Reginald Masters Telfer

Role: Son of Francis Charles Telfer and Amy Ellen Telfer (née Provis) — brother of Murray John Telfer, father of Malvern Reginald Telfer (grandfather of Sam Telfer MP)
Born: 11 Dec 1922 — Tumby Bay, SA
Died: 30 Jul 2011 (aged 88)
Parents: Francis Charles Telfer (1875–1954) & Amy Ellen Telfer (1884–1951) (née Provis)
Wife: Elma Ellen Martina (née Pugsley) (1923–1996) — married 27 Mar 1945, Ungarra SA
Brother: Murray John Telfer (1924–2009)
Children: Vonda Joy, Brenda Janice, Lyndell Marie, Malvern Reginald, David Lyndon
Siblings: Francis Kelson, Clarice May, Emily Amelia, Ethel Jean, Gladys Merle, Doris Elma, Edwin Roy, Murray John, Ruth

Family

Official Records — SA registrations (verified 3 Sep 2026, Genealogy SA)

Birth: TELFER, Reginald Masters — born 11 Dec 1922, Tumby Bay, Flinders district; father Francis Charles TELFER, mother Amy Ellen PROVIS. (SA Birth Registration Book 107A/Page 542)

Marriage: TELFER, Reginald Masters ↔ PUGSLEY, Elma Ellen Martina — married 27 Mar 1945, Flinders district; groom father Francis Charles TELFER; bride father Frederick Arthur PUGSLEY. (SA Marriage Registration Book 479/Page 1343)

⚠️ Spelling correction (verified): The family history renders the wife's maiden name "Pubsley"; the official SA marriage registration records it as "Pugsley" — Elma Ellen Martina Pugsley.

Death: died 30 Jul 2011 aged 88 (death notice printed Adelaide papers 2 Aug 2011; funeral notice 5 Aug 2011). (Genealogy SA Newspaper Death Notices; SA official death register post-1996 not in the online index — death confirmed via newspaper notice.)

Family of Origin

Reginald Masters was the eighth child (born 11 Dec 1922) of Francis Charles "Charlie" Telfer and Amy Ellen Provis of the Tumby Bay / Ungarra (Eyre Peninsula) district. His younger brother Murray John Telfer (1924–2009) was Mark Telfer's paternal grandfather — so Reginald was Mark's great-uncle.

The sibling-cluster is consistent: elder brother Edwin Roy born 25-Aug-1919 Tumby Bay (Book 44A/51) and sister Clarice May born 22-May-1911 (Book 865/209), all children of the same parents, all Tumby Bay / Flinders — confirming the family was settled at Old Scrub Farm, Ungarra by the 1910s–20s.

Marriage & Descendants

Reg married Elma Ellen Martina Pugsley (b. 30 Apr 1923, Lipson SA; d. 18 Feb 1996, Adelaide SA) on 27 Mar 1945 (daughter of Frederick Arthur Pugsley). They raised their family at Ungarra, SA:

• Vonda Joy (b. 6 Jun 1948, Tumby Bay) – m. David Grant Kelly (3 Mar 1973, Ungarra)
• Brenda Janice (b. 5 Oct 1949, Tumby Bay) – m. Peter James Manuel (8 May 1971, Ungarra)
• Lyndell Marie (b. 4 Jan 1951, Tumby Bay) – m. Robert Norman Maddern (2 Feb 1971, Ungarra)
• Malvern Reginald (b. 24 Apr 1953, Tumby Bay) – m. Lynette Ruth Gordge (15 Feb 1975), father of Samuel Joel "Sam" Telfer MP
• David Lyndon (b. 25 Mar 1957, Tumby Bay; d. 28 Jan 1996) – m. Kathleen Meredith Hancock (21 May 1977, Magill)

The Old Scrub Farm, Ungarra

Reg owned and worked the "Old Scrub Farm" at Ungarra, SA — noted in Some Childhood Memories by his sister Jean McMurtrie, and in From the Borders to the Bush the family history records that Reg "still owned and worked 'the Old Scrub Farm' into the late 1980s — the original family property that had 'produced many good crops over the last 80 years.'" As a boy he was known for cutting his younger brother Murray's finger with scissors when Murray held it out and said "cut it." In later years he suffered from severe arthritis.

Sources

• SA Birth Registration Book 107A/542 — Reginald Masters Telfer, b. 11 Dec 1922 Tumby Bay, parents Francis Charles Telfer & Amy Ellen Provis (Genealogy SA online, accessed 3 Sep 2026)
• SA Marriage Registration Book 479/1343 — Reginald Masters Telfer & Elma Ellen Martina Pugsley, 27 Mar 1945 Flinders (Genealogy SA online, accessed 3 Sep 2026)
• Genealogy SA Newspaper Death Notices — Reginald Masters Telfer, d. 30 Jul 2011, funeral 5 Aug 2011, notices printed 2 Aug 2011 (accessed 3 Sep 2026)
• A Telfer Family Tree — Supplement 2008 (printed pp. 142–143; scanned pages 143–144 of the PDF) — Reginald Masters Telfer entry with full descendants, incl. Elma's birth (30 Apr 1923 Lipson) & death (18 Feb 1996 Adelaide), and children incl. Malvern Reginald (b. 24 Apr 1953) → Samuel Joel (b. 12 Sep 1985). OCR/Google-transcription of scans, 3 Sep 2026
• From the Borders to the Bush (ISBN 0 7316 6387 X), pp. 131–134 "Some Childhood Memories" by Jean McMurtrie (née Telfer); pp. 139, 175
• Oral family confirmation — Timothy Neil Telfer (28 Aug 2026 phone call): Reginald Masters → Malvern → Sam line