Emma Mary Withnell (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Hancock; 19 December 184216 May 1928), was the first

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

and female

settler A settler is a person who has human migration, migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a ...

north west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

; a pioneering pastoralist and

businessperson A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...

. A member of the

Hancock family Hancock may refer to: Places in the United States * Hancock, Iowa * Hancock, Maine * Hancock, Maryland * Hancock, Massachusetts * Hancock, Michigan * Hancock, Minnesota * Hancock, Missouri * Hancock, New Hampshire ** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshire ...

, later prominent in Western Australia, Emma Hancock was born at

Guildford, Western Australia Guildford is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, 12 km northeast of the city centre within the City of Swan. Guildford was founded in 1829 as one of the earliest settlements of the Swan River Colony. It is one of only three towns in the ...

. She and her husband,

John Withnell John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

(1825–98), began operating a

pastoral lease A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Australia Pastoral lease ...

– Mount Welcome

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

, on the

Harding River The Harding River is a river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It was named on 31 July 1861 by the surveyor and explorer Francis Gregory while on expedition in the area, after one of the volunteer members of his expedition, John Hard ...

in 1864. The station homestead became the site of the first town in the north west, Roebourne.

Biography

Emma Hancock was born on 19 December 1842 in Guildford, Western Australia, the daughter of farmer George Hancock and his wife Sophia (''

'' Gregory). On 10 May 1859, she married John Withnell, the son of a stonemason who had migrated in 1830. In 1864, in the hopes of starting a farm, Withnell, her husband, her two children, and her sister Francis moved to Port Walcott on the ''Sea Ripple''; they encountered a shipwreck and lost most of their livestock. The family made their way on foot to the Harding River and Withnell gave birth to her third child near Mount Welcome. Withnell was known as ''Mother of the North West'' among the aborigines in the area as she often tended to the sick and delivered babies in her own house. The indigenous community presented her with the title of "Boorong", which apparently gave her more leeway to interact with the various tribes in the region. Withnell and her husband would have eleven children in total. John Withnell died on 15 May 1898 with an estate valued at around £5895. Emma Withnell died on 16 May 1928 at Mount Lawley; the cause of death was

cholecystitis Cholecystitis is inflammation of the gallbladder. Symptoms include right upper abdominal pain, pain in the right shoulder, nausea, vomiting, and occasionally fever. Often gallbladder attacks (biliary colic) precede acute cholecystitis. The pain l ...

. She was buried at the Anglican cemetery in Guildford.Sturkey, Douglas [R. D.]; "Withnell, Emma Mary (1842–1928)", ''Australian Dictionary of Biography''
(25 October 2012).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Withnell, Emma People from Perth, Western Australia Settlers of Western Australia People from the Pilbara 1842 births 1928 deaths 19th-century Australian businesswomen