ACT Heritage Library Manuscript Collections

HMSS 0412 Castlehow Family Photographs 

Scope and Content Notes 

The Castlehow family came to Canberra from Western Australia, certainly by 1942. Leonard Charles Thomas Castlehow, born 1903 in Boulder, WA, was the Investigating Officer for the Prices Commission in Canberra during World War 2, remaining in the Public Service until at least 1980, according to the electoral rolls. His wife Neta Lillian worked as a clerk during the 1960s. They and their two daughters, Patricia and Jennifer, lived in Griffith. Leonard was a member of the Canberra Club, and Neta joined the Canberra Croquet Club.

Both daughters studied music at school. Although Patricia was a debutante at the Canberra High School Ball, newspaper reports suggest that she attended Canberra Church of England Girls Grammar School, as did her sister. Pat went on to Technical College, and Jennifer, having studied for Leaving at the Canberra Evening College, went to Canberra University College, later the Australian National University.

Pat married Baron Nicholas von Bellingshausen about 1957, and they subsequently lived in Canada. Jennifer married Francis Dow, a research assistant at ANU, in 1968, and remained in Canberra. Jennifer, by then Jennifer Aujard, donated the three family photographs to the ACT Heritage Library. 

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