Dame Florence Ann "Flora" Reid, (née Brumby; 10 November 1867 – 1 September 1950) was the wife of Sir

George Reid Sir George Houston Reid, (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was an Australian politician who led the Reid Government as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia from 1904 to 1905, having previously been Premier of New South Wales f ...

, the fourth

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...

Early life

Reid was born in

Longford, Tasmania Longford is a town in the northern midlands of Tasmania, Australia. It lies 145 m above sea level at the convergence of the Macquarie River and the South Esk River, 21 km south of Launceston and a 15-minute drive from the airport. It ...

, the daughter of a farmer from the small settlement of Cressy. According to her future husband, her family was "extremely poor". At some point she moved to Sydney, where she at one point she was rumoured to be linked romantically with

Bernhard Wise Bernhard Ringrose Wise (10 February 1858 – 19 September 1916), commonly referred to as B. R. Wise, was an Australian politician. He was a social reformer, seen by some as a traitor to his class, but who was not fully accepted by the labor Mov ...

. She eventually became engaged to another politician,

. Flora Brumby and George Reid married on 5 November 1891 at the Presbyterian manse in

Wangaratta, Victoria Wangaratta ( ) is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city had an estimated urban population of 19,318 at June 2018. Wangaratta has recorded a population growth rate of almost 1% annually ...

. She was 23 years old and he was 46. The marriage occurred in relative secrecy. Neither of them had any connection with Wangaratta, and no marriage announcement was made until August 1892, when a notice was placed in the ''

Australian Town and Country Journal Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

''. George Reid told his journalist friend

James Hogue James Arthur Hogue (born October 22, 1959) is an American impostor who most famously entered Princeton University by posing as a self-taught orphan. Early life Hogue was raised in a working-class family in Kansas City, Kansas, and graduated fro ...

that he did not want it published in the daily newspapers and that he wished to "settle down as quietly as possible"; he also implied that it had occurred recently rather than nine months previously. His wife's maiden name was given as "Bromby" on the marriage certificate, and George Reid incorrectly told Hogue that she was a relative of clergymen

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

and John Edward Bromby. The couple had three children – Douglas, Thelma, and Clive.

Public life

Reid was a vice-president of the Sydney Women’s Electoral League in 1899, along with Jane Barton. Her husband was prime minister from 1904 to 1905. Upon his first knighthood in 1909, she became Lady Reid (he had further knighthoods in 1911 and 1916). She accompanied her husband to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1910 on his appointment as the first Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.Australia's PMs > George Reid > Florence Reid
National Archives of Australia. According to George Reid's biographer W. G. McMinn, "there had been, at the time of his appointment, some doubts about Flora's ability to meet the challenge of London society; in fact she met it with ease". She hosted a reception for

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

when he attended the

funeral of King Edward VII The state funeral of Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, occurred on Friday, 20 May 1910. The funeral was the largest gathering of European royalty ever to take place, and the last befor ...

, and put on weekly gatherings for "the wives and daughters of those er husbandwished to influence".

Honours

For her work in assisting Australian soldiers recuperating in London from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, she was appointed a Dame Grand Cross of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(GBE) in August 1917, being in the first list of appointments to the order, which had been created only in June 1917.

Widowhood

Sir George Reid died in 1918, aged 73, and was buried in London. He left the whole of his estate to his "beloved wife as a slight recognition of her devoted love and help during the whole of our married life".McMinn (1989), p. 277. Dame Flora Reid died on 1 September 1950 in Rose Bay, New South Wales, aged 82.Australia's Prime Ministers

References

Sources

National Library of Australia: Papers of Sir George Reid

New York Times, 25 August 1917
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Flora 1867 births 1950 deaths Spouses of prime ministers of Australia Australian Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire People from Longford, Tasmania Wives of knights