Eureka Wright

Background

Eureka Wright was the daughter of John Wright and Mary Thomas.

Eureka Wright married Walter John Power in 1876.

Walter Power died in 1932.

Power. On the 5th March, at "Fairview", Gormandale, Walter John, dearly beloved husband of Eureka Power, loving father of Annie (deceased), Walter, William, Thomas, Robert (deceased), Ada (deceased), and Alice, aged 8l years. At rest.

AFTER fourteen days from the publication hereof application will be made to the Supreme Court of the State of Victoria, in its Probate jurisdiction, that PROBATE of the WILL (dated the 24th day of February 1931) of WALTER JOHN POWER, late of Gormandale, in the said state, farmer, deceased may be granted to his widow, Eureka Power, of Gormandale aforesaid and his sons, Walter John Thomas Power of Dandenong, in said State labourer and William Francis Power, of Gormandale aforesaid farmer, the executrix and executors named in and appointed by the said will Dated the 16th day of March 1932.

Eureka Power died in 1944 at Traralgon, Victoria.

EUREKA POWER, Late of Gormandale, in the State of Victoria, Widow Deceased. After fourteen clear days William Francis Power, of Gormandale aforesaid, and Thomas Edward Power, of Callignee in said State, both farmers, the executors appointed by the above deceased's will, dated 5th November. 1934, will APPLY to the Supreme Court for PROBATE of this WILL , BRUCE. FROST-SAMUELS & LITTLETON solicitors Traralgon.

Notes

More than 300 persons attended the ball to celebrate the switching-on of the electricity supply to the Gormandale district. The ribbon was cut by Mrs Eureka Power, the oldest resident, with a pair of silver scissors presented to her by the State Electricity Commission. The Minister for Transport (Mr Hyland) said the Ministry was determined to assist the Electricity Commission in its policy of extending the supply to rural areas.

88 YEARS YOUNG - TRARALGON HAS A FEMININE PIONEER

By CAROLINE ISAACSON

THE love of the soil is something inborn. One cannot take up farming as one may take up journalism, law, medicine, shopkeeping—for farming is something that means one's whole life. It is part of one. There is no closing of a desk to mark, the end of a working day; no locking of a surgery door, or putting up the shutters of a shop — day in, day out, from dawn till dusk, a farmer's day is never done. And, if you are a farmer, that is what you expect . . . and I dare say it — what you want. You may.

A pioneer of Gippsland, Mrs Mary Powell, who celebrated her 88th birthday on March 23, is a devoted gardener. She sews, knits, and reads without glasses, and enjoys perfect hearing. grumble, you may talk, and think enviously of people whose life is constituted of regular hours, but actually you don't really mind, not deep down, you don't. You wouldn't change your way of life with anyone in the world.

When I was in Gippsland last week, in that odd way that memories long forgotten suddenly come to mind, I remembered years ago at a dinner party at Australia House in London sitting next to a Mr Arthur Jones. Mr Jones had only very recently arrived from Australia, and in the way one does — in that awful stereotyped way — I asked him, "And how do you like London?" He looked at me, and then he looked around, and a reminiscent look came into his eyes. "It's all right," he answered, "but my little rathole at Traralgon'll do me."

I thought of Mr Jones and this re-mark of his as we approached Traralgon, and with him I felt, "Yes, Traralgon'll do me." For the country around there is some of the best in the State. It is quiet country — and if you are a country man or woman you will know what I mean. Soft undulating downs, cattle grazing peacefully in the paddocks, flocks of sheep nibbling lazily by the side of the road. It is good, rich country — in a good season, and the seasons in that part of Gippsland are usually good, for the rainfall as a rule can be depended upon. The day I was there was only a very short time after the bush fires had swept the countryside, and much of the land was brown and charred. Still, it looked a good place, nevertheless, and I wished I could meet Mr Jones and tell him so.

I didn't, unfortunately, but I did meet others who shared his opinion. And most interesting I found Mrs Mary Powell. Mrs Powell celebrated her 88th birthday on March 28. On the day of my visit it must have been well over 90 deg in the shade, and I found her in the garden weeding. Her daughters, Maude and Grace, who live with her, told me that prior to that she had done the washing up after lunch. At 88 ... I recalled the many people I knew quite half Mrs Powell's age who, the moment the thermometer neared the 90 mark, wilted and slumped and only did things that were absolutely necessary to do — and those very grudgingly.

But then Mrs Powell comes from good sound pickled stock — which doesn't wilt or slump whatever the temperature or the exigencies of the moment. The Powells are among the very early settlers in that part of Gippsland. Mrs Powell selected land as far back as 1875, and she still has it. Mrs Powell recalls lovingly "the good old days," when native cats, kangaroos, and wallabies played happily around her home; when cooking was done in a camp oven and she had to cart the washing in a sledge to the creek at Cribbin's Bridge, over 2 miles away! I thought to myself how times have indeed changed when she told me that in the first years of her marriage she used to ride into Traralgon side saddle — with a child at each side — to sell the butter, which was then 4d per lb, and bring back flour then costing £2/5/ abag.

Mrs Powell's maiden name was Wright, a name closely linked with the early settlement of Ballarat. One of her sisters, indeed, was called Eureka — there is no need to question on which side the Wright family's sympathies lay.

One of Mrs Powell's most treasured possessions is the medal presented to school children to commemorate the Duke of Edinburgh's visit to Australia in 1867. She recalls the day he visited her school — Hursledown school — vividly. All the children were lined up in 2 rows to form a guard of honour, and the duke shook hands with each one. She showed me the medal, which weighs about 1¼oz and is the size of a crown. On one side is a portrait of the Duke, on the other a replica of the ship in which he travelled - the Galatea.

When one congratulates Mrs Powell on her years, on what she has done, on her still tireless energy, she is very reluctant to admit to being at all extraordinary, and points to her sister, Mrs E. Power, who last December celebrated her 90th birthday. Mrs Power lives near by at Gormandale, and at her birthday party 38 members of the family were present—among them Mrs Powell, her brother, Mr John Wright, who is 83, and a younger sister, Mrs Ada Missen, 79.

Also See

Names Featuring 'Eureka'