Ernst (Ernest) Charles Siekmann/Brinkworth was born on March 2, 1912 in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, the eldest son of Frederick and Janet Siekmann (née Tucker). At the time they were living at 48 Campbell Street, Kalgoorlie, where Fred was employed as a storeman and grocery assistant for a large firm of merchants. Ernst and three of his siblings grew up in Kalgoorlie until, towards the end of World War 1 in 1918, they moved to Adelaide.
They lived at 84 Goodwood Road, Wayville, where Janet and Fred opened a grocery store. Ernest Brinkworth, as he was now called, attended Goodwood Primary School and then Thebarton Boys Technical School, which opened in 1924. Upon leaving school, he began work in his mother's store and trained as a grocer. On March 3, 1930 he joined the 27th Battalion Militia (the Army Australian Reserve) at Keswick, where he rose through the ranks from Private to Sergeant, becoming a valued member of his unit's rifle and machine gun shooting team between 1931 and 1939. He also joined the St John Ambulance Brigade at Unley as an ambulance officer.
After the start of World War 2, he enlisted in the Australian Military Forces on April 23, 1940, and served as a machine gun instructor with the 27th Battalion (SA Scottish Regiment), which had been formed in 1938. He was involved with training at various locations within Australia, including Keswick, Dubbo, Greta and Darwin, and was discharged from the army on November 6, 1945. Subsequently he joined The Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia (RSSILA), which used to meet in a back room of the Garden Suburb Commission's building in West Parkway, Colonel Light Gardens.
Soon after the beginning of the war, Ern married Alice Vera Richards, eldest daughter of George and Alice Richards (both deceased) on September 7, 1940.
They began their married life at 35 Dunrobin Road, Hove. Here Ern was presented with twin boys, Peter and Malcolm, who were born on July 6, 1942 at Bindarra Private Hospital on Jetty Road, Brighton. They moved to their home (for the next 20 years) at 78 Richmond Avenue, Colonel Light Gardens West on May 10, 1943.
On December 12, 1946, Ern became father to a third son Alan Morris, who was born at the Memorial Hospital, North Adelaide. At this time, Ern began work as a refrigeration mechanic for Coldstream (Refrigerators) Pty Ltd in Maude Street, Unley, makers of commercial and domestic refrigerators. While working there, Ern bought the family's first refrigerator (replacing the ice chest in the passage, which had to be replenished periodically with blocks of ice). Around 1960, he was laid off, and after a brief period working for Godfrey's rebuilding traded-in refrigerators, he joined the Public Buildings Department where he serviced refrigerated air conditioners.
After a short illness, Ern died on December 3, 1975 and was buried with Vera at Centennial Park Cemetery.
