Ltd. at the Wentworth Cafe, in Sydney, on Wednesday, 4 May 1927. Also attending was 'Val' Boyle.¹⁸

John Hill and Margery Jean Smith met at at Manly beach in the Sydney suburb of Manly where John was reportedly a lifeguard. Both were very good swimmers, and Margery would go down with friends. John noticed her from his lookout tower, and one day went up and introduced himself.¹⁹

He married Margery Jean Smith, a stenographer, daughter of James Smith and Elsie Florence Darby, at Sydney Church of England Grammar Chapel on Saturday, 2 November 1929 at North Sydney. He was 23 and his wife Margery was 22.. Others attending the wedding may well have included Elsie Florence Darby as mother of the bride, James Smith as father of the bride, Mary Alberta MacCallum Bourke as mother of the groom and Joseph William Hill as father of the groom, and perhaps even some of Margery's grandparents. Brothers and sisters who may have attended include Donald Nicholson Hill, Heba Gwendolyn Smith and Mavis Constance Smith. Aunts, uncles and grandparents who may have attended include Walter Thomas Smith, Lucy Deane, Donald Hugh Aloysius Bourke and Argyle Michael Bourke. John and Margery went on to have only one child together.¹⁶ A photograph was taken of them early in their life together. John or Jack. Hill and Margery Jean Smith moved to Melbourne circa 1930 so he could take up a job at General Motors Holden; family legend says it was a job as a cleaner but a year later other sources have him as a clerk but either way, work was precious in the Depression. John Hill was an assistant service manager in 1931.²⁰ John and Margery lived in 1931 at Chequers in Gisbourne Street, in East Melbourne, Victoria.²¹ John lived in 1931 at Manly.²⁰

His mother died 27 November 1931 at the age of 52. John was aged 25 when this happened. She had been admitted to Mount St. Margaret's hospital in Ryde in August, four months previously.²² John provided information on the death of his father Joseph William Hill, on 25 February 1933, at Manly at age 27. The cause of death was two-fold. Enlargement of the prostate gland was the main reason, but also there was a heart problem associated with the mitral valve. Interestingly, his son John had the name of his grandfather wrong and knew no other details of him. His death came likely as no surprise; his oldest son John was up from Melbourne.^23,24,25,26 John lived in 1936 at 22 Powlett Street, in East Melbourne, Victoria. For some reason, his address was different from his wife's.²¹



John, aged 32 and Margery Jean Smith, aged 31 became the parents of their first and only child Michael John Hill on Monday, 12 December 1938 at the Mercy Private Hospital, in East Melbourne, Victoria. Mike believed that he was born in the early hours of the morning, as his mother needed to leave the Victory Cinema in St. Kilda midway through a film to go to the hospital. He was given the name Michael as it was the dying wish of his father's mother (Mary Hill née Bourke) who's father was named Michael..^27,28 John was employed by General Motors Holden as a Departmental Manager (Automobile Parts Wholesaling). He was to remain with GMH for the rest of his working life, attaining a senior management position at Port Melbourne.²⁸ John and Margery lived in December 1938 at at Flat 3 in 3 Meredith Street in the Melbourne suburb of Elwood.^28,27 John Hill was described as having fair complexion, blue eyes and being six feet tall in 1939.²⁹ He and Margery Jean Smith departed from Melbourne on 24 April 1939 on the S.S. Monterey. They were bound for America and had left their 4 month old child Michael at home with a family friend, Kay Reid.³⁰ John Hill and Margery Jean Smith arrived in San Franscisco, California, on 16 May 1939 after a journey of 22 days.²⁹ John Hill and Margery Jean Smith moved to at 3 Were Street in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton circa June 1939.²⁷ John Hill and Margery Jean Smith departed from New York City on the RMS Aquitania.³¹ John Hill and Margery Jean Smith arrived in Southampton on 4 July 1939. This was evidently partially a business trip as their proposed address was Vauxhall Ltd. of Linton, Bedfordshire.³¹ John and Margery were in Wiesbaden, Germany, just a month before England and Australia delcared war. They were asked to leave Germany just before the war began.³² John Hill and Margery Jean Smith arrived in Fremantle, Western Australia, on 22 August 1939 They had departed from Marseilles.³³ John was employed as General Manager Parts and Access Division in 1942, a position he held for 7 years.⁷

