A Mother for All!
As we approach Mother's Day here in Australia, let's reflect upon a mother who fought to make every mother's life better. A woman, who in times where men would drink their weekly wages, leaving almost nothing for his family to be fed and clothed on, fought hard to make a difference. EUPHEMIA BRIDGES BOWES Euphemia was born in Edinburgh Scotland in 1816, the daughter of Joseph Allen and his wife Eliza. She was self-educated, an activity rare for a young girl at the time, teaching herself both to read and write. She arrived in Sydney in 1838, classified as a "house servant ” and on the 13th of September 1842 she married John Bowes, a baker, with Wesleyan Methodist rites at Parramatta. John had arrived in Sydney the previous year and moved to Parramatta, where besides his everyday position, he continued his work as a Wesleyan lay teacher. They resided in Sydney before making a move to Wollongong in 1848 when John was accepted into the Ministry. Euphemia bore elev