Josphine Annie Romeril nee Brudus (our grandmother) by her daughter Dorothy
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| Josephine Annie Romeril nee Brudus 1896-1966 |
Every family has stories that deserve to be kept alive. This one comes to us through the careful writing of my Aunty Dot, who captured the life of her mother, Annie Brudus, in vivid detail. Annie’s childhood was far from ordinary, marked by struggle, heartbreak and resilience. Yet she grew to become the strong, proud matriarch whose presence shaped generations.
What follows is Aunty Dot’s account of Annie’s early life—a story passed down with love, preserved so our family can understand where we come from, and appreciate the strength carried quietly by the women before us.
This is Annie’s story, as told by her daughter.
Family gatherings were Annie’s joy. She would sit tall and proud in her velvet lounge chair, watching her five children and their partners chatting and laughing around the room that looked out to the distant hills. Every now and then a grandchild would dart inside, scramble onto her lap for a cuddle, then run straight back out to the big backyard with its gum trees and sunshine. “At least they’ve all had a normal upbringing,” she would think. “This will help them stand up to whatever life hands them.”
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| Romeril family circa 1960 |
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| Another family gathering circ 1960 |
Annie knew better than most what a normal upbringing looked like—because hers was anything but.
A Childhood in South Melbourne
Born on 10 January 1896 in a tiny South Melbourne house, Annie Brudus grew up with her mother, Ada Jane Nixon, her older sister Milly and a Swedish father (Johan Magnus Brudus) whom she adored. Some of her earliest memories were sweet ones: sitting on the verandah at his feet on warm summer nights while he played his button accordion, her little voice singing along.
She and her friend Lilly—who lived next door—were inseparable. Only nine months apart, they tapped secret messages on the adjoining wall whenever they wanted to play. They even ran errands together, like carrying sealed jugs of beer home from the local pub after it was discovered the girls had been sampling along the way!
But when Annie was nine, everything changed.
A Family Broken Apart
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| Ada Jane Nixon, Josephine Annie, Johan Magnus Brudus circa 1897 |
Her parents’ relationship had grown violent. Annie never forgot the night her father fled the kitchen to escape the knife her mother, Ada, had thrown—still quivering in the door as he closed it behind him.
Soon after, Ada gathered her friends around the table and told Annie she would have to choose between living with her mother or her father. Terrified by a threat that her father would send her to live with Mrs Green and her daughter Peggy—whom Annie feared—she whispered to the judge that she wanted to live with her mother.
Her father, Johan, walked out of the courtroom shocked. Annie never saw him again.
Annie was told later that Johan had planned to take her home to Sweden where she would have lived with his large family on the beautiful Swedish island of Oland.
A few weeks later, she received a letter from Johan. He had been a marina (sic) since the age of fifteen and had worked his passage to Perth, intending to return to Sweden. The letter read "I am suffering badly with my rhumatism and have decided to end my suffering. I will see that there is a report in the Melbourne papers. I will change my name to Joseph for the children's sake. You will be free to marry Jim."
On Saturday January 20th 1906 there appeared in the Melbourne Age -
BODY found in river - Perth, Friday 19th January 1906.
The body of a man was found floating in the river early this morning. There was a rope around his neck, to which heavy pieces of iron were attached. Deceased who was apparently about 45 years of age, appeared to have been in the water about two days. The body was subsecquenly identified as that of Joseph Brudus, who arrived from the Eastern States a few weeks ago. There was a note attached in Johan's pocket, it read. "My name is Joseph Brudus, I arrived from Melbourne in the ss Coolgardie, and stayed in Roe Street, 236, Perth."
Newspaper report of Joseph Brudus death
Ada remarried just months later.
Sent Away
At only ten years old, Annie was sent up the street to live with Mrs Pirie and Jack Davidson Pirie. Mrs Pirie—known as Aunty—was childless and wanted Annie to call her “Mum.” Annie refused gently. “I already have a mum,” she said, so they settled on “Aunty.”
