Violet (middle) with her father and sister Mary

 
 Violet (known as Nelle)  was born on June 5th, 1909 in Rivertree to ROBERT HENRY MORRIS, a grazier, and mother MARY ELIZABETH CORNEY.1     She had five older brothers, Leslie Errington, Robert Harry, Oliver Reginald, Aubrey Wallis, Rivertree is a settlement near the headwaters of the Clarence River, about 37 miles from Tenterfield where Robert and Mary were both born. 2  Robert's mother and brother still lived there. Robert was already 32 and Mary 27 when they married, 3 and although relatively old for the time, they went on to have ten children together.4  Violet was the seventh child and second daughter.  Edna Clarissa Sabina  (Bina) (1899-1977), Leslie Errington (Mick) (1901-1995),  Robert Harry Cleveland  (Cleve) (1902-1979),  Lyell Clayton (Clay)  (1903-1929), Oliver Reginald (Curly) (1906-1982),   Clarence Cecil (Friday) (1908-1981) and Aubrey Wallis (1911-1911).  After Violet there were two more girls;  Mary Evelyn (1912-19950 and Lillian Eunice Joan (1916-2018). 

.   At the time Violet was born, Tenterfield was a thriving town with a train station, state government offices, medical and professional services and many retail and commercial enterprises. 5 It had many substantial buildings some of them built by Violet's maternal Grandfather, David English  Corney.   and it was in the Town Hall in 1889, Henry Parkes gave an impassioned speech about federation that led to Australia becoming a nation in 1901. 6

In 1912 the family moved to Sydney residing at 17 Lennox Street, Bellevue Hill. Two more girls were born here;  Mary Evelyn (1912-1995) and   Lillian Eunice Joan (1916-2001).   Electoral records show that they lived there until at least 1921.    Violet’s first appearance in the records is in the Sydney census in 1933, living with her parents at Claytona, Gardenia Ave, Lane cove and working as a sales woman.8 Interestingly her future husband, Stanley Fish, is also listed as living at Claytona in 1933 and his occupation recorded as a fitter.  It is very likely that Stanley and Violet met while he was boarding at Claytona.    Apparently Violet’s father Robert was a gambler and lost the Claytona property due to gambling debts. 

Violet worked at David Jones as a saleswoman.  She also taught embroidery which was very popular at the time and, as part of an extensive haberdashery department, David Jones staff embroidered church textiles, clothing and bed linen. There were also embroidery kits for sale and classes on the latest embroidery craze. 9 In the 1930s David Jones was a main attraction for shoppers and a metropolis of wonder. Along with its four floors of retail, it had a restaurant, called the Great Restaurant, an art gallery and a ballroom for events.10 It must have been an esteemed job for Violet.  Her niece, Audrey,  would also work at David Jones for some time.

On the 5th May 1934 Violet married Stanley Fish, an electrician, at St Andrew’s Church in Parramatta. 11 My mother, Nellie, was born in a private hospital, Inchneuk  in Parramatta on May 31st, 1935. 12 Private hospitals like Inchneuk had been springing up in Sydney since the late 1800s and were presented as a safer option for women than home births.  Inchneuk means ‘Little Nook’ in Scottish Gaelic conjuring up images of safety and cosiness. Violet's death had three causes including 'small, unyielding parts.'   However, unfortunately, at the time, instrument sterilisation and handwashing were not understood to be imperative to ward off infection and Violet died of Peurperal Sepsis (Childbed fever) one day after Nellie was born. 12

Violet's sisters were feisty tough women, especially Edna and Lillian.  However Violet was described by Lillian as being  not of the same ilk but soft and gentle.

---

Violet put down the cloth she was stitching, put her hands on her belly and exhaled.  The contractions had been on and off for most of the day but were becoming stronger and more frequent.  She felt a deep longing to meet this child finally and it wouldn’t be long now.  

She wondered if her baby would be ‘Nellie’ or ‘Arthur’.  She and her husband Stan had decided on the names together.  They wanted many children and were excited about creating their family.  Stan was a good, hardworking man and Violet knew their children would be well looked after and loved. 

Violet picked up her stitching again. She was working on a Christening dress for her baby.  She had made the lace herself and was now working on the smocked bodice.  The white silk was delicate but Violet was an accomplished embroiderer.    She rolled the fabric loosely and placed it carefully in a fabric pouch.  Stan would be home soon and he would have to take her to hospital.  Her overnight bag had been packed for weeks now. ​

---

---

Inchneuk Hospital

Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW) Thursday 6 June 1935, p 2

1. Birth Registered in NSW. Births, Deaths and Marriages NSW, Violet Miriam Morris, 5 June 1909, Obtained 12 April 1983
2. Ancestry.com, Australia, Birth Index 1788-1922, Robert H Morris, 1866 (database on-line)
3. Ancestry.com, Australia, Birth Index 1788-1922, Mary E Corney, 1871 (database on-line)
4. Ancestry.com, Australia, Marriage Index 1788-1950, Robert H Morris and Mary E Corney, 1898 (database on-line)
5. Ancestry.com, Ingram and Morris Family Tree, (database on-line)
6. National Library of Australia, ‘Tenterfield’, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Saturday 30 August 1879, page 23 (database on-line)
7. AW Martin, ‘Parkes, Sir Henry, 1815-1896’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University
8. Ancestry.com, World War 1 Service Records 1914-1920, Robert H Morris 1916
9. City of Sydney, Archives and History Resources, Sands Postal Directory, 1916-1921 Robert H Morris, 17 Lennox St, Bellevue Heights  (database on-line)
10. Ancestry.com, Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980, Violet M Morris, Claytona, Gardenia st, Lane Cove 1933
11. National Library of Australia, ‘David Jones and Co’, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW 1871-1912), Wed 15 Aug 1906, page 425 (database on-line)
12. National Library of Australia, ‘The New Store for David Jones’, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW 1871-1912), Sat 26 Nov 1927, p11 (database on-line)
13. Ancestry.com, Australian Marriage Index, 1788-1950, Stanley Fish and Violet M Morris, 1934
14. Birth Registered in NSW, Births, Deaths and Marriages NSW, Nellie Fish 31 May 1935, Obtained 3 August 1980
15. Death Registered in NSW, Births, Deaths and Marriages NSW, Violet Miriam Morris 2 June 1935, obtained 12 Apr 1983
16. Ancestry.com, Ingram and Morris Family Tree, (database on-line)