Emily DYKE [7197]

  General Notes:

1867 SA Marr 70/289 BENNET George DYKE Emily Talunga
1889 SA Marriage 159/933 RAMSAY James Cleverly BENNET Emily Frome

The Mail Saturday 29 June 1929
The Woman's Realm
Born in Underground House
TRIALS OF PIONEER
Drought Kills Husband and Son
'When we were little childer We'd a quare wee house.'
This quotation aptly applies to Mrs. Emily Ramsay, who was born 86 years ago in an underground room at Sturt Creek, Brighton. The entire house consisted of a single room hollowed out of the ground, and thatched with leaves and branches. The only garden was a stretch of scrub, beyond which nothing could be seen but the leafy horizon. The only means of communication with Adelaide was a bullock waggon, which brought supplies in large quantities and water in barrels. Natives often camped on the banks of the Torrens, and as a child it was the delight of Mrs. Ramsay and her play- mates to steal down and watch the aborigines building their wurlies or fishing or cooking by the river. At one time the home of Mrs. Ramsay's mother was at tacked by natives of the Encounter Bay tribe. "My father went each day to Adelaide," Mrs. Ramsay explained, "and mother was left alone in this wilderness with her sister and me as her only companions. I was at the time an infant, and when the natives came upon us my aunt snatched me and ran to the home of a neighbor some miles away. Every bag of flour and all other provisions were stolen by the blacks, and the fate of my mother we can only surmise had it not been for a pet parrot. The bird flew upon her shoulder find began to talk wildly. The natives formed a huge circle about the pair, and began a weird, eccentric dance. They were thus engaged when my father arrived, and like streaks of lightning they fled at the sight of the white man." The trials and fears of women pioneers were numerous. When the Sturt Creek was in flood it was impossible to get to the town. "On one occasion," Mrs. Ram- say said, "a doctor called to see my mother. While he was in the house the floodwaters came down, and the doctor was forced to spend three or four days with us, for there was no means of crossing the creek. 'I had seven sisters and three brothers, and when we were old enough we were sent to boarding school. The girls went to Mrs. Hillier's boarding school, while a Mr. Grundy instructed the boys. Both institutions were situated at the foot of the sandhills near Thatched House Tavern. Although only a few miles away, we went home but once in six months, and conditions were so much better at school that we were glad to stop there."
Mrs. Ramsay has been twice married. After leaving Brightton she made her home at Mount Pleasant, where she conducted a school. It was here that she met Mr. George Bennet her first husband. "Upon our removal to Encounter Bay I began a kindergarten class," she said. ''At this time there was a school at Victor Harbor, so I taught only infants. My husband kept the post and telegraph office there. Later he was transferred to Hergott Springs, which then consisted of a few tents. 'At this time I had seven children, and there was no means of educating them. The railway line was being erected, and my family and I followed it up in bullock waggons to Strangway Springs, and thence to Warrina [Warrina is 97 km NNW of William Creek on the old Ghan railway.]. We reached Warrina in 1888, and I shall never forget that year of terrible drought. There was no water except a well of bitter fluid, 12 miles away. From our camp my husband and eldest son went in search of water. "The body of my son was found some time later beneath a bush by the well, where he had failed to reach the bitter water, and it was several weeks before any trace of my husband was found. He had lit a fire to attract attention, but searchers saw the smoke and kept away, fearing natives. Thus two noble souls perished in attempt to relieve as of our burning thirst. "Mr. Charles Baggott heard of our plight and offered me a position as cook on his station, near Dalhousie Springs. I was the first white woman to enter this region. Four of my children were with me. It was just about this time that the railway line to Oodnadatta was to be opened, and as the hotel cook was on holiday, Mrs. Ramsay was asked to take her place. She cooked the meals for visiting railways officials in that hot iron hotel that is still at Oodnadatta. "After leaving Oodnadatta," Mrs. Ramsay said, "I went to Port Augusta, and thence to Broken Hill, where Mr. J. Ramsay was a miner. He was a delicate man, and did not live long after our marriage. "Husband and son were not enough to lose by drought," Mrs. Ramsay continued, ''for only last year another son died in similar circumstances. He had been ill, but felt the urgent need of get- ting his cattle to water, so he set off. One night he lay exhausted, with saddle for pillow, and was found next morning dead." Last week Mrs. Ramsay celebrated her eighty-sixth birthday. She still has a mass of brown, wavy hair with a few becoming streaks of grey about her temples. She spends her time at needle work, and does many quaint crochet de- signs. "Even when drought and heat waves were upon us," she said, "I did not give up my sewing. Crochet coverings which were once so popular for chairs always made my home look fresh and crisp. "Now that I am old, everything seems to be a landmark with some sorrow attached to it, usually the death of some dear friends -
"Friends with the beautiful eyes that the dust has defiled, Beautiful souls who were gentle when I was a child."

