text: At the same time as 10 year old Bob and 7 year old Fred Murrie were rolling cannon balls down drains and fishing in the mangroves, the teenage Aebli sisters arrived to live on St Helena Island. It was 1916 when Johannes Aebli was promoted to Telegraph Operator, Clerk and Storeman at St Helena Penal Establishment, a position which included married quarters on the island to house his wife Anna and daughters Stella (16) and Olga (14). Leaving in 1920, the Aebli family story is a fitting finish to the ‘100 years ago’ series for 2020.
  John and Anna Petrea Aebli (seated) with their daughters Olga and Stella. Image sourced from Karen and Desni nee Knight
  The Aebli’s definitely bought a European flair to St Helena Island, as shown in photos of the family next to their residence. Johannes, or John as he became known, was originally from Switzerland and Anna Petrea originated from Denmark, though both had lived in various parts of Queensland for a long period of time. At a time when World War 1 was underway, the prison was 50 years old, and very few families were living on the island, this stylish family made their own stamp on St Helena.
  Ancestors Karen and Desni recall:
  They were quite self- sufficient as they grew their own food, dairy products, meat etc. She (Anna Petrea) said they quite often had murderers working in their home and around their yard. Old Nin would cook up scones for morning tea and also give them lunch so the prisoners used to love working in the wardens home and garden as they knew they would get a good meal.”
  Cottages on Warders Row all had rain tanks, vegetable gardens, fruit trees, flowers and some small livestock.
  An Ayrshire dairy herd had been the pride of the Penal Establishment since the 1890s.
  Dairy and Cattle, pigs, and vegetable crops were still extensively farmed on St Helena Island’s fertile soils in the 1910’s. Some produce would be accessible by warders, but families grew their own vegetables and fruit, and had chicken or pigs around their cottages also, enabling them to be more self sufficient in supplying their needs. Images from the Fiona Pearce Collection, Sourced from QPWS.
  Bob Murrie Junior described the cottage they lived in and surrounding gardens situated at the end of Warders’ Row as follows:
  … the prison built a new house there. It came from Peel Island and (was) brought to St Helena and re-erected and painted up by the prisoners. The prison management decided to build a new house rather than move us out of our house. The house had a dining room, with fireplace, back was business quarters. Had reception room that came straight in off the verandah and 2 bedrooms. It was a big house as Warder Hennessy, the storekeeper had children and got them to extend the verandah so children could sleep on it. Then the Aebli family took over from Warder Hennessy and then after Aebli family, the Cranch’s took the house over.
  The end of Warders Row where the Married Quarters once stood and the gardens flourished has only remnants of rain tank stands and crumbling bricks today. Image: Belinda Daly
  Karen also recalled the family was able to have relatives visit the island once a week on Sunday via the ferry. In fact, another ancestor, Deb Wheeler, recalls her Grandmother Mary and her Aunt Lilly Hammar, were fellow Danes and a good friends of Anna Aebli, visiting often. By 1918, the friendship extended to having Mary live with the Aebli family on St Helena for about 2 years, as she was unable to remain at home in Warwick. It is quite unusual to hear this story, as the regulations within the prison had always been heavily regulated as to who was able to be on the island and normally only reserved for immediate family.
  Yet if I consider the time 1916, it is actually a time when a number of new and unusual changes occurred, bringing more families and especially more women into the new island community. The newly appointed Superintendent John A. MacDonald brought his wife Helen and daughters Mabel (28 years), Eva (26 years) and Ethel (21 years) to live on the island. Chief Warder David Graham, wife Mary Ann and daughter Grace 27 years) had lived on the island for some time and their children and grandchildren visited often. Charlotte Murrie had also been living on the island for a couple of years with her sons. With the addition of Anna, Olga and Stella, it seems young Bob Jnr and Fred Murrie were outnumbered.
  The Graham family women, Annie and Grace (left) and Mary Ann and Tot (right) spent many years living on St Helena island, where their husband and father, David Graham was Chief Warder. Their photos like this one on the “Kangaroo” tram cart, allow us to view life in the 1910’s on St Helena Island in great detail. Photo courtesy the Fiona Pearce Collection, sourced from QPWS.
  This unusual time that existed on this prison island in the late 1910’s is most exciting for me. We continue to tell stories about the prison escapes and the brawls, the regulations and the prison structures. I’ve written many stories about the war years and the soldiers involved in fighting in that global tragedy. But the fact that 11 women on St Helena Island carved out a life in the war years amongst the omnipresent prison walls with prisoners working in their gardens and houses, has never been realised, let alone shared.
