Dame Edith Walker - Philanthropy And Charitie - Concord West - Sydney

 

Dame Edith Walker -

Eadith Campbell Walker was born on the 18th September 1861 @ The Rocks & she died on the 8th October 1937. 

Eadith was the only child of Thomas Walker, A Merchant and Her Mother Was Nee Jane Hart. 

They moved to "Yaralla", An Italiante Mansion On the Parramatta River At Concord West. 

During her lifetime she was Appointed Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire, & Dame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire for her work in Philanthropy and Charities. 

She died on October 8th 1937, unmarried & childless. She was cremated @ Rookwood, & her ashes were buried in the family grave at St John's Ashfield. 

She left an estate of 265,000 Pounds. One third of the Residue of the Estate went to The Returned Soldiers & Sailors Imperial League Of Australia, & the real estate went to the Red Cross. 

Before WW1 Eadith  had a flair for Organizing lavish balls, and parties on a grand scale, fetes and charitable functions at her home.... her Guests included Royalty and other important people. 

She was widely travelled and interested in music and art...
She Built an Indian Room to house some of her treasures she had picked up in New Dehli for the 1903 Coronation Dunbar, She Enjoyed reading & collected an extensive library which she bequeathed to the Women's  College at the University of Sydney.
She collected valuable glass, porcelin, paintings and antique furniture. She was a founder of the Queens Club (1912) and a life Member Of The Royal Art Society Of New South Wales. 



She was a part of many charitable organisations including 
- The Women's Industrial Guild
- Queen Jubilee Fund
- Royal Alexandra Hospital For Children 
- The Royal Hospital For Women - Paddington

Eadith also supported religious, educational institutions, 
She maintained her staff in their old age and built cottages for needy men . 


Eadith never got married. Her Aunt Joanna Had instilled in her the fear of fortune Hunters. She was a shy, but strong and capable woman who disliked Publicity, & spent most of her later years  at "The Astor" - Macquarie Street. She died in 1937, with her dog Cobber beside her. 
Returned Servicemen & Scouts lined the Approach to the Chapel at Rookwood where she was cremated. Her estate sworn for Probate at 265,345 Pounds was disposed of in accordance with the terms of her fathers will after the Walker Trust Act was passed in 1939.

 

Beatrice Miles - Known As Bea Miles - Infamous Sydney Eccentric

 

Thomas Shakespeare - And Condobolin NSW

 

The Great Country Town Of Condobolin NSW

In 1899, The Founding Editor Of Condobolin's Second Newspaper Published A Ghastly Recipe To Destroy Crows Extracting A Heavy Toll On Sheep. 

Thomas Shakespeare Considered Crows, Which Killed ByPlucking  Eyes From Sheep And Young Lambs Bellies, As Too Cunning To Take Poison & Too Fast To Be Shot When He Shared A Recipe Used By The Graziers Around Forbes, Where The Young Editor Had Served His Apprenticeship. 

It Involved Mixing A Half " Stick Of Phosphorous. In 6 pounds Of Fat, Then Pour Over Boiling Water. 

"Take The Poisoned Fat & Spread It On Green Skins, Or Take Out The Eyes Of Dead Sheep, And Fill Up The Sockets With The Mixture, Spreading It Well Over Tidbits That Crows Delight To Feast On" He a Wrote.  The Birds Will Certainly Eat The Fat & succumb

With reports During The 1897 Drought Of Sheep's Deaths "Made Horrible By Crows Eating Their Eyes Out Long Before Death Relieves The Poor Brutes", Control Measures Included  A Twopence Payment For Crows Heads By Condobolin's Stock Board. The Pastures Protection Board Paid  Over 2000 Crow Heads In 1912. 

Surveyor George Evans Explored And Named The  Upper Lachlan River Area in 1815, With a Surveyor John Oxley's Following In 1817. Thomas Mitchell Camped On The Town Site As He attacked The Lachlan In 1836. English Stockbroker Benjamin Boyd Held More Than A Million Acres In The Riverina By 1845, While William Lee Took Up About 19,200 Acres On The Lachlan, Naming It For Wiradjuri Word Cundabullen In 1848. A Town On The Junction  Of The Lachlan And Goobang Creek - Almost In The Centre Of NSW With "Inexhaustible Supplies If Water" - Was Gazetted In 1859. 

Arriving In Condobolin In 1894, Shakespeare's Opposition Dubbed Him "The Beardless Boy"  When The First Edition Of His  Lachlander Appeared The Day After His 21st Birthday.  Leaving To Pursue Politics In 1894, Shakespeare And His Two Sons Later For filled An Ambition To Found A Newspaper To Serve Australia's Capital, Publishing The First Canberra Times In 1926