She is best remembered for her bravery in assisting with the evacuation of 95 Aboriginal children from there during World War II during the Bombing of Darwin.
[3] In 2011 a third edition, They crossed a continent, the story of a wartime exodus from Croker Island to Sydney was published including a historical introduction and postscript by historians Peter and Sheila Forest.
[6] Her father was a Methodist Minister and they moved regularly throughout her childhood throughout New South Wales with the most time spent in Newcastle and Sydney.
[5][6] She said of this:[8] They're wanting someone to go up to help with the older girls, until they get the idea of cooking and so on, and looking after the younger children"The Methodist Overseas Mission also selected Somerville as they wanted Croker Island to be as close to home as possible for the children living there, with circumstances resembling conventional family life as much as possible.
The time spent there was short-lived with a civilian evacuation order sent through on 13 February 1942 asking that all women and children leave the region at once.
Darwin was bombed, for the first time in the war, on 19 February 1942 and, despite knowing the children had to be evacuated, there was no naval shipping available to assist them.
[4] On 7 April 1942 they were picked up by the Larrpan to begin their journey to Sydney; they were initially dropped at Barclay Point, opposite Goulburn Island.
[6] Their journey to Sydney took 6 weeks overland and Somerville's group included missionaries and 99 children (more had joined when they passed through Alice Springs).
[12] One child died of a cerebral haemorrhage following a fall at Oenpelli and Somerville discusses this incident in her oral history.
That was my calling and I believe it was right and I enjoyed every minute of it.The children were sent to live at the Crusader's Camp in Otford and Somerville became an assistant supervisor there.
[15] During their time there two of the children were found to have leprosy and sent to Prince Henry Hospital and another died during surgery to remove his tonsils.
[17] Another former resident Louise Neave (née Goodall) wrote a letter which was published in the NT News (20 October 1994) stated that: The early missionaries who looked after us did everything in their power to make our lives as happy as they could... the women missionaries were young women who tried to love us as their own children.
Croker Island Mission closed soon after, in 1968, and children were transferred to Somerville Cottage Homes in Darwin and to placements interstate.