Herbert Ross Jones1

M, #172, b. 24 May 1894, d. 8 February 1967
FatherReece Vaughan Jones1 b. 10 Dec 1866, d. 25 Oct 1942
MotherElizabeth Jane Milgate1 b. 4 Sep 1867, d. 25 Aug 1937
RelationshipGreat-uncle of Keith Graham Bassett
Last Edited27 Apr 2022
Name Variation Ross Herbert Jones2 
Birth*24 May 1894 Miram Piram, VIC, Australia;
Name: Herbert Ross Jones
Sex of Child: Male
Date of Birth: 24 May 1894
Place of Birth: Miram Piram

Father: Rees Vaughan Jones
Occupation: Farmer
Birthplace: McLaren Vale South Australia
Age: 27

Date of Marriage: 13 September 1893
Place of Marriage: Lyndoch South Australia

Mother: Elizabeth Jane Millgate
Birthplace: Lyndoch South Australia
Age: 26

Previous Issue:

Informant: Rees Vaughan Jones, father, Miram Piram

Accoucher: Not any
Nurse: Mrs Jones
Witnesses: Mrs Sanders3 
Marriage*9 June 1916 Orange, NSW, Australia;Bride=Elma May Campbell4 
Divorce*1926 NSW Supreme Court, Sydney, NSW, Australia;Principal=Elma May Campbell5 
News-Arct*23 July 1926 "The Forbes Advocate", Forbes, NSW, Australia;
DIVORCE ISSUE.
Ross Herbert Jones petitioned for a divorce from Elma May Jones, on the grounds of desertion without just cause or excuse.
Petitioner said he lived at Condobolin, and was a contractor. He was married on June 9, 1916. There were two children. They were with his wife. They went to Condobolin after the marriage. He was share-farming, and his wife lived with her mother. He came home at week-ends. This went on for about four years. About six years ago he got a home together and wanted her to live with him. She said she was not going to leave her mother. He still visited her at week-ends. One week-end he came back, and she had gone to Sydney. He sent her money, and asked her to return. She replied she would not. He had not lived with her since. She has returned to Condobolin about three times, and said she was not going to live with him. He had not seen her for twelve months. There was no reason why she should leave, and she has not made any demands on him for support.
Alexander Robert Aiken, of Condobolin, said that petitioner's wife left him about four or five years ago. He had not been living with her since,
Judgment will be delivered later.;Principal=Elma May Campbell6 
Marriage*14 November 1927 Dubbo, NSW, Australia;Bride=Gladys Murray7 
Divorce*1928 NSW Supreme Court, Sydney, NSW, Australia;Principal=Gladys Murray5 
Electoral Roll1933 Trundle, NSW, Australia;
Jones, Reece Vaughan, Trundle, labourer
Jones, Ress Herbert, Trundle, horse breaker;Principal=Reece Vaughan Jones8 
Electoral Roll*1934 Trundle, NSW, Australia;
Jones, Reece Vaughan, Trundle, labourer
Jones, Ress Herbert, Trundle, horse breaker;Principal=Reece Vaughan Jones8 
Electoral Roll*1936 Trundle, NSW, Australia;
Jones, Ross Herbert, Trundle, horse breaker8 
Death of Mother25 August 1937 Melrose Road, Condobolin, NSW, Australia;
Name: Elizabeth Jane Jones
Date of Death: 25 Aug 1937
Place of Death: Melrose Road Condobolin Municipality NSW
Occupation:
Sex: Female
Age: 69
Conjugal Status:
Place of Birth: Lyndoch Valley South Australia
Time in Aust Colonies:

Father: James Milgate
Occupation: Farmer
Mother: Elizabeth Newell

Place of Marriage: Lyndoch Valley South Australia
Age at Marriage: 25
Name of Spouse: Reece Vaughan Jones
Children of Marriage: Herbert R 42, Victor M 41, Ivan H 37, Eric B 35, Percy H 34, Ewen A 33, Maxwell C 29 living; 1 male deceased
Informant: R V Jones, widower, Orange Street Condobolin

Cause of Death: Myocarditis
Length of Illness:
Medical Attendant: Ronald MacQueen
Date Last Seen: 25 Aug 1937

Date of Burial: 26 Aug 1937
Place of Burial: Church of England Cemetery Condobolin
Minister & Religion: W Chas Arnold, Church of England
Undertaker: Robert G Marlin
Witnesses: H Y Marlin, F G Vine;Principal=Elizabeth Jane Milgate2 
Death of Father25 October 1942 "Delamah", Condobolin, NSW, Australia;
Name: Reece Vaughan Jones
Date of Death: 25 Oct 1942
Place of Death: Delamah, Condobolin
Occupation: Station Manager
Sex: Male
Age: 77
Conjugal Status:
Place of Birth: Condobolin
Time in Aust Colonies:

