Obituaries Australia

The death of Mrs. Margaret Mills, widow of the late Charles Mills, of Uardry Station, Hay, N.S.W., to which brief reference was made in last issue, makes a sad gap in the fast thinning ranks of Riverina pioneers. Mrs. Mills was a woman of outstanding personality, and possessed a remarkable spirit of perseverance. That she will be greatly missed by a wide circle of friends goes without saying.

A daughter of an old Scottish family, the Ainslies of Fairfield, N.B., she married Mr. Charles Mills in 1874, and in 1875 migrated to Australia. After spending a short time in Melbourne she set out with her husband for Uardry, which station had just been purchased by the latter. The journey in those days was a formidable one, the last 150 miles being accomplished in a station buggy, while the homestead was but a slab hut of four rooms with an earth floor.

From the day of her arrival until her death on 6th April she took the keenest interest in the development of the property and its noted Merino stud. As recently as 1922 she was handed and accepted on behalf of Charles Mills Limited the grand champion ribbon for the best Merino ram at the Sydney Sheep Show by the late Sir Walter Davidson, Governor of New South Wales.

Her husband died in 1916. Mrs. Mills leaves two daughters, namely, Mrs. Price and Miss W. Mills, and three sons. The latter are:—Mr. Neilson Mills, who is now in charge of the Uardry stud, and is managing director of Charles Mills (Uardry) Limited; Mr. Charles Mills, of Bald Hills, Grenfell, N.S.W.; and Mr. W. Mills, of Burrabogie, Hay, N.S.W.