Elizabeth Mary Anne Newman was born on the 20th September 1879, she died on the 30th of October 1971 at aged 92 years. Elizabeth was the eldest child of Mr and Mrs George Newman of North Beverley.
Elizabeth was taught schooling by her mother, the main subjects being reading, writing, history and geography. Elizabeth’s Father was very strict and each Sunday the family would have to walk to church and Sunday school.
Elizabeth married William White on the 27th April 1899 and they lived at Merkine Valley.
The home at Merkine Valley was built of mud and stone with thatched blackboy rushes. There was bush all around the house where the curlews sang their shrill songs and dingoes howled when they moon came up.
Elizabeth was a wonderful women, her main aim in life being to help her husband and family. There was much to do, many loaves of bread were baked each week and neighbours were always welcomed to a cuppa and a chat. Tennis was played on Saturday afternoons with the young folk gathering from nearby farms and staying to join in a sing song in the evening. William and Elizabeth’s house was used by clergy as a refreshment stop and their lovely big lounge room was used for Mothers Union and Guild meetings for many years.
There were many lonely times when she was left with her young family while her husband was away for two weeks and more collecting mallet bark and carting it by horse and wagon to Perth. On one such occasion Elizabeth recalled how ‘among the blackboys stepped a tall aboriginal, naked but for his kangaroo skin booka’ first terrifying the girl whose husband was away on a carting job. Later he became a friend of the family ‘working for them as many of the local natives did at shearing time.’
Elizabeth died in 1971 at aged 92 years.