[Index]
Eric Osbaldiston POCKLEY (1876 - 1956)
Children Self + Spouses Parents Grandparents Greatgrandparents
Eric Osbaldiston POCKLEY (1876 - 1956)

+

Aileen Ann ROLFE
Robert Francis POCKLEY (1823 - 1892) Robert POCKLEY



Sarah Ann (POCKLEY)



Selina Elizabeth ANTILL (1837 - 1924) Henry Colden ANTILL (1779 - 1852)



Eliza WILLS (1802 - 1858) Edward Spencer WILLS (1778 - 1811)
Sarah HARDING (1776 - 1823)

b. 1876 at St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia
m. 1945 Aileen Ann ROLFE at Manly, NSW, Australia
d. 1956 at Chatswood, NSW, Australia aged 80
Near Relatives of Eric Osbaldiston POCKLEY (1876 - 1956)
Relationship Person Born Birth Place Died Death Place Age
Grandfather Robert POCKLEY
Grandmother Sarah Ann (POCKLEY)
Grandfather Henry Colden ANTILL 01 May 1779 New York, NY, USA 14 Aug 1852 'Jarvisfield', Picton, NSW, Australia 73
Grandmother Eliza WILLS 10 Sep 1802 Sydney, NSW, Australia 30 Sep 1858 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 56

Father Robert Francis POCKLEY 1823 London, Middlesex, England 1892 St. Leonards, NSW, Australia 69
Mother Selina Elizabeth ANTILL 1837 Cobbitty, Narellan, NSW, Australia 1924 Chatswood, NSW, Australia 87

Self Eric Osbaldiston POCKLEY 1876 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 1956 Chatswood, NSW, Australia 80

Wife Aileen Ann ROLFE

Brother Robert Fulcher POCKLEY 1855 NSW, Australia 03 Jan 1860 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 5
Brother Francis Antill (Frank) POCKLEY 1857 St. Leonards, NSW, Australia 1941 Hornsby, NSW, Australia 84
Brother Arthur Bingham POCKLEY 1859 NSW, Australia 26 Jan 1860 St. Leonards, NSW, Australia 1
Sister Alice Isabel (Ella) POCKLEY 1861 1944 Chatswood, NSW, Australia 83
Brother Henry (Harry) Richardson POCKLEY 1863 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 19 Aug 1926 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 63
Sister Florence Augusta POCKLEY 1866 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 1945 Mosman, NSW, Australia 79
Sister Ethel Ernestine (Esther) POCKLEY 1868 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia abt 1895 27
Brother Norman Vanderbyl POCKLEY 1870 St. Leonards, NSW, Australia 1910 Ashfield, NSW, Australia 40
Sister Kathleen Mabel POCKLEY 1872 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 1959 Chatswood, NSW, Australia 87
Sister Edith Muriel (Gill) (twin) POCKLEY 1873 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 1952 Chatswood, NSW, Australia 79
Brother Eustace Mitford (twin) POCKLEY 1873 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 21 Nov 1874 St. Leonards, NSW, Australia 1
Brother Harold Campbell POCKLEY 19 Nov 1874 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 1941 Petersham, Sydney, NSW, Australia 67
Sister Enid Marguerite POCKLEY 1879 1970 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 91
Sister Helen Marjorie POCKLEY 1882 Picton, NSW, Australia 1974 NSW, Australia 92