Father: Not known
Occupation: Not known
Mother: Not known

Place of Marriage: Not known
Age at Marriage: Not known
Name of Spouse: Not known
Children of Marriage:
Informant: Ross Herbert Jones, son, Delamah, Condobolin

Cause of Death: Carcinoma rectum
Length of Illness: 1 year
Medical Attendant:
Date Last Seen: 24 Oct 1942

Date of Burial: 26 Oct 1942
Place of Burial: Roman Catholic Cemetery Condobolin
Minister & Religion:
Witnesses:;Principal=Reece Vaughan Jones9 
Electoral Roll1943 "Delamah", Condobolin, NSW, Australia;
Jones, Ross Herbert, Delamah, veterinary surgeon
Jones, Jessie May, Delamah, home duties;Principal=Jessie May Moffat8 
Electoral Roll1949 19 Peter Street, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia;
Jones, Ross Herbert, 19 Peter street
Jones, Jessie May, 19 Peter street, home duties;Principal=Jessie May Moffat8 
Electoral Roll1954 2 Flat, 54 Burelli Street, Wollongong, NSW, Australia;
Jones, Ross Herbert, 2 Flat, 54 Burelli street
Jones, Jessie May, 2 Flat, 54 Burelli street, home duties;Principal=Jessie May Moffat8 
Marriage*1957 Wollongong, NSW, Australia;Bride=Maureen Dorothy Baxter10 
Death*8 February 1967 Wood Street, Marrar, NSW, Australia;
Name: Ross Herbert Jones
Date of Death: 8 Feb 1967
Place of Death: Wood Street Marrarr (sic)
Occupation: Grazier
Sex: Male
Age: 73
Conjugal Status: Married
Place of Birth: Nhill Victoria
Time in Aust Colonies:

Father: Recce Vaughan Jones (see note)
Occupation: Stockman
Mother: Elizabeth Jane Milgate

Place of Marriage 1: Condobolin NSW
Age at Marriage 1: Not known
Name of Spouse 1: (Given name unknown) Sloan
Children of Marriage 1: Keith 50, Clyde 48, living; none deceased
Place of Marriage 2: Sydney NSW
Age of Marriage 2: Not known
Name of Spouse 2: Not known
Children of Marriage 2: Not known
Place of Marriage 3: Condobolin NSW
Age at Marriage 3: Not known
Name of Spouse 3: Jessie May Moffatt
Children of Marriage 3: May 38, Edgar R 31, living; none deceased
Place of Marriage 4: Wollongong NSW
Age at Marriage 4: Not known
Name of Spouse 4: Maureen Dorothy Baxter
Children of Marriage 4: Yvonne 8, Ross 5, Richard 3, living; none deceased
Informant: P R Callaghan, Coroner, Wagga Wagga

Cause of Death: Brain laceration due to Gunshot wound to the head
Length of Illness: Inquest adjourned by Paul Roy Callaghan, Coroner at Wagga Wagga on 14 Mar 1967
Medical Attendant:
Date last seen:

Date of Burial: 14 Feb 1967
Place of Burial: Church of England Cemetery Wagga Wagga
Minister & Religion: N Andrews, Church of England
Undertaker: John Dwyer and Company
Witnesses: P Stapleton, D Bodel