The house was grand compared to Ada’s, and Annie suddenly had a wardrobe of beautiful clothes. But childhood slipped away. She became their little worker—kept home from school every Friday to scrub floors, Brasso the taps, and blacklead the stove. Even with only four days of school each week, she became Dux and the champion dumbbell-twirler.
Mrs Pirie was what the neighbours called a fancy woman: stylish, fashionable, and fond of nights out. When Jack was away for work, Annie stayed alone in the house while Aunty went out, given a glass of dark liquid—port wine—to “help her sleep.” Annie never understood why she felt so ill afterward.
There were stranger moments too, like the evening Aunty told her to fill her pockets with stones. They rode a tram to Toorak, hurled the stones at the windows of a grand house, and ran for the nearest tram home. Only years later did Annie understand: a woman scorned has her ways.
Growing Up Too Soon
Despite everything, Annie grew to love both Aunty and Jack, whom she affectionately called Dad. They moved to a bigger house, she wore fine clothes, and life felt steadier. But her friendship with childhood playmate Lilly never recovered—Lilly envied Annie’s new life and blamed Mrs Pirie for taking her friend away.
At fifteen, Aunty spotted an advertisement for a housemaid at the Watchem Hotel. “Perfect job for you, Ann,” she said. And as always, Annie obeyed.
It was the beginning of a new chapter.
The next morning she climbed onto the train with her hatbox in hand. When she stepped onto the platform at Watchem, the publican waiting for his new housemaid stared in surprise—not expecting a five-foot-nine, elegant girl who looked far older than her years.
The publican’s wife showed her to a quiet room and explained her duties for the following day. But as night fell, Annie felt a wave of loneliness—far from home, only fifteen, and unsure of the world she had stepped into.
That first evening became one she never forgot.
A Frightening Night in Watchem
After dinner she returned to her cold little room, climbed into bed, and tried to settle. Suddenly there was a tapping on the window. A man’s voice whispered, “Open the window, love.”
Terrified, Annie leapt up, dressed quickly, and sat in the dark, waiting for the whole town to fall silent. When she felt it was safe, she climbed through the window and ran—trembling all the way—to the station, tears streaming down her face.
The station assistant, a kind young man, listened to her frightened story. “Don’t worry,” he said gently. “The train from Mildura stops here at three a.m.” He lit a fire in the waiting room and sat with her until the train arrived. Annie never forgot his kindness.
Tasmania: A Safer Chapter
Back home, Aunty set straight to job hunting again, and soon Annie found herself aboard a boat to Burnie, Tasmania, to work at the Bay View Hotel. This time she shared a room with another girl, safe from unwanted attention.
Bayview Hotel, Burnie, Tasmania
She worked hard and saved every shilling, but each night she would sit gazing across the quiet water, longing for home. After a year, she finally returned to Melbourne.
Sydney and a Family Surprise
The day after she arrived home, Annie visited Ada and her stepfather—only to discover Ada was planning a trip to Sydney and wanted Annie to come along. Annie had not been to Sydney since she was a child.
At Central Station they were met by Ada’s sister, Gertie, who took them to her grand home in Cronulla, perched high above a postcard-perfect view of the sea. Annie was astonished. Ada had never mentioned that her family was wealthy—or that they had once refused to accept her marriage to a “lowly Swedish mariner.”
Soon the house filled with uncles, aunts, and cousins Annie had never met. They were her age but still in school, and Annie, already working and independent, felt worlds apart. When she proudly told them she’d been a housemaid in Tasmania, the adults gasped in horror.
Uncle John quickly decided he had a more suitable future for her.
A Governess in a Grand House
A few weeks later, Annie set off again—this time as a governess on a large rural property owned by Dr McGregor. Uncle John travelled with her, easing her nerves.
Driving through the enormous iron gates, Annie felt like she had entered another world. A long poplar-lined driveway led to a towering two-storey mansion surrounded by giant imported trees. The sweeping staircase and enormous entrance hall were unlike anything she had ever seen.
