3. EDWARDS Downunder (1873–1914)

by Alan Craig           Download the PDF for this page  (110.9 MB)

On the previous page, we read about the Edwards and Finch families of Essex who lived mainly in the towns of Chelmsford and Springfield. By 1866, Thomas Edwards was working at the Royal Armoury at Woolwich when he married Susanna Shorter, whose family had come from Barrow in Suffolk (read their story here). In 1873, with one child in tow, they sailed to Australia, and our story continues from there.

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N.B. — Throughout this text, all of Robyn’s direct ancestors are marked in purple. All blue text [inside brackets] represents additional information or corrections, and did not form part of the original documents. Copies of the original birth, death, marriage and census records are held by me and stored in the Cloud, and can be made available to interested parties. When reproducing the birth and marriage entries below, I have kept the original spellings and text.

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On 24 October 1873, the Edwards family arrived in Rockhampton, Queensland, aboard the S.V. “Landsborough”, and they would have disembarked at the docks on the Fitzroy River. On the journey out, Susanna had fallen pregnant again, and was two months expecting on arrival.

We cannot be sure just how long Thomas and Susanna stayed in Rockhampton, but they were certainly still there in May 1874 when Robyn’s grandmother was born:

1874 Colony of QUEENSLAND BIRTHS: District of Rockhampton ¹Source: EDWARDS, May; 1874 Colony of Queensland Births; B 50738; Rockhampton.

May Edwards
born: 23rd May 1874     at: Alma Street, Rockhampton District
—
father: Thomas Edwards, Blacksmith’s Striker    age:  30 years
birthplace: Essex, England
—
mother: Susanna formerly Shorter   age:  27 years
birthplace: Suffolk, England
—
Issue living: Martha Eliza, 2½ years   Issue deceased: 3 females, 2 males [all in London]
informant: Susanna Edwards, Mother    of:  Alma Street, Rockhampton
nurse: Mrs. Loftus

It was this document that first alerted us to the five deceased children mentioned above. However, Rockhampton was not to become their permanent home, and by 1878 the family had moved south to Waratah in New South Wales, which was on the north-western outskirts of Newcastle. It was in Waratah that their next child was born:

1874 Colony of NEW SOUTH WALES BIRTHS:
District of Waratah ²Source: EDWARDS, May; 1874 Colony of Queensland Births; B 50738; Rockhampton.

Alfred Edwards
born: February 3rd, 1878   at: Waratah
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father: Thomas Edwards, Labourer    age:  33 years 
               born: Essex, England
mother: Susannah formerly Shorter  age:  31 years
               born: Essex, England
married: December 30th 1866      at: [Plumstead, London] England
—
Issue living: 2 females [Martha (6) & May (3).]   
Issue deceased: 1 male, 1 female [2 males & 3 females ?]
informant: Susanna Edwards, Mother    of:  Waratah

Alfred was the last child born to this couple (although Susanna wasn’t quite finished yet), and it isn’t known how long they lived in Waratah. Sometime in the following 10 years, our family of four had moved south to the Pyrmont district in Sydney, a noted slum area at the time. Towards the end of 1882, Susanna would have had a letter from England to inform her that her mother, Jemima Wright, had died in Barrow, Suffolk. However, it was at Pyrmont in 1885 that we next hear of Thomas and Susanna — and the news was not good. Two of our family were to die within 12 weeks of each other, the first being Thomas:

1885 Colony of NEW SOUTH WALES DEATHS: Sydney ³Source: EDWARDS, Thomas; 1885 New South Wales Deaths; Nº 986; Sydney.

Thomas Edwards, Labourer
died: 4th May 1885   at: [20] Hanson Street [Pyrmont]   age: 40 years
cause: Phthisis; Pulmonary Haemorrhage  (18 months)
doctor: Dr Marshall    last seen: 4th May 1885
—
father: John [3] Edwards, Labourer     mother: Sarah Finch
—
informant: James McCartney, Leichhardt  [later to marry Susanna]
burial: 6th May 1885   at: Church of England Cemetery, Rookwood
undertaker: Rueben W. Thomas   witnesses: C. Diosne; M. Liemeen
—
born: [Essex] England;   11 years in New South Wales
married to: Susanna Shorter   at: Kent, England   aged: 22 years
—
Issue living: Martha (13);  Eliza [May] (11); Alfred  (7)  
Issue deceased: 1 male, 1 female  [perhaps 2 males & 3 females in London]

