Maria Wright (nee Ruck)

Information provided by Virginia Hills
veez1310@hotmail.com

Maria WRIGHT was born Maria RUCK in February 1850 to John (a Collier) and Hannah (nee NIBLETT) RUCK in a place called "Westbury on Severn" in Gloucestershire, UK.

In November 1867 she married a young man called James WATKINS who hailed from Coleford, Gloucestershire, UK. By September 1872 James and Maria were on the "Jessie Readman" bound for the Island of the Long White Cloud (New Zealand). They arrived on December 15th - just in time for their first Christmas away from family. (Although I believe James' older married brother Frederick and his younger single brother Hubert joined them on the same journey.)

James and Maria spent the next 15 to 20 years (cannot confirm when they left NZ) owning and running Hotel establishments in the Geraldine District of New Zealand. Their first child, James was born in 1876 and in 1878 they completed their family with a daughter, Maria.

By 1893, James, Maria and the children had made their was from the lush greenness of New Zealand for the dry dusty harshness of Day Dawn/Cue in the Western Australian Murchison District. There was gold in that there dust and James put forward an "Application for a Publican's General License" to take over The Horse Shoe Tavern, which would become The Day Dawn Hotel and later the Commercial Hotel. The Commercial Hotel boasted a Commodious Dining Room, Good Table Kept and Plunge and Shower Baths (advert taken from - Murchison Times & Day Dawn Gazette 27 Nov 1895).

Sadly in May 1896 James WATKINS died of a severe kidney infection and a cerebral haemorrhage leaving Maria to take over the reigns of The Commercial Hotel. Their daughter Maria had only been married 6months to William Charles JACKSON and was 4 months pregnant with their first child. In November of that year Maria married Charles Cartwright WRIGHT a Contract Carpenter. I believe that for a year they ran The Commercial Hotel together as Maria was a Licensed Victualler. Late 1897 Charles applied for a gold license for an area outside of Cue called "The Mainland". In November 1911 (in fact on his and Maria's 15th Wedding Anniversary) he died at The Mainland and is buried in Cue Cemetery.

It was around this time that Maria's daughter and Son-in-law, who had moved to Victoria and then back to Meekatharra, Western Australia; packed up and moved down south of Western Australia to Broomehill. Here William Charles and Maria JACKSON and their five children settled into farming life with William Charles' father, William Robinson JACKSON. Between them they owned two large farming properties in the Broomehill/Kojonup area. Maria WRIGHT found herself some work at the Broomehill Police Station as a "Housekeeper". Around 1915 William Charles JACKSON became the Proprietor of the Railway Coffee Palace (an initiative of the Temperance Society) and I am sure his mother-in-law Maria was a great help with the day to day running of the establishment.

By 1918 William Charles and Maria JACKSON and their family had moved to Collie in the South West of Western Australia. Maria WRIGHT followed them and there is some talk in the family that she ran a Boarding House or maybe a Hostel. I have not yet been able to confirm this - but many of the family are listed spending alot of time living at the Collie Hostel on Wittenoom Street. I often wonder if this is the place the family speak of.

In October 1918 she was present at her first grandchild's wedding. Marvel Vera JACKSON married Harry HILLS from Norwich, Norfolk, UK. I believe the JACKSON family were living in Steere St at this time. Sadly in September of 1921 Maria's son-in-law, William Charles died at the Collie Hospital as a result of Type 2 Diabetes. In his life, William Charles JACKSON had competed in many cycling races. He was and still is, considered as one of the Nineteenth Century Elite Cyclists. During his Cycling career he won many races that seemed to coincide with a racehorse called Newhaven. In 1896 Newhaven won the Melbourne Cup and in 1897 he won the AJC Queen Elizabeth Stakes - this coincided with William winning the Melbourne to Warnambool Cycling Race and thus his friends and colleagues started to call him "Newhaven". One of his sons and a couple of his grandsons proudly carry the name of Newhaven in honour of William "Newhaven" JACKSON. William also played for the Victorian Football League representing both St Kilda and more predominantly Essendon during the years of 1898 to 1900 - both his cycling and football career were cut short by a knee injury. He was only 47 when he died and he is buried in Collie Cemetery.

Maria would have gone on to attend all six of her grandchildren's weddings, two more in Collie, one in Fremantle and one in Cannington. "The Collie Mail" of the time has some wonderful descriptions of the weddings of these grandchildren with reference to Maria and her outfit on the day. She was also present when her daughter remarried a fellow listed as a close friend of her late husband. Matthew GUELPA and Maria married in Collie in 1924, but by 1933 they were living in the Kalgoorlie area as Maria died in East Coolgardie at the end of October 1933.

From there I am guessing Maria WRIGHT lived a fairly quite life as by this time she was in her eighties. I believe she may have been living with her granddaughter Rene SCOTT in Jones St, Collie at the time of her death in May 1941. She died of a Cerebral Haemorrhage and collapse in the Collie Government Hospital. Her Death Notice placed in The Collie Mail on 29 May 1941 describes her as being 90yrs & 3mths of age and that she was the Great Grandmother to 19 Great Grandchildren.

I am certain that there is so much more to this wonderful lady and one day hope to establish contact with other descendants of Maria WRIGHT (nee RUCK formerly WATKINS) - as I am certain there are plenty out there.

Virginia HILLS

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