The Burra Record, Wednesday 4 November 1914
(South Australia)

MRS. ETHLINDA HARRIS.
Another old and respected resident in the person of Mrs. Ethlinda Harris, widow of the late John Harris, passed away at her residence Market square, Kooringa, (where she has resided upwards of 30 years) on Sunday, at the age of 72 years. The deceased lady was taken ill about a fortnight ago, with gastric influenza following by congestion of the lungs, heart failure being the direct cause of death. The deceased arrived in South Australia in the ship Aberton with her parents in 1848 and almost immediately came to Burra where she has resided for 67 years. The Hon. T. Pascoe, Minister of Agriculture is a nephew to Mrs. Harris. She leaves the following family: One, daughter, Mrs. Frank Pearce, of Mt. Bryan, and four sons :— Henry, Francis and Edwin J., of Kooringa, and W. H., of Hallett. There are-13 grand children. Mr. Harris predeceased her 19 years ago. The funeral took place on Monday afternoon, the cortege being a very lengthy one. The Rev. J. H. Nield officiated at the graveside and Messrs. C J. Pearce and Son attended to the funeral arrange ments. In an article advocating immigration published in 1907, the career of Mr. Francis Pascoe, father of Mrs.Harris was taken as a case in point and the following particulars were given :— Francis Pascoe, of Raleigh, Crowan Parish, Cornwall, arrived at Port Adelaide in the merchantman Aberton in August, 1848, paying his and the passage ol his wife and nine children. He was then 48 years old, and his eldest child was 22½ years. He and his family became engaged in mining, agricultural, and other pursuits. As an example of the wonderful healthiness of the Australian climate, the ages reached by these 11 people are interesting, and incidentally, it should be remembered that they experienced to the full exposures of pioneerdom as gold diggers, back woodsmen, and occupiers of new country. The husband died at 71½ years, and the wife at 78. To this day all children survive with one exception, wherein death was due to accident. The ages of the eight survivors are respectfully 82½, 78, 76, 73, 71, 69, 65, and 63 years. They now reside in South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, and New South Wales. Scattered in every State of the Commonwealth are grandchildren (numbering 63, the respective families being 9, 10, 5, 8, 7, 6. 5, 10, and 3.) The great grandchildren promise to become as numerous as the sands of the seashore. They run into the hundreds, As a further example the employments of the family of one of the children who arrived in South Australia in 1848 are worth mentioning. The father has lived a busy life in gold-digging (for a few years), farming, and grazing. He is now in retirement at Clare. Ten children survive, including five sons. These are helping, to the fullest of their powers, to build up a great Australia- two as journalists, one as agriculturist and legislator, one as agriculturist and horticulturist, and one as mineralogist in South Australia, New South Wales, Tasmania, and Western Australia. The daughters are married to pastoralists or agriculturists, and one is a school teacher.The illustration could be continued ad lib, the value of the work of say the Clare pioneer, ramifying enormously. It would hardly be possible to estimate what this one individual has done in 58 years of arduous endeavour as a producer of gold, wheat, wool, mutton, fruit, &c. The annual value would be some hundreds of pounds, and the aggregate probably scores of thousands. Then, why not encourage immigration?

Contributed by Judy Holman