House history - more about the Stables family

The digitisation of newspapers is a treasure trove of fabulous information if you are researching the history of your home.

I periodically check back on the National Library of Australia's Trove website when doing research for some of my writing projects.

The site is progressively updated. I hadn't done a search on the Stables Family, the original owners of the Sow's Ear, for a few months and was pleasantly surprised to find more information about them from recently digitised regional newspapers and later editions of the Australian Women's Weekly. If you are new to the blog, you can read about my house history research HERE, if you are interested.

Anyway, the snippet below is Zoila commenting about Halley's Comet. I wonder if she ever made it to 1986 when the comet made its last appearance? (More importantly, I wonder if I'll make it to 2061 to see the comet again?)

Australian Women's Weekly Letter Box April 25 1973

It's interesting reading her words about her childhood in South America.

I still haven't found out Zoila's date of death...as only next-of-kin can obtain a death certificate if the death occurred within 30 years. I've done some cemetery searches but they've come to nil.

This other snippet is about the death of the matriarch of the Stables family. It sheds light about the family's early life in Queensland before they built the Sow's Ear in Brisbane in 1927.

Morning Bulletin Rockhampton 18 Nov 1943

My most favourite piece of information about Zoila Stables is about her education at the University of Queensland. She won a poetry prize in 1925 and had it published in Galmahra which was the student news publication of the day.

I'm hoping to track down the poem. I'd love to read her work.

Morning Bulletin 6 February 1926