Augusta Phyllis Fullekrug

  Noted events in her life were:

• fact. In the Qld archives it states in the list of chidren of Heinrich and Maria that she was actually born Frederike Wilhelmine not Augusta Phyllis. On the birth certificate of son Henry Charles she was called Phyllis Gusta and to her friends known as Phil. She was enrolled at Rosevale SS in 1888 as Augusta Fullekrug. Notes from daughter-in-law Mary Stubbs based on anecdotes told to her: Born at Mutdapily 16 October 1882. [Birth certificate 26 October 1882] Childhood spent at Mt Mort/ Merrivale area. The house was built from the thick woods that were on the property. Someone was paid to build it. She walked barefoot along beside the plough. When 6 she travelled 3 miles to school (Mt Mort to Merrivale). She had good lace up strong boots and stockings. When away from Mum she took them off and hid them under a log. The group of children rode together bareback on a horse. The school teacher boarded with them. She didn't admire learning. She thought that people who read books were just lazy, useless and impractical. She despised them. She had to clean the teachers shoes and saddle her pony. Uncle Fule (John Henry) was the only male who survived. He had his own bedroom, while the girls all shared a room. The 4 girls had to look after him, wait on him, shine his shoes, saddle his horse, serve him. He was the heir to the property. People didn't visit a great deal. By sulky it was a long drive on bad roads. One group used to arrive always on Sundays at lunch. Other visitors were there this day so she was sent by her mother to tell them that they had no food - "not enough sugar to cool the tea." Old man Borchet was a cattle duffer, a real brute of a man. His wife was frightened of him. The inspectors were always trying to catch him at it. Under the floor if his house he had a big room built where he did slaughtering and hid evidence. The house is now pulled done. It was bought by Bells. There were three other neighbouring properties. Each month one of them slaughtered a beast, they kept the offal and quarter of the beast then delivered it to the other neighbours. Corned meat with maggots ( no refrigeration) was sometimes served. Her mother told her not to be so fussy. "Just knock them off and it will be OK". They had gallows in the backyard to string up the beast. They killed a pig then got together to make wurst and other German sausages, then had a dance in the barn at night. As the girls grew up they went to dances but had to be home early. "If the fellows really want you, they'll come". The family gave land to have a school built at Merrivale. 1902 - She started training at the Ipswich Hospital. A German shopkeeper, a draper, drove her to Ipswich. She was very frightened to be away from home. She was one of the youngest there. She was assigned to the mens ward. She cried because her mother said that if she looked at a man with no clothes on she'd whip her. There was an outbreak of typhoid not long after she began. The ambulances were hand litters carried by bearers. They had to pick them up at Blackstone and Rosewood which were the worst areas and take them to the Ipswich hospital. When they reached the top of the hill they had big jugs of tea and plates of thick bread and butter for the bearers. She did training at Goodna mental hopsital and one patient wrenched her arm up behind her back. One doctor was murdered by a patient while she was there. She did midwifery. She nursed in Towoomba at Willowburn mental hospital and Matron Morell private hospital in Toowoomba. She admired atron Morell and later modelled her own hospital on hers. One pateient at Willowburn wouldn't eat dinner on Fridays. That was the day when the ovens were cleaned out and they stewed the meat instead. This patient thought that they were cooking people and saw rib bones in his food. He said "No dear, I just couldn't". The Stubbs family were half share or managing on Morts property. Arthur had a partner in a bike shop in Toowoomba. She was about 32 when she married him. They started on the farm and were half shares on a second farm. She had a still born breach baby then the twins and Corrie were born at Mt Mort. Henry started school at Merrivale. Mrs Ogg had the hospital in Rosewood. In 1919 she went to the bank to raise money to start her own hospital. The bank asked her what security she had. She said she had a hard working husband and was hard working herself, with three children and another on the way. But the best security was probably that they knew her father who was a big property owner. She established St Kilda's in John Street Rosewood and was there for three years. Then she had a breakdown through overwork. Someone took it over while she went back to the farm. At the farm the guinea fowls were calling and the kids said even they were saying "Go back, go back, go back to Rosewood," The boys were crying. They moved back to the hospital. There were very few nurses on the country districts. They called on her a lot to come for confinement cases or other problems when a doctor was not available. She did private nursing for Mr Winterbottom shom she called Johnny Coldarse. When a boy from Rosevale cut his foot on an adze, she stiched it up. During the first world war the had trouble because of being of German descent. The Stubbs family didn't want Arthur to marry her. St Kilda's held a maximum of 12 patients. It closed in 1948 after changes to hospital regulations.

Augusta married Arthur Herbert Stubbs, son of Albert Charles Stubbs and Maria Hazelgrove, on 18 Mar 1914. (Arthur Herbert Stubbs was born on 3 Mar 1887 in Lakes Creek, Westwood District, Rockhampton, Queensland Australia and died on 22 Sep 1951.)