Uncle Thomas Ford Graham POCKLEY 1918 Sydney, NSW, Australia
Aunt Margaret Campbell ANTILL 27 Jun 1820 Sydney, NSW, Australia 22 Jul 1849 Camden, Oaks, Picton, Stonequarry, NSW 29
Uncle John Macquarie ANTILL 30 May 1822 Liverpool, NSW, Australia 1900 Picton, NSW, Australia 78
Aunt Jessie Hassall CAMPBELL 28 Mar 1834 Cobbitty, Narellan, NSW, Australia 07 Feb 1917 Picton, NSW, Australia 82
Uncle Henry Colden ANTILL 07 Apr 1826 Camden, NSW, Australia 1913 Parramatta, Sydney, NSW, Australia 87
Aunt Teresa Ellen HATCH 1882 Queanbeyan, NSW, Australia
Aunt Alice Sophia ANTILL 1827 Liverpool, NSW, Australia 1920 London, Middlesex, England 93
Uncle Henry MOGGRIDGE abt 1829 22 May 1866 London, Middlesex, England 37
Uncle William Redfern ANTILL 1828 Campbelltown, NSW, Australia 1905 Picton, NSW, Australia 77
Aunt Mary Susan BELL 1905 Picton, NSW, Australia
Uncle Thomas Wills ANTILL 1829 Campbelltown, NSW, Australia 18 May 1865 Nelson, New Zealand 36
Aunt Sarah Maria MCKEE 03 Mar 1853 Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Aunt Isabella FISHER 22 Sep 1836 Tasmania, Australia 28 Oct 1875 Victoria, Australia 39
Uncle Edward Spencer ANTILL 20 Jul 1832 Picton, NSW, Australia 1917 Parramatta, Sydney, NSW, Australia 85
Aunt Mary CAMPBELL
Uncle James Alexander ANTILL 1834 Cobbitty, Narellan, NSW, Australia 1920 Rockdale, Sydney, NSW, Australia 86
Aunt Emma C POINTON abt 1834 1862 Victoria, Australia 28
Aunt Susannah Caroline WILD 15 Oct 1846 Vanderville, Picton, NSW, Australia 1885 Armidale, NSW, Australia 39
Aunt Florence Mary WAUCH 1870 Armidale, NSW, Australia 1961 Walcha, NSW, Australia 91
Uncle Loftus Cliff ANTILL 06 Dec 1839 Stonequarry, Picton, NSW, Australia 1840 Stonequarry, Picton, NSW, Australia 1

