WOMEN
Miss Irene May Quinsey.
Our first chemist/pharmacist, who in the 1930s - the Depression years - came to South Australia, Edwardstown - built her own home/shop next to the Maid of Auckland on South Road, and set up her chemist/pharmacy.
The picture shows Miss Quinsey at back of her home
Thanks to Mrs Leila Quinsey, whose late husband George Henry Quinsey was Miss Quinsey's nephew, for the following story. Also for the photos of her aunt in law.
"Irene was known as Rene to many in South Australia, but to her family she was 'Maisie'. Born in Warragul, Victoria on the 8th January 1904, to a family which encouraged Maisie and her sister Sarah to continue their education. Both went on to Pharmacy College where they graduated in the late 1920s.
Maisie came to South Australia and in the early 1930s bought land next to the Maid of Auckland, and built her shop with the residence at the rear. She even formulated an ointment (for her little nephew with infantile excema) which the medical profession gave her the approval to make and sell. It was a big seller for years.
1939 she sold up and went back to Mildura, but continued working as a chemist.
1943 she married Charles George Hill from Adelaide and they set up home in Seacliff but she continued contact with other women chemists/pharmicists when they formed a special women chemists' Voluntary Aid Detachment during WW2 and she was also a member of the CWA."
Maisie continued her involvement in the Edwardstown area with her husband, when he realised there was a need for a new bus service in this area, and thus began the 'Harcourt Gardens Bus Service' in Dumbarton Avenue Edwardstown in the 1950s This bus service has succeeded too - in fact for over 60 years. Charles and Maisie lived next door to that business until their deaths. He in 1964 and she in 1972.
Miss Irene May Quinsey was a pioneer. A woman who was ahead of her time - going on to further education, gaining a degree, moving interstate by herself, setting up her own business, including owning her own property., and as mentioned earlier - during a time of difficulty for most Australians - the 1930s depression. Also there were only about 6 other women chemists in their own businesses in Adelaide, and as there had only ever been men in this profession, it was very difficult for many of them to get started and to overcome the bias against women in professions.
Mr Charles Hill, whose business acumen and insight lasts to this day, in the shape of a business which still runs successfully - Adelaide Coachlines, 42 Dumbarton Avenue, Edwardstown.
Eliza Kennedy married Alfred Bachelor Evershed in NSW in 1846 and c1848 he had begun a slaughtering trade on South Road, the built an Inn which became a licenced Maid of Auckland.
They were an unusual couple if what was written up in the newspapers of the day is correct. When they ran
the Maid of Auckland, there was many a drama that ended up in court. It seemed that Eliza had a temper and probably liked the drink too much. Even after her husband advertised her 'desertion' and his refusal to care or finance her, Eliza still came to her husband's side when he needed her to be his witness in a court case.
He left and went into the country for a few years, without his wife. It does not appear that he was the best of husbands. Also I believe he was not that honest in many parts of his life. Eliza didn't advertise his desertion, fending for herself in early Adelaide the best she could. He did come back to another court case when Eliza came to his aid, but then, it seems, he just walked out and disappeared.
Eliza drank heavily and was accused of running houses of ill-repute and could become quite violent.
She was arrested many times for assault, theft, prostitution and running brothels. She was serving time in Gladstone Gaol in 1882, and at the end of her sentence, was very ill - in fact she was dying.
The people who worked at the Gaol asked her to stay there with them, and told her they would care for her until she died. 16.9.1882. The lady was a well known figure in Adelaide for a good two decades and called herself the "old lady of the Maid", and publicly a 'widow'.
After her death an inquest was held. During this inquest Eliza Evershed was described as being aged around 65 years of age, but "it was evident she was but little short of 80". It was also said that from her appearance she must have lived a very hard life. RIP Eliza.
EMMA MARTHA JOHNS. Mentioned with other milk vendors in the book about Marion,simply as Mrs E. M. Johns 'who drove her cows across paddocks in her big boots and sun bonnet' (p125 Marion book).
