Although this post has nothing to do with Subiaco, Miss Jessie Reid Downie, the former editor of the children's pages and social editor of The Daily News newspaper gave a talk at a meeting of the Women Writers' Club in 1935 about the two years she spent in Papua New Guinea.
From the post 'Jessie Downie, Journalist At The Daily News. Part One' published on September, 4 2020' writes that prior to Margaret Main and Boronia Giles being employed at The Daily News newspaper to take on the role of Auntie Nell and edit the children's pages, Jessie Reid Downie took on the role. She also edited the social pages.
During the 1900's, Perth newspapers like Rhe Daily News, The West Australian and The Mirror provided an insight into the lives of many of the prominent and social people who lived there, the events, the food they ate and the clothes they wore while keeping track of their comings and goings from the city and state of Western Australia. These insightful snippets of information can be found in the newspapers of the time on Trove, the database at the National Library of Australia.
For much of her life Jessie Reid Downie lived in a flat in Richardson Road, West Perth. The social pages of the local newspapers reported on the social gatherings of the people she often entertained and what happened at these events. They reported she was an accomplished singer who often sung at social gatherings throughout Perth especially for charity events. On one occasion in 1925 she entertained Mrs Edith Cowan after her return from Washington. On another occasion in 1929, the Truth newspaper reported she saw anthropologist Daisy Bates on a return trip from Sydney to Perth.
Following the outbreak of World War 1 in 1914, Jessie travelled with a doctor and his wife, Dr. and Mrs Cope where they volunteered to work in a hospital in France run by and funded by the British for two years. She trained as a nurse with the Red Cross, studied French and worked as a V. A. D. Assistant in various hospitals around France. While living in Guernsey with her sister she raised funds for Belgium refugees. This appeal was supported and reported on by the Daily News newspaper, in the Children's Column now edited by Margaret Main.
Jessie returned to Sydney in 1919 with her sister and brother-in-law after their war work in Europe.
After World War One Jessie maintained an active social life attending events around Perth but also entertaining people who visited in her own home. She was active in women's groups that supported writers and journalists including the Women Writers' Club.
Throughout her life Jessie travelled extensively as part of a group to the Eastern States to visit her sisters and brother, Europe, America and Papua New Guinea with her sister's family. She remained on good terms with her employer and owner of The Daily News, Mr A. Lovekin travelling with him, his wife and daughter and another friend to Asia and Europe in 1926 for three months.
In 1947 The West Australian reported Miss Jessie Downie died on 30 April in Melbourne.
In 1932 the social pages of The Daily News reported that Miss Jessie Downie left for New Guinea with her sister and her husband Mr J. Matley who was manager of the Waigani plantation. She returned to Melbourne in 1935 after spending two years there.
Jessie Downie's sister's husband Jim Matley was employed by the British New Guinea Developement Co Ltd. In his early years he managed plantations in this district, before being transferred to Waigani, Eastern Division.
The article below is a report on the talk Jessie Reid Downie gave at a meeting of the Women Writer's Club at Karrakatta in 1935. It can be found on Trove, the database of the National Library of Australia.
Life in Tropical New Guinea, The Daily News, 1935.
DESCRIBED BY MISS DOWNIE
The tropical contradictions of living in a country like New Guinea were discussed today by Miss Jessie Downie, a Perth journalist, who returned recently from nearly two years' stay with her sister, Mrs. J. Matley and her husband on Waigani plantation, about 15 miles from the coast of the mainland.
Miss Downie said that most of the settlements in the area in which she stayed was concentrated in the island off the coast, and life on the mainland was very primitive. Managers of plantations had to build their own roads, and many household necessities had to be grown on the plantations. They had to grind their own wheat for flour, and chop their own wood from the forest.
"The boys do everything," said Miss Downie. "They milk the cows, separate the cream, make excellent butter and bread, and are very artist into the bargain."
Miss Downie said that the Papuan houseboy was like a "beautiful bronzed statue," but they were not over-scrupulous as to cleanliness if they were not watched. Every morning, however, on her sister's plantations, they were sent for a swim before entering the house.
"They wore white calico skirts, which covered the body from the waist down to the calves, but tops of their bodies were bare."
The natives were child-like, know nothing of the outside world, had quaint sayings, and were very superstitious, according to Miss Downie. If they became sick, they turned their faces to the wall and prepared to die, because they thought it was the will of the "spirit man."
They were slow workers, she said and had to be given a definite task to do. If they were pulling out weeds they had to be told at the beginning of the day to work from this tree to that.
Artistic Houseboys
They always decorated the table beautifully for dinner parties - Miss Downie could not say enough for the wonderful flowers and vegetation in New Guinea - and each boy wore in his hair two of the kind of flowers in his table decoration.
Nearly all the natives however, spoke a different language. The "calico" boy often spoke a different language from the cook-boy, as neither could speak a work of English, it made things rather difficult.
Explaining the primitive state of the mainland, Miss Downie said that it was quite a hazardous adventure to cross one of the mountain streams, as the only transport was a wire attached to two tress on opposite sides of the bank, and arose seat arrangement, in which you sat, clung on tight, and hoped for the best.
These same mountain streams were at times a great source of annoyance to the people on the plantation, as it frequently happened that just as the vegetables were getting ripe the rains would com, flood the streams, and the vegetables would be washed away.
The undergrowth though beautiful and green, housed thousands of snakes. Miss Downie said. They were very "friendly" creatures, and would come into the house and curl up on the chairs. She described the commotion caused one night when a python crawled into the fowlhouse through a hole in the fenced, swallowed two fouls, a duck and two sacks, and was consequently so swollen it could not get out again, and had to wait till the houseboys came and killed it.
The
"Mospuito Room"
The nights were wonderful, lit with fireflies. But owing to the malaria mosquitos, it was impossible to sit outside and enjoy them. After 6 o'clock everyone had to repair to the 'mosquito room' - wired in until bedtime, when there was a rush to get under mosquito netting."
Miss Downie said that it was a lazy existence - was too hot to work - but though there was never quiet. "Everything sings," she said "The crickets, the birds - and the mosquitoes."
Miss Downie was at one time a member of the "The Daily News" staff for several years. She was the guest of honour at a luncheon in the Karrakatta Club today, given by the committee of the Women Writers' Club.
