Complex sentence: Catterns was born in Balmain an inner city harbour side suburb of Sydney the son of an English merchant seaman, Wilfred Catterns, and Emily (nee Greenwell).
Split into simpler sentences: Catterns was born in Balmain, an inner-city harbour-side suburb of Sydney. He was the son of an English merchant seaman, Wilfred Catterns, and Emily (nee Greenwell).