B.J.

Norris
204159910

The Family Album

Essay by Brian Norris
October 2005
(For UNE Unit HIST339 The Family)

B.J.Norris
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ASSIGNMENT 2 The Family Album

This essay describes some aspects of the life cycle of Joyce Norris who was born on 23
April 1923 at Dubbo, NSW. She married John Taylor Norris on 19 September 1942 at
Gilgandra, NSW and together they raised seven children there and at Goulburn, NSW.
Type of Photograph: Scanned from a
photographic portrait taken by a
professional photographer
People: Joyce Lithgow, born 23 April
1923 in Dubbo, NSW. For most of her life
she was known by her married name,
Joyce Norris.
Date: 1925.
Source for dating: An inscription on the
bottom left hand corner of the original
photograph reads: Joyce 2yrs.
Where taken: The photograph was
probably taken at the home of the subject,
a property known as Lockwood, about
five kilometres north of Gilgandra on the
Coonamble Road. It is very likely to
have been taken by a professional
photographer as on the original there is a
small imprint on the bottom right hand
side of the photograph.
Purpose of Photograph: Family purposes. Joyces mother was born in London, UK.
Joyces grandmother was still living in Lewisham, a suburb of London. Joyce was
probably the first grandchild and one of the main reasons for the photograph being taken
was to send it to her grandmother.
Discussion of Clothing: Typical childs clothing. A woollen dress with socks and
sandals. The hairstyle is bobbed or pageboy typical of the time
Discussion of Photo: This is a formal photograph or photographic portrait as Turner
describes these presentations. 1 That is the photographer presents the best image possible
to satisfy the subject or in this case the subjects parents. It is a not a snapshot. The
1

Turner, Peter, History of Photography, Bison Books Ltd, London 1987, p.82.

B.J.Norris
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backdrop is not intrusive and the addition of the table is probably to provide balance and
a device to display the hands. Unidentified items are displayed on the table to add
interest. There is a stain on the photograph on the right side of the face.
General Discussion: When Joyce Lithgow was born she weighed only 2 kilograms, a
dangerously low weight. She was not expected to survive. Fortunately her mother, Mary,
was a trained nanny, a profession she followed for many years in England. She had met
and later married Joyces father Bruce, an Australian soldier serving in France but
spending much of his leave in England. No doubt Marys experience would have been
helpful in Joyces continuing health and survival particularly after Joyce contracted
septicaemia at the age of six in a health environment in which antibiotics and other
medications did not exist.
Rural health services in the earlier part of the twentieth century were inconsistent in their
coverage and non-existent in some areas. In part, this led to the establishment of the Bush
Nursing Association in 1911which was later supported by the establishment of the
Country Womens Association in 1924.2 Both these services and activities were present in
Gilgandra although not to any great extent until some time later than the photograph
according to Joyce herself.
Childhood in the 1920s was a fairly structured especially in the childs earlier years.
There was a strong movement at the time to change motherhood from an intuitive
endeavour, learned informally through observation, into a professionally controlled,
explicitly taught activity.3 A new class of professionals appeared in greater numbers:
pediatricians, infant welfare sisters who worked in baby health centres where women
were taught to care for babies and young children in the correct scientific way. Mothers
were encouraged to feed their babies to a strict timetable and satisfying the childs other
physical needs were similarly covered by strict guidelines. As Sansom and Wise4 suggest,
the relationship between mother and child or concerns about the childs personal
development were not a high priority under these regimes.

Our babies: the state's best asset. A history of 75 years of baby health services in New South Wales, NSW
Department of Health, <http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/history/babies/>, Accessed 2 October 2005
3
Sanson, Ann & Wise, Sarah, Children and Parenting: The past hundred years, Family Matters, No 60,
Spring/Summer 2001, page 42.
4
ibid, page 42

