Fitzer, Eileen Marjory,
Styles, Eileen Marjorie,
Gribben, Sister,
Gribben, Eileen,
White Queen of the Daly,
Fitzer, Eileen Marjorie,
Name
Eileen Fitzer,
Collection
Territory Women,
HistoryNT,
Place of birth
Town of Brocks Creek,
Date of birth
1902-03-30,
Occupation
Nurse,
Pioneer,
Date of death
2001-08-27,
Place of death
Darwin,
Place of burial
Pioneer Park,
Honours and awards
Member in the Order of the British Empire 1980.,
Biographical notes
Eileen Marjory [Marjorie] Styles was born on the 30th March 1902 at Brocks Creek. After the death of her mother in 1910 Eileen moved to Darwin and attended a convent school with her sisters, Lily, Gertude and Ruby.
"She recalled the adventure of being a child in Darwin, of playing cowboys and Indians down at Fort Hill, and exploring Chinatown, then in the heart of Cavanagh Street. Eileen described it as the most fabulous place in the world, and the Chinese New Year celebrations as the most exciting time in a European child's life". (Chief Minister Clare Martin, Hansard, 2001)
In 1921, Eileen campaigned for Darwin citizens who had been sent to the Fannie Bay Gaol for refusing to pay taxes in the 'no taxation without representation' fight. This dispute did not abate until the citizens of Darwin received representation in Federal Parliament. Eileen also worked towards the election of Harold Nelson, the first Member for the Northern Territory in the Federal Parliament.
Eileen moved to Alice Springs in 1928 to work as a nursing sister at the 'Bungalow', a home for Aboriginal children. She was later transferred and promoted to Sister-In-Charge at Pine Creek Hospital.
Eileen married Harry Gribbons in Darwin in 1936, whom she affectionately referred to as her "wild Irishman", and three years later they moved to the Wauchope Wolfram Mining Fields. She was then asked to work at the Channel Island Leprosarium.
Harry Gribbons died in 1943 and two years later Eileen married famous Territory policeman, Tas Fitzer. They moved to Daly River where she became known as the "White Queen of the Daly". They later settled in Timber Creek near the Western Australian border. The Fitzers retired to Avalon in Sydney in 1955. After Tas died in 1966, Eileen returned to her beloved Territory.
In 1980, at the age of 78, she received an MBE for her services to nursing and the community. Eileen died on 27 August 2001 and was buried according to her wishes, at Pioneer Cemetery in Goyder Road, Darwin.
Source: Northern Territory dictionary of biography. Darwin: Charles Darwin University Press, 2008.,
Subject
Women,
Northern Territory,
Related materials
Northern Territory women's register 1948-1988. Darwin : Northern Territory Women's Advisory Council, 1991. REF 305.4099429 NORT,
Northern Territory census, electoral roll & directories 1881-1940 [electronic resource]. Winnellie, N.T. : Genealogical Society of the Northern Territory Inc. ; Hampton, Vic. : Macbeth Genealogical Services Pty Ltd, 2006.
NTC REF CDROM,
Northern Territory Australia deaths 1824 to 2004. pt.1 [electronic resource]. [Darwin] : Genealogical Society of the Northern Territory Inc, 2005.
NTC REF CDROM,
Northern Territory dictionary of biography. Darwin: Charles Darwin University Press, 2008. NTC 994.9429 NORT,
Related links
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11302062 ["Women of North Help War Work" The Argus, Saturday 24 August 1940, p.7],
http://hdl.handle.net/10070/876 [PictureNT : PH0107/0152 : Investiture by Sir Zelman Cowen at Government House, Northern Territory Government Photographer Collection],
http://hdl.handle.net/10070/193529 [IndexNT : "Territorians gain honors" Northern Territory News, 2 January, 1980; p.3,22.],
http://hdl.handle.net/10070/210807 [IndexNT : "Eileen Fitzer fits the Bill" Darwin Star, 24 January 1980, p.8.],
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/181556 [IndexNT : "Pioneer plot for Eileen" Northern Territory News, 4 February, 1980, p.4.],
http://hdl.handle.net/10070/213225 [PublicationNT : Northern Territory Archives Service newsletter, Darwin : "Eileen Fitzer" October 2001, no. 24, p.2.],
http://hdl.handle.net/10070/29459 [PictureNT : PH0346/0110 : Group including Sister Gribben and Tas Fitzer, C. W. MacPherson Collection],