With a yawning gap of imagination to bridge, the young can rarely envisage their elders as anything but old. But everyone old was once young, and their early lives may not be what you were expecting.
Take “Lady” Robertson, for example: a doyenne of late 19th century Redcliffe society, she was described by The Queenslander in 1902 as “one of the leading ladies of the district”. Mrs Maria Robertson, proprietor of a grand home called Ferny Lawn, was a stalwart of the Anglican Church, a contributor to numerous charitable organisations and a tireless and generous supporter of the Humpybong School, hosting the children at her house – “serving them fruit in season, buns, cakes, sandwiches, lollies, tea…” – and providing school prizes (and “packets of sweetmeats”) for their end of year celebrations – all of which will doubtless have instilled in your mind the image of a benevolent older lady.
Travels in India, Resilience, and Settling in Redcliffe
Now subtract 75-odd years and try to imagine the young Maria. She was born in London in 1824, third of the four children of William and Maria Cope, who migrated to Australia in 1827, settling in Windsor outside Sydney. In 1841, aged 17, Maria married Frederick Hayes, an army officer 18 years her senior. Their son, William George, was born a year later. Another boy was born and died in 1843 and, in 1844, Maria embarked with Frederick and his regiment for India, leaving William behind with her family. A third son was born and died during the voyage.
Maria’s Indian life was that of an army wife: left alone for long periods in camps and lodgings, subject to heat, isolation and illness, but with the support of other women in the same situation. In March 1846, she gave birth to a daughter, Maria Emily, but not three months later, Frederick was dead and Maria, now 22, returned to Australia a widow with a small baby.
She retrieved William, now aged four, and moved with her young family to Petersham in Sydney where she ran a boarding house. In 1854, she remarried to Mr John Miller. Widowed again in 1875, aged 51, she married Thomas Robertson, a retired grazier, formerly with large holdings in the Clarence Valley but now living at Baffle Creek, near Gladstone.
By the early 1880s, Maria and Thomas had come to Redcliffe, where they purchased land at Margate and built Ferny Lawn, cultivating a magnificent garden. The 17-year-old bride, the 25-year-old widowed new mother, and the Sydney boarding house proprietor was now the grand old dame of Redcliffe.
[With thanks to City of Moreton Bay. | Image courtesy of City of Moreton Bay, reference number RLPC-002\002029.]
Read more stories from our Redcliffe Guide print magazine here:
- Reddy Roundup: Updates from the Community
- What’s Hot Around Town
- Podcast Review: The Pub Quiz Pod
- The Fox
- The Calm Before the Storms: What Jobs to Tackle Now
- Get Hands-On at Gaming and Hobby Expo
- Spangled Perch Leiopotherapon Unicolor
- Organic Gardening in November
- Thank Your Teacher With a Thoughtful Gift
- Coffee Culture Brewing on the Peninsula
- Convoy for Kids Rolls Into Redcliffe For A Cause
- Haven for Craft Brings Heartfelt Creations
- Lumber of Love for Redcliffe and District Woodcraft Society
- Enjoy this Trip: The Art of Music Posters
- Happy Hens Happier Homes
- Still Going Strong at 86
- Blue Day Event Brings Men’s Health Into Focus
- Community Effort Gets Nathan’s Bus Back on the Road
- Wildlife Spotlight: Redcliffe’s Most Cuddly Marsupials
- Redcliffe Volunteer Awards
- Recycling Week: Small Change Adds Up
