A small plaque in Colac Cemetery bears the name of Calvert Bartlett beside his little sister Nellie and their grandfather, Henry Pitman. At first glance it is a modest memorial, yet it tells a story of family, loss, and the close bonds that connected three generations.
Calvert was born at Barramunga in 1898, the ninth child of Henry and Elizabeth Bartlett. His parents were part of a hardworking pioneering family that moved through the Colac district and the Otways in search of opportunity. Henry worked as a labourer, carrier, and later a farmer, while Elizabeth cared for a growing household that would eventually include twelve children.
Life in rural Victoria could be demanding and uncertain. When Calvert was only five months old, he became gravely ill with acute enteritis. Despite every hope for his recovery, he died in October 1898 and was laid to rest here in Colac. His loss was a sorrow carried by the entire family.
Four years later another tragedy followed when little Nellie, one of Calvert's younger sisters, died at just three months of age and was buried beside him. In his later years their grandfather, Henry Pitman, lived with the Bartlett family, and when he died in 1911, he too was laid to rest alongside the grandchildren he had outlived.
Though Calvert's life lasted only a few short months it stands as a quiet reminder of the joys, sorrows, and enduring family ties that shaped so many lives in this district.
Research by Merrill O’Donnell
Story by Lynette Genua


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