JOHN AND ETHEL FINDLATER
by Alvyn Hopgood
John James Findlater was born in 1864. His wife, Ethel (nee Pavy) was born in 1871. They had five children: Doss, Gwen, Alan, Edna and Lorna. It is understood that Edna and Lorna were born on a property on the north side of the Milang township. The remains of this three-room residence are still visible: the stone foundations are located on the now McInnes farm. There is also an underground tank, located over 50 metres from the ruins, so it is unclear how the tank was supplied with water.
The first Findlater name to appear in the Milang area records was David Findlater in 1897, as the leaseholder of section 152, 155 and 164 in the Hundred of Alexandrina. John and Ethel took up a property approximately five miles east of Milang on the Lake frontage. This property is still in the Findlater family.
John and Ethel were prominent people in the Milang community for many years, with John involved in the Milang Bureau, in the Council and in the Milang Herd Testing Association. John won first prize in the latter, in 1926, with his shorthorn milkers.
John and Ethel’s daughters Edna and Lorna carried on with their beloved shorthorn milking cows for many years, with very good results. Lorna also gave the Milang Butter Factory stirling service as secretary for many years.
There are 10 members of the Findlater family buried in the Milang Cemetery, including John James, who died in 1930, aged 66 years; Ethel, who passed away in 1957, aged 86 years; Edna who died in 1970, aged 72; Alan who died in 1972, aged 71; and Lorna who passed in 1995, at the age of 91 years.
