DISCOVER RESEARCH SOLUTIONS
The mystery of Aunt Aussie
• Evidently these people were fairly comfortably placed financially, for the farmhouse appears substantial and they have use or ownership of a chauffeur-driven car, the driver in his peaked cap just glimpsed at the wheel
• The loose style of both women’s garments and their low calf-length hemlines confirm a date in the 1920s, probably a year between about 1922 and 1928
Q This photo depicts Isabella Fraser and her older sister Margaret Derrett née Fraser. Margaret was my greatgrandmother, born 28 October 1856, Old Machar (now
Woodside), Aberdeen in Scotland, to parents John Fraser and Margaret Cumming. The photo shows the Derrett family farm ‘Pine Hill’, Patea, New Zealand and would have been taken before 1936, when the Derretts retired to town. Isabella is the mystery here.
• On the 1861 & 1871 Scottish Censuses, she is not listed with the rest of the family – nor is she on the shipping record when John, Margaret and seven of their children emigrated to NZ on the Mairi Bhan, arriving at Port Chalmers, Dunedin NZ on 25 July 1874
• On her Intention to Marry record of August 1875, Margaret stated that she had been in NZ for 13 months, supporting that arrival date: she married Edward Derrett on 26 August 1875. I have no birth record for Isabella so could that be established from the sisters’ clothing?
• Two stories are in circulation about Isabella, who apparently was the tomboy of the family. Reputedly she went to Australia for work and was thereafter known to the family as ‘Aunt Aussie’. A tough, strong woman, one version claims that she masqueraded as a man and worked in an outback pub in Australia, her true sex only being discovered when she died. The other version is that while masquerading as a man, she either drove a bullock team or worked on a ship; she was killed in an accident and subsequently was found to be a woman. I feel sure I now have the right Fraser family but because Isabella is missing from family records, I am still not 100 per cent certain. Any help concerning the photograph would be most appreciated.
A Sometimes a family photograph, once accurately dated, can provide an important missing link in the historical record – for example, evidence of a person, place or event that has otherwise escaped attention. However, I’m afraid that this evocative outdoor scene showing two elderly ladies outside a family property resolves few of your specific queries. Given the imperfect image, the sisters portrayed squinting into the sun, this is probably an amateur snapshot taken by a friend or relative using a personal camera. Both ladies are well-dressed in a feminine fashion typical of the 1920s: neither appear in the least masculine, so no real clues there to support family rumours. You don’t mention who is who, but judging from their respective appearances, I assume that Margaret, your great-grandmother, is the more frail-looking lady seated on the running-board. She wears a smart, conservative suit comprising a comfortable jersey top or belted jacket and coordinating skirt, with high-necked blouse underneath. Her fine white hair may be kept long, drawn back into a traditional bun, her shoes substantial and functional. She would be aged around 70 here.
The standing lady definitely looks more youthful with her upright, confident bearing and may perhaps wear modern bobbed hair. She also appears more casual perhaps, in a linen dress, but also the more stylish and fashionable of the sisters, in her modish bar shoes – popular by the early 1920s – beads and earrings.
In my view the ‘Isabella’ figure could conceivably be 10 or more years younger than Margaret, which might help with finding her elusive birth record. We might surmise that visually ‘Isabella’ gives the impression of a modern, forthright woman, but nothing about her appearance in this photograph particularly suggests unconventional tendencies, so I’m afraid you may need to dig deeper among the printed records to discover more about her. JS
The 1911 Census shows Edward and wife Mary with children from their marriage, and daughters from Mary’s previous marriage
Tip
Don’t get stuck studying a single record. See which other documents you can track down, cross-referring the facts, to help you work out the full and correct details for your ancestor. Sometimes there won’t be a perfect answer, but by verifying as much information as you can, you’ll be able to make the most informed decision
Who was Mary Robinson?
Q I wonder if you can help me with a conundrum I have about my father’s birth. My father, Terence Craig, was a twin to Edward, born in Bishopsgate, London in 1904. His mother’s name on the birth certificate is Mary Robinson. No-one in the family has heard of this name. As far as we know, our grandmother’s name was Mary Maud Lee. She was married before my grandad and then her name was Mary Maud Mackway. We would like to know why Mary Robinson is on the twins’ birth certificate.