Today’s post is an absolute pleasure to write. The lady featured in this photo is my great-aunt Emily, sister to my maternal grandmother, Laura. Emily was Laura’s younger sister, the next in line, born in Charters Towers less than two years after her to parents Stephen Gillespie Melvin and Emily Partridge.
Sadly my grandmother died in her sleep from a heart attack when she was only 64. Our family was on holidays at the coast at the time, so you can imagine what a terrible shock it was to everyone. I’m pleased that I still remember small things about her, which is surprising given I was quite young.
Her sister Emily had lived in Cairns for a long time and memory tells me we’d seen her there perhaps on the eventful cyclone trip. However around 1960 or so, she moved to Brisbane where she lived at New Farm for a while. I have clear memories of meeting her with Mum and going to New Farm Park to look at the spectacular roses. Whenever I visit the park now I inevitably think back to those special days with her.
Aunty Emily became my default grandmother, showering me with love and affection and buying me special treats. During Lent when she couldn’t buy me chocolates or lollies she would buy me teacups and I treasure these even though they have no commercial value. You might want to look at this photo of an Easter egg cup she also gave me. I associate her with lavender and violets and I’m not sure whether these were her fragrances.
Emily had two sons from her marriage to John Arthur Williams, and I think one grandson who was ill. I guess Mum and I were also daughter and granddaughter substitutes for her. Aunty Emily was one of those truly lovely people who you occasionally have the privilege to meet. I don’t remember her ever being nasty in any way, and always being kind and tolerant (as evidenced in part by her acceptance of our religion even though it wasn’t hers).
Later on Aunty Emily had a stroke and went to live with her son at South Brisbane, on the former Expo 88 site at South Bank. In those days the docks were still there and I recall the building as being quite old with steep steps inside. She used to have to massage her hand using those stress balls which are now quite popular. A few years later she must have returned to Cairns to live, perhaps because that’s where another sister lived. She died there in December 1965 and is buried in the Martyn St Cemetery, separated in death as I suspect she was in life. At some point I was given a cameo and a filigree bracelet of hers with a matching pair of earrings. Again no commercial value, but very special to me because it came from her.
Aunty Emily remains one of my most treasured family members: one of those people whose memory gives you a warm glow.
This story has reminded me that I need to do more research into this branch of the family.
This post is part of the February Photo Collage Festival and the Family History Writing Challenge.
Family history across the seas 
That was nice. I think my maternal grandmother was nice like that, although she didn’t give me gifts and things. She was never mean.
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It sounds as if they both had good “souls” as the saying goes. The gifts are only important in that they’re something tangible to remember her by.
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I Like the inclusion of the tea saucer and cups, but in the description you say they are tiny, are they smaller than ordinary tea cups and saucers, I’ve started to take photos of ordinary objects that have meaning to me its a nice way to keep the stories with the object. nice post as always.
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Thanks Sandra. Yes they’re about half the normal size, they just look bigger here. I agree that photographing the objects and putting with a story is a great heirloom in itself…a photo book or bound Word document.
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