Cousin Margaret Campbell ANTILL 04 Jul 1852 Picton, NSW, Australia 21 Oct 1906 Picton, NSW, Australia 54
Cousin Celia Farrington ANTILL 22 Feb 1855 Jarvisfield, Picton, NSW, Australia 1860 Picton, NSW, Australia 5
Cousin John Macquarie ANTILL 09 Jun 1857 Picton, NSW, Australia 27 Dec 1859 Picton, NSW, Australia 2
Cousin Robert Henry ANTILL 31 May 1859 Picton, NSW, Australia 13 Jul 1938 Picton, NSW, Australia 79
Cousin Celia Farrington ANTILL 13 Oct 1861 Picton, NSW, Australia 10 Jan 1928 Picton, NSW, Australia 66
Cousin Selina Johnson ANTILL 09 Oct 1863 Picton, NSW, Australia 1920 Picton, NSW, Australia 57
Cousin John Macquarie ANTILL 26 Jan 1866 Picton, NSW, Australia 01 Mar 1937 Redfern, Sydney, NSW, Australia 71
Cousin Edward Augustus ANTILL 04 Dec 1867 Picton, NSW, Australia 19 Mar 1905 Queenscliffe, Victoria, Australia 37
Cousin Guy Forrest ANTILL 01 Nov 1869 Picton, NSW, Australia 16 Jun 1960 Bowral, NSW, Australia 90
Cousin Elizabeth Ann ANTILL 30 Jun 1871 Picton, NSW, Australia 29 Mar 1927 Picton, NSW, Australia 55
Cousin Alice Eliza ANTILL 26 Jul 1852 'Jarvisfield', Picton, NSW, Australia 1938 Ashfield, NSW, Australia 86
Cousin Henry Colden ANTILL 14 Jun 1854 Stonequarry, Picton, NSW, Australia 1932 Gundagai, NSW, Australia 78
Cousin Theresa Evaline ANTILL 1857 Queanbeyan, NSW, Australia 1926 Balmain, NSW, Australia 69
Cousin Mary E ANTILL 16 Jan 1857 Queanbeyan, NSW, Australia 05 Nov 1897 Leichhardt, Sydney, NSW, Australia 40
Cousin William Edward ANTILL 1858 Queanbeyan, NSW, Australia 1940 Granville, NSW, Australia 82
Cousin Robert Hatch ANTILL 1861 Queanbeyan, NSW, Australia 1949 Manly, NSW, Australia 88
Cousin Mary E MOGGRIDGE 28 Apr 1857 Berrima, NSW, Australia
Cousin John Antill MOGGRIDGE 19 Sep 1858 Berrima, NSW, Australia
Cousin Francis W ANTILL 1862 Picton, NSW, Australia 1862 Picton, NSW, Australia 0
Cousin Georgiana E ANTILL 1864 Picton, NSW, Australia 02 Jan 1865 1
Cousin Grace Isabel ANTILL 1871 Picton, NSW, Australia
Cousin Florence Augusta ANTILL 1873 Picton, NSW, Australia 1960 Sydney, NSW, Australia 87
Cousin Sarah Georgina ANTILL 1875 Picton, NSW, Australia 1964 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 89
Cousin Estelle Emma Voss ANTILL 1877 Picton, NSW, Australia 1952 Chatswood, NSW, Australia 75
Cousin William Redfern ANTILL 1879 Picton, NSW, Australia 1880 Picton, NSW, Australia 1
Cousin Edith Helen Wills ANTILL 1881 Picton, NSW, Australia 1979 98
Cousin Ida B ANTILL 1884 Picton, NSW, Australia
Cousin Hilda Redfern ANTILL 1888 Picton, NSW, Australia 1943 Chatswood, NSW, Australia 55
Cousin Marie Eliza ANTILL 20 Feb 1852 Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Cousin Henry (Harry) William ANTILL 23 May 1855 Willoughby, Sydney, NSW, Australia 04 Jan 1914 58
Cousin Fanny Jessie ANTILL 27 Aug 1857 Hobart, Tasmania, Australia 03 Mar 1910 Elsternwick, Victoria, Australia 52
Cousin Charlotte Maud ANTILL 01 Jul 1860 Barr, Victoria, Australia 19 May 1865 4
Cousin Mary Emily ANTILL 10 Jun 1863 Picton, NSW, Australia
Cousin Jessie Macquarie ANTILL 20 Dec 1857 Queanbeyan, NSW, Australia 02 Jan 1939 Albury, NSW, Australia 81
Cousin Edward S ANTILL 1859 Queanbeyan, NSW, Australia 1913 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 54
Cousin Julia Campbell ANTILL 25 Sep 1861 Picton, NSW, Australia 26 Aug 1945 North Sydney, NSW, Australia 83
Cousin Horace Sunderland ANTILL 1867 Binalong, NSW, Australia 1935 North Sydney, NSW, Australia 68
Cousin Harley Campbell ANTILL 1869 Goulburn, NSW, Australia 1934 Manly, NSW, Australia 65
Cousin Philip Somer (Jack) ANTILL 1871 Goulburn, NSW, Australia 1959 Nyngan, NSW, Australia 88
Cousin Stanley Ross E ANTILL 1872 Goulburn, NSW, Australia 1949 North Sydney, NSW, Australia 77
Cousin Margaret Wills ANTILL 1874 Goulburn, NSW, Australia
Cousin Arthur Johnston ANTILL 1877 Dubbo, NSW, Australia 12 Sep 1934 Albury, NSW, Australia 57
Cousin Edwin (Elwin) Davidson ANTILL 1879 Dubbo, NSW, Australia 1959 Chatswood, NSW, Australia 80
Cousin Henry Colden ANTILL 1857 Ballarat, Victoria, Australia 1923 Perth, WA, Australia 66
Cousin Isabella Jessie ANTILL 1861 Ballarat, Victoria, Australia 1932 Tingha, NSW, Australia 71
Cousin Ada Isabel ANTILL 1870 Gympie, Queensland, Australia 1906 Sydney, NSW, Australia 36
Cousin Alice Eliza ANTILL 1871 Queensland, Australia 1960 Chatswood, NSW, Australia 89
Cousin Theodora Edith ANTILL 04 May 1873 Queensland, Australia 1901 Murrumburrah, NSW, Australia 28
Cousin Emmeline Nelly ANTILL 12 Aug 1874 Paddington, Sydney, NSW, Australia 29 Jan 1875 Paddington, Sydney, NSW, Australia 0
Cousin Loftus Cliff ANTILL 1876 Armidale, NSW, Australia 1877 Armidale, NSW, Australia 1
Cousin Aleck E ANTILL 1878 Armidale, NSW, Australia
Cousin Loftus C ANTILL 1879 Armidale, NSW, Australia 1968 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 89
Cousin Robert A ANTILL 1881 Armidale, NSW, Australia 1882 Armidale, NSW, Australia 1
Cousin Eileen M ANTILL 1884 Armidale, NSW, Australia
Cousin Florence Zoe ANTILL 1890 Armidale, NSW, Australia 1961 Tamworth, NSW, Australia 71
Cousin Robert L ANTILL 20 Feb 1891 Armidale, NSW, Australia 1896 Walcha, NSW, Australia 5
Cousin Doris Ruth ANTILL 1893 Walcha, NSW, Australia

