Notable South Australians/Mary Thomas
Mary Thomas,
RELICT of the late Robert Thomas, was a true type of the dauntless, faithful, and patient sisterhood who followed their enterprising husbands from comfortable homes in the old country, to form a habitation in the wilderness. She came out in the "Africaine," with her husband and family in 1836, and proved herself, throughout a long and eminently useful life, a woman of noble nature and purest aspirations. Patient, pious, and high-minded, she was regarded with filial affection by the young, and reverenced by the adults of the little community of colonists amongst whom she moved as a kind, sympathising counsellor, and firm friend. Her acts of benevolence were dictated by a generous heart and ruled by a judicious spirit. She belonged to the best type of womanhood, and her virtues kept her memory fresh in the regard of her descendants, who had known her worth and benefited by her tender acts. She had a sterling old-fashioned, English education, and was a rare example of a truly good, wise, and energetic woman—a fit helpmate for a brave pioneer colonist. Even in her essentially busy life she found time to cultivate the muse, and published a volume of poems, besides contributing clever articles to colonial literature. She died February 10, 1875.