The Advertiser Thursday 7 September 1933
OBITUARY
The death occurred, at Glenelg recently, of Mrs. Emily Ramsay. She was born at Sturt on June 19, 1843, and remembered when blacks roamed the district. She was educated at Miss Hillier's school at Brighton. She became a school teacher at Hope Valley, and afterwards postmistress. She was married to Mr. George Bennet, and lived at Mt. Pleasant. Afterwards she went to Strangways Springs, when the head of the railway line was only a few miles past Marree. Later Mr. and Mrs. Bennet transferred to Warrina, and it was while there that her husband died in shifting cattle out from Macumba Station. Her son, the late Mr. George Bennet, a racehorse owner and owner of Tempe Downs and Allandale stations, met a similar fate at Horseshoe Bend five years ago. Mrs. Bennet was married to Mr. J. C. Ramsay. She has left a son, Mr. A. Bennet, of Goodwood, and three daughters - Mrs. L Reid (Glenelg), Mrs. E. Ford (Moonta), and Mrs. B. McCubbin (Colonel Light Gardens).

News (Adelaide) Thursday 31 August 1933
DEATH
RAMSAY -On August 31, at the residence of her son-in-law (Mr. I. Reid), 16 Alison street, Glenelg, Emily, widow of James Cleverly Ramsay (formerly Bennet). Aged 90 years.

News (Adelaide) Thursday 31 August 1933
FUNERAL NOTICES
RAMSAY.-The Friends of the late Mrs. EMILY RAMSAY (widow of James Cleverly Ramsay) are respectfully informed that her Funeral will Leave the Residence of her son-in-law (Mr. I. Reid), 16 Alison street, Glenelg on FRIDAY, at 2.30 p.m., for the West Terrace Cemetery. FRANK SIEBERT, Undertaker, Phone 413, 47-49 Wakefield street.

The Advertiser Friday 1 Sep 1933
DEATH:
RAMSAY. -On the 31st August, at the residence of her son-in-law (Mr. I. Reid), 16 Allison street, Glenelg, Emily, widow of James Cleverly Ramsay (formerly Bennett), aged 90 years.

Chronicle Thursday 14 September 1933
RAMSAY (nee Bennett. - On the 3lst August, at the residence of Mr. I. Reid, Glenelg, Emily, widow of J. C. Ramsay, aged 90 years beloved mother of Mr. A. Bennet (Goodwood), Mrs. I. Reid (Glenelg), Mrs. E. Ford (Moonta), and Mrs. R. McCubbin (Colonel Light Gardens). No mourning, by request. At rest.

Emily married George BENNET [7196] [MRIN: 2490], son of John BENNET [6963] and Margaret Venning HARVEY [6964], in 1867 in Talunga, South Australia. (George BENNET [7196] was born on 13 Jul 1841 in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia and died in 1888 in Macumba Station, South Australia.)

Emily next married James Cleverly RAMSAY [7199] [MRIN: 2491] in 1889 in Frome, South Australia. (James Cleverly RAMSAY [7199] died in 1900 in Norwood, Adelaide, South Australia.)