Obituaries Australia

Mrs. Eliza Wallbank, as already briefly reported, passed away at her son's residence, 3 Alice street, Grafton, on January 7. She had resided in Grafton for the last 20 years.

She was born on the Hawkesbury River, at Mangrove Creek, and was 90 years of age on February 25 last year. She came to the Clarence at the age of 18 years with her parents, the late Mr. and Mrs. Richard Ellem, of Alumny Creek, travelling from Mangrove Creek by horses and dray. Here they took up farming.

She married at the age of 20 to Thomas Wallbank, of Hawkesbury River, and resided at Grafton for a few years, and then moved to Mororo, where her husband was engaged in the timber trade.

There were 11 children: Bessie (Mrs. Permbroke, of Lindfield), Richard (Belmore), Alice (Mrs. Murray, deceased, of Rappville), Thomas (killed in action, 1918), Isobel (Mrs. Wood, Grafton), William (Woodburn), Henry (original A.I.F., of Lismore), Roger (original A.I.F., of Brisbane), Susan (Mrs. Klein, Lismore), Elsie (Mrs. Watson, Petersham) and Joseph (Grafton). There are 32 grand-children, 31 great grandchildren and one great great grandchild. Beverly Ann Hammond, of Charters Towers, makes the fifth generation living up to the time of her death.

In her early days at Mororo, Mrs. Wallbank was always willing to help her neighbors in sickness. She has been known to ride miles in teeming rain. She was always devoted to her church and was keen on reading and sewing until the last few months. She took an interest in the house and was always pleased to receive her many relatives and friends and had good health until eight days before her death. She was always a great lover of flowers and she was not forgotten at the last by her relatives and many friends, for there were a great number of most beautiful wreaths.