Mabel Mary Taylor

[1] Her records furnish some lively accounts of people and daily life in the early years of Alice Springs, which was then called Stuart, when it was a tiny one-hotel settlement[2] and give details about the children she taught (including Doris Blackwell; another strong character is Amelia Kunoth), the clothes she wore, remote places she visited, passing explorers and missionaries and the active social life of the settlement.

Quite a few of the locals were shocked, or made out that they were, by this daring innovation.Blackwell's book "Alice on the Line" often adds detail to what Taylor described more economically and it is clear, from both women, that they regarded each other with deep respect.

[1] In 1907, after 18-months in Alice Springs (having already extended her time there by 6 months) Taylor decided to leave and it is not recorded why she made that decision, except that it was expiated by her desire to be at her brother Sid's marriage.

It is unknown whether Taylor knew about her illness but when she left Alice Springs but it is clear that she had no plans but to spend time with her family and, by August 1907, was admitted to a specialist tuberculosis hospital (Kalyra in the Adelaide Hills).

The forth train will take us too.The Bradshaw family found it very hard to replace Taylor and Blackwell wrote that "there just weren't any takers for the position; either the Australian spirit of adventure was waning or governesses had discovered the value of money and wanted more than my father was able to pay".