Niece Phyllis Mary Antill POCKLEY 1886 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 1929 Malta 43
Nephew Francis Guy Antill POCKLEY 1888 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 1969 Goulburn, NSW, Australia 81
Nephew Brian Golden Antill POCKLEY 1890 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 1914 New Guinea 24
Nephew John Graham Antill POCKLEY 1891 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 1918 France 27
Niece Helen Dorothy Antill POCKLEY 1895 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 1963 Moss Vale, Bowral, NSW, Australia 68
Nephew Robert Okeden POCKLEY 1903 1913 Woollahara, Sydney, NSW, Australia 10
Niece Dorothy Okeden POCKLEY 1904
Nephew David Okeden POCKLEY 1906
Niece Elizabeth Rosalie Oakden POCKLEY 1909 1997 88
Niece Ruth Okeden POCKLEY 1912
Niece Kathleen Fulcher REEVE 1902 Annandale, NSW, Australia
Niece Ethel Antill REEVE 1904 Annandale, NSW, Australia 1972 68
Nephew Frederick Aidan REEVE 1907 Annandale, NSW, Australia
Niece Marjorie Critchley Vincent HINDER 1893 Ashfield, NSW, Australia 1978 Killara, New South Wales, Australia 85
Niece Ethel C HINDER 1895 Ashfield, NSW, Australia 1895 Ashfield, NSW, Australia 0
Nephew Richard Vanderbyl POCKLEY 1906 Ashfield, NSW, Australia 1992 86
Nephew Edward Vanderbyl Waddy POCKLEY 1909 Ashfield, NSW, Australia
Niece Enid Kathleen Somerset CLIVE 1910 Ashfield, NSW, Australia
Niece Theo POCKLEY
Nephew Robert Campbell POCKLEY 1902 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 1974 72
Niece Marcia Jean Campbell POCKLEY 1903 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia
Nephew Harold Graham POCKLEY 1913 1945 32
Nephew Henry C HINDER 1899 Ashfield, NSW, Australia
Niece Lorna Kathleen Critchley HINDER 1899 1975 NSW, Australia 76
Nephew Maxwell Critchley HINDER 1902 Ashfield, NSW, Australia 1976 74
Nephew Eric H C HINDER 1905 Ashfield, NSW, Australia 1905 Ashfield, NSW, Australia 0
Nephew Francis Henry Critchley HINDER 1906 Ashfield, NSW, Australia 1992 86
Nephew David Clive Critchley HINDER 1910 Ashfield, NSW, Australia 1989 79
Niece Living or Recently Deceased

Sister in Law Helen Clara HOOKE 1860 Balmain, NSW, Australia 1932 Wamberal, NSW, Australia 72
Sister in Law Rosalie Gertrude PARRY-OKEDEN 1875 Queensland, Australia 1950 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 75
Brother in Law Frederick William REEVE
Brother in Law Henry Vincent Critchley HINDER 1865 Windsor, NSW, Australia 1913 Summer Hill, Sydney, NSW, Australia 48
Sister in Law Florence May WADDY 1877 Carcoar, NSW, Australia 1935 Bridgewater, England 58
Brother in Law Edward Archer CLIVE 1867 Devon, England 1952 Ceylon 85
Sister in Law Jeannie Rose TURNER 1950 Mosman, NSW, Australia
Brother in Law Frederick Robert HOLLOWAY 1872 Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia 1951 Chatswood, NSW, Australia 79
Brother in Law George Johnstone (Jimmy) KNOWLES 1887 1954 Pymble, Sydney, NSW, Australia 67
Events in Eric Osbaldiston POCKLEY (1876 - 1956)'s life
Date Age Event Place Notes Src
1876 Eric Osbaldiston POCKLEY was born St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia Note 1 52
1892 16 Death of father Robert Francis POCKLEY (aged 69) St. Leonards, NSW, Australia Note 2 52, 60
1924 48 Death of mother Selina Elizabeth ANTILL (aged 87) Chatswood, NSW, Australia Note 3 52, 60
1945 69 Married Aileen Ann ROLFE Manly, NSW, Australia Note 4 52
1956 80 Eric Osbaldiston POCKLEY died Chatswood, NSW, Australia Note 5 52, 60
Note 1: died 1956 - age 81 = c 1875


Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922 about Pockley
Name: Pockley
Birth Date: 1876
Father's Name: Robert Francis Pockley
Mother's Name: Selina
Birth Place: New South Wales
Registration Year: 1876
Registration Place: St Leonards, New South Wales
Registration number: 6267
Note 2: Reg No 12269/1892 - Robert and Sarah A

Singleton Argus 5 Oct 1892
POCKLEY.—September 20th, at his residence, Lorne, Gordon, after a few hours' illness, Robert Francis Pockley, aged 69 years.

*****
Sydney Morning Herald 3 Oct 1892
Pockley, Robert Francis (?–1892)
Regret in the city was expressed at the announcement of the sudden demise of Captain R F. [Robert Francis] Pockley. Captain Pockley for more than half a century has been identified with the shipping history of Australia. An old Australian geography (1846) was shown in the Merchants' Exchange, in which his opinion is quoted as to the respective merits of Boydtown and the opposite side of Twofold Bay for the site of the harbour proper. In the very early days as a boy he sailed in these seas with his father, who commanded a whaling vessel, and having qualified himself for the position of shipmaster, he came out to Sydney finally in 1841 to settle here. Captain Pockley hold the position of superintendent of pilots and lights for the colony at the time of the Donaldson Ministry, and at the date of the wreck of the Dunbar he was harbourmaster here, and went down to the scene of that memorable disaster in a whaleboat the night it occurred. In 1854 Captain Pockley married the youngest daughter of the late Major Antill, who came out to the colony with Governor Macquarie, to whom he was ADC. Dr Pockley, of St Leonard's, is a son, and one of 12 of a family, who, with the widow, are called upon to mourn their loss. Captain Pockley was Lloyd's surveyor and representative in New South Wales up to the time of his death, and held that position for 20 years.
Note 3: Reg No 17550/1924 - Henry C & Eliza

Sydney Morning Herald 2 Dec 1924
POCKLEY.-December 1, 1924, at Lorne, Killara, Selina, widow of the late Robert F. Pockley, in her 88th year.
Note 4: Australia Marriage Index, 1788-1950 about Eric Osbaldiston Pockley
Name: Eric Osbaldiston Pockley
Spouse Name: Aileen Ann Rolfe
Marriage Date: 1945
Marriage Place: New South Wales
Registration Place: Manly, New South Wales
Registration Year: 1945
Registration number: 3494
Note 5: 29595/1956 POCKLEY ERIC OSBALDISTON ROBERT FRANCIS SELINA CHATSWOOD


Camberra Times 12 Nov 1956
Doctor's Wound Fatal
SYDNEY, Sunday. - A leading Sydney eye specialist was found shot outside his home at Avalon to-day.
He was 81-year-old Dr. Eric Pockley, who was well known in Sydney for many years.
Dr. Pockley was found shot through the mouth. He died on his way to hospital.
Detectives investigating his death said he had been in ill health for some time. ,
Personal Notes:
Western Herald (Bourke) 12 Nov 1913
DR. ERIC POCKLEY.
Dr. Eric Pockley, Ophthalmic Surgeon,has taken over the Practice of the late Dr. G. B D. Macdonald, and will see patients at "Balgownie" Kite and Sale Streets, Orange, every Thusrday.
*********************