Emma Martha Johns nee Stark was so much more than a few words in a book . She was a woman who came to Adelaide from Port Pirie with her three children, the youngest born in 1906, leaving her husband in Port Pirie. She was living in Daly Street, Forbes in 1915, owning land in her own name (and for her own use) , and among many accomplishments, had her own Jersey cow stud, a dairy, and was involved in many activities around cattle and horses including breeding, racing, steeple chasing and showing the animals. These activities brought her into contact with many well known Adelaide identities.
Emma Stark was born 1.11.1876 in Laura, to Charles Henry Stark and Charlotte Larwood who arrived in South Australia in the Omega - 1852.
Charles Stark was a very well known identity of the Port Pirie and Beetaloo areas, and strongly involved in horticulture. When he died in 1904, Charles left land and money to his wife and children.
Emma had married Alfred Edward Johns in Crystal Brook in 1897 and they moved to Port Pirie area where their three children were born. Alfred Johns was involved in horse racing and training in the Solomontown area.
When her father died , Emma inherited a number of blocks of land in South Australia and money, which, it seems, made her a wealthy independent woman. I can only make assumptions about the whys and wherefores in Emma moving with her children to Forbes where she bought land. As mentioned previously, Emma and her children were living in Daly Street, Forbes (now known as South Plympton) in 1915. The family home is still there.
There is still a lot to know about Emma and her various involvements. She was well known as a breeder of Jersey cows, and may have been one of the first women, if not the first in Adelaide to have her own stud. From various articles written in newspapers of the day, Mrs Johns was well known and respected in the male dominated field of stud/breeding of cattle.
She was involved in horse racing, steeple chasing, owning horses, and breeding Jersey cows plus running the farm and dairy. Her youngest daughter Grace was actively participating in racing horses and show jumping but tragically died from an accident in 1931. Grace was just a few months away from her marriage to a Mr Tilly.
A second daughter, Eva married Alfred Brown whose family were living in Jervois Street, and this couple too, were involved with horse racing and milk vendors. See Eva Brown below
Ernest Paul Johns was the eldest child and only son, born 1897 in Laura. He married Grace Iris Estelle Nutt - whose family also lived in Daly Street. Ernest served in both world wars.. WW1 he enlisted at 18 in the 3rd Light Horse Regiment. WW2 3 Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps at age 45.
Eva Charlotte Bertha Brown nee Johns. Born 3.6.1899 Hd Pirie to Alfred Edward Johns and Emma Martha Sophia nee Stark.Eva married Alfred Brown 11.2.1922 at Methodist Parsonage West Adelaide. Like her mother, Eva bred horses. In January 1946, Eva's success at a trotting event was headlines in the Mail, when a horse she had bred and trained won the trotting cup final. The article describes Mrs Johns racing wins prior to this event.
Grace Isabel Johns was born Hd Pirie also, to Alfred E and Emma MS Johns on January 19th, 1906. She was a great sportswomen from an early age. At around 15 she was already exhibiting her skills with horses and hurdles at the Autumn Show. In 1926 when the Adelaide (Trotting) Club changed its rules to allow both sexes to compete against one another. The Sport, newspaper, 12.3.1926, page 6 wrote about Miss Johns - "She now has the distinction of being the first lady rider to compete in open company in this State at a registered trotting meeting". Came third on a horse called Maori Bob which she partly owned at age 20.
The above was in The Critic 29.3.1922 p 17. A nice photo of a lovely young lady.
By 1928 the newspapers were reporting Grace was riding alongside Mr W C Tilly in competitions. They became engaged to marry 1929. Grace also rode on horses which she co-owned and trained with her mother.
