This year marks 180 years since the first recorded burial at Nundah Historic Cemetery in 1846.[1] To commemorate this milestone, the Friends of Nundah Historic Cemetery have published a book of 180 very short stories about individuals buried there. I volunteered to write a couple of stories, including one about Phillip Harley Baker (1945-1946), an infant of just ten months of age.[2] He was the great-grandson of one of the original missionary families at Zion Hill, the Nundah German Mission, Theodore Franz (1815-1891), and his second wife, Mary Ann Best (1835-1911).
Phillip is buried in a family plot alongside his grandfather, Albert Theophilus Franz (1872-1927), a son of Theodore and Mary Ann. Albert’s first wife, Ada Annie née Hiron (1875-1910), and his sister, Dora (Wilhelmina Theodora Ruth) Franz (1858-1934) also appear on the family grave marker.
My research into Phillip’s life led me to uncover the poignant story of his mother, Betty Marie Franz (1915–1984). Betty was born 21 February 1915 in Queensland, Australia, the second child and only daughter of Albert and his second wife, Maggie Matthews (1889-1930).[3] She had an older brother, Howard Theophilus (1913-1971), and three younger brothers, Albert Frederick (1916-1995), Thomas Charles (1923-) and Victor (1927-).
Her childhood was shaped by the aftermath of the Great War, in which many members of her family enlisted, some never to return. Tragedy struck when she was just fifteen years old. Her father died at the age of fifty-five. Only a few years later, in 1930, a devastating motor accident claimed her mother’s life.[4]
On the evening of 31 July, 1930, Betty and her brothers, Albert (called Frederick) and Thomas, were walking with their mother when a car veered off course and struck her mother. Betty and her brothers witnessed their mother being gravely injured. I can only imagine the family disruption, especially when, as revealed in a newspaper report, their older brother, Howard, had been a passenger in the car, which did not stop. The driver was charged with unlawful killing. Maggie’s injuries were so severe that her leg had to be amputated, yet despite medical intervention, she died several days later, leaving Betty and her brothers orphaned.[5] [6]
I’m not sure where Thomas and Victor went, but the older children were taken in by their father’s aunt, Emma Gertrude Franz (1862–1940), and uncle, Charles Gustave Franz (1864–1941).[7] However, this refuge was temporary, as both had died by 1941, leaving the siblings once again without parents or guardians.[8] Still in her twenties and with little family support, Betty nevertheless persevered and found work as a typist.[9]
During World War II, sometime before 1943, Betty met Albert Harley Baker (1913–1987).[10] Albert was born in Butte, Montana, in the United States, the eldest child of Walter Oscar Baker (1886–1960) and Anna Amalia Hallberg (1893–1970).[11] He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on 3 March 1937. In 1940, a Navy Muster Roll noted his promotion to Warrant Gunner while serving aboard the submarine USS S‑36 at Manila in the Philippines.[12]
American troops began arriving in Brisbane from December 1941 and were initially welcomed, but tensions soon developed as U.S. forces were better paid and equipped, occupied local accommodation, and could purchase goods unavailable to Australians under wartime rationing. These strains culminated on 26 November 1942, American Thanksgiving Day, in the violent disturbance later known as the “Battle of Brisbane,” during which Australian Private Edward Webster was killed. Official censorship suppressed details of the incident, ensuring its lasting notoriety.[13]
Against this uneasy wartime backdrop, an estimated 7,000 Queensland women married American servicemen, including Betty, who married Albert 26 July 1943.[14] Their first child, Robert Howard Baker (1943–1997), was born in June 1943, while Albert was serving in the Pacific theatre.[15] By 1944, Albert was still serving with the U.S. Navy in the Pacific, where he participated in a traditional “Crossing the Line” ceremony marking his initiation from “Pollywog” to “Shellback” after crossing the Equator.[16] Albert was able to visit Betty in Brisbane and, in 1945, their second child, Phillip, was born. Tragically, Phillip died of septicaemia just ten months later and was buried in one of Betty’s family plots at Nundah Historic Cemetery.[17]
In 1947, Betty left Australia to join Albert overseas. Their third child, Stephanie, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1950, before the family later settled in San Diego, California.[18] [19] In a 1952 letter, written to a friend in Brisbane, Betty wrote that she “just can’t get used to the cold winters in San Diego.” She added: “It does not snow in San Diego, but there are mountains about 100 miles from here which are covered with snow. On Sunday we are taking a drive to Mt. Laguna (the closest). We have a heater in the car and I’m not sure whether I’ll get out and do a frolic with the children or stay put in the front seat!”
