General News
4 November, 2025
AN AUSTRALIAN PIONEER: A positive achiever
Reading Henry Lawson’s masterpiece “The Drover’s Wife”, one can become quite upset as her son utters those emotional words “Mum, I’ll never go a droving!”
Lawson’s fictional tale epitomises what was in fact reality for many early pioneers.
The story of Maryborough resident, Florence Price (nee Hornsby), and her family and their life on a selection in Nullawarre is a graphic endorsement of Lawson’s tale.
The harshness of the Australian bush compared to the fertile, verdant English countryside would have been a challenge to a young man from Cambridge, England.
Her father, a baker by trade, he set about clearing virgin forest building a four room house from split slabs with a heavy beamed ceiling and a shingled roof (single handedly).
A large fireplace contained a cast iron oven and huge kettle. A kerosene tin was filled with the hot water supply.
Only the basic furnishings were provided.
Boxes were draped in knitted coverings to provide comfortable seating.
His diminutive French wife (barely five feet) was to raise 10 children under these harsh conditions.
Her first consideration was how to feed her family. There were no convenient stores.
No butchers, bakers, schools or post offices existed. Meat was comprised of kangaroo, rabbit, pigeons and parrots.
Home made bread and damper in the ashes supplemented their diet. Rain water was captured from the shingle roof. The water was so discoloured lime was added to clarify it.
The water obtained from underground was brackish. Fortunately the soil was fertile and soon a rich harvest of turnips, parsnips, potatoes and carrots provided a variety of vegetables.
The plum tree, a hardy survivor, was a provider of fresh fruit, juice and preserves (both dried and stewed) and of course the favourite, plum jam.
A coffee substitute was made from scorched wheat and syrup. Wild honey was gathered.
Meat fat was converted into a crude soap with caustic soda and scented with wild rosemary or eucalyptus oil.
As was the case in Lawson’s tale were many times that the father was away.
Wild cats and dingos were a constant threat as were the ever present snakes.
Many nights were terrifying as she sat alone with her small children often cuddling around the fire.
Bushfires, infestations, droughts, along with floods provided an ever present challenge.
Childbirth was a constant concern, with a high mortality rate. With no doctors nearby and roads often impassable, untrained mid-wives did their best with the most primitive conditions.
In 1888 Florence’s mother, Eliza, had her first break visiting her sisters in Melbourne.
Eventually a school was built in the district with a church nearby.
Tragedy visited twice in a week. When her six-year-old daughter fell ill and despite a desperate journey to a doctor, she died.
On return her brother fell ill and despite all their efforts, also perished.
The reality was that out of a family of 12 children, only five were reared to adulthood.
Despite these troubles she soldiered on and as time passed she celebrated life with her children.
As the community grew so did the facilities. Postal deliveries were three times a week and an active sense of community grew.
Her daughter, Florence, displayed her indomitable spirit when she had a plastic hip operation at the age of 92.
The operation enabled Florence to continue her passions of gardening, baking and walking,
In 1929 she helped to found, and was the president of the Maryborough branch of the Country Women’s Association.
As a young woman in 1895 she visited farms in the district and raised three pounds 12 shillings and sixpence (a large sum in those times) for the children’s hospital. She was invited and attended the opening of a new wing at the Royal Childrens’ Hospital. it was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II.
Florence’s donation was appreciated.
She was also a driving force behind the establishment of a comfort station in Phillips Gardens.
It provided a place for country women to refresh, change their baby’s nappies and catch up with events.
If you explore the gardens you will still find the plaque.
A remarkable piece of memorabilia is Florence’s school exercise book. In her day as was the practice each student had only one exercise book in which all work was done.
It was all in ink and perfect copperplate. It contained daily “parsing” (sentence analysis), complex algorithms (involving imperial measurements and pounds, shillings and pence).
Florence’s residence was a miner’s cottage in Fraser Street, Maryborough. She passed away in 1977 at the age of 94. An incredible human being.
This and much more information was provided by her maternal grandson Ross Gregory.