She immediately warmed to the children she would tutor—Jane (10), Edward (8), and little Margaret (almost 6). Her days fell into a steady rhythm: two hours of lessons each morning and afternoon, hours spent supervising play among roaming peacocks, and quiet evenings dining with the children before delivering them to their parents downstairs.
She also learned one important lesson: wealth did not make people kinder or better. “Same weaknesses as the poor,” she would later say. And she never trusted the affectionate husbands who roamed the hallways after dinner—what she called “gropers’ disease.”
The nine months passed quickly. When Uncle John came to bring her home, Dr and Mrs McGregor gifted Annie a bunch of peacock feathers and valuable opals in thanks. She had saved all her wages and looked forward to going home.
Aunty Gertie wanted her to stay in Sydney, but Annie longed for Aunty Pirie—and returned to Melbourne with excitement, calling as she ran inside, “I have a surprise for you, Aunty!”
Becoming “Goldie”
Before long, Annie’s savings dwindled and the familiar call rang out again:
“Ann, this sounds like a good position at Numurkah…”
A barmaid position.
At eighteen, confident and tall, Annie took the job. The community loved her and soon she was known simply as Goldie. Life felt joyful and full. She was again in the country, where she always felt most at home.
Then World War I was declared.
Soldiers stationed nearby frequently visited the hotel, full of nerves, excitement and bravado as they prepared to ship out. One night they teased her: “Who are you taking to the dance, Goldie?”
Laughing, Annie replied, “Whoever buys me the biggest box of chocolates!”
Minutes later, a huge box tied with a pink ribbon was passed over the crowd. Attached was a note: “To Annie Brudus. I’ll be waiting outside.”
She knew instantly that someone from home was among them.
Waiting outside was Bertie Romeril, looking handsome in uniform, two stripes on his arm—Lilly’s cousin - who had lived in the same street as them growing up. He was eight years older that Annie.
Bert didn't dance and suggested they have dinner together. They chatted for hours about old times. Bert gave Annie his army address and she promised to write.
He had no idea she had quite a few addresses. For the four years duration letter writing was her aid to the war effort.
1916 Annie took a job in a Deniliquin hotel This was a very happy part of her life as she kept company with a grazier's son. When he told his family he intended to marry Annie, they threatened to disinherit him. He was broken hearted and wanted to elope.
Annie knew he would never be happy away from his family and returned to Melbourne with Elizabeth, a friend who she worked wirh. They roomed together and found jobs in the city.
The war had ended and Annie was 23. One day while visiting her mother, Lilly told her Bert was home and he had asked after her. He was living a Elwood with his sister. When Annie visited him she was shocked when she saw what the trenches in France and shores of Gallipoli had done. He had gone away a handsome young man and returned looking much older than his 31 years.
Robert William Edward Romeril, War service
They went out together a few times and Bert surprised her with his original proposal.
"My mother has passed away and I have no home, like you. I think we should be married and make a home of our own."
Annie, startled, promised to think it over. She rushed home to Elizabeth and told her of her dilemma.
"I would accept", her friend advised. "Bert is a decent fellow and is in a position of giving you a home of your own."
"I'll toss a coin," Annie replied. It came up heads! They were married soon after and lived together for 47 years.
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| Robert William Edward Romeril b1887 d1967_Josephine Annie Brudus b1896 d1966 |
But that is another story.
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| Dorothy Lillian Romeril with her mother at 30 Williams Road, Briar Hill. Notice the name of the house "Oland" - the island in Sweden her father came from. |
“This story was originally written by my Aunty Dot, and I used ChatGPT to help shape it into a family blog for all of us.”
I have had this story - along with others - in my Family History folder for many years. Unfortunately in the early years I was probably not as diligent in noting where they came from. My copy is a PDF and if anyone in the family has the original typed copy I would love to hear from them. I am slowly uploading the stories as they are not too valuable sitting quietly on a computer!! Of course sitting down with our grandparents and older aunts and uncles and hearing these memories is the ultimate however when we are younger we do not realise how limited our time was with them.
It would be also great if family who remember their early years with Nan could share their stories on the blog.
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