THE LIFE STORY OF ANNIE SARGENT

Margaret Harris was a very caring person who would always help those in trouble and less fortunate then herself. When Annie was about seven years old, Margaret heard from the local doctor, of a woman who lived lower down the Gully in a very humble shack with her family. The woman was very ill as she had born twelve children; and had subsequently contracted tuberculosis. The family were half starved as the husband was a drunkard and the situation of the family was poor. The doctor had asked Margaret to help make the woman more comfortable and upon finding the poor soul lying on a mattress cover with no filling; she enlisted the children to go into the bush and pick fresh gum leaves to fill the mattress. Meanwhile Margaret set about cleaning up the shack which was bare of furniture or floor coverings and made the ill woman comfortable upon the improvised mattress. Upon returning home Margaret cooked food for the woman and her children, ensuring that they were well cared for. The woman later passed away. Until Margaret died she worked to care for her family or those in need around her. She and her husband were industrious people, starting small farms and stalls to keep them going. Annie’s mother Margaret only lived for another six months upon moving into the family’s Hurstville home, dying just prior to her granddaughter Margaret’s first birthday.