One interesting event happened in 1929 when after completing the hurdle jumps, when the horse - Teddy Bear - ridden by Grace, dropped dead as it left the field, but was still given 3rd prize. Grace was not hurt at that time, however, in Nov 1931 she was seriously hurt when her horse went down while riding at Weigal Oval, and Grace was taken to the hospital with severe head injuries. She had landed on her head and had a fractured skull amongst other things, dying in hospital the following day - month or so before her wedding to Mr Tilly. Her obits were full of praise for her talent, skill and for all the successes she had achieved in her short life.
There is another photograph in a local newspaper taken by a photographer of the moment she fell downward to the ground. It is such a sad picture of the last moment of her life, so I decided not to include it here.
MARGARET FITZGERALD
Wife of William John Fitzgerald of Edwardstown. They were married 26.9.1883 at Glenelg. Margaret was the daughter of David Hallahan. William had come out from Ireland and the young couple set up life and family in Edwardstown. He was a dairy farmer and his land was around Raglan Avenue, Edwardstown of today. The original dairy is still standing.
There is a small plaque out the front.
People who live in the area can still recall the cows wandering around up towards the rail line and the wonderful rose garden which would have been at the right of this photo. There were also two large wells in the yard surrounding the house. One was at the back and was filled in when the home unit was built some years back.
William and Margaret had five children and it would be Margaret's job to not only be a housewife and mother, but she would also help around the dairy and farm, and be involved in the activities of her local Catholic church. All of her children married. She died 22.3.1922 at her Edwardstown home and left a will said to be £500. Quite a tidy sum for a woman, a wife and from the early 20th century. An anecdote told to me was that she was able to save money as her husband 'had' to give her the money he made as he would want to squander it on 'drink'. It worked well as both John and David Fitzgerald were owners of many lots of land around the Edwardstown area.
A number of former residents of the area, especially the males, recall after school and during school holidays, the fun in getting into the paddocks where they like to ride the cows and horses - and probably without permission!. Another has told of the beautiful garden and the large trees at the side of the house. The block of land at what is now 59 Raglan Avenue was full of roses and other flowers when her family moved there in the early 1960s.
Mary Ann Tabe (nee Vivian)
Mary Ann was one of the earliest pioneer birth in South Australia. She was born to James Peter Vivian and Mary Ann nee Wallace. She married Johann Diedrich Tabe in 1888. It was the third marriage for Johann whose first two wives both died from childbirth or similar complications. There were 3 children from the first marriage to Ellen Green and two (both died within a day of birth) with second wife Elizabeth Merten.
Mary Ann and Johann had 13 children of their own - 2 dying with days of birth, while there was a tragic death of a daughter age 17. The family lived in Lobethal area until 1920 when they moved to Daly Street, South Plympton.
The first time I have been able to find the family in Adelaide is around 1927 when Mary Ann Tabe was living in Daly Street, Forbes. She was in the same street as Mrs Johns and Mrs Nutt.
Miss Gabrielle Clarke Miss South Australia 1972
Miss Clarke lived on the corner of Delaine Avene and Railway Terrace. Her father was a well known butcher and his shop was on the corner of Delaine Avenue and South Road. Gabrielle now is Ms Overton . She was/is a manager at SCOSA.
Anecdote told to me by a neighbour who knew Gabrielle and family. That her mother went to Edwardstown Primary School and in the 1930s was one of many children who planted the pine trees - some of which are still there next to the Edwardstown Railway Station.
Miss Clarke lived on the corner of Delaine Avene and Railway Terrace. Her father was a well known butcher and his shop was on the corner of Delaine Avenue and South Road. Gabrielle now is Ms Overton . She was/is a manager at SCOSA.
Anecdote told to me by a neighbour who knew Gabrielle and family. That her mother went to Edwardstown Primary School and in the 1930s was one of many children who planted the pine trees - some of which are still there next to the Edwardstown Railway Station.
Alfred Bachelor EVERSHED
My first and so far, favourite of male characters connected to Edwardstown , is Alfred Bachelor Evershed. Records are conflicting and not clear, but the man calling himself Evershed was probably born C1820 and married Eliza Kennedy in NSW 1846.
