The Story of Una Catherine Mulholland (nee Vowles)

UNA CATHERINE VOWLES

Una was born on the 30th October 1904 in Gympie, Queensland. Her parents were Reginald Vowles, a miner, and Mary Ellen {nee Shanahan}. Una was the eldest of six children and in 1918 a terrible tragedy shook the family.

Gympie Times 10th August 1918:- “Yesterday afternoon, about 4 o‟clock, an accident occurred by which two young children lost their lives through drowning. It appears that a young nurse-girl named Gladys Meagher, aged 18 years, employed by Mrs. Shanahan, Licensee of the Sydney Hotel, One Mile, took four children of Mrs. Mary Ellen Vowles, who resides at the Sydney Hotel, down to Deep Creek. The children were Agnes Marion aged 7 years and 3 months, Reginald John 5 years and 2 younger ones. They all sat down on the bank, the children playing along it. The boy Reginald John crossed the creek on the foot bridge, and the girl Meagher went after him to try and bring him back. Before she could reach him, he fell into the creek, which is about 12 feet deep at this part. She went to put the baby, which she was carrying in her arms down on the ground, but before she could do this, the girl Agnes Marion followed her, and fell into the creek. She promptly jumped in after them and succeeded in getting hold of both the children, endeavouring to rescue them. She became exhausted however, and had to let them go. They both sank.. The nursemaid was rescued by a man named Byrne. The bodies of the two children were eventually recovered, locked in each others arms, about an hour afterwards by a man named Thomas Barson, of Excelsior Road, Gympie, who dived for them.”

It is hard to imagine the effect of such a tragedy on the family and it is not surprising the electoral rolls of 1919 have the family living at Main Camp, Enoggera Railway, Brisbane, Reginalds‘ occupation timekeeper.

Newspaper articles referred to Una as “the dainty and vivacious little elocutionist”. In 1930 Una travelled to London where she gained her Fellowship at Trinity College, attended a special course of study taking particular interest in children‘s rhythmic work and voice speaking choir. (This consists of poetry being spoken by a choir composed of men and women instead of only one person) and a form of poetry she hoped to introduce to Brisbane. In London she also studied under Lionel Logue (Speech therapist for King George V1) in the correction of speech defects. Before returning to Brisbane she toured Europe and took time out from her sightseeing to do some study in Germany.

November 1936 saw Una travelling to America, most of her time being spent in Hollywood and New York. Her five months trip was undertaken with the object of obtaining first hand knowledge of the American Theatre and of film production. She visited some of the big studios seeing Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Nelson Eddy and other stars at work. Her impressions of Hollywood “She held immense admiration for the Writers, Producers, Directors and Editors whose genius is the main cause of Hollywood‟s success. The life of a film star is anything but enviable, except for the satisfaction that is to be won from hard work. Work be gins at 7 a.m. and might continue until midnight, with only a minute and a half of actual film time produced.“, and ― “Broadway was full of dramatic success.” She had the opportunity of learning something of the methods of the New York School of the Theatre, directed by Elizabeth Grimball. She also had the opportunity of producing a couple of plays at Radio City.

Even more dramatic than anything she had seen in the United States, Una was to find herself in a capsized railway carriage on the edge of a frozen lake in Canada. A broken rail caused the derailment of five carriages attached to the train in which she was travelling. She was obliged to break a window before she could get out, only to find herself knee deep in snow. The only injury she received was shock but decided to cancel her proposed trip to Yokohama and return to Brisbane. As a teacher of Dramatic Art she realized her dream and held several recitals of Verse Speaking Choir. She also staged several plays Cradle Days and The Patsy to name a few, playing the leading role.

On the 11th October 1937 Una married Jack Mulholland. Jack was born in Gympie on the 8th August 1903, the son of William Andrew Mulholland and Alice Letitia Worrell {nee Raymond}. Jack attended Gympie State High School, winning a scholarship to attend the University of Queensland. There he gained a Bachelor of Engineering. In 1926 he received first class honours in Civil Engineering, and the following year he received the Walter and Wliza Hall Engineering Fellowship, studying water supply and sewerage in the United States. 1928-29 he attended Harvard Engineering School and received a Master of Science Degree of Engineering with the highest place in the examination. He graduated in 1933 with a Master of Civil Engineering.

Their wedding was held at the residence of Archbishop Duhig with only relatives and a few intimate friends attending. The bride was unattended, and after the ceremony the bridal party, and guests, numbering 20 lunched at the National Hotel.

Una was the mother of 4 children, was a member of the International Phonetic Association, Licentiate and Fellow of Trinity College, London, and an Associate and Licentiate of the Art of Speech, Australia. In 1954 she was elected the only women member of the Board of Literature Review. Una was adjudicator at eisteddfods in Brisbane and Sydney.

Sadly Una and Jack went their separate ways. Una lived to the age of 95, passing away on the 9th February 1999. 

This story was written by Lyn Fleming and it appeared previously in The Researcher of June 2016.

Sources: Trove; Ancestry; Dictionary of Biography