Above and below: Two photographs of the Exchange Hotel in Yarrawonga which was managed by Paddy Sheridan and his wife Bridget Bourke during the second decade of the 1900s. Bridget is wearing the white dress in the photo above, and her husband Paddy Sheridan is standing next to her. I'm not sure which of their babies is in the pram, nor if the young girl is a daughter. The young woman in the dark dress is most likely a nurse, as it is known that Bridget employed a nurse to care for the children while she worked. It was a Scottish nurse who was responsible for my grandfather's (Bridget's eldest son) nickname of 'Bob' - it was the way she pronounced the word 'Bub' when caring for him...and so 'Bub' Sheridan became 'Bob' Sheridan for all of his life.

Above: I wish I could remember who had lent me the original of this photo so I could make a high resolution scan and replace this dreadful 1980s photocopy. Again, it is the Sheridan's Exchange Hotel. Bridget Bourke Sheridan is on the far right holding a baby, and in the centre of the photo is her mother Margaret Bourke. The three children would be all Sheridans...the question is, which ones?

Above: The young Sheridan family c. 1906. The little boy on the front left is John Aloysius Sheridan, son of Paddy Sheridan and Bridget Bourke. Above him is his eldest sister, Mary Frances Sheridan, and beside him is his maternal grandmother, Margaret Bourke. Next to Margaret Bourke is her grandson, my grandfather Patrick James 'Bob' Sheridan. Margaret Bourke's daughter, Bridget Mary Bourke Sheridan, is holding baby Bridget Sheridan. Two babies had been lost between the births of Jack and Bridget...little Margaret Sheridan soon after birth, and William Thomas Sheridan aged three months.

Above: A gathering of the Yarrawonga Rifle Club. My great-grandfather is on the end on the right hand side, and his daughter Mary Frances Sheridan is in front of him. Mary appears to be about three or four years old, so this dates the photo as being taken c. 1901-1902. I was told many years ago by persons forgotten and unrecorded that the man next to Paddy Sheridan was his father-in-law Paddy Bourke, but I firmly believe that to be incorrect.

Above: This photo intrigues me...I would love to date it. The woman looks like a younger Margaret Bourke- I have only ever seen photographs of her as a very old woman.