AB was on the shipping list of the brig Dorset, which arrived in South Australia from Sydney, in December of that year, and his wife is not mentioned in the list of passengers. I wonder if she may have been the 'servant' listed with Mrs Solomon.
Two years Alf gains a slaughtering license and is based near the 'steam mills' at Black Forest, then builds a ten roomed house, which he named "The London Tavern" on the South Road, Edwards' Town and applies for a Tavern licence.
From what I have discovered about this man, my opinion is, with a big smile, is that Mr A B Evershed may have been a bit of a con man - a man who liked attention - and a man who knew how to get what he wanted. 1849 Alfred Evershed built a ten room house - what is still in Edwardstown - as it is the lower part of the building. The second storey was built around 1850.
When he wasnt' granted a licence for his inn, he advertised in the local papers (and not tiny ads either) that he was leasing the house and land - which he tells people was specifically built for the purpose of an inn, but would suit a gentleman. This got attention, and I think he made more connections quite quickly, because in September had 'memorials' and well known society type men helping him to get the licence he wanted. December, after changing the name to "Maid of Auckland" he had more well known men to speak on his behalf. It worked and the licence was granted in December 1850.
Over the next nine years Mr and Mrs Evershed were in court many times. Drunkeness, theft, fraud.
He was defendant and at times plaintiff. The couple backed on another. When AB was going to be fined for not attending jury duty, his wife swore on oath that he gone to Melbourne on the 22nd September and therefore could not be in court.
1885 things changed and there was a change of licence granted from Evershed to a Mr Preston and in December of that year AB applied for another slaughtering licence in Pt Adelaide but it was denied as he was not at the hearing. In Dec 1855 he had placed an ad saying his wife had left his 'protection without any cause' and he would no longer be responsible for her debts, yet when he was in court in 1859, Eliza was his witness.
Alfred Evershed then leaves his wife and disappears from South Australia forever. Eliza keeps the Evershed name in the papers as she was called the old lady from the Maid. Her story is written up separately.
William James MAXWELL
Born Armagh, Ireland 1842 to a builder, the family moving to Scotland where William became a stonecutter and then a sculptor. Came to Australia with his family for his health in 1875. He worked on a number of projects which can be seen around Adelaide, the major one you might know is a statue of Robert Burns outside the State Library - North Terrace.
If you are interested in knowing more of Williams's works and life see http://www.glasgowsculpture.com/pg_biography.php?sub=maxwell_wj
other links of interest:
Robert Burns statue outside State Lib of S
Maxwell bought the house and added to it, with his talents in sculpting and architecture and called it Woodlands Park.
This building was totally demolished in late 1980s to make way for Castle Plaza.
W.J. Maxwell died July 1903 suddenly age 61. The papers of the day wrote up a long obituary telling the life of the sculptor, which co-incidently was in the same day's paper,s as the notice of anniversary of Robert Burns.
To read the article see Trove Newspapers (National Library of Australia)
Tuesday 21st July 1903, P1 The Express and Telegraph (Adelaide) South Australia.
Sir Ivor Henry Thomas HELE CBE
Ivor was born in Edwardstown on 13.6. 1912 to Arthur and Ethel May nee Thomas Hele. It is interesting to note that Hele was one of the many artistic persons who were attached to Maxwell's House.
24.3.1932 age 19 he married at Manse, Semaphore. Millicent Mary Jean Berry age 23. They went to Paris and Munich for their honeymoon combining it with a study tour. On their return the following year, one of the biggest piece of news from an article in the Adelaide Mail Jan 1933, says that the 'yo-yo' is still big news with so many people in the streets of Europe playing with this toy.
Wikipedia states that he was Australia's longest serving war artist During WW2 Hele was serving as a private in the Middle East when he was 'requested' to become an official war artist. Appointed by Gen Sir Thomas Blamey. Hele also was the official war artist in Korea. He was the first South Australian to win the Archibald Prize - won it four more times.
