Wynifred Mary Dale papers, [ca. 1870]-1985

MLMSS 9985

fonds

[ca. 1870]-1985

Textual Records, Graphic Materials, Photographs

1009237

0.16 metres of textual material (1 box)

Wynifred Mary Evans was born in Tasmania in 1883, the youngest child of Jonathan Evans and Mary Sanger Creed. From 1904 to 1906 she was employed as a governess by Ethel Turner Curlewis, the author of children’s books, most notably “Seven Little Australians”. She met her husband Dr John Dale while working as a governess in Birmingham, England. They married in 1914 and had three children, moving back to Australia after the war and living in Sydney, then Perth and Melbourne. After Wynifred and John separated in the 1920s, Wynifred thrived as an independent woman, teaching the piano and making regular driving trips with her children from Melbourne to Sydney to visit her siblings. She died in 1974.

Mary Sanger Creed, Wynifred’s mother, was born in England in 1844 and emigrated to Melbourne in 1861. She was one of the first women to pass the matriculation examination for the University of Melbourne, but was not permitted to enrol. She and her husband had four children, and separated in the 1890s. She is thought to have died in 1900.

Jonathan Evans, Wynifred’s father, was born in 1849 at Carmarthen, Wales. He arrived in Australia in 1869 and married Mary Sanger Creed in the 1870s. After his ordination in the Church of England he worked in incumbencies in parishes in Tasmania, Sydney and New Zealand. He returned to England around 1899, serving in many parishes until his death in 1922.

Reference:
Library correspondence file

Papers documenting key points in the life of Wynifred Mary Dale (née Evans), an educated independent Australian woman in the early part of the 20th century, including matriculation, enrolling to vote, employment, marriage, travel and property ownership. Letters from Ethel Turner, one of Australia’s best known authors of children’s literature, form a significant part of the collection.


FOLDER 1: PERSONAL PAPERS

1. Certificates: birth certificate of Wynifred Mary Evans, 14 January 1883; University of Sydney Junior Public Examination certificate, 5 August 1901; NSW Elector’s Right Residential Qualification certificate, 16 June 1904; marriage certificate of John Dale and Wynifred Mary Evans, 9 July 1914
Authorised copies of the baptismal certificates of the children of Jonathan and Mary Sanger Evans: Grace, 1876; Dudley, 1878; Arthur, 1879; Wynifred, 1883.
2. References: from Burwood Ladies’ College headmistress, 17 December 1901; from E.S. Curlewis (Ethel Turner), May 1906
3. Insurance policy for a property in Cottesloe, Western Australia, 1917
4. Account for erection of tombstone and memorial tablet to Rev. J. Evans at St James’ Church, Stratford-on-Avon, with photograph of grave, 22 January 1925
5. Will of Wynifred Mary Dale, 20 May 1948


FOLDER 2: CORRESPONDENCE

1. Letters from Ethel Curlewis (Ethel Turner), ca. 1904-1907, 1931-1937. The letters, mostly addressed to “My dear Winnie”, are conversational in tone, with one 1937 letter providing advice to aspiring writer Wynifred.
2. Letter from Arthur Midylegh regarding the Cottesloe property, 18 May 1937
3. Letters from Mary Sanger Evans, no date
4. Unaddressed letter from Mary G. returning the Ethel Turner letters following photocopying by the National Library of Australia, 30 September 1985


FOLDER 3: WRITINGS

1. Exercise book containing various autobiographical accounts, mostly undated, with a loose sheet of garden notes, 1940s
2. “The Australian Fordoner” Vol. IV No. 23, 15 June 1932, containing the article “The tail of a trailer: or a jolly Ford pilgrimage without a man!” written by Mrs W.M. Dale
3. Incomplete manuscript draft of an article written by Mary Sanger Evans about the benefits of cremation, no date


FOLDER 4: PHOTOGRAPHS

1. Grandma [Mary] Creed, [ca. 1870] / portion of photograph by David Scott, Sydney
2. Grandma [Mary] Creed, 1882 / Johnstone O’Shannessy & Co, Melbourne
3. Mary [Sanger Evans], no date / Johnstone O’Shannessy & Co, Melbourne
4. [Evans family with Wynifred as a baby], 8 April 1883 / S. Spurling, Launceston
5. Wynifred Mary Evans, [ca. 1900]
6. [Wynifred’s children John, Margaret and Frank with car, 1930s]
7. Granny Wynifred Mary Dale at rear of Jean Dale’s house, Melbourne, 1960s

Copyright status:: In copyright - This collection has multiple rights owners
Out of copyright: Applies to photographs created before 1955
Research & study copies allowed: Applies only to material in which the author has been deceased for more than 50 years
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, and Courtesy copyright holder