Benalla stories: Mrs Thornburn and the James family

A very happy evening was spent at the home of Mr and Mrs L Cook of Lavery St. The special guest of honour was Mrs T Thornburn (pictured) who was celebrating her 88th birthday (On April 26, 1965.) Photo by Benalla Ensign

Some of you might have noticed the Ensign has been sharing classic Benalla photos on Facebook.

This week, when posting images from 1965, some local people shared extra information on the people pictured.

Information we thought our readers would like to read.

Below are the images with original captions from the Benalla Standard. The stories below them were shared by the community.

It turns out Mr and Mrs Cook’s son Richard was there that day. This is what he shared to Facebook:

OMG. Mrs Thornburn, remember her well. She was a lovely lady who lived by herself right next door to us, Powell and Cooks store in Church Street. Had lots of stories to tell. From memory she told one story of seeing Ned Kelly when she was a very little girl. She said that if Ned stole/borrowed a horse he would return it some days later in a better condition than what it was in when he took it. I was 8 years old when this photo was taken. This takes me back many years.

Mr and Mrs Evan James are pictured drinking a toast at Mandalay reception after their 5 o'clock wedding celebrated at Holy Trinity church. The bride is the former Edna Mitchell, daughter of Cr and Mrs J W Mitchell of Tatong, and the groom the elder son of Cr A T James and the late Mrs James of Benalla. The bride was attended by her sister Ann and Miss Helen Backman of Rutherglen. Photo by Benalla Ensign

When seeing this photo Jan McIlroy asked a question:

Just wondering if this name has a connection to Evan James Drive in Benalla?

It turns out Sue Watkins had an answer:

The street is named after my father’s (pictured) great grandfather, Evan James, who selected land out there in the 1840’s.

The Ensign will continue to share classic Benalla photos on Facebook and looks forward to finding out more about the Rose City’s history.