Edna Carmel Brophy (1905 - 1977)

Born 1905 in Northam, Western Australia, Australia

Ancestors

Died 30 Jul 1977 at about age 72 in Carlisle, Western Australia, Australia

Biography

Edna Carmel was born in 1905. Her parents were father Michael Brophy and mother Ellen Berand

For forty-one years, the gentle familiar figure stood behind the counter of the saloon bar of the Palace Hotel. In that time, there was very little that happened around town, and particularly in the Terrace , that Miss Brophy didn't know about, usually in advance. Three, possibly four, generations of the men who worked in the City were served their long cold beer by her on a hot day, or a convivial drink when they met an old friend. THey always called her Miss Brophy, or just Brophy. If they were on very familiar terms, they might have called her Broph, but Edna was reserved for a very privileged few. She had to persuade the manager of the Palace Hotel to take her on in 1928; he didn't approve of women in the bar, but he decided to give her a start. So Miss Edna Brophy started pulling the heavy beer pump handles of the old Palace saloon bar to keep the beer flowing at sevenpence a schooner. She added a touch of lady-like glamour to the job, although make-up was frowned upon then. The years passed. Men from the North-west would drop by to say hello when they came south; and famous visitors would make her bar a port of call; statesmen, actors, dukes and lords. But mostly, through the lean years and the boom years, it was the businessmen of the Terrace who frequented her bar, making a deal with a client, discussing a merger or the prices on the stock exchange, or perhaps just slipping in for a quick one. Newspaper men too used it in a proprietary way as their "local", swapping yarns about scoops and stories. She dealt discreetly with those who had over-indulged and listened with sympathy to men who wanted to pour out all their troubles. Miss Brophy watched youths grow to grandfathers, and followed closely their lives - through their engagements, marriages, births, and sometimes, divorces. It was a demanding job, with long hours that left her little time for normal social activities, a demanding job that required considerable dedication. She could always be trusted with a confidence. After Miss Edna Brophy retired in 1969, a drink at the Palace was never quite the same again.

extract from "Reflections" page 131 - Profiles of 150 Women who helped make Western Australia's History (1978). Edna was around 23 yrs. when she started at the Palace.

Edna was the fiancée of Arthur Hillard who died of illness when a Japanese POW in Thailand 16 December 1943 aged 37 yrs 9 mths.

Edna Carmel Brophy of Carlisle, Perth WA; passed away 30 Jul 1977, aged 71 yrs. As per her request, she was cremated; and Her ashes - Scattered to the Winds at Karrakatta Cemetery.

Record ID Number

Record ID Number: MH:I154

User ID

User ID: 5495506D649D6219C902B343D225E193

Sources

Birth Index WA: 1906 Reg. 4501 (Northam)