19 May 1878 'Rhodes' Longford Tasmania Australia Davida Mary Taylor Vida Isabel, Keith Herbert, Rhoda Margaret & Zelda

Keith Ernest Gatenby was born at 'Rhodes', Longford, on 19 May 1878 to Herbert Gatenby and his second wife Elizabeth Mary Giblin who married on 30 Dec 1875. He was educated at the Launceston Church Grammar School. On 7 Feb 1912 at Kirklands Church, Keith married Davida Mary Taylor of 'St Johnstone'. They had four children. The eldest, Vida Isabel, was born on 27 Nov 1912 but died on 22 May 1915. The others were: Keith Herbert born on 14 Nov 1913; Rhoda Margaret 28 Dec 1916; and Zelda 20 May 1919. A farmer all his life, Keith was one of the first to harvest subterranean clover in the 1920s. He was interested in pasture improvement and top-dressing techniques. He grew record crops of wheat.

At the age of 56 Keith gained his pilot's licence and flew with the Tasmanian Aero Club until the Second World War. He helped establish both The Examiner Flying Scholarship and the Gatenby Scholarship Trust Fund by flying around the nearby farms and landing in their paddocks to ask for donations. He died on 1 Jun 1967 aged 89. He was survived by Davida, who died 19 Mar 1973 aged 90, and his three younger children. See The Examiner 13 Jan 2007, page 29.

Marie Gatenby & Angela Prosser Green Apr 2006