“Phthisis” is tuberculosis, and Sydney at the time had an epidemic of this disease. This certificate is the first time where the name “James McCartney”, the informant, comes into the picture, and he was to loom large in our family history in the years to come. Thomas seems to have been a member of a Masonic Lodge,  and they placed a notice of his funeral in the Sydney Morning Herald:

SYDNEY MORNING HERALD — Wednesday, 6 May, 1885

PROTESTANT Alliance Friendly Society of Australasia, Pioneer No. 1 Lodge.—The MEMBERS of this Lodge are requested to attend the Funeral of late Brother THOMAS EDWARDS; to move from his late residence, No. 20, Hanson-street, Pyrmont, THIS DAY, at half-past one o’clock, for Necropolis. JOHN MITCHELL, Secretary

Thomas Edwards, aged only 40, was laid to rest in the Anglican section of the Rookwood Cemetery in Western Sydney just two days after he died — but he was not to remain alone in the grave. Just 85 days later, his eldest surviving daughter was laid to rest in the same grave. Martha Eliza seems to have died from an ‘epileptic fit’, and was buried by the same undertaker. This must have been a terrible time for Susanna and her remaining children, May and Alfred. As a footnote, Alfred (1923), and his future wife, Louisa Stannett (1955), would also eventually be interred with his Thomas and Martha.

1885 Colony of NEW SOUTH WALES DEATHS: Sydney ⁴Source: Edwards, Martha Eliza; 1885 New South Wales Deaths; Nº 1543; Sydney.

Martha Eliza Edwards
died: 28th July, 1885    at: 16 Hanson Street    age: 13 years
cause: Cerebral Disease; Epileptoid Convulsions  (2 days)
doctor: Dr Martin    last seen:  28th July 1885
—
father: Thomas Edwards, Carpenter  [dec’d]   
mother: Susannah Shorter
born: [Plumstead] England;   11 years in New South Wales
—
informant: Clara, x mark, Olsen   of: 13 Hanson Street
burial: 30th July 1885  
at: Church of England Cemetery, Rookwood
undertaker: Rueben W. Thomas  
witnesses: C. Diosne; M. Liemeen

SYDNEY MORNING HERALD — Thursday, 30 July, 1885

THE FRIENDS of Mrs SUSANNAH EDWARDS are respectfully invited to attend the Funeral of her deceased beloved DAUGHTER, Martha Eliza, aged 13 years and 7 months; to move from her residence, No. 20, Hanson-street, Ultimo, THIS (Thursday) AFTERNOON, at 2 o’clock to the Necropolis. REUBEN W. THOMAS, Undertaker.

And as with her father’s funeral, a notice was placed in the Sydney Morning Herald (see left), and a similar one was also placed in the name of her deceased father: “The Friends of the late Thomas Edwards, respectfully …”.

The DAILY TELEGRAPH — Wednesday, 28 July, 1886

In Memoriam
EDWARDS.—In loving remembrance of Martha Eliza Edwards, who died at 20 Hanson-street, Pyrmont, July 28, 1885. Inserted by her loving friend, S. Annetts, 232 Kent-street.

Nothing more is known of Susanna and her two surviving children for a couple of years, but a touching ‘in memoriam’ appeared in the Daily Telegraph a year after Martha died, and it was placed by a “loving friend” (see right). She may only have been young, but she was missed by someone.

And just about the time the ‘in memoriam’ was placed, Susanna was to fall pregnant with her last child, and he came into the world in April 1887.

Susanna and James McCartney

(With thanks to Roslyn Livingston-Shubert for some valuable research into the McCartney line.)

You may recall that the informant on Thomas Edwards’ death certificate was a “James McCartney”, who we must assume was a ‘family friend’ at the time — but he became more than that in the months that followed the deaths of Thomas and Martha. The first we know of his entanglement with Susanna was when she gave birth to an illegitimate child in 1887 — she was 40 years old:

1887 Colony of NEW SOUTH WALES BIRTHS: Newtown, Sydney ⁵Source: McCartney, Reginald James; 1887 Colony of New South Wales Births; Nº 533; Newtown (Kingston), Sydney.

