Emma Mary (Hancock) Withnell JP (1842 - 1928)

Born 19 Dec 1842 in Guildford, Western Australia, Australia

Ancestors

Wife of William John Withnell — married 10 May 1859 in Beverley, Western Australia, Australia

Descendants

Died 16 May 1928 at age 85 in Mount Lawley, Western Australia, Australia

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Biography

Emma (Hancock) Withnell JP is Notable.

Birth

Emma Mary Hancock was born on 19th December 1842 at Guildford, Western Australia (Australia). She was the eldest daughter of George Hancock and Sophia Gregory. ^[1]

Marriage

Emma married Lancashire-born John Withnell in 1859 at York, Western Australia. ^[2] They had six sons and three daughters:

1. John Gregory Withnell (1862-1929)
2. Emily Ellen Withnell (1867-1946), married surname Meares
3. James Aubrey Withnell (1869-1939)
4. Ernest Willmott Withnell (1872-1947)
5. Horace Willmott Withnell (1872-1952)
6. Herbert George Withnell (1875-1947)
7. Fanny Louisa Withnell (1877-1940), married surname Muir-Dick
8. Grace Ellen Withnell (1880-1930), married surname Loton
9. William John Withnell (1882-1972)

"Emma Mary Withnell (1842-1928), pioneer, was born on 19 December 1842 at Guildford, Western Australia, daughter of George Hancock, farmer, and his wife Sophia, née Gregory. She was tutored on a farm near Beverley by her university-educated father and was later to do the same for her own eleven children. On 10 May 1859 at York she married John, son of William Withnell, a stonemason who had migrated in 1830....Widely known as the 'Mother of the north-west', Emma looked after the sick, delivered babies and regularly conducted religious services in her home. The local Aboriginal people trusted and respected her; she nursed and vaccinated many in a smallpox epidemic in 1866. By family tradition, she and John were honoured by being made a 'Boorong' and a 'Banaker', which they believed enabled them to move freely amongst the tribes. With John absent for lengthy periods, she relied on the Aboriginal women at the station for company, domestic labour and help looking after her children.

It was claimed she was the first white woman to go to the North West. She went there with her husband, two small children and her sister on the Sea Ripple. Later she was appointed a J.P. during the Prince of Wales visit to Western Australia.

In 1868, however, John was sworn in as a special constable by Sholl, the resident magistrate, to punish Yaburara Aboriginal people in the Murujuga/Burrup Peninsula area about 50 miles west of Roebourne who had been accused of killing a police constable, William Griffis, his Aboriginal tracker and two white pearlers. Many Aboriginal people were subsequently killed in what became known as the Flying Foam massacre. Islands in the Flying Foam passage, named for a schooner which plied between Fremantle and Roebourne, were part of the massacre site. John Withnell and the other expedition leader, Alexander McRae, were later thanked for their efforts by Sholl. But when two of the alleged killers of the policeman came into Roebourne in early 1869, Sholl took no action against them, declaring: “Personally I am in favour of an amnesty for these natives have received a severe lesson and much blood has been spilt.”" ^[3]

Death

She passed away on 16th May 1928 at her son Harding's home in Mount Lawley, Western Australia and is buried at Guildford Cemetery. ^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ Western Australia Birth Index #182/1842
2. ↑ Western Australia Marriage Index #1364/1859
3. ↑ Australian Dictionary of Biography: https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/withnell-emma-mary-4880
4. ↑ Western Australia Death Index #777/1928

• Death Article. Western Mail 24/5/1928. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/38380641?searchTerm=harding%20withnell

• A RECORD OF COURAGE (1928, July 5). The Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 - 1955), p. 11 (HOME (FINAL) EDITION). Retrieved November 5, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79506786