Martha Hustwick

Martha who was born in 1860 was the eldest of five girls. She finished school at the age of thirteen and trained to be a teacher. At the age of twenty-six, she gave up her teaching post in England to travel to Australia with her ailing sister Emily in February 1886.

Martha and Emily landed in Australia in April 1886 and by November of that year they were living in Ipswich. Martha and her sister Emily lived in Martin Street, Ipswich with Martha being responsible for earning a wage, taking care of the house and caring for her younger sister. 

She was a teacher in Ipswich and in 1887, at the age of twenty-seven she was appointed Head of the West Ipswich Girls school. Two yeas later she was transferred to Charters Towers where she met Rev. Matthew Henry Brassington (known as Harry), a Methodist Minister who transferred from Gympie to this town in 1891. Martha married Harry who was ten years younger than her in Townsville on Saturday, 13 May 1893.

Two months later, Martha and Harry left Australia to return to England by which time Martha was pregnant and Harry was suffering from TB, the same disease that took the life of Martha’s sister. The couple moved to Rushton to live with Harry’s sister Elizabeth at Fir Tree Farm. Their only child, a daughter named Hilda May was born in February 1894 and sadly on the 10 March 1894 Matthew died at the age of twenty-five.

Martha returned to Durham to be with her family.