Reginald James McCartney, Illegitimate (not present)
born: 17th April 1887     at: 6 Bishopsgate St., Kingston  [now Newtown]
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father: James McCartney, Gentleman    age:  46  [45]
birthplace: Fifeshire  [Dunfermline, Scotland]
—
mother: Susannah Edwards [M.S. Shorter]   age:  41  [40]
birthplace: London, England  [Barrow, Suffolk]
—
informant: James McCartney, Father      of: 6 Bishopsgate St., Kingston
doctor: Dr Kingsbury      witness: Mrs Taaffe

Well it seems as if Susanna and James were living together, if not married. Bishopsgate Street, Kingston (now Newtown), was about 7 km (4¼ miles) south-west of, and decidedly more ‘up-market’, than Pyrmont.

James describes himself as a “gentleman”, which probably indicates he was wealthy enough not to work. Susanna’s father, John Shorter, had died in December 1888 back in England, so she was now left without parents or a husband, had lost several children, and still had three children aged 1 to 13 to look after. So, let’s take a look James McCarney and his background.

 

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James McCartney: 1841–1891

James McCartney (given as James Cameron McCartney on his death certificate) was born in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, in 1841, and was the son of William McArtney (as it was spelt), and Euphemia Kinghorn (pictured right). He had three brothers and three sisters in all, but arrived in Geelong, Victoria, with his parents and two sisters in September 1852 aboard the S.V. “Bourneuf” (one brother had died earlier in Scotland, and another on the journey out; two more siblings were born in Victoria).

When he first married in 1867, he described himself as a “miner”, and this would be a significant career for him in the years to come. He was 25 when married an English-born lass in a Wesleyan Methodist Church:

1867 Colony of VICTORIA MARRIAGES: Ballarat ⁶Source: McCartney, James & Smalley, Harriet; 1867 Victoria Marriages; Nº 116; District of Ballarat.

married: 6th April 1867   at: Wesleyan Parsonage, Ballarat
—
James McCartney, Miner (Bachelor)   age: 25     of: Ballarat
born: Fifeshire, Scotland  [Dunfermline]   
father: William McCartney, Farmer
mother:  Euphemia McCartney M.S. Kinghorn
—
Harriet Smalley, (Spinster)   age: 21    of: Ballarat
born: Leverington, Cambridgeshire, England
father: James Smalley, Butcher
mother:  Martha Smalley M.S. Goode
—
minister: George Daniel  witnesses: Peter Ross; Sarah Ross

When she married James, Harriet Smalley already had an illegitimate child to a Robert Morton in 1864.  This child was Robert William Morton, who later married a Susan Trewenack at Ballarat. He died there in 1920, aged 56.

We know that Harriet had three more children in Victoria with James: Martha (1868 at Ballarat); Euphemia (1870 at Clunes); and Charles (1874, at Ballarat). However, some genealogies have expressed doubt that Charles had been fathered by James — and perhaps this had something to do with why Harriot and James had become separated sometime around 1874.

James seems to have then moved to Charters Towers, Queensland, where he started taking out mining leases. His first was in 1877 and, in the same year, two miners were accidentally killed in his mine. James was arrested and sent to trial in Townsville for ‘culpable neglect and manslaughter’ — but the case was thrown out of court, so there were no findings against James. We know that James then took out at least two further mining leases in Charters Towers, in 1878 and 1881; however, he must have moved to Sydney, New South Wales by 1885 because, in that year, he was the informant on Thomas Edwards’ death certificate (see above).

In the meantime, his separated wife, Harriet Smalley, had taken up with John Maxwell, a carpenter, and had two more children: William (1884) and Janet (1889). It’s not clear if  this couple ever married. However, in a sad footnote, those poor children, and their half-sister Martha, apparently watched on as Harriet and John drowned in Albany, Western Australia, in 1894. The family was living on the hulk S.V. “Herschel”, and an account of the accident can be found in the Addendum at the bottom of this story.

In an uncanny coincidence, the S.V. “Herschel” had brought some of Robyn’s ‘Schroder’ family to Queensland in 1877, and Susanna’s daughter May would marry into that family in 1900 — spooky, hey?

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Marriage and the Final Years

Reginald, their illegitimate child, was three when his parents finally decided to marry. James McCartney was 49, and Susanna Edwards 44:

1891 Colony of NEW SOUTH WALES MARRIAGES: District of Sydney ⁷Source: McCARTNEY, James & EDWARDS (Shorter), Susanna; 1891 Colony of NSW Marriages; Bethel House, Sydney.

