By KAREN SCHAMBERGER - Young Historical Society

Stationer Edgar Ernest (Ted) Payne was born at Braidwood in 1874 and arrived in Young in 1906. His first job was as an ironmonger for William Francis Weeden and then he was employed at Grenfell by Hill and Halls Ltd.

In 1909, he married Florence (Flo) McLachlan and they set up Payne’s Newsagency at 188 Boorowa St later that year. Florence May was born in 1888 to John McLachlan and his wife Ellen nee Spencer at Young. The Paynes had two children Arthur (Mick) and Muriel (Molly).

Prior to her marriage Flo undertook Trinity College Music Examinations in 1903 and was involved with the Spring Flower Show in 1906, looking after the event’s fishpond.

Ted joined the Caledonian Society and competed as an athlete, completing in 1907. He was a well-known gunman, being a member of the Young Gun Club and shooting quail to augment the France’s Day Fund during World War I, so those quail could be sent to Sydney to be sold on the streets by the Red Cross Ladies. Ted was also one of the founding members of the Poultry Club in 1917.

Payne’s Newsagency was one of the Agents for the Young Witness. However, the Newsagency had some trouble getting the papers to subscribers on time, and it struggled with sending mail on time as people complained 1917. The newsagency did improve, however, and was also the booking agency for musical and theatrical tours of Young.

In 1920, Ted was able to purchase the business premises where his newsagency had been leased from W. Rowan. Unfortunately, Ted became very ill in 1933 and died on Saturday 14 April 1934. As a newsagent, ‘he won the esteem of his fellow citizens in very high degree.’

Flo continued to run the newsagency with the assistance of her teenage children. V.J. Giuliano described her as ‘a wonderful character who loved to mix bantry with good humour with her customers.’

She was charitable and keenly interested in the welfare of others. ‘Forthright in her views she had no compunction in criticising the actions of public figures if she thought their ideas were wrong. Her criticism was respected too.’ Flo died on Saturday 7 August 1965.

The Young Historical Museum received a number of items from her estate, including a writing case from the newsagency, a London-made disc gramophone which was restored by Errol Eastley, a German-made Guitar Mandolin Banjo (chord zither) which was sold door to door to Australian households in the 1930s, the Manchester Unity Sash of Ted Payne as well as the statue of Barney from the Digger’s Theatre at Lambing Flat, 1861.