  Small pieces of information and amazing photos continue to be shared with me by ancestors of people living on St Helena. People like Karen, Desni and Deb, who have helped expand St Helena’s known history by giving personal family insights into the Aebli family which allow us to glimpse into the character of these women and a record of the events in their lives. People like Jenny and Fiona, ancestors of the Graham family who shared their stunning photos with Qld Parks and Wildlife Service.
  I’d like to finish with a video I created in 2018 with Lauren Penny. Here I’m explaining why it’s my dream to re-imagine the physical place of Warders Row and reveal the layers of it again through all of the people living there.
  Belinda Daly, St Helena Island, 2018
  Sources:
  Bob Murrie Oral recollections
  Personal correspondence – Knight and Wheeler families
  Qld Parks and Wildlife Service
  Share this:
  Facebook
  Email
  Print
  Pinterest
  Like this:
  Like Loading...
  Related
  September 17, 2020 September 17, 2020 100 Years ago, Anna Aebli, Bob Murrie, David Graham, John A. McDonald, John Aebli, Mary Ann Graham, Olga Aebli, St Helena Island Moreton Bay, St Helena Penal Establishment, St Helena Warders, St Helena warders families, St Helena women, Stella Aebli, World War 1 100 anniversary	
  Leave a reply, we'd love to here from you!	Cancel reply
  This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
  Post navigation
  Previous Previous post: Vale Ralph Porter
  Next Next post: A Swiss storekeeper for St Helena Island
  Sidebar
  Published by
  Belinda Daly
  Storyteller. Environmental Educator. Social history researcher. Interpreter of natural and cultural heritage. Writer. Teacher. Ex Ranger. Collector of stories and keeper of memories. Explorer of special places. Lover of adventure and life.	View all posts by Belinda Daly	
  Search for:
  Sort by	 Relevance	Newest first	Oldest first	
  Recent Posts
  One day in September on St Helena Island -Warders October 31, 2021
  ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER ON ST HELENA ISLAND September 19, 2021
  History is like a box of jigsaw pieces April 26, 2021
  Landscapes shaped by lime January 18, 2021
  ‘All I want for Christmas’ at St Helena Penal Establishment. December 27, 2020
  Previous stories
  Previous stories Select Month October 2021 (1) September 2021 (1) April 2021 (1) January 2021 (1) December 2020 (1) November 2020 (1) September 2020 (2) July 2020 (1) June 2020 (1) May 2020 (1) April 2020 (2) March 2020 (1) February 2020 (2) June 2019 (3) May 2019 (2) April 2019 (3) March 2019 (2) February 2019 (1) January 2019 (2) December 2018 (3) November 2018 (7) October 2018 (4) September 2018 (1) August 2018 (4) July 2018 (3) June 2018 (4) May 2018 (5) April 2018 (5) March 2018 (4) February 2018 (5) January 2018 (5) December 2017 (3)
  Copyright
  Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author, Belinda Daly, is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to The St Helena Community with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
  Topics and categories
  australian history Colonial History Colonial Queensland Community Moreton Bay Place Queensland World War 1 soldiers st Helena history St Helena Island St Helena Island history St Helena Island Moreton Bay St Helena Island World War 1 soldiers St Helena Moreton Bay St Helena Prison St Helena Prisoners St Helena Warders St Helena women World War 1 World War 1 100 anniversary
  NEW Southern Flats eBook
  FREE download Cemetery eBook
  Find us on facebook
  Find us on facebook
  Email
  Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
  Join 527 other subscribers.	
  Email Address
  Follow
  Basket
  Checkout
  Cart
  Free eBooks
  Shop
  Primary School curriculum
  St Helena Island eBooks
  Secondary School curriculum
  Noogoon / Indigenous
  St Helena Warders
  Built environment
  Environmental History
  St Helena Prisoners
  Moreton Bay history
  Today’s Community
  Primary School curriculum
  Secondary School curriculum
  Powered by WordPress.com.
  Download the new eBook!
  Our latest eBook 'St Helena Sites - Southern Flats' is here! This is the first in a series of 3 eBooks focussed on the physical landscape and buildings of St Helena Island.
  Fill in your name and email to download. Money used to purchase this book flows directly to future research and publications by the St Helena Island Community.
  Tick checkbox. Your details will never be shared and only used to inform of St Helena Island updates and events.