Obituaries Australia

There were many heads bowed with sorrow and eyes wet with tears yesterday morning, when the mortal remains of the late Mrs. Eliza Walsh were laid to rest alongside those of her late husband, the Hon. W. H. Walsh, M.L.C. (who died on April 5, 1888), in the cemetery at Toowong on the entrance slope, where lie sleeping, already, so many of Brisbane's early settlers. The remains were followed by members of her family and a very large number of friends. The pallbearers were Mr. Western Walsh, Mr. A. D. Walsh, Mr. Nugent Wade Brown, Mr. Campbell Riley, Dr. Falkner, and an old friend of the family—Mr. R. H. Roe, M.A. A service was held at St. James's Church, Toowoomba, on Wednesday afternoon by the Ven. Archdeacon River, assisted by the Rev. A. E. Davies, and at the request of a few intimate friends of the deceased lady, a further service took place at the residence of Mr. A. D. Walsh, Milton-terrace, at 10.15 yesterday morning, conducted by the Revs. Canon Jones and Walter Thompson, who subsequently conducted the service at the graveside. The late Mrs. Walsh was the daughter of the late Mr. John Brown, and was born at Freidrickstahl, Copenhagen, on July 3, 1827. When 10 years of age her parents carne to Australia and made their home at Colstoun, on the Paterson River, in New South Wales. There she was married to Mr. William Henry Walsh, afterwards Minister for Works and Railways in Queensland, and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. The deceased lady's early married life was spent at Degilbo station, Burnett district, which the late Mr. Walsh owned from 1857 until 1864. Her long and useful life, with its warm affections and steadfast ideals, endeared her to an unusually wide circle of friends. From the early sixties onward for many years her home at Milton was the centre of generous hospitality, cultured life, and warm friendships that have stood without failing the tests of time and severance. Mrs. Walsh's life was mainly devoted to her home duties and to the education of her children, but she found time also for deeds of benevolence, and she was closely associated with Mrs. Hale, the then bishop's wife, in many good works, more especially in the establishment of the Governesses' Home. The features of her character, which animated and spiritualised a face that remained to the last strikingly beautiful, were affectionate devotion to the training of her children, ardent zeal for the established church and missionary work, and unfailing fidelity.