Jill Norah Hume Townsend (697)

Date of Birth: 15 June 1948
Date of Death: Unknown
Generation: 9th
Residence: Yandina Creek, Queensland
Father: John Patrick Townsend [656]
Mother: Brown, Cecily Ray
Spouse:
  1. Beath, John
Issue:
  1. Larissa Jane
  2. Jordin Michael
  3. Michael John
See Also: Table VI ; Scrapbook ; Lineage ; Ancestors' Tree ; Descendents' Tree

Notes for Jill Norah Hume Townsend

Jill was born in 1948 in Arusha, Tanganyika where she went to primary school, before attending boarding school in Nairobi, Kenya. She moved to South Africa with her family in 1965, where she completed her matriculation certificate at Pietermaritzburg university (1) following which she studied to be a secretary in Durban.

Whilst working at the British Consulate in Durban Jill met her husband to be, John Beath; she sailed to London in 1970 and John followed soon after. They married in Huntingdon and spent two years working and travelling in the UK and Europe. When they returned to South Africa in 1977, they started a business, Suregro Nursery, in Pinetown.

During their holidays they hiked in the Drakensburg Mountains and travelled extensively around Europe, Russia, Thailand, Botswana, Malawi and Kenya.

In 2001 Jill and John moved to Australia on a business visa and ran a convenience store to get their permanent residency. Following this they established a commercial market garden. All the while their love of travel continued with tours around Australia and visits to South America and New Zealand before retiring. They live at Yandina Creek on the Sunshine Coast.

Of the children:-

Larissa Jane Beath was born in 1973 in Pinetown, South Africa and studied teaching. She married Nicholas (Nick) Tompkins in 1995 and they worked for four years in Vanderbijlpark before moving to London in 1999 to work and travel. In 2000, their daughter, Hannah Beath, was born and in 2002 they emigrated to Australia, arriving a few months before their son, Evan Beath, was born in 2003. Larissa has taught in both primary and high schools and Nick is a mechanical engineer. Since moving to Australia, they have travelled widely, including to Japan, Bali and New Zealand. They live in Mudjimba on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. In 2022 Larissa transcribed the 336 pages of the journal written by Henrietta Townsend about her travels in South Africa and India where she stayed with her brother-in-law, Edward Hume Townsend, who was a Collector and Political Agent for the East India Company in the Bombay Presidency. The journal is reproduced in the page Recollections.

Jordin Michael Beath was born in 1975 in Pinetown, South Africa and studied to be a mechanic. He married Kim Marshall in 2000 and they moved to London soon afterwards to work and travel. In 2001 their son, Andrew Beath was born and in 2003, they emigrated to Australia, where their sons, Cameron Beath and Joshua Beath were born. Jordin works for Mercedes Benz and Kim does administration work for a firm of architects. The family lives in Palmwoods on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.

Michael John Beath was born in 1983 in Pinetown, South Africa. After finishing school, he emigrated with his parents to Australia, where he did an aviation degree and became a pilot. He married Naomi Briggs and they have three children, Elena Beath, Sarah Beath and Simeon Beath. Mike worked for MAF, a mission organization. Having previously lived in Arnhem Land, Australia and in Juba, South Sudan, the family now live in Cairns, where Mike flies small aircraft for the Queensland government.

(1) Now University of KwaZulu-Natal