The accompanying newspaper article explained that, as the wife of Lieutenant-Commander (Albert) Harley Baker, a member of the crew of the American submarine Nereus, Mrs. Baker (Betty Franz, of Hendra, before her marriage) had accompanied her husband to naval bases in Manila, Hawaii, and now San Diego. While life in Hawaii was described as extremely pleasant, Betty noted that it was generally very expensive. At the time, the Bakers had two children, a son, Bobbie, nearly eight, and daughter Stephanie, aged two and a half.[20] Another letter in 1954 described Betty and Albert moving over 3,000 miles from San Diego on the west coast to Rhode Island on the east. That report noted another child, a son, Chip, who had been born in San Diego.[21]
Betty and Albert separated in 1967 and divorced in June 1969, with Albert filing for divorce in Seattle, Washington State.[22] He remarried that same month. It appears that Betty did not remarry. She remained in the United States until her death in Sonora, California, in 1984.[23] Albert died in Sacramento, California in 1987.[24]
I was pleased to discover the surviving letters written by Betty, which offer glimpses of resilience, adaptation, and a life shaped by circumstance but lived fully. Some years ago, I had contact with a granddaughter of Albert by his second wife. She was interested in Betty’s Australian family, and I was able to share some information. I have since reached out to her again, now with much more that I can pass on, ensuring that Betty’s story, once hidden behind a single grave marker, continues to be remembered.
[1] Australia Cemeteries Index, “Nundah Historic Cemetery,” https://austcemindex.com/cemetery?cemid=2900; and Carl Friedrich Gerler, Sketch of the German Mission Station at Nundah, Brisbane, 1846, University of Queensland Library, https://hdl.handle.net/10462/deriv/129660; both accessed 29 January 2026.
[2] Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, death registration for Phillip Harley Baker, 1946; Queensland Government BDM online index; age at death consistent with birth year 1945.
[3] Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, birth registration for Betty Marie Franz, 1915; Queensland Government BDM online index, registration no. 1915/B/39329.
[4] Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, death registration for Maggie Franz, 1930; Queensland Government BDM online index, registration no. 1930B/11745.
[5] “Knocked Down by Car Woman’s Left Leg Amputated,” The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld), Friday 1 August 1930, p.8; digitised at Trove (https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/197634797).
[6] “Unlawfully Killing, Youth charged, Brisbane Motor Accident ,Mrs. Franz’s death,” Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette (Qld), Thursday, 21 August 1930, page 11; digitised at Trove (https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/254164307).
[7] Australian Electoral Rolls, 1901-1936, Electoral Roll for Betty Marie Franz 1937, Ancestry.com, (on-line database), Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007.Original data – Australian Electoral Commission. (Electoral roll). Microform mc N 451-mc N 457. National Library of Australia, Canberra, Australia. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/5044952/person/177681243/facts.
[8] Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, death registration for Emma Gertrude Franz, Queensland Government BDM online index, registration no. 1940/B/47421; and for Charles Gustave Franz, registration no. 1941/52489.
[9] Queensland, Australia, Commonwealth Electoral Rolls, 1906-1969, Electoral Roll for 1941 for Betty Marie Franz, (on-line database), Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2022, Lehi, UT, USA.
