Colin Roy Telfer
Biography
Born: 19 January 1889, Tantanoola SA
Died: 14 May 1964 (age 75), Surry Hills NSW
Mother: Martha Henstridge (~1854–1921)
Father: John Telfer (1840–1913)
Wife: Elsie Cecelia (O'Shea) Telfer (m. 1914 Temora, NSW; later divorced)
Occupation: ?
Family
| Relation | Name |
|---|---|
| Self | Colin Roy Telfer |
| Father | John Telfer (1840–1913) |
| Mother | Martha Clara Henstridge |
| Wife | Elsie Cecelia (O'Shea) Telfer (b. 1897; m. 1914 Temora, NSW; later divorced) |
| Daughter | Phyllis May Telfer (b. 1920) |
| Daughter | Ruth (given name only; born c. 1920s — daughter of Colin Roy, not of the Francis Charles line) |
| Son | Colin Cyril Telfer (b. 1917) |
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 19 Jan 1889 | Born at Tantanoola, South Australia |
| 5 Jan 1913 | Father John Telfer died at Tantanoola |
| 1914 | Married Elsie Cecelia O'Shea at Temora, New South Wales (later divorced) |
| 1917 | Birth of son Colin Cyril Telfer, East Goulburn, NSW |
| 1920 | Birth of daughter Phyllis May Telfer, Goulburn, NSW |
| 14 May 1964 | Died at Surry Hills, New South Wales (age 75) |
Sources
Not yet sourced: his 1914 NSW marriage and 1964 NSW death are held by the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, not Genealogy SA; the NSW index sits behind a bot-check and was not reachable on 18 Sep 2026. The book facts above stand on their own; a NSW register entry would add certificate-level detail when access is available.
Family Stories
Colin Roy was born at Tantanoola in 1889, the thirteenth child of John Telfer (1840–1913) and Martha Henstridge. He married Elsie Cecelia O'Shea in 1914 at Temora, New South Wales, and they had three children — Colin Cyril, Phyllis May and Ruth. The marriage later ended in divorce. He died at Surry Hills, New South Wales in 1964, having migrated interstate like several of his siblings. (From the Borders to the Bush, p.258; A Telfer Family Tree (2008), p.276)
A correction to an earlier version of this page. This page previously stated that "no marriage record has been found, and he may have been a lifelong bachelor." That was wrong. He married, and the family history books record the marriage and its three children. The error arose because the search had been limited to South Australian indexes, whereas Colin Roy married in New South Wales, whose records are held by the NSW Registry rather than by Genealogy SA. His children and their descendants appear on this page by name and birth year only, in keeping with this archive's rule for living people.
Tags
Parents
- John Telfer (1840 – 1913)
- Martha Henstridge (1854 – 1921)
Siblings
- Alan Dale Telfer (1890 – 1937)
- Charles Telfer (1875 – 1954)
- Clara Blanche Telfer (1883 – 1974)
- Douglas Telfer (1887 – 1956)
- Isabella Lucieton Telfer (1880 – 1964)
- John Roland Telfer (1882 – 1975)
- Maria Clara Telfer (1878 – 1903)
- Marian Telfer Cornish (1896 – 1977)
- Mark Telfer (1877 – 1946)
- Robert Freddy Telfer (1886 – 1949)