B.J.Norris
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Type of Photograph: Scanned from a
snapshot. The photograph was probably taken
by a friend of one or both subjects.
People: John Taylor Norris (Jack) is on the left
and Joyce Lithgow is on the right. They were
work colleagues at the Western Monarch
Theatre Gilgandra NSW.
Date: Circa 1941.
Source for dating: Discussions with Joyce
Norris during the preparation of a family
history.
Where taken: The photograph is taken at a
residence at the northern end of Miller Street,
Gilgandra opposite a shop now closed.
Purpose of Photograph: It is likely to have
been an engagement photograph although this
is not certain. Jack and Joyce were to marry on
19 September 1942 just prior to Jack being
posted to Papua New Guinea on active service
with the Australian Army. There are no
photographs available of their wedding day.
Discussion of Clothing: Joyce is dressed casually in a style typical of the time. The
shorts are in a military style. Her top has a logo on her left. The logo is likely to be
associated with her work at the theatre and is probably a movie company logo, probably
the Rank Organisation. Jack is dressed in a late 1920s style. The trousers he is wearing
could well have been made by Fletcher Jones a very popular brand at the time.
General Discussion: This is a photograph of a young working couple in war time
dressed according to the times and with an apparently untroubled life before the
exigencies of war and family life had overtaken them. There was an eleven year age

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difference between them (29 years and 18 years respectively) although this is not readily
apparent from the photograph. When they married in 1942, the crude marriage rate in
Australia had reached its highest level, namely 12 marriages per 1000 of population,
since records began to be kept by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and its antecedents
(Figure 1).5 Jack and Joyce were part of an upward trend in the marriage rate which
normally occurred during wartime and economic prosperity.
However, their age difference was not typical. However, the median ages at marriage
differed by 3.1 years in the period 1921-25 and 2.7 years in 19666. It would be fairly safe
to say that marriages in 1942 were part of this continuum.
The marriage took place when it was apparent that Jack was to be posted overseas with
his unit. He had been called up in March 1942, a month after the fall of Singapore on 15
February. He had spent most of 1942 undergoing military training. Within hours of the
marriage Jack received a telegram ordering him back to his unit near Sydney. Joyce
travelled with him to Sydney and then stayed with friends of her parents in Sydney. There
were no photographs taken of the wedding or at least none have survived. The wedding
breakfast was a simple meal of bacon and eggs partaken at a friends house in Sydney on
the following morning.
The timing of Joyce and Jacks marriage was clearly determined by the war situation. No
doubt this was very common at the time. It is interesting to note that the spike in the
crude marriage rate in 1942 occurred in the same year as the war was perhaps at its most
critical stage. Invasion by the Japanese seemed imminent.

Australian Social Trends 1995: Family-Family Formation: Trends in marriage and divorce, Australian
Bureau of Statistics,
http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/85de28d197cb4a29ca2569
ee0015d89e!OpenDocument , Accessed 5 October 2005, page 2

Australian Social Trends 1995: Family-Family Formation: Trends in marriage and divorce, Page 3

B.J.Norris
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The Crude Marriage Rate 1860-1995

Figure 1

Jack and Joyces married life proceeded down similar lines to many thousands of married
couples separated by war. Jack made an allotment to Joyce of part of his army pay. Jack
returned on leave occasionally, usually once a year.
The tensions of living apart put a considerable strain on marriages during the war. The
crude divorce rate rose from 0.3 per 1000 of population in 1933 and to 1.1 in 19477.
Two children were born while Jack served in the army from which he was discharged in
November 1945. One was born in June 1943 and the other in September 1945. This put
Joyce under an enormous pressure but in this she was supported by her mother who lived
nearby having moved into Gilgandra from the farm mainly because of the wartime petrol
shortage.
Apart from the emotional strain of separation, the population at home had to deal with the
wartime austerity measures particularly the rationing of food and clothing introduced on
food and clothing introduced by government regulation on 14 May 1942. The purpose of
rationing was to manage shortages and control civilian spending.8 In addition, there
were other restrictions on the civilian population including interstate travel. Joyce on one
occasion travelled to Brisbane by train and bribed her way to Brisbane to join Jack who
was training there.
This experience of wartime was to have profound effects on their relationship over the
years which coupled with later events combined to make their lives a challenge until the
7

Year Book Australia 2002:Australian Bureau of Statistics, http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs

%40.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/b95347a43cc81fffca256b350010b3fb!OpenDocument,
accessed 5 October 2005, page 5
8
Second World War- Rationing of Food and Clothing, Australian War Memorial,
http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/homefront/rationing.htm, accessed 6 October 2005, page 1

B.J.Norris
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end.

