Michael George Pitman 1933–2000

Abstract

The Pitmans were a prolific west England family with Sir Isaac Pitman, the inventor of shorthand, the most famous member. During the 1800s four members of different branches of the family emigrated to Australia, but Michael's branch remained in Bristol. His great-grandfather Samuel William Pitman owned and operated a pork butcher's shop in Bedminster, Bristol. The eldest of his 12 children was George Pitman, Michael's grandfather. George worked first as a draper but later established his own pork butcher's shop at the other end of Bedminster. The elder of his two sons, Percy George, was Michael's father. Both sons were involved in running the shop. In 1930 Percy George married Norma Ethel Payne, who was trained and worked as a milliner. Her father (Gubby to Michael) was a skilled wood-worker who was employed as a pattern maker. Michael spent much time with Gubby and learnt from him wood-working and handyman skills.

Michael, the eldest of three boys, was born on 7 February 1933 at the family home in Clift Street, Ashton. The family's financial situation became difficult and by the time the second son was born, the family had moved to cramped quarters over the shop in Bedminster. In those days a pork butcher made and cooked his own smallgoods, boiling up the pigs' cheeks and trotters and making the brawn. Each year at Christmas, Michael's mother would use the big boilers to cook batches of 20 Christmas puddings as gifts for favoured customers and business associates. Michael brought her 1932 recipe for 20 puddings to Australia, and when he was Professor of Biology at Sydney University he made small puddings for his staff in the Pitman family tradition.