I, William Bradley being Congregational Minister do hereby Certify, that I have this day, at Bethel House, Sydney, N.S.W. duly celebrated Marriage between James McCartney Freeholder of North Queensland, Widower, and Susanna Edwards, in private life, of Sydney, Widow, after Declaration duly made as by law required.
Witnesses: T.E. Bradley & W. Bradley

Our family still holds the original certificate, and the original hand-coloured wedding portrait to the right. A side-note to this marriage is that no divorce or annulment has ever been found for the marriage of James McCartney and Harriet Smalley, so it is feasible his later marriage was bigamous — but, perhaps, there was a legal ‘statutory exemption’ to divorce because of the time they were apart? And maybe this is the reason it took James more than three years to make an ‘honest woman’ of Susanna after the birth of Reginald. It’s a possible scenario.

Not everyone in the photo to the left has been identified; however, James McCartney and Susanna Edwards are seated centre, and standing behind are her children from her first marriage: May Edwards and Alfred Edwards. The other three are possibly James’ relatives, or wedding guests (like bridesmaids and best man). The original black and white photo is held by our family, and this one has been colourised.

We know the family must have soon left Sydney and moved to Charters Towers, probably because James’ still had business interests in mining projects there. At the time, Charters Towers was a very wealthy town, even sporting its own Stock Exchange and, though a wild place, was noted for having every convenience one might wish for.

Susanna and James lived in Millchester Road (running south-east from the town) for some time, but were only married for eight years when he succumbed to the same disease that killed her first husband:

1899 Colony of QUEENSLAND DEATHS: Charters Towers, Kennedy ⁸Source: McCartney, James Cameron; 1899 Colony of Queensland Deaths; Nº 5673; Charters Towers, Kennedy.

James Cameron McCartney, Miner  died: 23rd November 1899  age: 58 years
at: Millchester Road, Charters Towers
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cause: Pulmonary Phthisis (1 year)
doctor: Dr Clatworthy    last seen: 23rd November 1899
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parents: Not Known [William McCartney & Euphemia Kinghorn]
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informant: Susanna McCartney, Wife
of: Millchester Road, Charters Towers
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burial: 24th November 1899   at: Charters Towers Cemetery
minister: Rev. A.V. Williams, Church of England
certified: Wyatt & Gates   witnesses: S. Phillips; Geo. H. Smith
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born: Scotland; 26 years in the Colonies
married: 1st Not Known [Harriet Smalley]  at: Victoria   age: Not Known [25 years]
                2nd Susanna Shorter   at: Sydney N.S.W.  age: Not Known [49 years]
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issue living: 1st marriage: Euphemia, 30 [29] [also Martha (31); & Charles (25).]
                      2nd marriage: Reginald James, 12 years

It seems strange that Susanna was unable to name James’ parents, his first wife, or two of his children on the death certificate (although there may be a reason for that, which we will talk about later on). However, by 1905, after Federation had turned Queensland from a Colony into a State in the new Commonwealth of Australia, we find Susanna listed as a “housekeeper” at Victoria Street in Queenton, Charters Towers. She remained registered as such in the Australia Electoral Rolls right up until 1914, and that’s where she was living when she was admitted to the District Hospital in Charters Towers.

By the time Susanna headed for the Pearly Gates, two of her surviving children had married (Alfred and May in early 1900), but Reginald didn’t marry till the year following her passing. We will summarise what we know of all the children below.

1914 State of QUEENSLAND DEATHS: Charters Towers Kennedy ⁹Source: McCARTNEY, Susanna (Shorter); 1914 Queensland Deaths; Nº 9707; Charters Towers, Kennedy.

Susana [Susanna] McCartney, Housewife  age: 68 years
died: 20 November 1914    at: District Hospital, Charters Towers
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cause:  1) General paralysis;  2) Heart failure
doctor: W.R. Kelly    last seen: 19 November 1914
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father: John Short [Shorter]    mother: Jane [Jemima] Wright
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informant: W.R. Kelly, Superintendent District Hospital, Charters Towers
and by: May Schroder [Edwards], Daughter
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burial: 20 November 1914   at: Charters Towers Cemetery
minister: R.W. Shand, Church of England
certified: J. Bishop   witnesses: S. Wherry; A.G. Bishop
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born: Barrow Suffolk, England; 19 years N.S.W.; 21 years Queensland
married: (1) Thomas Edwards  at: London, England  age: [20]  (died NSW 1885)
                (2) James McCartney   at: Sydney N.S.W. age: 40 [44]   (died Qld 1899)
—
issue living: 1st marriage: Alfred, 37 [29] years; May, 40
                      2nd marriage: Reginald James, 28 [27]  years
  deceased: 1st marriage: Nil  [Martha Eliza (13); + possibly 5 other infants in London]  
                     2nd marriage: Nil

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Children of Susanna Shorter with Thomas Edwards & James McCartney

As we saw on the birth certificate for May Edwards, Susanna was reported to have lost three females and two males before coming to Queensland. No record for these births and/or deaths has been found, and later documents give different numbers for “issue deceased”. However, we can summarise the children that we do know about.

