Mary Anne Jane Elliott was born at Ravenglass in northern England on October 8, 1844.
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When she was 19, Mary emigrated to Victoria, Australia.
She married Andrew McDonald on May 27, 1867, in Warrnambool, where they lived till about 1870 before moving north, firstly to Ballangeich and then, in about 1874, to Rupanyup.
They moved to Horsham about 1880, when Mary had borne seven children.
Andrew McDonald worked as a labourer, carter and contractor but was often in debt, sometimes finding himself before the debtor's court.
So, even as she had three more children, Mary began earning money by acting as a midwife for home births in Horsham from about 1881.
When she was about 42, she had her tenth and last child, Janet (known as 'Jessie') and was able to concentrate on her career as a midwife.
From March 1889, she began advertising in the paper: "Mrs Andrew McDonald, qualified midwife ... is prepared to take in Ladies during their accouchement".
Probably for marketing purposes, she named "O'Callaghans Parade, Horsham" as her address even though it was 10 Sloss Street.
OUR HISTORY:
By 1893 Mary McDonald had earned enough money to purchase two vacant blocks of land opposite her house on Sloss Street.
She also owned a small cottage round the corner at 4 Clark Street, which she rented as an investment property.
A later advertisement, dated January 2, 1897, claimed that she had "attended over 1000 cases during the past 16 years in Horsham".
She also asked that her fees be paid in advance from that date onwards, suggesting a high non-payment rate, probably due to the effects of the 1890s depression.
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Like many Wimmera men, her husband, Andrew McDonald, an experienced gold miner, left for the Western Australian goldfields about 1896, probably to try to earn money by 'striking it rich' to alleviate the effects of the depression.
He stayed in Western Australia for about four years.
While Andrew was away, the Sloss Street house was accidentally destroyed by fire on January 31, 1897.
Fortunately, insurance mostly covered the loss and the house was rebuilt.
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Her rebuilt house was described as a weatherboard home with six rooms, a vestibule, a pantry, a wash-house and sheds.
Her January 6, 1899 advertisement said: "Mrs Andrew McDonald, ladies' nurse and accoucheress, during the past 18 years ...has attended over 1080 births in Horsham. Accommodation for ladies at her residence ... O'Callaghans Parade, Horsham".
A later advertisement, appearing on April 23, 1901, was more expansive. "Mrs Andrew McDonald, ladies' nurse and accoucheress, during the past 21 years ...has attended over 1184 births in Horsham successfully. Accommodation for ladies at her residence. Also, doctor's patients are taken. Moderate charges".
The phrasing "doctor's patients taken" signifies that she had branched out into general nursing practice at her hospital.
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In this period, Mary was a midwife for some prominent community members, including councillors' wives and members of the Young and Curran families.
Mary's eldest daughter, Annie, lost her husband, Harry Green, in April 1907.
Harry, a successful fruiterer with a shop in Firebrace Street, had suffered a heart attack when he was only 39.
Mary was able to provide a significant long-term loan to help her daughter, who was left with a young family of four to raise.
Another challenge arose with the massive flood of August 21, 1909.
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The flooding of Sloss Street necessitated the evacuation of mothers and babies from her hospital.
The patients were carried in boats up O'Callaghans Parade to safer ground near the Royal Hotel.
The rescue was carried out under Dr Robinson and Mary's careful supervision.
In mid-1910, Mary McDonald's house at 10 Sloss Street was officially registered as a private hospital to accommodate up to three patients.
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However, this was short-lived as in November of that year, her hospital was closed by Dr Read, the Horsham Borough's Health Officer, due to a fatal infection suffered by Mrs Margaret Wilson after childbirth.
An indignant letter from Mary, published in The Horsham Times (now The Wimmera Mail-Times) on December 13, 1910, stated that in 30 years of being a midwife, she'd only had this one case of blood poisoning.
She also claimed that in those 30 years, she had attended 1655 births.
Mary McDonald continued working as a visiting midwife and nurse until 1915 when she was in her early 70s.
In January 1917, Mary McDonald wrote her will, which suggests her health was failing.
Interestingly, she nominated a local butcher, Frank Williams, as the executor.
She died aged 75 at 10 Sloss Street on March 30, 1920.
In her obituary, she is referred to as "Mrs Mary Elliott McDonald", a name she had adopted since about 1903. Her estate was valued at £500.
Mary's widowed husband, Andrew McDonald, continued to live at 10 Sloss Street.
In 1923, the executor sold the house to Harry Baker for £380, and Andrew rented the house from him until 1925, when he left Horsham to live with his eldest daughter, Annie Green, in Northcote.
He died there on April 2, 1934.
