BERTRUE, Peter

Name – BERTRUE, Peter
Born – 1837
Died – 9/11/1917
Location – No 11 Presbyterian Section
Mother – Margaret Pigeno
Father – Francis Bertrue

Notes – Peter Bertrue was born in Bordeaux, France in 1837 and was the son of Margaret and Francis Bertrue. Details of his immigration to Australia have been difficult to locate and this might be because of the spelling of his surname, Bertrue.

Peter married Isabella King on Christmas Day 1877. The couple had four children, Peter Fredrick, Janette Isabella, Edwin James and Mary. Prior to his marriage, he owned land around Bendigo. In 1871 he made application to buy 20 acres at Marong and the following year he applied for another 26 acres next to his original parcel of land. He became an Australian citizen in 1903. On the rolls for Morwell, Victoria they listed Peter as a Contractor with Isabella.

Peter primarily worked in his trade as a carpenter but when the family moved to Tara in 1909, he turned his hand to farming. One can only imagine how different Tara would have been to his hometown of Bordeaux. His two eldest children, Peter and Janette lived and worked the property with him and Isabella. The Bertrue family appear on the following electoral rolls; 1909 Undulla Creek Myra, Tara with Peter, [Isabella is not listed on this roll]; and then on the 1913 and 1916 rolls Peter is listed as being at Myra with Isabella, Peter and Janette.

Peter died three days before his wife of forty odd years. At the time of his death, Peter Bertrue was the first Frenchman known to be buried in the Tara cemetery.

Peter shares his headstone with his wife and the inscription reads – In loving memory of our dear parents, Peter Bertrue Died Nov 9 1917 Isabella Bertrue Died Nov 12 1917 Gone but not forgotten.

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Learn more about the Tara Cemetery here.