Martha Eliza Edwards (1872–1885) — was born in Woolwich, London, and we only have an Index listing for her birth. In 1873, aged one, she migrated to Rockhampton, Queensland, with her parents, and later moved with them first to Waratah, near Newcastle, and then to Pyrmont in Sydney. She was just 13 years and 7 months old when she died in Pyrmont from an epileptic fit, and this was just three months after her father had died from tuberculosis. She was buried with her father at the Rookwood Cemetery in Western Sydney.

May Edwards (1874–1960) — is Robyn’s grandmother, and she was conceived aboard the S.V. “Landsborough” on its journey from London to Rockhampton. May was born seven months after her parents arrived in the Colony, and moved, via Waratah, to Pyrmont in Sydney, where her father and older sister died in 1885. After her mother remarried in 1891, the family moved to Charters Towers in Queensland, and it was there that she met and married William Schroder in 1900. Her three children were all born in Charters towers: Olive Louisa (1901); Clarice May (1903), and Charles Frederick (1909). She had moved to Brisbane by 1912, and her story will be told in the chapters about the Schroder family.

Alfred Edwards (1878–1923) — was born at Waratah, near Newcastle, as the family slowly made its way from Rockhampton to Sydney. After his father and eldest sister died in 1885, his mother had another son before marrying his father, James McCartney, and they all then moved to Charters Towers. When he was 22, Alfred married Louisa Stannett six months before his sister May married.

His wedding seemed like a grand affair, with the local paper listing over 40 separate gifts for the couple; his sister May was a bridesmaid. Alfred and Louisa had two children in Charters Towers: Thomas Alfred (1901) and Mona May (1906). This family eventually moved to Sydney, and both Alfred and Louisa are buried with Thomas Edwards. Alfred was only 45 when he died at Paddington in Sydney, and Louisa outlived him by 32 years.

Reginald James McCartney (1887–1955) — was born in Newtown, Sydney, and was a half sibling to Susanna’s other children. He was born three years before his widowed mother married his father, James McCartney. Reginald (known to Robyn’s family as “Uncle Reg”), had gone with his parents and half-siblings to Charters Towers when he was quite young, but eventually moved to Moree in northern New South Wales. It was there he married Florence Ivy Worsley (originally from Broken Hill, NSW) when he was 28. This couple moved about a bit over the next ten years, and had five children: Kathleen Florence (1916, at Moree); Harold James Stover (1917, at Moree); Marie Joan Estelle (1919, at Guyra, NSW); Alan James (1921, at Guyra); and Helena May (1925, at Newcastle). The three girls all lived to ripe old ages, but Harold died the same day he was born, and Alan died aged 23 in a training flight accident during WW2. He crashed his Mustang in low cloud near Llangollen in Wales in May 1945 (his name is on the wall at the National War Memorial, Canberra, and recent information from a granddaughter of his sister Helena suggests Alan may have had an illegitimate child while serving in England).

Reginald himself died aged 68 of tuberculosis at the Waterfall Sanatorium, Helensburgh (south of Sydney), in May 1955; Florence lived for another 10 years and died at Balmain, Sydney in 1965, aged 71.

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Children of James McCartney and his 1st wife, Harriet Smalley

It is worth rounding up the story with a summary of James McCartney’s children from his first marriage with Harriet Smalley, and her future relationship and children with John Maxwell. All these children are ‘theoretically’ half-siblings to Reginald, and step-siblings to Susanna’s other children. I’ll explain the ‘theoretical’ bit as we go.