Ivor Hele 1954 - won 2nd Archibald Prize
Friday 22nd Jan 1954 News (Adelaide) P1 for portrait of Sir Henry Simpson Newland.
2nd June 1983, Ivor Hele was knighted at Government House Adelaide.
He died in 1993.Henry Hele, his grandfather was born in South Australia in 1842 and as a young boy began work as office boy in 1856 at The Register newspaper and completed 64 years there.
Eustace Revelley MITFORD (Pasquin)
Eustace was born in London 1811, married Eliza Sanders in 1834 and emigrated to South Australia in 1839 on the Katherine Stewart Forbes. On the ship were a number of other families who along with the Mitfords, would live in Edwardstown area. A son was born in 1854 and the address was "Woodlands".
This gentleman was another of South Australia's characters. Related to English nobility. He bought land, farmed, became insolvent, and created interest with his intriguing court cases. He became very well known for his newspaper "Pasquin" - his nom de plume used when writing. His literary skills became famous as did his satirical writings, his cartoon skills and his illustrations. In fact he was said to have a 'caustic pen' (Evening Journal Adelaide 25.10.1869 p2). He did not,however, begin his newspaper until the last few years of his life. There is a lot of written material about this talented, witty and unusual man who died suddenly in 1869 aged only 58 years.
REGINALD CLARENCE FITTON
born 28.12.1907 Clarence Park, South Australia. The second youngest of 9 children born to parents Benjamin and Mary (nee Rogers) Fitton. There is an interesting stgory of a young Reginald and his mates getting into trouble with the law. The court reporting about the boys says "they showed remarkable ingenuity and cleverness which characterized their nefarious actions and inventive workshop operations as disclosed in the evidence." The report shows a brilliance that would lead Reginald to work in 'Motor P "The drive-in was fitted out with (state-of-the art) projectors manufactured in Edwardstown, South Australia, by the Standard Projector Company set up by Reg Fitton." The factory was at 34 Dunorlan Avenue, Edwardstown and was opened in 1953. https://aso.gov.au/chronology/1950s/
The popularity of drive-ins grew and at its peak there were over 300 theatres around Australia. I can remember getting dressed in pyjamas and dressing gown when quite young and going to the nearby drive-in with the family - later as teenagers all crowding into a tiny car (some in the boot)- and later again when I took my own children in their pj's.
R.C.Fitton employed many fitters and turners, especially those with small precision and accurate skills at his city works and at the Edwardstown factory.
Reg and his family moved to Sydney for some years, but eventually came home to Adelaide, where he died on 3.6.1990 - Hawthorn.
R.C.Fitton employed many fitters and turners, especially those with small precision and accurate skills at his city works and at the Edwardstown factory.
Reg and his family moved to Sydney for some years, but eventually came home to Adelaide, where he died on 3.6.1990 - Hawthorn.
https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LHD5-523/reginald-clarence-fitton-1907-1990
There are two of Reg's projectors down the south coast - at Victor Harbor and at Port Elliot where they have been restored to original condition.
WILKINS Arthur Henry.
Bought land in Ackland Gardens. Between Mirreen House on the corner of South Road and Sweetmans Road, Edwardstown. Arthur built an airstrip and hangar near his house with the strip going from the corner of Conmurra and Sth Rds. He was a man who not only built airplanes and biplances, he also flew all of them, and encouraged others in this new field of travel. They could use his airstrip and hangar.
His airstrip was one of the areas which was being considered by the Govt of the time as a possible main airport for Adelaide.
Arthur Wilkins was also one of the first aerial photographers. He flew his own planes and took photographs at the same time. One of his ways to make money was to fly over properties and houses, take photos, then land and try to sell the photographs to the owners of the properties. He also would have taken people up in the air for a small fee. A popular way for pilots to get money during the lean years was to go to the country areas and take up people for flights. A novelty - flying.
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