Type of Photograph: Photographed from a photographic portrait taken by a professional

photographer.
People: Back row Brian John Norris (5years), Joyce Norris (25 years), Christopher
James Norris (3 years), Front row (being nursed) Gregory Bruce Norris (9 months).
Date: September 1948.
Source for dating: Discussions with Joyce Norris during the preparation of a family
history.
Where taken: At the residence of Jack and Joyce Norris in Milda Street, Gilgandra,
NSW.

B.J.Norris
204159910
Purpose of Photograph: It is likely that the main purpose of the photograph was for
family purposes. Joyces grandmother who lived in London UK had died in 1933 and
Jacks remaining grandparent had died the previous November. However, both sets of
parents were still living and residing in Gilgandra and Blayney NSW and both received
copies of this portrait and others taken at the time. It is very likely that Joyces parents
arranged for the photographs to be taken.
Discussion of Clothing: Joyce is wearing a loose fitting dress of 1940s style with her
hair tied back as befitting someone engaged on home duties. The older boys are wearing
hand knitted jumpers and short trousers and the baby is wearing a jump suit appropriate
to the time.
General Discussion: This photograph represents the development of the nuclear family
centred on Joyce and Jack Norris at its six year point. There were to be four more
children born between 1954 and 1960. The family operated as a conventional' nuclear
family until the family in that form began to dissolve with the marriage of the children
and the ultimate death of Joyce and Jack Norris in 1998 and 2003 respectively.
The nuclear family has been widely held to be the natural form of the family; the basic
unit of society. 9 Gilding, in his study of Australian families, has stated that the nuclear
family usually refers to the household unit associated with monogamy, consisting of a
husband, wife and their children, widespread in western societies.10
The Norris family sustained itself financially by operating a retail business in Gilgandra
dealing in radios, toys and the provision of public address. The business was directly
operated by Jack although Joyce assisted with the clerical and counter work from time to
time. This partly fits the form of domestic economy described by Finnegan and Drake as
the Asymmetrical family economy: one male wage-earner, woman at home later
nineteenth to twentieth century.11 Jack was not strictly a wage-earner but he was the sole
income-earner. The business ultimately failed probably due to the limited market for the
products and services offered by the business and possible shortcomings in business
skills. As a result the family re-located to Goulburn, NSW bringing about the first real
geographical separation of Joyce from her paternal family.
As mentioned earlier, Joyce and Jack Norris had seven children in the period 1943 to
1960. In this they were part of the upward trend in fertility rates during the period from
the 1930s until the early 1960s when the oral contraceptive for women became
increasingly available.12 The nature of this upward trend was that more women were
having children at a younger age.
However, Joyce and Jack Norris were atypical as to family size. Only 2 per cent of
9

Gilding, Michael, Australian Families: A comparative perspective, Addison Wesley Longman Australia,
Pty Ltd., 1997, page 3.
10
Ibid, page 17
11
Finnegan, Ruth and Drake, Michael, From Family Tree to Family History, Cambridge University Press in
association with The Open University, Cambridge, 1994
12
Gilding, Michael, page 206

B.J.Norris
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Australian families had seven children in each of 1947, 1954 and 1961 whereas the
figures for two children for these three years were 28%, 31% and 31% respectively. The
figures for one and three children were at similar levels to families with two children.13
One can only speculate on the reason why Joyce and Jack were so at variance with the
norm. They were not Catholics but nominal Anglicans. They may have felt some hope
that a large number of children would bring financial and emotional security in old age.
Another factor which may have impacted on the financial position of the Norris family
was the cost of raising children particularly costs associated with education. The late
1940s brought a major expansion of secondary education and then later in the 1960s the
development of tertiary education.14 Families were encouraged to leave their children in
school for as long as possible. With seven children this proved to be difficult for Joyce
and Jack. Only the eldest child matriculated perhaps not because he was particularly
gifted but the effort and expense of supporting a child towards that goal was too great to
treat the younger siblings in the same way. In addition, with the commitment required by
a large family, Joyce was unable to work in a consistent way until the early 1970s. The
challenge of raising seven children was significant for Joyce and Jack and probably
contributed to their limited lifestyle post-retirement.

