Start with the hypothesis that there are 3 separate people, Dennis William Trinder (my grandfather,

born in Willesden), Dennis William Trinder (1 voting record in Mount Tamborine in 1980) and Dennis
Thomas Trinder (buried on Mount Tamborine). You then compare every fact that you have about
them, looking for contradictory facts. For example, if Dennis Thomas Trinder has also registered to
vote in 1980, then he cant be the same person as Dennis William Trinder. If Dennis William Trinder
from Willesden is English, and Dennis Thomas Trinder in Australia is Australian, then they cant be
the same person. You can find the voting record for Dennis William Trinder on Ancestry.co.uk
(search just the name and Australia as a priority). You can find the death record for Dennis Thomas
Trinder by searching www.scenicrim.qld.gov.au/search-cemeteries . You can see the junction
between Beacon Road (where he lived) and Main Western Road (where he worked) on Google
Earth/ streetview. The whole of Tamborine Mountain has a population of 5,000.
Heres the analysis:

Point of
comparison
Dennis
William
Trinder (my
grandfather)
Dennis William
Trinder (voted in
Queensland)
Dennis
Thomas
Trinder
(buried in
Mount
Tamborine)
Analysis
English Yes Unknown Yes Two Englishmen with
unusual names, both living
in a rural Australian
community is very unusual
Birth
registered in
England,
Scotland or
Wales?
Yes No No If Dennis Thomas Trinder
were born in England, the
birth records would exist as
they are all online. So, if
Dennis William Trinder
(grandfather) and Dennis
Thomas Trinder are different
people, Dennis Thomas
Trinder would have to be an
Englishman born outside the
UK.
Tall Yes Unknown Yes If Dennis William Trinder
(grandfather) were tall, and
Dennis Thomas Trinder were
short, then they could not
be the same person but
there is no contradictory
information.
Remembered
by
population of
Tamborine
No Yes If the population
remembered Dennis
Thomas Trinder (nickname,
Tommy/ Tom) it is highly
likely that they would
remember somebody else
living in the same
community with almost
exactly the same name.
They dont.
Drinking and
smoking?
Yes Unknown Yes larrikin,
and died of
heart disease,
narrowing of
the arteries,
and stroke.
Dennis Thomas Trinder died
of what you would expect
Dennis William Trinder to
die of. (Evidence = death
certificate).
Location in
1979
Unknown Unknown Died in Mount
Tamborine.
Was working
at the Bark
Hut on Main
Western
Road.
Death certificate plus Claire
Davenport knew the
previous owner, Dennis
Trinder. Barbara (editor of
Mount Tamborine Times) is
contact. If they were
different people, you would
expect there to be some
contradictory information
about their whereabouts.
There is none.
Location in
1980
Unknown Registered to vote
in Mount
Tamborine
Should be
dead in Mount
Tamborine
On first glance, this looks to
be contradictory as you
cant die then register to
vote. However, you can
register to vote, then die,
then the voting records be
published a few months
later. This doesnt rule out
their being the same person.
Again, no contradictory.
Registered to
vote
anywhere
else?
No No No If Dennis William Trinder
and Dennis Thomas Trinder
were different people, you
would expect at least one of
them to register to vote at
some other time. Its
compulsory to vote in
Australia. But they dont.
This suggests strongly that
they are the same person,
and that naturalisation
records will exist for Dennis
William Trinder becoming an
Australian citizen just before
this point. This is a lead I am
following and dont have
firmed up yet.
Death
record?
No No Mount
Tamborine
If there were another death
record, you could say they
were different people. There
are no such records.
From Mount
Tamborine
originally?
No Unknown No The death record for Dennis
Thomas Trinder does not
have his parents on. This
suggested that he wasnt
from Tamborine. Emails
from various people on
Mount Tamborine say that
Dennis Thomas Trinder was
English.