A Fast Woman!
Well, it’s that time of year
when there are not enough hours in the day and we tend to race around in ever
increasing circles.
It got me thinking about
women and racing.
Here is one woman who took
on the men and beat them at their own game!
NINA EVA VIDA JONES
(1882-1966)
Nina was born on 30th
January 1882 at Livingstone House, Harris Street, Ultimo, Sydney, the youngest
daughter of William Henry Harris and his wife Susan Mary, née Clarke. She was
the niece of John and Sir Matthew Harris (who will be the subject of a separate
blog in the future).
On 2nd of April
1910 Nina Eva Vida Harris married John Alexander Stammers Jones, only son of the late
William Watkin Jones, a Welsh mining surveyor, and his wife Eliza. After his
mother re-married John became a resident of Lithgow and took over the running
of the Zig Zag Brewery after his stepfather Henry (Harry) Phillip Corbett had
stepped down sometime in the 1890's. He had the distinction of being the youngest
fully qualified brewer in Australia at the time – aged 19. John owned around
ten hotels in the district and was an alderman on the local council for several
years. He was a notable cyclist and the owner of racehorses and trotters and was
a member of the Australian Jockey Club, Royal Automobile Club of Australia,
Sydney Bicycle amongst others.
Upon returning to Australia
after visiting England for their extended honeymoon they moved to Lithgow near
the Brewery. However, the next year they built Nia Heymo (Esperanto - a mashup
of several European languages - and meaning 'our home') at Darling Point,
thereafter, alternating between their two homes. A daughter and son were born at
Lithgow in 1912 and 1913.
Nina Jones started driving
at Lithgow where her husband kept two Darracq cars with which they practiced
climbs on the steep hill on their property. In 1923 she toured northern NSW and
Queensland and in Brisbane entered a reliability trial to Sydney. She took part
in many events and trials organized by the RACA. In 1925 the Maroubra Speedway
opened: in 1925-26 Nina drove her new 20/70 horsepower Crossley in events from
scratch, winning the 'Weekender Trophy', averaging 78 miles (125 km) per hour
in the heavy touring car. In a 24-hour event in 1927 she was one of the few
women ever to win a gold medal.
The Zig Zag Brewery was sold
in 1928 and the Jones family visited France and Italy looking at sports cars. In
Milan they bought a 6-cylinder 1750cc supercharged Alfa Romeo. Nina drove it
successfully, gaining the fastest time in 1929 at Sydney Bicycle and Motor
Club's hill climb at Prospect and in the RACA Kurrajong Hill climb. At the
Light Car Club's acceleration test on Bondi Promenade in June 1930 she gained
the fastest time of 18.4 seconds for the quarter mile, beating 67 male rivals. Both
children developed a thirst for motor racing and drove as soon as they were old
enough.
Her daughter, Vidie, competed
in her Lea-Francis car and her son, Jack, also drove the Alfa Romeo. The Alfa
Romeo nearly ended its racing life after an accident in 1933. Nina had been
cornering at high speed when a punctured tyre caused the car to roll several
times. Both Nina and her daughter were thrown out but only received minor
injuries – the car was burned out. Amazingly the vehicle was recovered and
restored with new parts.
John Alexander Stammers
Jones passed away after a long illness in their Darling Point home on the 5th of May 1933 and was interred in Lithgow General Cemetery where many of his family
members are buried.
Nina seems to have had intentions
of continuing her racing career but after the Alpha Romeo crashed into an
embankment on a hill climb in Newcastle whilst being driven by her son, she
called it quits. Jack was unhurt but Nina suffered a broken thigh and spent six
weeks recuperating.
Nina Eva Vida Jones died at
her Darling Point home on 2 March 1966. She was survived by her daughter Vidi;
her son Jack having been killed in an aircraft accident at Mascot in 1939.
You can pay your respects to
this colourful, daring and legendary woman and her son in the Presbyterian
Section Zone A, section 1E.
What a woman! She loved to
travel – fast!
For today’s blog I have
referenced the Australian Dictionary of Biography article by KA Johnson 1983;
Ancestry.com; History Avenue’s information on Lithgow’s first brewery; Wikitree’s
information about John Stammers Jones and his obituary.
If you have any comments,
please add them below or at the comments section at the Facebook Group page
found under
rookwoodcemeterydiscoveries
Or send me an email at
lorainepunch@gmail.com
A great post Loraine, I can’t imagine getting a car transported overseas in 1928…A very interesting family…
ReplyDeleteA very interesting family I'll say!
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