13
14

McCoull, Frances, Trends in Family Size, Social Security Journal, March 1993, Table 5, p.73
Gilding, Michael, page 235

B.J.Norris
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Type of Photograph: Taken by a professional wedding photographer. The photograph is

damaged and has been inexpertly scanned.
People: This is the nuclear family centred on Joyce and Jack Norris who are fifth and
sixth from the left. It was taken on the occasion of the wedding of their eldest daughter,
Barbara in Goulburn. Left to right: Robert & Pam Norris, Bruce & Liz Norris, Jack &
Joyce Norris, Helen Norris, Barbara & Jeff Hine, Lorraine & Greg Norris, Judy & Brian
Norris, Pam & Chris Norris.
All siblings are married except for the youngest daughter, Helen, to the right of Joyce.
The spouses, current at the time, are present. All siblings and their spouses had started
families by this time except for the two daughters. Three of the couples in the photograph
were later to divorce. These were Robert and Pam Norris (1996), Brian and Judy Norris
(2004) and the newlyweds in the photograph (1987). Robert and Barbara have since
remarried (1998 and 1987 respectively).
Date: 12 January 1980
Source for dating: Date on rear of photograph and marriage certificate.
Where taken: Goulburn Bowling Club, Goulburn NSW.
Purpose of Photograph: To provide a record of the event especially as this was one of

10

B.J.Norris
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the rare occasions when all siblings were present at an event.
Discussion of Clothing: A mixture of smart casual and formal dress typical of the late
1970s.
General Discussion: This was a rare occasion when all siblings were present at the same
time at an event. Two sons, Greg and Robert, were in the army and were posted
elsewhere in Australia and Brian and Chris lived in Canberra. The disbursement of the
family was to grow in later years so that in 2005 members of the family are located in
Townsville, Qld, Goulburn, NSW, Sale, Victoria and Perth WA. Joyce and Jacks
grandchildren are spread even further within Australia and overseas.
The nuclear family which emerged around Joyce and Jack now only exists with some
effort in the minds of their children and to a lesser extent in the minds of their
grandchildren. It will completely die out with the death of the last sibling.
This apparently happy photograph conceals some underlying tensions within the family.
Joyce herself was quite a strong woman who believed firmly in binding the family
together. This was expressed in the pressure brought on family members to observe
Christmas as a family group. Bittman and Pixley describe the family Christmas as a
compulsory event if one is to maintain a satisfactory membership of the family.15
Likewise, family weddings may be viewed in the same way. The tensions which arose in
these circumstances often involved issues between immediate family members and inlaws, between the generations and between siblings. This is largely due to the obligation
to be present at the event. The exercise of free-will in these circumstances is very difficult
especially for the spouses of the primary family members. All of these tensions were
present at this wedding.
By 2004, three of the seven marriages of the siblings in the photograph had ended. This is
well in excess of the norm. In 1985 the crude divorce rate was only 11.1 per 1000 married
women which is considerably less than the rate within the Norris family assuming that
the 2004 rate was at a similar level. 16
Jack, aged 68, had been retired for eight years but Joyce, aged 57 years, was still working
as a cleaner at the local hospital and no doubt looking forward to the time when she could
receive the pension at the age of 60 years.

15

Bittman, Michael and Pixley, Jocelyn, The Double Life of the Family, Allen & Unwin, St Leonards,1997
page 21
16
Gordon Carmichael & Peter F. McDonald, The Rise and Fall (?) of Divorce in Australia, 1968-1985,
Australian Population Association 3rd National Conference Proceedings, 1986, Vol 1. Table 1

