Obituaries Australia

Mrs [Augusta] Packer, the respected mother of Mr J. E. Packer, Under-Treasurer, and of Mr F. A. Packer, Clerk of the House of Assembly, died to-day, aged 73. She came of an old Scotch family, and claimed lineage with the celebrated Neil Gow. She was one of our leading musicians, and her death severs another link in the musical past of the colony. The deceased lady was a kind and affectionate mother and made many faithful friends. So intimately has her name been connected with the rise and progress of music in the colony that it will be handed down from generation to generation as that of a lady whose whole soul was devoted to keeping up a high and pure standard of music. As a citizen she was highly respected and esteemed by all who know her. She was quiet and genial, and always polite and ladylike. Mrs Packer has been in failing health for some time, and passed quietly away, thus closing the record of a useful life, the memoral of which will live long in the hearts of those who knew her worth, both as a lady and a musician.