Additional Information
Additional Information
MRS JONES’ STORY
Originally arriving in Stuart in 1911 as Mrs Jeffrey Lampe, Mabel and her husband took over the license of the Stuart Arms which within a few months she was running alone after the tragic death of her husband. In 1913 she married her neighbour, Norman Jones, manager of the Wallis Fogarty store (site of Ansett Corner now Traveland), living in the house next door. In the 1920’s the population of the town was around 90. Mabel loved fancy dress parties and would decorate the garden with paper lanterns and streamers, bringing out a wind up gramophone and tarpaulin as a makeshift dance floor. She also pioneered the town’s Christmas festivities for the local children. Usually referred to as Mrs Norman Jones and occasionally as Mabel – she was actually christened the more exotic Eugeneta Mabel McPherson.
