Story courtesy of the Moruya and District Historical Society.
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The Midwives
Women living in or near townships were able to access the services of midwives. These local midwives mostly had no formal qualifications but had gained their expertise through giving birth several times themselves and/or assisting other women to do so. Two examples are Ruth Nelmes and Martha Batt.
Ruth Nelmes
One of Moruya's best known and fondly remembered midwives was Ruth Nelmes, known as 'Granny Nelmes'.
Ruth came to Australia in May, 1857, with her husband Alfred on board the Hertfordshire.
They are known to have lived first at Kiora, where Ruth worked at Kiora House for the Hawdon family and Alfred would have done farm work. Their first child Elizabeth was born in November, 1857, while they were at Kiora.
Babies often arrived at inconvenient times, frequently in the middle of the night. The message would reach Ruth at her home at Long Swamp that a woman was in labour and she would set off to walk through the rough country with only the light of a hurricane lamp.
She preferred this method of getting to her destination as she could take shortcuts through paddocks.
On arrival, her smiling countenance and cheery manner gave confidence to the woman and anxious family.
After the successful delivery, Ruth would stay with the family and take over the complete running of the household including cooking, washing, and cleaning while the mother was confined to bed.
Some families already had 10 or more children, so this was quite a job. It was said that not a life was lost under her care. She also provided care in cases of illness.
One family to make use of Granny Nelmes' services on several occasions was the James Constable family.
James was a boatman at the Pilot Station at the Heads, and kept diaries in which he describes, among other things, the occasions they had need of Granny.
James had married Isabella (Bella) Wyatt. They had one child Alice, and Bella was pregnant with a second when the first diary opens in January, 1881.
They owned a house in Gundary, but James obtained a job at the Pilot Station in early March.
On March 20, Bella gave birth to a son, Elias, attended by her mother, Mrs Wyatt, and her sister Harriet.
The family moved to the Heads, and by early 1882 Bella was again pregnant.
On June 28, James took the horse and buggy to town. He took the horse out of the buggy and rode out to Long Swamp on the Dwyers Creek Road looking for Mrs Nelmes.
She was not at home so he rode to Harkus's place but she was not there. He eventually located her at Pfeiffer's place.
Granny stayed until July 5, but apparently nothing happened, so Granny returned home.
On July 19, Elias Wyatt had to row Granny down the river again to assist with the arrival of William James Constable on July 20. She stayed until July 26, leaving at 4 am, presumably to attend another birth.
On July 31, 1884, Granny Nelmes was again needed for the birth of Isaac Wyatt Constable. Mrs Wyatt and Bella's sisters, Alice and Lottie, also gave support.
In 1886, the final stages of Bella's next pregnancy were causing problems. Granny Nelmes and Mrs Wyatt arrived to help on March 28.
Alfred, Granny's husband, had died just a month before, and she was attempting to run the Long Swamp farm on her own, so it must have been difficult for her to stay until April 1.
She was back again on April 6, but had to leave again to attend the 'Chinaman's'.
On April 23, Bella was again sick, and James had to go for Granny. She stayed for three days before walking home, a distance of about 12 kilometres.
Thomas Henry Constable finally put in an appearance on May 19 with Granny and Mrs Wyatt in attendance.
Granny was paid her usual fee of two pounds, and James drove her into town the next day.
Bella turned 40 in 1894, and gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, on Christmas Day. James had fetched Granny the day before. This time she stayed for two days, and then Mrs Thompson took over the running of the household until Bella was back on her feet.
Granny was struck down by a severe illness, and was unable to follow her calling for the last few years of her life.
She died at the home of her daughter, Mrs Holroyd, at Long Swamp on May 28, 1920.
Martha Batt
Another well-known midwife was Martha Batt (nee Hibbard). Martha had arrived in Australia around 1856, where she married Thomas Batt and had seven children.
She was a jolly, robust woman with an attractive appearance and fascinating mannerisms. She provided comfort and assistance to anyone in need.
She attended women who were about to give birth in their own homes, but also accommodated women from more outlying areas in her own home in Evans Street, so could have some claim to having the first maternity home in Moruya.
She would care for the mother and her new baby until the mother was well and truly back on her feet.