Person:Emeline Hobbs (7)

Note: “A Pioneer of Pitt Town” - 83-year-old Mrs Emma MITCHELL has lived in Pitt Town all her life, and for the past 41 years she has been closely associated with the St James Church of England, acting as verger and bell-ringer. During these 41 years Mrs Mitchell has never missed ringing the church bell twice every Sunday. Mrs Mitchell was born and brought up in Pitt Town, and has many vivid and interesting reminiscences of her childhood days. When she was 12 years old, Pitt Town was inundated by the worst flood on record. Note: That was in 1867, and Emma HOBBS (as she was then) and her family had to move five times to keep out of reach of the encroaching water. Eventually they had to take refuge on the rocks at Maraylya, where the family of thirteen camped for three weeks till the floodwaters receded. They lost both their farm and their orchard. Many also lost their lives, including all the EATHER family, except one, who drifted downstream hanging on to a tree…. In 1882 Emma HOBBS married Ambrose MITCHELL, a farmer at Pitt Town, in the Pitt Town Presbyterian Church. Mr MITCHELL died three years ago at the age of seventy-eight. Between them Mr & Mrs MITCHELL looked after St James Church, acting as vergers, cleaning out the church, ringing the bell for funerals and weddings and twice a day on Sundays. Mrs MITCHELL has attended over a hundred weddings - a very considerable total in a small town such as Pitt Town.

1. ↑ St Matthews Church