Timeline: 1920s

Dick and Cath are born; the McLeods emigrate to Australia; Norman begins his lighthouse career.

Events

31 Jul 1920 — Richard Charles (Lex/Dick) Whillas born, Woodville, Adelaide. No birth certificate.
28 Sep 1921 — Catherine McLeod (Cath) born at 10 Grove St, Glasgow (birth certificate held).
24 Jun 1925 — John H. Whillas (JH) commences work with the PMG; except for a stint on Sth Neptune lighthouse in 1931–32, he remains with the PMG all his working life.
11 Feb 1927 — Norman McLeod appointed to the SA Lighthouse Service at Cape Jaffa light.
Jun 1927 — JH passes the exam for Junior Mechanic with the PMG.
7 Oct 1927 — Cath, with her mother Catherine Gunn, arrives in Adelaide on the Orvieto from Tilbury (passenger list held). They were nominated as assisted immigrants to SA. See immigration event.
Oct 1928 — "Uncle Joe" working for the PMG, probably at Bordertown.

Norman's SA lighthouse tenure (from Australian Archives log extracts, faxed to Robert Whillas 19 Mar 1997; he was on 3-year contracts, not staff): Cape Jaffa from 11 Feb 1927; Neptune Island from 7 May 1930; Cape Northumberland from 19 Feb 1933 until 29 Mar 1936. Cath's later recollections add Althorpe Island (1934–36) and Cape du Couedic, Kangaroo Island (1936–40), plus Troubridge Shoal and Lowly Point during installation periods.
At Cape Jaffa there were onshore houses 25 km from Kingston; the lighthouse itself was 8 km offshore. For the last 6 months there, Cath boarded in Kingston with Jim (Wag) Winter.
Cath was born in Glasgow where Norman worked as an electrician. He had been in Australia ~2 years before Cath and her mother arrived in 1927.