One of the pioneers of Altona, Mr Thomas Joseph Harrington was born in Essex England in 1882. Thomas married Alice May Nunn (1878 – 1966) in January 1906 before migrating to Australia with Florence and Thomas jnr in 1911/12. The family arrived in Altona in 1914, just prior to WWI when there was nothing here except about a dozen houses scattered all over the place. Families soon clubbed together and formed the Progress Association in 1916 which was on the corner of Sargood and Blyth Streets.
The families first home was a tent under a Cyprus trees. Then they rented a place near the Church of England in Queen Street. In the early years before a church was built, Mr. Harrington and other residents formed a church service every Sunday. He was one of the original members of the Altona Baptist Church in Sargood Street and served as church deacon for about 40 years. Thomas worked at the Newport workshops but during the depression he lost his job, like a lot of others. But he also said that it wasn’t too bad. “You could easily get a feed of rabbit or a feed of fish. The rabbits were everywhere and you only had to throw a line to get a fish. Like a lot of other pioneer settlers the Harrington’s were keen to be involved in the community and assisted in its progress and welfare throughout they life, living in Altona.
Edith was the daughter and youngest of three children in the family of Thomas Joseph Harrington and his wife Alice May Harrington (nee Nunn). On Saturday morning, 7 October 1922 young six-year-old Edith was with four or five of her little mates in a paddock about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from her home in Davies Street, Altona Bay, picking wildflowers to create daisy chains. Suddenly Edith began to feel ill so began to walk back to her home.
Richard Palmer, a local dairyman, was driving by in his jinker when he saw the child was not well. He stopped to assist, quickly realised she had been bitten by a snake on the calf of the left leg and applied a tourniquet before rushing her to the Williamstown Hospital.
Edith was admitted, to the hospital, at 11.20am but was barely conscious. Sadly, little Edith passed away at 8.15pm that evening.
Edith’s funeral took place on the following Tuesday at the Williamstown Cemetery. Edith was deeply mourned by her young playmates and 100 primary school children, each carrying posies of flowers, assembled at Altona Railway Station to lead the solemn cortege on its way to the cemetery. After about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) the children left the procession, leaving their posies in a specially designated vehicle which carried them on to the cemetery.
Snakes were just one of the many dangers early residents needed to deal with living in what would be classified as a country area with open blocks of pasture land, long grass and expanses of swampy land. But these early residents survived and progressed the area to what we know today as Altona.