Peter Forbes
Peter William Minshaw Forbes was born in London and came to Australia with his parents and family as an assisted emigrant on the Royal Dane which arrived in Brisbane in 1869.
Family records show that Peter worked as a jeweller, and it is not known how he became involved in the Deaf Community. However, Fletcher Booth wrote in 1933 that Peter Forbes had interpreted with Samuel Watson at Divine Services for the Adult Deaf in St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney, officiated at by Dean Cowper, as far back as the 1880’s. The NSW Deaf Journal of July 1911 mentioned that Peter Forbes had been associated with the late Samuel Watson for forty years, that is, since 1871, so it was possibly Watson who introduced Forbes to the Deaf Community.
Peter was the first Honorary Secretary when the Deaf Society was formed in 1913. He held this position until 1920, when he became the Superintendent and Secretary. He retired from this position in 1922. He was one of the hearing members (along with Ernest J D Abraham) of the original Deaf Committee set up in early 1913 to plan the formation of the Society. He is sometimes referred to in early Society records as “P J Forbes” instead of “P W Forbes” – it is not known why.
In 1877 Peter married Christina Cameron, who was deaf, at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney. They had a family of eight children together: Peter, William, Amelia, George, Samuel, Isobel, Roy and Valentine. The first three were born in Goulburn, the fourth and fifth in Bathurst and the rest in Sydney.
Peter Forbes died in Rockdale in 1928 at the age of 77 years and was buried in Rookwood Presbyterian cemetery.
Sources:
Ellen Doran. ‘Hand in hand with Time and Change’, 1998
Ancestry.com
The NSW Deaf Journal, December 1910
The NSW Deaf Journal, July 1911
Sydney Morning Herald, 22 May 1928 TROVE
Sydney Morning Herald, 6 June 1929 TROVE
Deaf Advocate December 1930
Sydney Morning Herald, 29 July 1933 TROVE
Peter Forbes
Peter William Minshaw Forbes was born in London and came to Australia with his parents and family as an assisted emigrant on the Royal Dane which arrived in Brisbane in 1869.
Family records show that Peter worked as a jeweller, and it is not known how he became involved in the Deaf Community. However, Fletcher Booth wrote in 1933 that Peter Forbes had interpreted with Samuel Watson at Divine Services for the Adult Deaf in St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney, officiated at by Dean Cowper, as far back as the 1880’s. The NSW Deaf Journal of July 1911 mentioned that Peter Forbes had been associated with the late Samuel Watson for forty years, that is, since 1871, so it was possibly Watson who introduced Forbes to the Deaf Community.
Peter was the first Honorary Secretary when the Deaf Society was formed in 1913. He held this position until 1920, when he became the Superintendent and Secretary. He retired from this position in 1922. He was one of the hearing members (along with Ernest J D Abraham) of the original Deaf Committee set up in early 1913 to plan the formation of the Society. He is sometimes referred to in early Society records as “P J Forbes” instead of “P W Forbes” – it is not known why.
In 1877 Peter married Christina Cameron, who was deaf, at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney. They had a family of eight children together: Peter, William, Amelia, George, Samuel, Isobel, Roy and Valentine. The first three were born in Goulburn, the fourth and fifth in Bathurst and the rest in Sydney.
Peter Forbes died in Rockdale in 1928 at the age of 77 years and was buried in Rookwood Presbyterian cemetery.
Sources:
Ellen Doran. ‘Hand in hand with Time and Change’, 1998
Ancestry.com
The NSW Deaf Journal, December 1910
The NSW Deaf Journal, July 1911
Sydney Morning Herald, 22 May 1928 TROVE
Sydney Morning Herald, 6 June 1929 TROVE
Deaf Advocate December 1930
Sydney Morning Herald, 29 July 1933 TROVE