Abraham Wallace

Following the death of their first child, Abraham and his wife departed from Mount Gambier in 1863 with a wagon, two horses, bedding, and provisions to search for land in Queensland.

[4] The Wallaces were some of the earliest settlers in the region,[5] with a pastoral run, Sturts Meadows, located approximately 110 kilometres north of Broken Hill.

It has been the subject of study in recent times[8] and the handprints at nearby Mootwingee were of interest to Matilda's nephew,Tom, who is frequently mentioned in her memoir.

The homestead and stock were then supplied with water from a permanent well sunk on the creek near their original camp, sited with the help of local Aboriginal people.

[10] Pregnant Matilda left Sturts Meadows and travelled to Adelaide late in 1872, leaving [9] Abraham to manage their property which by 1876, was 40,469 ha in area and had significant improvements[11] and by 1882 32,000 sheep were shorn.

Some time after, she began writing her memoir, "Twelve Years' Life in Australia, from 1859 to 1871", which was typeset and posthumously deposited in the Adelaide Public Library.

The establishment of Elsey Station was not without conflict[14] as introducing cattle to the area reduced access to resources by local Aboriginal people.

After retiring in 1884, Wallace re-joined his wife and bought a substantial home at Reynella, The Braes, designed by the eminent Adelaide architect, Sir Charles S Kingston, and built in 1868.

[22] In 1922, A. T. Saunders, with the help of John Lewis, who had met Abraham and Matila at Mingary, South Australia in 1867, identified her as the author of an anonymous memoir previously posthumously deposited in the Adelaide Public Library.