Martha McCartney (1868–1959) — was born in Ballarat, Victoria in January 1868, and she was technically an older half-sister to Reginald. We know almost nothing about her, but she and her younger brother Charles were left with their mother, Harriet, when James split from the family around 1874 (but not Euphemia). In 1894, when she was 26, Martha horrifyingly witnessed her mother’s drowning (see the Addendum below), and became the effective guardian of her Maxwell half-siblings. Fundraising helped her and the children to buy a cottage in Adelaide, and they returned there where her brother Charles lived. In April 1913, aged 45, Martha became the third wife of Robert Amber who she married at Port Adelaide, South Australia. This couple had no children, and Robert died in 1940 (aged 66). Martha spent 56 days in hospital in 1949, and her address then was Gorge Road, Athelstone (western Adelaide). She outlived all her siblings, half-siblings and step-siblings (excepting May Edwards), dying aged 91 at Northfield, Adelaide, in 1959.

Euphemia McCartney (1870–1948) — was born at Clunes, Victoria (north of Ballarat). She was the only child of James McCartney’s first marriage mentioned by Susanna on his death certificate. We know that when James and Harriet separated in 1874, Euphemia was ‘dumped’ with James’s parents (Euphemia and William). It has been speculated that James believed (rightly or wrongly) that Euphemia was the only one of Harriet’s children to be fathered by himself. Euphemia was 25 when she married William Thomas Greenbank in 1895 at Ballarat. They had four children, all born at Haddon (near Ballarat): James Leslie (1897–1917); Rose Adeline (1899–1894); Mary Irene (1901–1978); and William Leonard (1903–1964). Their son James was only 20 when he was killed in action at Ypres, in Flanders, Belgium in WW1.

Charles Smalley McCartney (1874–1947) — was perhaps not fathered by James McCartney, and we know little of his life. Charles actually had two birth certificates, one which names “J. McCartney” as the father, and one which says the father is “unknown”. This seems to lend some credence to the theory that Charles was not a son of James, and it might have been the catalyst that ended his parents’ marriage. Perhaps DNA matching might one day resolve this question. We do know that in 1894 he married Elizabeth Ward at a Baptist Church in Queenstown, South Australia, and they had five children, all in Port Adelaide: Frederick Charles (1895–1942); Ivy Harriet (1896–1973); May Elizabeth (1898–1965); Leslie William Ward (1899–1967); and Kathleen Alice (1903–1912). Charles died in Adelaide in August 1947, and his wife, Elizabeth, at Largs Bay, Port Adelaide, in June 1950.

Addendum

Following is some information about the deaths of Harriet Smalley and her partner John Maxwell. This information was kindly supplied by Roslyn Livingston-Schubert, who has been very helpful with our research into the ‘McCartney’ connections. Roslyn is a descendant of James McCartney’s younger brother, William (ii), who was born in Victoria in 1860.

After James had taken Euphemia and left the family, Harriet took her other children, Martha and Charles, to Adelaide where she lived near the Port and worked as a stewardess on the “Emu”, a packet ship with the Adelaide Steamship Co. On board she met John Maxwell and, as husband and wife, they had two children, moving later to Albany, Western Australia, to live on a hulk supplying coal to passing steamers.

Harriet and John Maxwell lived on the “Herschel”, which was used to store coal so that ships travelling between Europe and the East coast of Australia did not have to come into harbour to refuel; thus, saving time and money.  On the “Herschel” with the Maxwells also lived the two little Maxwell children, as well as Martha McCartney — it was these three who watched, screaming in horror, as the skiff transporting John and Harriet back to the “Herschel” after a visit into Albany overturned. Apparently, a freak wind blew the boom sideways, hitting John and knocking him out. He fell overboard and drowned, and his body washed up a couple of days later. The boat unbalanced, and Harriet also fell into the water, screaming until she went under. The clothes she must have been wearing would have been heavy enough to drag her underwater. It’s doubtful she could swim and, hampered by heavy clothing, she would have had difficulty trying to stay afloat when the boat sank. Her body was never found, and the boat was recovered a few days later.

Martha and the children screamed enough for help from a neighbouring hulk to arrive, but too late to save the Maxwell’s. A lot of public discussion followed this freak accident, and a public fund-raising concert for the two children raised a considerable sum, with a visiting opera company from Britain putting on a charity show. After some discussion, it was agreed that, even though she was not a Maxwell orphan, Martha should also share in the proceeds as she was effectively the guardian of the children. A cottage was purchased in Port Adelaide with the proceeds of the fund-raising, and Martha and the children returned to Adelaide. Why Adelaide? The Maxwell’s worked for the Adelaide Steamship Company. Charles McCartney, Martha’s brother/half-brother also lived in Adelaide. His descendants still live there today. Martha married in her 40s, but had no children.