Eleanor Anne Hewetson

One of my favourite ancestors is my great grandmother Eleanor Anne Hewetson. Eleanor was born in Creswick, Victoria, Australia on 14 March 1873 the fifth child of Thomas Hewetson and Catherine Charlotte Elrington. Her father Thomas was born in Singapore on 17 September 1833 and came to Australia with his brother William in 1853. Her mother Catherine was born on 25 June 1839 at Mt Elrington, near Braidwood, New South Wales. Catherine’s grandfather was William Sandys Elrington upon whom the leading character in Eleanor’s screenplay ‘The Martinet’ was based on. Eleanor was educated at the Presbyterian Ladies College, Melbourne and Melbourne University where she trained to be a school teacher.

Eleanor was not the shy, retiring type of girl. At just 21 years of age she was active with some of her family members in the Laverton Temperance Society. She continued to support various causes throughout her life.

In 1895 her poem ‘A Bush Idyll’ was published in the press. [1] As is the way for new authors she probably submitted numerous poems before this one was published.

By 1899 Eleanor was in Western Australia where she was appointed to a position at Beaconsfield Infants School.[2] On the 8 July 1901 she married William Ferris Ogilvy at Fremantle, Western Australia. William was also from Victoria so whether they met in Western Australia or already knew each other is not known to me. Between 1902 and 1910 they had five children but Eleanor was not your usual Edwardian style mother. In 1919 she wrote another poem entitled ‘The RSA Appeal’ in 1919.

Eleanor and her family returned to New South Wales in the early 1920s and she continued her literary career. On 16 December 1923 her story of her grandfather Major Elrington , ‘Romance of a Pioneer Family’, was published in the Sunday Times in Sydney. [3] Whilst the article does have minor historical errors and some dramatic tendencies it has a strong factual content, and some of her own family knowledge. Eleanor was the original family historian and she did not stop at one article.

In early 1930 Eleanor applied for copyright for a play entitled ‘The Martinet’. This was a play for the screen, or as described by Eleanor on her application as ‘All-Talkie Film-Play’. The 51 pages of the manuscript are detailed with character descriptions, filming directions and the script. Considering the infancy of the film industry in Australia this was an ambitious undertaking for a first time screenwriter. Although this is fictional there is much that is factual in this manuscript. Obviously a lot of research was undertaken but some information may have come from Eleanor’s own family knowledge. She did know one of the main characters, her grandmother Louisa Mary Clarke, and Eleanor’s description of Louisa’s character may have some basis in truth. Please see The Martinet for a discussion of the play.

[1] “SELECT POETRY.” Kilmore Free Press (Kilmore, Vic. : 1870 – 1954) 14 November 1895: 4 (MORNING.). <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61117304>

[2] “ROMANCE OF A PIONEER FAMILY” Sunday Times (Sydney, NSW : 1895 – 1930) 16 December 1923: 30. Web. 19 May 2021 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article120533269>.

[3] “SCHOLASTIC APPOINTMENTS.” Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 – 1954) 20 January 1899: 11. Web. 19 May 2021 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37726689>.