Sydney Morning Herald 19 July 1923
SCIENTIST'S TRAVELS IN NEW GUINEA
FOUR MONTHS ON REMOTE ISLAND.
ADVENTURES OF DR. ERIC POCKLEY.
It is nearly two years since Dr.Eric Pockley, F.R.G.S., quitted his consulting rooms in Macquarie-street in search of adventure in Papua and the mandated territory of New Guinea and the northern Solomon Islands, and since then he has had, for any average lover of excitement, a surfeit of "moving accidents by flood and field, of hair-breadth 'scapes." He has been far off the beaten track and to some of the most remote parts of New Guinea. In several of the areas he penetrated it is not probable that any white man had preceded him in at least two places he was among actual cannibals; and among his minor adventures have been encounters with crocodiles and man-eating sharks. He returned to Sydney by the Mataram this week.

AMONG THE HEAD-HUNTERS.
Dr. Pockley was in one of those parts of wild Malaita, in the Solomons, where head- hunting is still a pastime and cannibalism survives. He was advised not to go inland, but did so.
"I penetrated into the fastnesses of one of the hill tribes, and my reception was any- thing but a cordial one," he said yesterday. "They plainly resented my presence, and, deeming discretion the better part of valour, I did not pursue my original intention of proceeding still farther into the interior; and, having made my call on this savage people, I bade them adieu, and with the best grace possible retreated. The old men and unmar- ried women were quite nude, but the married women wore a small apron. Many of the men wore curious ornaments in their ears and noses, the most extraordinary one being a bone stud, sometimes about an inch in length, inserted in the cartilaginous portion of the nasal septum.

HOSTILE RECEPTION.
There are many parts of Bougainville, as well as of Malaita, untrodden so far by whites, and it was to some of these areas Dr. Pockley went.
"In one of those inland villages," he said, "I found myself surrounded by a group of armed natives, the women and children having been sent into the bush. They did not attempt any violence, but did not disguise the fact that they regarded me as an intruder. Their faces were hardly human, and they did nothing but silently glower at me all the time. The sensation was far from pleasant for me, I can assure you."

AN UNFORTUNATE RUMOUR.
Rightly or wrongly, these people have a bad reputation, and Dr. Pockley expresses great regret on account of an unfortunate incident that followed his visit. A rumour having reached the coast that he had been attacked, a native officer, with a body of native police, hurried to the village. On their ap- pearance the tribesmen, who had been taken by surprise, assumed a threatening attitude, and the police fired first over their heads and then at their legs, and some casualties resulted. The native police then charged the village and the disabled warriors, but were themselves harassed by the women, who, armed with stone tomahawks, furiously attacked them.

THRILLING ADVENTURES.
The month or so that Dr. Pockley spent on Bougainville was a succession of thrills. After dressing the wound of a native whose arm had been badly torn by a crocodile, and had to be amputated, he himself had some unpleasant adventures with these creatures.

Several times during heavy seas, in shark- infested waters, the frail canoes in which he travelled were capsized. But the narrowest escape of all was of being blown up by dynamite. This was on the west coast of Bougainville. He was coming down stream in a canoe, and just as it rounded a corner the warning was shouted that a native, not observing the canoe's approach, had thrown a dynamite plug into the river to kill fish. The natives swerved the canoe round in an instant, and all dived overboard just as the explosion, which upset the canoe, occurred at the very point where the canoe would have been but for the warning.

GBEAT SEA TRAGEDY.
Dr. Pockley spent four months on the little known Matty Island, which lies close to the Admiralty Islands. The natives of Matty Island and of the neighbouring island of Aua were, he said, of light brown colour of a type distinct from the Papuan, Melanesian, or Polynesian people, and in their legends there was no clue as to whence they came. Physically they resembled Javanese or Malays. The crowning glory of the women was their long hair. Their houses were different from those of the other native people in the territory, being built of wood, with doors so high up as to make steps necessary. At one time hav- ing a large population, there were now only 300 natives left in the two villages on Matty Island. The neighbouring island of Aua had once had a population of perhaps a couple of thousand, now reduced to a few hundred.

The shrinkage in the latter case was largely attributable to a great sea tragedy of only 20 years ago, and it was surprising that, but for a passing reference recently by Captain Pitt Rivers, it had apparently never been chronicled. The natives of Aua, who were a mixture of savagery and timidity, had in 1904 killed a German trader named Reimers. News reached the island that the German authorities were sending a punitive expedi- tion, and a thousand people fled in canoes, and, a storm arising, over 800 of them perished.

