Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From Ballarat & District in the Great War
 
When people develop a strong connection to an area, there is a deep feeling of pride, of belonging. That was certainly the case with the Blight family of Mount Pleasant.

Peter Blight was born in the Cornish seaside town of St Ives in 1825. He arrived in Ballarat with his young wife in the year leading up to the historic Eureka Stockade, and settled in Mount Pleasant. From the family home in Barkly Street, he worked as a carpenter.

His third child, John White Blight, was to become a highly respected teacher at State Schools in and around Ballarat. He married Susan Ward Simons at Ballarat on 24 May 1883. Susan was born in the mining village of Crowan, which meant their children had the great inheritance of being effectively Cornish.
John and Susan would produce three soldier sons – Ivie Beaumont “Ivo” Blight, born at Millbrook in 8 September 1889, George Elmo Blight born on 5 December 1894 and their youngest son, Sidney Willerton, on 4 July 1896 – both were born at Bungaree.

Ivo began his education at the Bungaree State School, where their father was head teacher. When John Blight was transferred to the Dana Street State School in the centre of Ballarat in the early 1900’s, Sid was enrolled at the same school. Elmo studied at the Macarthur Street State School, whilst Ivo was soon to begin his career with the Union Bank of Australasia.
The boys all became scholars at the Lydiard Street Methodist Church Sunday School. Elmo, in particular, enjoyed performing and writing – he competed at Royal South Street where he won many prizes in the elocution and literary competitions.

Moving back to Ballarat also allowed for closer contact to the extended family. It was a specific point of pride that Peter Blight was now known as the oldest resident in Mount Pleasant.

Music was also a central part of life for the Blight family. Whilst John conducted various school choirs, including that of the Lydiard Street Methodist Sunday School, his daughters, Vera, Crena and Edna featured prominently, singing and playing organ for many of the performances.

On 20 April 1908, the Blights found themselves caught up in a terrible tragedy that was to effect dozens of Ballarat families. The second eldest of the Blight children, Algie, had left home on the evening train heading into Melbourne. The train was packed with holiday-makers and, as a result, was two carriages longer than usual. It was just pulling out of the Sunshine station when it was hit from behind by a speeding Bendigo train. The resulting impact absolutely destroyed the guard’s van and the four rear carriages, reducing them to splinters and shards of timber. Casualties were horrendous – 44 were killed and more than 400 were injured. Amongst those who died in the crash was Algie Blight. It is still Victoria’s worst rail disaster.

The Blight family suffered two sad losses in quick succession – John White Blight, who had been approaching his jubilee year as a teacher, died quite suddenly on 13 June 1922. Of all his fine achievements, one that stood out to any afficionado of sport was the occasion when he had represented a Ballarat XI against an Australian team lead by the legendary cricketer, Fred Spofforth.

Then, on 2 November 1923, in what was described as ‘another tragedy of the war [that] ended at Caulfield Hospital,’ Ivo Blight succumbed to the illness that had plagued his life since returning to Australia.