Notes: Transcriber's Note: father's name is clearly recorded as "Recce Vaughan Jones" in this register (entry is typed)2 
News-Arct*10 February 1967 "The Canberra Times", Canberra, ACT, Australia;
Killing charge remand
WAGGA, Thursday. — A 30-year-old woman was remanded in Wagga court today on a charge of having murdered an elderly man in Marra, 20 miles from Wagga, last night.
Mrs Maureen Dorothy Jones, domestic, of Marra, was charged with the fatal shooting of Ross Herbert Jones, 73, a retired grazier, also of Marra.
Mr K. Inglis, JP, remanded her until March 7.
Mr K. Hester, for Mrs Jones, did not seek bail, but said an application might be lodged before the Supreme Court later.;Principal=Maureen Dorothy Baxter11 
News-Arct*February 1967 
WOMAN COMMITTED FOR TRIAL ON CHARGE OF MURDERING HUSBAND
Wagga Petty Sessions was told yesterday that a Marrar woman had claimed her 73-year-old husband had threatened to shoot her and cut her throat.
“I went to the wardrobe and grabbed the gun out and went out and I shot him,” she had allegedly said.
Mrs. Maureen Dorothy Jones, 30, of wood Street, Marrar, appeared before Mr. R. L. Radford, S.M., yesterday charged which the murder of Ross Herbert Jones at Marrar on February 8.
Mr. Radford committed her for trial at the Wagga Supreme Court on April 17.
Mrs. Jones pleaded not guilty and reserved her defence.
The prosecution called 12 witnesses at yesterday’s preliminary hearing.
Det. Sgt. L. Lundie, of the Wagga C.I.B., told the court he had gone to a home in Wood Street, Marrar, at about 10 p.m. on February 8.
He said he had seen Mrs. Jones sitting on a chair in the lounge room, and had seen a 410 gauge shotgun lying on the floor.
He had gone to a closed-in verandah where he had seen the body of Ross Herbert Jones seated on a car seat near the wall.
Det. Lundie said Mrs. Jones had told him:
“We came back from the pub after having had four whiskies and he pulled up at Graham Smith’s and we came home and he still kept on and I told him I was leaving.
“He said I couldn’t, he would shoot or cut my throat.
“I went to the wardrobe and grabbed the gun out and went out and I shot him.”
In an interview at the Wagga Police Station later that night, Mrs. Jones had said:
“I just forget what else he said and then we drove home.
“We got home and went back down town to get Richard’s thong, he lost it in front of the pub.
“We came back home, I put the kids to bed.
“I put Yvonne to bed, Rossy was out in the toilet.
“Ricky was in Yvonne’s bedroom and then he started abusing me.
“He told me he’d cut my throat if left.
“I told him I was going to leave and he told me he’d shoot me too if I left.
“I went to the wardrobe, grabbed the gun out and told him I’d shoot him.
“I pulled the trigger and the gun just went off.
“I didn’t know it was loaded.
“I grabbed the kids and ran over to Brown’s and then I went down to Smith’s. Mrs. Smith put the kids there.
“Graham drove me back. I picked up the gun, took the cartridge out, showed Graham and then I put it back in and Graham told me to leave the gun where it was until you came.”
Det. Lundie said he had asked Mrs. Jones why she had pointed the gun at her husband and pulled the trigger.
She had replied “Well, he was abusing me all the time.”
“He has been abusing me for a long time and accusing me of carrying on with other men and also he has been belting the kids.
“he belted the little bloke across the back with his walking stick.”
In reply to a question from barrister, Mr. C. Cullen (for Mrs. Jones), Det. Lundie said he knew that Ross Jones had a reputation for being addicted to drink.
Q: Do you know if he was quarrelsome?
A: That was a portion of his reputation.
Senior Const. William Saunders, of Junee Police, gave evidence of going to the house in Wood Street, Marrar, on the night of February 8.
He said Mrs. Jones had told him: “I don’t know why he put the bullet in, I pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger. I opened it and it had a bullet in it.”
He said Mrs. Jones had said she had gone to an employment agency to get a job to leave.
She had said:
“He took me to the pub and put four whiskies in me, he took me back and threatened me. I pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger. He must have put a bullet in it. I wanted to leave, we were arguing all the time.”
Later, Mrs. Jones had said: “I said to him ‘You threatened to shoot me, now I’ll shoot you’, and I pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger. He said something about a bullet.”
Mrs. Janet Grace Smith, of Don Street, Marrar, told the court that Ross Herbert Jones had come to her house on the night of October 21 last year.
“He said ‘What’s going on between Maureen and Graham’? and I said ‘Nothing why’?
“He said ‘You can’t tell me there’s nothing’, and I said ‘What do you think I am to let another woman carry on with my husband in my own home’.
“He said ‘You big fat b-, you’re just as bad as she is’.”
Mrs. Smith said Mrs. Jones had told her that her husband had threatened to shoot her and stab her.
She said she had seen Mrs. Jones on the morning of February 7, and Mrs. Jones had said she was going home to pack as she was going.
Mrs. Smith said that on the night of February 8, Mrs. Jones had come to their front fence and had kept calling out, “Janet and Graham, I have shot him, I shot Ross.”
In reply to a question from Mr. Cullen, Mrs. Smith said that Jones had told her on October 21 not to go back to his house.
