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Lucy Webb's
Diary
[By Lucy Webb.]
Victor Harbor, Thurs., July 20, 1949
Record Snowfall At
Clare in 1901.
WHO remembers "Snow Sunday"
July 28th, 1901, when Clare was
wrapped in a covering of white.
When I looked out in the early morn-
ing, the town looked like a Christ-
mas card. I ran round the family
and told them to get up and see the
snow; I was not well received or be-
lieved, till they saw for themselves,
and then there were exclamations of
delight at the beautiful sight.
Everyone went mad over the snow.
Elderly buffers snowballed each
other like schoolboys, and snow
men stood at every street corner,
complete with hat, pipe, and black
coals for eyes.
The animals floundered about in
the unaccustomed elements, and the
birds being light of build, hopped
about on the surface, and only left
light tracks.
The snow slipped over the leaves
of eucalypts and other native trees,
but the firs branches bore their bur-
den bravely as to the manner born.
It was bitterly cold, and church
goers froze to the boards. Next
morning there were only patches of
snow in corners to remind one of the
beautiful fall of yesterday.
NURSING SISTER IN LONDON.
Betty Westwood, a nursing
Sister, and grand-daughter of
E. B. Gleeson, the founder
of Clare, is one of six
Adelaide girls, mostly nurses, who
have taken a flat in London for their
time off; they each pay 12/6 rent,
so it does not come hard on all.
The girls had a party to celebrate
their first year in the flat, and saved
up coupons for food and parcels
from Australia for weeks before
hand.
They have a kindly landlord, who
however had a word with them about
their washing; "your undies are
very glamorous he said, but please
take them off the line on Sundays."
Betty went to England in charge
of an old lady, as the shipping com-
panies will not take elderly passen-
gers, unless someone responsible is
with them. In Betty's case the role
was reversed, as instead of taking
care of the old lady, the old lady
iiad to take care of her, as she
(Betty) was ill all the voyage.
BACK FROM ENGLAND.
Miss Mollie Williams, a grand-
daughter of John Jacob of Wood-
lands, Sevenhill, has returned from
England, and has taken up her for-
mer duties at the Retreat House,
Belair.
DEATH OF FAMED PIANIST.
The tragic end of Brewster Jones
recalls him as a small boy when his
father, W. A. Jones, was school-
master at Armagh; the family con-
sisted of Freddy, Edie (Mrs. Cou-
sins), Pennie a cripple boy, after-
wards an inmate of Estecourt House,
and Brewster. The latter was so
small that corks had to be attached
to his fingers to enable him to strike
the organ keys.
The Jones left Armagh for Pt.
Elliott, where they are still remem-
bered. Brewster Jones married
Greta Homburg, and they lived at
the corner of Alexandra Avenue,
and Prescott Terrace, Rose Park.
The parent Jones, when they retired,
lived with their daughter, Mrs. Cou-
sins at Dulwich. She is a great
social worker, especially in connec-
tion with the Prison Gate Society.
Brewster Jones left three sons and
a daughter. One son, Arthur
Brewster Jones, is the youthful con-
ductor of the Adelaide Stringster
Orchestra. Another son has pro-
perty near here on Adelaide Heights.
MOTHER OF BRITAIN'S
GREATEST SOLDIER.
The death of Lady Montgomery,
mother of the famous Field Marshal,
has its interest for South Australia,
for in 1902 she, with her husband,
Bishop Montgomery, of Tasmania,
and her son Bernard, visited Adelaide
for the Church Congress of that
year. Whist there, they were taken
for a trip up the Murray in the Mis-
sion boat "Etona," where the future
Field-Marshal amused himself with
taking pot shots at rabbits on either
side of the river banks, without, how-
ever, doing much harm.
Lady Montgomery was the daugh-
ter of the golden-mouthed Dean Far-
rar, of Canterbury, and was married
at the early age of 14. Her children
were brought up under strict discip-
line. As soon as they were able they
made their beds in the morning and
stood at attention at their bedroom
door.
Of late years Lady Montgomery
lived on her husband's property in
Ireland. Her six sons were all sol-
diers, each as good as the other she
used to say. She died aged 84.
A CORRECTION.
I received a very nice letter from
Mrs. N. E. Roads in which she says
"I have been reading your letter in
last week's 'Argus' and think you
must have made a mistake, some-
how, as to our knowledge Pat Roads
has never lived in Clare. I believe he
has visited the town at times, and if
he ever lived here it must have been
quite a while ago. My husband and
I came to live in Armagh in October
1945, having purchased a property
here, and I think it must have been
my husband you were alluding to as
he has been advertising in
the "Argus" for a time.
My husband is Percy Charles
Roads, son of Arthur Roads and a
grandson of Dick Roads of whom you
wrote. My father-in-law died about
three years ago, and Mrs. Roads has
been confined to a wheel chair for
years, as she has arthritis and has
not been able to get about at all. We
are quite liking the Clare district,
though it is fairly cold at present.
As far as I can remember Pat Roads
was living at Pirie. I thought you
might like to know about this so de-
cided to write."
I am not very well up in the his-
tory of the Roads family in general,
I have not met many of them, apart
from the immediate family. Thank
you Mrs. Roads I will take your let-
ter with me when I next go over to
Yankalilla, as there are many of the
family there who will be interested
in news of Arthur Roads, who was
the local baker at one time, and of
his wife — one of the best of women.
OLD COLLEGE CLOSING.
It is sad that Queen's College is
to be closed at the end of the year,
for it is a school that has done good
work and has turned out many good
men, but one can understand how
hard it is in the present state of liv-
ing and shortage of staff to keep this
and similar institutions going.
LAST PERSON BORN IN CLARE
RECTORY.
My love to brother Bay, the last
baby to be born in the Clare Rectory,
July 29th., 1882. He was baptised
by his godfather, Archdeacon Dove,
who carried him up the aisle almost
to the altar, when admitting him into
the congregation of Christ Church.
Mrs. Andrew was his nurse. She
stuffed dollies, i.e., small parcels of
sugar in linen bags, tied at the neck
near his mouth to keep him quiet.
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