In this single bare grave lie five infant brothers – Leslie, Francis, Robert, Thomas and Leonard Cant. None lived to celebrate their first birthday. Their names are little known today, yet behind this grave lies a story of love, hope and repeated heartbreak.
Alexander Ogilvie Cant and Frances Mary Davidson Leslie married at St Andrew’s Church, Colac, in 1886. Alexander was a respected produce merchant, farmer and community leader, while Frances, born in Aberdeen, Scotland, described herself as a “gentlewoman.” Together they began building a life and family in the growing town of Colac.
Their first daughter, Isabella, was born the following year, followed by a son, Ronald. Then tragedy struck. In 1890, little Leslie died at just three months of age. The following year Francis lived only seventeen days. In 1892 Robert died before reaching three months. Thomas followed in 1894, and Leonard in 1899. Each little boy buried in this grave.
As the years passed, the pattern became heartbreakingly familiar for Frances. Pregnancy, birth, hopes raised, then death. For Alexander, each loss meant another death to register, another funeral to arrange and another journey to the cemetery. For Isabella, growing from a toddler into a young teenager, it meant welcoming baby brothers into the family only to lose them again.
Yet the Cant family refused to surrender to grief. Between those losses came daughters Mary, Ella and Jessie, and in 1904 their youngest child, Winton. Life continued. Alexander remained active in business and community affairs, while Frances managed a large household and cared for her growing family.
In 1910 the family left Colac for Queensland to begin again. Though the grave of the five little boys bears no headstone, it stands as a reminder of a family who endured repeated heartbreak but never lost hope.

Research by Merrill O'Donnell and Stephen Brooks
Story by Merrill O'Donnell and Stephen Brooks


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