Q: Would you say he was a quarrelsome man? A: Yes, very.
Q: Did you ever hear him arguing with Mrs. Jones? A: Yes, I did.
Q: Did you ever hear him accuse her of associating with other men? A: I have.
Graham John Smith, a truck driver, of Don Street, Marrar, said he had seen Jones in his car at the front of his (Smith’s) home on the evening of February 8.
He said Ross Jones had said he wanted him to stop Maureen from coming to his place.
“I said ‘How do you expect me to do that, it’s up to you to do it, not me,’ and he said ‘I will.’”
Smith said he had told Mr. and Mrs. Jones: I think the best thing you two can do is to go home and fight your own battles out, I’ve got enough of my own.”
Jones and his wife had then driven away.
Smith told the court that later that evening he had heard a cry at the front fence and his wife had called out, “Come quick, she’s shot him.”
He had seen Mrs. Jones who was crying “I shot him, I shot him.”
“I said ‘Is he dead?’ and she said ‘I don’t know, I think so,’ so I said ‘We’d better go and have a look.’
Smith said he had gone to the Jones’ home with Mrs. Jones and had seen a gun against the wall.
“She picked the gun up from where it was standing near the wall, sat in a chair and then she pulled a cartridge out of it and said “That’s what did it. Why did he put it in there?’,” Smith told the court.
Mrs. Ada Ellen Brown, of Wood Street, Marrar, said Mrs. Jones had told her on February 6 that she had been to the employment office in Wagga to try to get a job.
“She mentioned not to say anything to her husband, that he’d shoot her if he knew.
“She said she knew there was one bullet in the house and she was going home to take that and plant it, she knew where it was,” said Mrs. Brown.
She said she had seen Mrs. Jones again on February 8 at about 8.50 p.m. when she came in and said “I have shot Ross, the kids are crying, what will I do?’
Mrs. Brown said Mrs. Jones told her: “I did not know there was a bullet in the gun, I didn’t mean to do it, I just got the gun to frighten him.”;Principal=Maureen Dorothy Baxter 
News-Arct1967 
WOMAN GAOLED FOR KILLING HER HUSBAND
WAGGA, Friday. – A 30-year-old woman who admitted shooting her 73-year-old husband was sentenced to two years’ gaol today.
The Crown accepted a plea of guilty to manslaughter from Mrs Maureen Dorothy Jones, of Wood Street, Marrar.
Mrs Jones admitted shooting her husband, Ross Herbert Jones, at Marrar, near Wagga, on February 8, but said she had not meant to kill him.
Mr Justice Manning said that evidence showed that Mrs Jones had had a very unfortunate and unhappy life.
“One cannot help but feel intense sympathy for you in the predicament in which you now find yourself,” he said.
“I would like very much, not only for your sake, but also for your children, to release you, but regretfully I cannot feel this would be a proper course for me to take. I would not do my duty if I did.”
Evidence was given that Mrs Jones had met her husband when he replied to a newspaper advertisement in which she asked for domestic work.
They later married and had three young children.
On the night of February 8 they argued over his accusations that she had had an affair with a neighbour and over the fact that she had told him she had applied for work elsewhere.
Detective-sergeant L. Lundie, of Wagga, said that Mrs Jones told him:
“He told me he’d cut my throat if I left. I told him I was going to leave and he told me he’d shoot me, too, if I left.
“I went to the wardrobe, grabbed the gun out and told him I’d shoot him. I pulled the trigger and the gun just went off. I didn’t know it was loaded.”
Det. Lundie said he had asked her why she had pointed the gun at her husband and pulled the trigger. She had replied, “Well, he was abusing me all the time. He had been abusing me for a long time and accusing me of carrying on with other men and also has been belting the kids.”
Mr C. Cullen, for Mrs Jones, said that over a long period of time, Mrs Jones had been subjected to physical violence and threats from her husband.
“He did tell her, he said that if she left him he would cut her throat or shoot her, as he was an old man and didn’t have long to live anyway.
“She lives in conditions of appalling poverty. The house is barely furnished.”
Mr Cullen submitted that Mrs Jones hat got the shotgun merely to frighten her husband and had not loaded;Principal=Maureen Dorothy Baxter 

Family 1

Elma May Campbell
Children

Family 2

Gladys Murray

Family 3

Jessie May Moffat
Children

Family 4

Maureen Dorothy Baxter
Children
  • Yvonne Jones12
  • Ross Jones12
  • Richard Jones12

Citations

  1. [S1401] VIC Birth indexes.
  2. [S1294] NSW Death Registration Transcription.
  3. [S1417] VIC Birth Certificate.
  4. [S1481] NSW Marriage Indexes, 8122/1916 Rose H Jones & Elma M Campbell.
  5. [S1683] State Records Divorce papers.
  6. [S1565] Trove digitised newspapers, online http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/, The Forbes Advocate, Friday, July 23, 1926.
  7. [S1481] NSW Marriage Indexes, 17909/1927 Roso H Jones & Gladys Murray.
  8. [S1418] Australian Electoral Rolls 1903-1980.
  9. [S142] NSW Death 25909/1942 - Ross Vaughan Jones.
  10. [S1481] NSW Marriage Indexes, 7637/1957 Ross Herbert Jones & Maureen Dorothy Barter.
  11. [S1565] Trove digitised newspapers, online http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/, The Canberra Times, Friday, February 10, 1967.
  12. [S1596] NSW Death Certificate.