This warning has been sounded before in regard to registration of births and deaths in country areas, especially in pioneering days where churches and towns were rare. For instance, on the Mornington Peninsula, a birth recorded as being at Point Nepean in the 1850's does not mean that the parents were living there but that an official at the quarantine station was the only registrar available. When townships were proclaimed, registrars, post offices and schools were among the perks but place names on birth and death documents could be misleading. Rye was officially called Tootgarook for well over a decade and a birth registered at Mornington could be described as being at Snapper Point, Schnapper Point or Moorooduc, the name of the parish.

Bullocky Bob White was a resident near Main Creek flowing south from Arthurs Seat for most of his life, maybe from birth and certainly until the last rate record available on microfiche in 1919. His obituary gave his birthplace as Borneo (actually Boneo, a very vague locality circa 1860) and that he died in Rosebud. His death and burial notices described him as a resident of Dromana West! See below.

Often documents and biographies (such as in VICTORIA AND ITS METROPOLIS)contain lies. Many bounty passengers lowered their ages on shipping records so they'd qualify for the heavily reduced fare. Bullocky Bob White's obituary's vague year of birth had the same purpose as Robert Henry Adams' lie on his birth certificate that his parents had married before leaving England instead of almost a decade after his birth. My great grandfather gave his year of arrival as 1867 rather than 1864 to hide his indenture to John Hall, being by 1888 a prominent resident and councillor of the Shire of Broadmeadows unwilling to reveal his humble beginnings.

From my CHRONOLOGY (FROM TROVE) OF BURIALS AT DROMANA CEMETERY etc. journal.
5-5-1941. ROBERT JAMES A.K.A. BULLOCKY BOB WHITE.
MR. R. WHITE
Born at Borneo(sic) in the eighteen-fifties*, Mr. Robert White, of Rosebud**,died on Saturday, May 3, at the age of 86*** years. The late Mr. White, whose passing is mourned by a large circle of friends, leaves a widow, a daughter and.seven sons. The funeral took place on Monday, May 5, at Dromana Cemetery.
A service was conducted at the home of Rev. R. C. McLean, who also read the burial service. A tribute to Mr. White's useful life was paid by Cr. Greaves at the graveside. He said that the large attendance at the funeral indicated the high esteem in which deceased had been held by the people in the surrounding districts The late Mr. White had been a good churchman and a fine citizen. Many beautiful floral tributes were sent.
Six of the late Mr. White's sons bore the coffin, and the pall-bearers were:- Messrs. E. Bright, G. James,D. James, J. Hobley, Ivan White, C.White and E. White.(P.5, Standard, 9-5-1941.)

(*Before his mother arrived? **Probably a Rosebud property left to him by Charles and Janet James, his parents.***About 81 if we deduct 1860 from 1941 and if we take his age as gospel, he was born in 1855 when his mother was still in the old country.)

It is generally accepted that Bullocky Bob White was born in about 1860, his mother being Janet White (born 1839 or 1844) who travelled to Australia on the John Linn, arriving in Melbourne on 25-6-1859. His father, Charles James (Born 1831, SALISBURY WILTSHIRE ENGLAND, died 23 01 1907, MORNINGTON VIC) was buried at Dromana Cemetery on what was calculated to be 24-1-1907.

Robert White's birthplace was Boneo, not Borneo but the name was used to describe the area along today's Browns Rd between Main Ridge and Truemans Rd in early days so he could have been born on the James property at Melway 254 J1 or the Cairns brothers' Little Scotland at 170 B10, where Janet's father Robert White (1804-1881) was recorded as renting a hut from the Cairns Bros. in the Kangerong Road Board's first assessment of 1864. As the exact date of Bullocky Bob's birth is not known, Charles White may not have been his biological father; Janet may have become pregnant aboard the John Linn.

The information in Bullocky's obituary was probably the result of his desire to muddy the waters when asked any questions or perhaps on his marriage certificate when he married Hannah Roberts. (Robert Henry Adams of Rosebud did the latter re the year and place of his parents' marriage to disguise his illegitimacy.)

Charles James and JANET WHITE, (Born: 1844 (?) , MENSTRIE CLACKMANNANSHIRE SCOTLAND Married: 25 07 1864, WANNAEUE VIC (MI: 2603) Died: 1921) were not married until after Bullocky was born and their first legitimate child may have been Elizabeth (born 1865) who married William Hobley. Janet's birth year above (1844) was probably from her marriage certificate and another attempt to muddy the waters. Stephen Lynch gives her year of birth as 1839 between Henry (1834) and Ann (1842). Janet' mother, Elizabeth, died shortly after giving birth to Elizabeth (1850-1850) and this was no doubt in her mind when she named her own baby in 1865.

Robert was raised as Robert Charles but that was not what his birth certificate said.He was so incensed at being kept in the dark about the the circumstances of his birth he was said to have cut contact with his mother and changed his name to that on the birth certificate, Robert White. Janet's younger brother, Robert White (born 1849) had probably moved to the Red Hill area by this time and acquired the nickname of Blooming Bob White because he never swore at his bullocks, using this word instead. His nephew, the former Robert James (under which name he was granted 27A1, Wannaeue) was referred to as Bullocky Bob White.
(Sources:PIONEERS OF THE MORNINGTON PENINSULA Stephen Lynch: charles james - Great Southern Pioneers
www.cosy.com.au/gsp/ftdisper.php?&pid=041922)

I'd tried in vain to find Bullocky's death notice with a WHITE ROSEBUD 1941 FAMILY NOTICES search on trove. No wonder I didn't find it. I seem to recall an assessment for "James" on c/a 19 Wannaeue, between Parkmore Rd and Adams Ave and this was probably where Bullocky was living when he died, and why the funeral procession left from the lighthouse. Only a year or two later his residence would have been described as being in McCrae. Family historians should take notice that the same location was likely to be described by more than one place name until about 1950, that places of birth and death may have been where the event was recorded bby a registrar or a hospital (say in Mornington or Melbourne respectively) where the mother or deceased had been admitted prior to the event because of an expected difficult birth or a serious illness/ incapacity that required expert medical care.

WHITE. —On May 3, at Dromana West, Robert, beloved husband of Mary, fond father of George, Chris, Eden, Ern, Fred, Lily (Mrs. Bright), Jack, and Will, aged 86 years. —At rest. (P.4, Argus, 5-5-1941.)

WHITE-The Friends of ROBERT WHITE late of Main Ridge are respectfully invited to follow his remains to the place of interment, Dromana Cemetery.
The funeral will leave the South Channel Lighthouse at 3 p m THIS DAY (Monday). HECTOR GAMBLE Funeral Director. (P. 4 as above.)