[10] Washington, Divorce Index, 1969-2014, Divorce Index for Albert Harley Baker stating date of marriage to Betty Baker, nee Franz in Australia, (on-line database), Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2017, Lehi, UT, USA. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/5044952/person/6131678314/facts
[11] Montana, County Births and Deaths, 1830-2011, (on-line database), Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 2017, Lehi, UT, USA; original data, Montana State Historical Society; Helena, Montana; FHL Roll: 47-82. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/5044952/person/6131678314/facts
[12] U.S., World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949, (digital image), Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed (29 January 2026)), entry for Baker, Albert H., (USS S-36), muster dated 31 Aug 1940; notes service at Manila, P.I. and reports enlistment at Coco Solo, C.Z (Panama Canal Zone, US territory) on 3 March 1937.
[13] “Battle of Brisbane Riot in World War II,” Department of Veterans’ Affairs (Australia), Anzac Portal, 2026, https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww2/homefront/battle-of-brisbane-riot.
accessed 29 January 2026;
“Mob Sunday: War Brides of Brisbane,” Museum of Brisbane https://www.museumofbrisbane.com.au/mob-sunday-stories-war-brides-of-brisbane.
Ray, M., “Battle of Brisbane,” Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 November 2025, https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Brisbane.
Department of Veterans’ Affairs (Australia), “Battle of Brisbane Riot in World War II”, Anzac Portal, 2026, https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww2/homefront/battle-of-Brisbane-riot. accessed 29 January 2026.
[14] Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Marriage registration for Albert Harley Baker to Betty Marie Franz, 1943; Queensland Government BDM online index, registration no. 1943/B/55423..
[15] 1950 United States Federal Census, Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Naval Housing Area No. 1, Honolulu, Hawaii; Roll: 6300; Page: 15; Enumeration District: 2-275, (on-line database), Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2022, Lehi, UT, USA. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62308/images/43290879-Hawaii-227012-0016?pId=2505681
[16] U.S. Navy Cruise Books, 1918–2009, USS West Virginia (BB‑48), 1944; Navy Department Library, Washington, D.C.; digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed (29 January 2026)). The cruise book documents a “Crossing the Line” ceremony conducted during the ship’s 1944 operations.
[17] Australia and New Zealand, Find A Grave Index, 1800s-Current, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.(on-line database) 2012, Provo, UT, USA
[18] Honolulu, Hawaii, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1900-1959, National Archives and Records administration (NARA), Online publication – Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.Original data – Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving or Departing at Honolulu, Hawaii, 1900–1954. NARA Microfilm Publication A3422, 269 rolls; A3510, 175 rolls; A3574, 27 rolls; A3575,
[19] California Passenger and Crew Lists, 1882-1957, Online publication – Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008-2011. (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7949/images/CAM1410_390-0761?pId=934591)
[20] “Former Brisbane Girl now can’t get used to the cold,” Brisbane Telegraph (QLD), Friday , 22 February 1952, page 11; digitised at Trove (https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/216614364).
[21] “In Town and Out” Truth (Brisbane (Qld), Sunday 3 January 1954, page 35; Digitised at Trove https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/202680993?browse=ndp%3Abrowse%2Ftitle%2FT%2Ftitle%2F942%2F1954%2F01%2F03%2Fpage%2F22077032%2Farticle%2F202680993.
[22] Washington, Divorce Index, 1969-2014, (on-line database), Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2017, Lehi, UT, USA. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/5044952/person/6131678314/facts
[23] California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997 (database on-line). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000, Death Index for Betty Marie Baker, – Original data: State of California. California Death Index, 1940-1997. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics. Place: Sonoma; Date: 17 Jul 1984; Social Security: 037262038 https:///search/collections/5180/records/318329?tid=5044952&pid=177681243&ssrc=pt
[24] California US., Death Index, 1940-1997 (database-on-line). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2000, Death Index for Albert Harley Baker, – Original data – Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics, Date: 2 Apr 1987; Social Security: 037262038 https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/5044952/person/6131678314/facts
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