He was flown to America on a U.S. Army Transport aircraft as a 'Government Official' via Honolulu and a Pacific Island refuelling stop. His son recalls that it was a B-24 Liberator, and that he sat in one of the turrets during the trip as he had to fly as a crew member. He is sure that his father told him that he was made an acting colonel and wore that uniform for his whole trip. He arrived on 18 January 1943 at Hamilton Field, California.^34,35

Their son Michael remembers "sitting quietly on the top of the stairs late at night while my parents and their friends sang songs, often excerpts from Gilbert and Sullivan, particularly the Pirates of Penzance, which was one of their favourites" when he was young.

His wife's sister Patti recollects that he was not much of a family man, but that he was devoted to his wife.³⁶

John and Margery moved to at 3 Highfield Grove in the Melbourne suburb of Kew in 1949.³⁷

On August 1949, John was appointed to the Board of Directors General Motors-Holden Pty Ltd in the position of Director Non-Vehicle Divisions.^38,7

On Monday, 15 August 1949, at the age of 43, John was appointed to the board of General Motors-Holden's in the position of executive assistant to the managing director in charge of non-vehicle products.³⁹

Margery is remembered as being very socially adept; this was a huge asset to Margery Jean's career.⁴⁰ John Hill departed from New York City on 7 April 1950 on the R.M.S. Queen Elizabeth.⁴¹ He arrived in Southampton on 12 April 1950 after a journey of 5 days New York.⁴²

John received a gold watch after his first 25 years with GMH. He arrived in New York on 27 April 1955 on a PanAm flight from London.⁴³

In May 1955 Michael and his mother departed on a cruise to England on the Orcades. They met John there, then travelled through Europe. They departed to Melbourne from Naples, returning on the Orion in September of the same year.³⁷ He arrived in Southampton on 4 July 1955 This was a business trip for General Motors. He was intending to stay for 6 weeks, and he had departed from New York.⁴⁴ John and Margery lived in 1958 at at 11 Crest Avenue in the Melbourne suburb of Balwyn.⁴⁵ John Hill and Margery Jean Smith arrived in Southampton on 22 September 1958. They were intending to stay for 12 days, staying at 23 Buckingham Gate in London, and they had come from New York.⁴⁶ John Hill and Margery Jean Smith arrived in Fremantle, Western Australia, on 13 October 1958 after departing from London.⁴⁷

Although John was not a social man, he was reportedly very popular at work. He made a point of going onto the factory floor and remembered people's names; he would enquire about their families.⁴⁸

He was a member of the Athenaeum Club, Peninsula Country Golf Club and Huntingdale Golf Club.⁷ He was retired in 1966.⁴⁹

His wife's sister recalls that she had to speak up for his grandson Tim when John tried to send him up some dark stairs.³⁶

Every Sunday, the young Hill family would vist Mike's parents for a meal; Mike would sit inside and watch television, whilst John would take his grandson Tim's and take him out on the patio to cook steak on the BBQ and Margery and her daughter-in-law Barbara would make salads.⁵⁰ After the meal the young Hill family would go adventuring with Margery leaving the men behind. She wanted to expose the grandchildren to many aspects of life; the art gallery, the zoo, pantomines and live shows in the city. Typically this would be at the Comedy Theatre, the Princess Theatre or Her Majesty's.⁵¹

John died on 12 July 1978 at at 1/371 Toorak Rd. in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra at age 72 due to cardiac arrest. He was a proud Australian, saying he was 'Australian through and through - you can still see the marks of the leg-irons'.^52,53

His will was probated on 2 October 1978.⁵²