Eva Rose
Evine Albina Rose was born in 1875. Eva, as she
was known, was Charles and Mary Rose’s fourth child, the next youngest after
Lillian (previous post).
Like her three older siblings, Eva grew up at
Castle Forbes Bay.
Eva was married in 1895, aged 20, to Alfred
Christie. They married at the home of W. Christie at Esperance (Dover). My
family jottings state Alfred was a Danish man. “We all loved Uncle Alf, he was
a gentleman”, my great aunt was quoted as saying. This statement suggests that
sisters Kezia and Eva were close, and that the families interacted with each
other.
Finding Uncle Alf’s Danish heritage came easily. Alf’s father, Mr Henry Christie, was well reported in newspapers throughout the late 1930’s and early in the 1940’s as a nonagenarian, and, as a well-respected pioneer, was often interviewed. Henry died at age 99 in 1943.On his 94th birthday interview, Henry recalled his boyhood memories of Denmark, and of working on ships with his father. With a love of the sea in his blood, in 1860, he was glad to take up the offer of his wealthy uncle, Jacob Christie, to sail with him to Van Dieman’s Land. They landed at Hobart, then at Port Esperance, where Jacob had a property. Jacob’s intention was to sell the land and return to Denmark. Three years later, Jacob died, and Henry was left to make his own way. He worked for twelve months at Cascade Brewery, then returned to Esperance, working as a bushman for thirty years, followed by forty years on the west coast. Although he spent nearly all his life in the bush, he still loved the sea and remembered the delight to the eye of the old sailing ships when he first landed in Hobart Town. Henry was married three times, but his family of fourteen was with his first wife, Martha. When Martha died in 1918 at Zeehan, she left five sons (one of whom was Eva’s husband, Uncle Alf) and three daughters.
Her son Victor was at the front, two grandsons were in active service, with a third who had recently fallen in action fighting for King and Country. Private John Henry Rueben Christie fell in 1916, somewhere in France.
Eva and Alf had seven children:
- Alfred known as Rheuben b. 1897
- Idella known as Annie b. 1900
- Alice b. 1901
- Ronald b. 1907
- Doris b. 1909
- Eva known as Belle b. 1912
- Lewis known as Marshall b. 1914
Throughout the 1920’s, and probably prior to
this, Eva was practicing as a nurse. In January 1917, Eva was charged with
breaching the Midwifery Act. Eva pleaded not guilty, but after evidence was
given, she was found guilty. The conviction was recorded, the costs remitted,
but the bench held that there were extenuating circumstances. Quite possibly,
Eva assisted a woman in labour when no other help was available or affordable.
This event possibly prompted Eva’s sister
Kezia, also a nurse, to complete training in Hobart in 1918, and to obtain her
qualifications to practice as a Midwife.
Between 1914 and 1924, Eva and Alf lived in a
double story, fourteen room place on Shipwright’s Point, formerly the Alabama
Hotel. Built in the early 1860’s, the Alabama was a landmark of the Huon. In
January 1924, the old hotel caught fire, and family and neighbours worked to
salvage as much of Alf and Eva’s furniture and possessions as possible, knowing
they were unable to save the structure. The report of the fire says the old
Alabama had witnessed many happenings illustrative of the strength and weakness
of human nature, such as the days when “Cranky” Jack and “Yorkie” Paterson
would, for a small consideration, box one round which might go for a half an
hour, or a half a day. Recollections of when the State Governors with all their
old-time frills and trappings, and gaudily attired attendants would be present
at the Huon Regatta receptions were mentioned, as on these occasions the
Alabama was seen at its best.
But the Alabama was most important from the
1880’s as a shipping aid. Reminiscences
of the early days in the Huon, tell of Jimmy Dance’s Alabama Hotel and the
steamers which would arrive from Hobart in the early hours of the morning. The
captain and crew would at times be working up to their waists in water, loading
fruit, turnips, and potatoes. Fruit had replaced wool as the state’s most
valuable product, from the point of view of employment, so collection points
along the Huon were vital.[i]
Very often in winter, with boisterous winds and thick fog, and with no river
lights, Jimmy Dance would fire a gun to enable the captain to get directions to
Shipwright’s Point. In Sir John Evan’s recollections, Jimmy Dance would “always
have something hot for us to partake of, and I can assure my readers that it
was as welcome as the flowers in May”.[ii]
By the time Eva and Alf lived there, the old
place was described as showing signs of old age and losing the fight against
the elements.
In 1930 Alf and Eva moved to Hobart, to 312
Argyle Street.
In 1943, Alf Died.
By 1945, Eva was aged 70 and suffering from
debilitating osteoarthritis and high blood pressure. Her son Marshall requested a discharge from service in the R.A.A.F. to care for his mother. He
states the house they lived in at 312 Argyle Street had been sold and they were
served with a notice to vacate. He was granted discharge.[iii]
Eva died on the 15th of April 1955,
on her 80th birthday and is buried at Cornelian Bay Cemetery.[iv]
Writing Eva’s ancestor bio was far less
harrowing than her two sisters had been. She had married a good man, raised a
family, worked professionally, and lived to a good age. However, late into the
research an extremely distressing piece of information came to light.
I would like to include a caution.
I read several articles regarding advice on how
a genealogy writer handles uncovering history that makes the heart sink;
crimes, transgressions, or character stains, and how we grapple with these. The
goal is not to whitewash our histories, but also to determine what is
appropriate to include in the story narrative.[v]
Details on public record are just that, and
there is nothing to be done to hide the contents. Is this account so
painful that you can't find any reason to reveal it? Or would the pain of the
story explain the pain of someone else's story? [vi]
Everybody will react differently.
I set out to find the answers to
the hardships, disadvantage and dysfunction of a family spanning over several
known generations and even still existing today. After much heart battling have decided to share this
triggering information.
However, my prime motivation here
was to honour Eva herself.
In the world I live in, crimes
against women are still only beginning to be dealt with, but here, I go back to
1891, when there were no Sexual Assault Units, no movements, no media heroines
leading by example, and very little hope for women in court to have any successful
outcome at trial. Mostly, these secrets were kept.
The young 17-year-old Eva Rose
must have been an incredibly brave young woman.
She would have “brought shame”
publicly to her family, risked family and social alienation, and even
“blemished” her own future prospects, to stand up and openly testify to the
terrible crime committed against her. I cannot imagine how she would have felt, taking the long journey into Hobart to publically testify. What support she had, is unknown. Perhaps
her oldest sister Kezia, and perhaps Linda and Lillian, perhaps even her
mother. 1891 is the year her family left the district of Castle Forbes Bay and
relocated to Port Cygnet, then, to Dover.
But Eva did stand up, her voiced was
heard, and she took the risk.
[i] (1932, April
1). Huon Times (Franklin, Tas. : 1910 - 1933), p. 6. Retrieved
April 23, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page15689176
[ii] Political,
Industrial, Municipal (1935, February 28). Huon and Derwent Times (Tas.
: 1933 - 1942), p. 18. Retrieved April 23, 2024, from
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article137248542
[iii] https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Gallery151/dist/JGalleryViewer.aspx?B=4400808&S=25&N=67&R=0
[iv] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/212904536/eva-albina-christie
[v] Anette Gendler. https://familytreemagazine.com/storytelling/writing/uncomfortable-details-family-stories/
[vi]https://therabbithole.heirluminaries.com/genealogy/sharing-the-bad-stories-in-your-family-tree
All other sources: Trove newspapers, Libraries Tasmania
Name Search, My Heritage, hand written interview with Rene Tuck, niece of Eva.
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