11

B.J.Norris
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Type of Photograph: Snapshot
People: Joyce Norris
Date: Taken at her youngest son, Roberts
second wedding on 28 Feb 1998. This was
11 days before her sudden and unexpected
death. Robert had married for the first time
on 12 May 1979 at the age of 19 years.
Source for dating: Date on rear of
photograph and marriage certificate.
Where taken: At the residence of Joyce and
Jack Norris, 105 Mundy Street, Goulburn,
NSW.
Purpose of Photograph: Family album
purposes.
Discussion of Clothing: A simple dress and white cardigan with pearls.
General Discussion: This photograph of Joyce Norris was taken eleven days before her
sudden and unexpected death from a major heart attack. In this photograph she is 74.9
years of age.
She had a simple church funeral at the local Anglican church with which she had only a
nominal connection. The eulogy was given by her eldest son, Brian, and she was buried at
the Goulburn Lawn Cemetery in plot already reserved for her and Jack.
In 1994 the average female life expectancy was 80.917, six years in excess of Joyces
actual age of death. She died of ischaemic heart disease which in 2003 contributed to
36.0% of all deaths in Australia and was second only to malignant neoplasms (cancer) at
39%.18 It is likely that the major contributing factors to her statistically early death were
the continuing stresses with her large family and her high expectations of the way such a
family should function. Also a moderately high consumption of alcohol and heavy
smoking were contributing factors. By contrast Jack Norris died at the age of 90,
compared with the average age for male deaths of 75 years in 1994.19 Jack was probably
had a more moderate consumption of alcohol, had a more relaxed attitude to life and ver
smoked.
17

The Public Health Landscape ,Demographic Features, The National Public Health Partnership,
http://www.nphp.gov.au/publications/broch/contents.htm, accessed 8 October 2005
18
Causes of Death, Australia, Australian Bureau of Statistics,
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/2093DA6935DB138FCA2568A9001393C9, accessed 8
October 2005
19
The Public Health Landscape ,Demographic Features, page 1

12

B.J.Norris
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Conclusion
Joyce Norris died at 75 years in 1998 about six years short of the average female life span
at the time. In objective terms her most significant achievement was, with her husband, to
raise seven children with a reasonable level of success. Seen from her point of view she
may have wanted her life to have taken a different course with a little more freedom than
that which the responsibilities for a large family permitted. However, she was a child of
her time, when women were expected to be a mother and housewife within the classic
nuclear family model and against the background of high fertility rates and the limited
availability of oral contraception, at least until the 1960s.
Bibliography
Australian Social
Trends 1995: FamilyFamily Formation:
Trends in marriage and
divorce
Carmichael, Gordon &
McDonald Peter F.

Australian Bureau of Statistics,

http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2
/85de28d197cb4a29ca2569ee0015d89e!OpenDocument , Accessed 5 October
2005

Cato, Jack
Causes of Death,
Australia

The Story of the Camera in Australia, Institute of Australian Photography, 1977

Australian Bureau of Statistics,
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/2093DA6935DB138FCA2568A900
1393C9, accessed 8 October 2005

Finnegan, Ruth and

Drake, Michael

From Family Tree to Family History, Cambridge University Press in association

with The Open University, Cambridge, 1994

Ford, Colin (ed)

Gilding, Michael

The Story of Popular Photography, Century Hutchinson Ltd, London, 1989

Australian Families: A comparative perspective, Addison Wesley Longman
Australia, Pty Ltd., 1997.

Koolmartrie, J &
Williams, R.
Norris, Brian

Unresolved grief and the removal of indigenous Australian children,

Australian Psychologist, Vol.35, No 2, pages 158-166
Chasing the Right Details, Brian J Norris, Kaleen ACT, 2002 (ISBN 0-64640540-3)
NSW Department of Health, <http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/history/babies/>,
Accessed 2 October 2005

Our babies: the state's

best asset. A history of
75 years of baby health
services in New South
Wales
Sanson, Ann & Wise,
Sarah
Second World WarRationing of Food and
Clothing,

The Rise and Fall (?) of Divorce in Australia, 1968-1985, Australian

Population Association 3rd National Conference Proceedings, 1986, Vol 1. pages
14-35

Children and Parenting: The past hundred years, Family Matters, No 60,
Spring/Summer 2001, page 36-45.
Australian War Memorial,
http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/homefront/rationing.htm, accessed 6
October 2005,

13

B.J.Norris
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The Public Health
Landscape
,Demographic Features

The National Public Health Partnership,

http://www.nphp.gov.au/publications/broch/contents.htm, accessed 8 October
2005

Turner, Peter,
Willis, Anne-Marie

History of Photography, Bison Books Ltd, London 1987

Picturing Australia A History of Photography, Angus & Robertson Publishers,
North Ryde, NSW, 1988
Australian Bureau of Statistics, http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs
%40.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/b95347a43cc81fffca256b35001
0b3fb!OpenDocument, accessed 5 October 2005

Year Book Australia

2002

14