Sarah Lindsay Evans ( Angas; November 13, 1816 – June 6, 1898) was a 19th-century English-born South Australian pioneer and an activist in the country's temperance movement.

Early life

Sarah Lindsay Angas (alternate spelling, Angus) was born at Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, November 13, 1816. Her parents were George Fife Angas, who took a deep interest in the welfare of South Australia, and Rosetta French (1793–1867), daughter of John French (1761–1829), "Gentleman of Hutton, Essex", and Rosetta French née Rayner (1756–1836). Sarah's siblings included: Rosetta, Emma, George, John, Mary, and William.

Career

She married Henry Evans (1812-?), of

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, on August 8, 1837. They had five children. In 1843, during the British colonisation of South Australia, she emigrated there with her husband, settling at Evandale,

Keyneton Keyneton is a locality in South Australia. The town is in the Mid Murray Council local government area, north-east of the state capital, Adelaide. At the 2011 census, Keyneton and the surrounding area had a population of 534. The town was name ...

. Evans took the pledge of total abstinence in 1870. Soon, she became so opposed to the use and manufacture of alcoholic beverages that, after her husband’s death, she had the vineyards of the estate —which had produced the notable Evandale wines— uprooted, and the huge wine cellar converted into a temperance meeting-place. The large wine vat was turned upside down and made into a platform. She built a new hall especially for this purpose at a cost of , the foundation-stone of which was laid by her brother, John, in 1872. In the same year, she established the North Rhine

Band of Hope Hope UK is a United Kingdom Christian charity based in London, England which educates children and young people about drug and alcohol abuse. Local meetings started in 1847 and a formal organisation was established in 1855 with the name The United ...

. Evans interested herself in the neighbouring townships. No sooner was the township of Keyneton surveyed and laid out in allotments, than Evans bought the whole of them, and in the centre of four crossroads leading to Angaston, Sedan, Truro, and Eden Valley, erected a large temperance hotel costing . Here, only non-alcoholic beverages were dispensed. Evans was prominently identified with temperance work in South Australia, giving her support to the South Australian Alliance and other temperance organizations. The South Australian Band of Hope and Gospel Temperance Union, recognizing the value of her counsel and help, made Evans patron of the society. So great had become her influence that nearly all the members on the church roll had become total abstainers, and nearly all the children of the Sunday school were members of the Band of Hope. She was, with Hannah Chewings, Mary Jane George, Maria Peacock Henderson,

Serena Lake Serena Lake (née Thorne) (28 October 1842 – 9 July 1902) was an English Australian suffragist, temperance activist, and evangelical preacher in South Australia. Early life Serena Thorne was born in England at Shebbear, Devon. She was ...

, and

Elizabeth Webb Nicholls Elizabeth Webb Nicholls (21 February 1850 – 3 August 1943) was a key suffragist in the campaign for votes for women (also called ' suffrage') in South Australia during the 1890s. She took on several high-profile roles in the capital of South A ...

a trustee of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.) when it was incorporated in 1891.

Death

Sarah Lindsay Evans died in Australia, June 6, 1898.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Sarah Lindsay 1816 births 1898 deaths People from Newcastle upon Tyne Settlers of South Australia Australian temperance activists Woman's Christian Temperance Union people English emigrants to colonial Australia