Dr. Pockley said that the population of most of what were known as the western islands of the mandated territory—the Hermit, Anchorite, and Ninigo groups—had dwindled tremendously in recent years. Where there were thousands of people there were now only hundreds, and where there were hundreds there were now only scores. The population of Matty Island was on the down grade through inbreeding, but influenza and other scourges had made sad havoc.

THE MATTY ISLANDERS.
Regarding Matty Island, where he lived and moved and had his being among the natives for four months, Dr. Pockley said they had no religion, but a great belief that spirits con- trolled the weather and the harvests of the sea and land, and they constantly invoked their aid. The water supply was very scanty. There were only two or three soakages, which drained into deep wells, the water being ladled up in cocoanut shells affixed to long poles. Their canoes were beautifully made, with sharp-pointed projections at each end.

SPEAR-THROWING AND SINGING
Spear-throwing was the great sport of the Matty Islanders, and they had become wonderfully adept. They could with either hand— being trained from infancy to be ambidextrous—throw a spear with the greatest precision for over 100 yards. He said he had himself measured throws of 110 yards, and even farther, that had hit the marks at which they had been aimed with deadly accuracy.

The young men of the island were extraordinarily fond of singing—if their monotonous loud chants could so be called—starting in the middle of the night and continuing till the small hours of the morning. Especially on balmy moonlight nights they would lie on the broad of their backs on a platform in the middle of the village, and no sleep was possible during their prolonged vocal performances.

PHOSPHORESCENCE
Of the curious phenomena of various kinds, the most extraordinary, he thought, was the phosphorescence in the sea and on land. Often at night the whole of an encircling reef would be outlined by a brilliant luminous band, and, seen from a height, this glowing ring round an island was an impressive spec- tacle worth going far to view. The phosphorescence occurred in the bush also. On his first day's trek into the interior of Bougainville, through country thickly clad with palms, he had encamped, and, tired out, had slept heavily till disturbed by inquisitive cassowaries. On awakening he saw in the distance what at first appeared to be a bush fire.

"But I knew that I must be mistaken," he said. "It could not have been a fire on account of the dampness and greenness of the vegetation. I got up to investigate, and found several acres of land quivering and flaming with phosphorescence, due to small fungus covering the ground, stumps, logs, creepers, and butts of trees. It was as luminous as day, and this was, I think, the greatest of all the marvels I have ever beheld."

Dr. Eric Pockley, who is an uncle of the heroic Dr. Brian Pockley, the first Australian to fall in the war at the time New Guinea was captured, intends to revisit the territory and carry out further explorations.
Source References:
52. Type: Australia Birth Marriage Death Index 1787 - 1985 Record
- Reference = (Death)
- Notes: 29595/1956 POCKLEY ERIC OSBALDISTON ROBERT FRANCIS SELINA CHATSWOOD
- Reference = (Birth)
- Notes: Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922 about Pockley
Name: Pockley
Birth Date: 1876
Father's Name: Robert Francis Pockley
Mother's Name: Selina
Birth Place: New South Wales
Registration Year: 1876
Registration Place: St Leonards, New South Wales
Registration number: 6267
- Reference = (Marriage)
- Notes: Australia Marriage Index, 1788-1950 about Eric Osbaldiston Pockley
Name: Eric Osbaldiston Pockley
Spouse Name: Aileen Ann Rolfe
Marriage Date: 1945
Marriage Place: New South Wales
Registration Place: Manly, New South Wales
Registration Year: 1945
Registration number: 3494
- Reference = (Name, Notes)
60. Type: Newspaper, Title: Trove, http://trove.nla.gov.au
- Reference = (Death)
- Notes: Camberra Times 12 Nov 1956
Doctor's Wound Fatal
SYDNEY, Sunday. - A leading Sydney eye specilist was found shot outside his home at Avalon to-day.
He was 81-year-old Dr. Eric Pockley, who was well known in Sydney for many years.
Dr. Pockley was found shot through the mouth. He died on his way to hospital.
Detectives investigating his death said he had been in ill health for some time. ,