Maggie Grace Menzies (1883-1958)
Maggie Grace Brew nee Menzies, was born on 18 April 1883, the youngest of 9 children born to George Menzies and Jeanette Sadler Menzies (nee Smith). The family lived at Stockton NSW, just across the Hunter River from the city of Newcastle. For the latter half of their married life they lived in “Woodley Cottage” in Maitland Street Stockton which is the second street from the waterfront .The house or at least the site, can be fairly confidently identified as No 80.
At the time of her birth Maggie’s mother, Jeanetta, was 40 years of age, her father George was 50 and they had been married for 19 years. Their family of nine children included four girls and five boys as follows; When Maggie was born all her siblings were still living at home. Annie was 18, Jessie 16, John 13, George 11, William 9, Robert 8, Richard 5, Jeanette 3. Evidence suggests that it wasn’t until 1885 that Maggie’s family moved into “Woodley Cottage”, a house just leased by Captain Earnest Woodley Warner who was courting Maggie’s oldest sister, Annie. We understand it to have been a 7 roomed house but there must have been a lot of doubling-up to sleep and feed 10 people. It was only 10 because Annie married Earnest that year and they moved into another house next door.
In 1883 Stockton was a small but busy village only accessible by boat from Newcastle. In fact the census of 1881 shows that there were only 666 households in the village while there were 8,986 in Newcastle. Life in Stockton had always focused on the maritime industry but neighbouring Newcastle was fast becoming a major centre for the export of coal. In fact shortly after Maggie was born a major new underground mine opened in 1885 in Stockton itself. It was virtually at the end of her street. Maggie would have seen the coal miners going to and from the pit as she grew up. When aged 13 she and her family was shocked by a major disaster at the mine when 11 men lost their lives from poisonous gas. Five of them were rescuers. However the mine did not close till 1908 which was after she was married and had gone to sea with her husband.
Presumably when aged 5, Maggie, like her brothers and sisters before her, went to a local school and learned to write on a slate using a special crayon or pencil. However there are no records of her handwriting or of any embroidery or other needlework which she is sure to have been proficient at. In 1902 when women got the vote in Australia, Maggie was only 19 (her mother was 59 and her father 69 years old) but she still couldn’t vote because she was not old enough. However it was said that she was quite musical and she got a job at Palings Music Store in Newcastle. She used to entertain shoppers by playing an organ in the store. She also helped out as organist at the Stockton Congregational Church where the family worshiped on Sundays. Being the youngest, she no doubt helped her mother around the house and with supplementing the family income just like the other children. But life must have been difficult because Maggie’s father George suffered a severe injury to his leg which had put an end to his sea going career many years before. It was said that her mother Jeanetta often sewed ship’s bunting (flags) to help supplement the family income.
Excerpt from the book "Janes Legacy" by John Brew.
