Women of Courage

Elizabeth Maslen was 38, working as a dressmaker, when she married George William Heilbronn in Childers, Queensland in 1909. He was 37 and a miner when they married. Elizabeth was the daughter of John Henry Maslen a sugar grower from Marlborough, near Childers. Her mother was Ann nee Abbot. Ann had been married previously to Thomas Black who died in 1865. There was one child of that first marriage. Maria Black was born in 1866 so was close in age to the Maslen children and Maria and Elizabeth formed a lifetime bond.

William was the son of John Heilbronn and his wife, Mary Bailey nee Illidge. George was the second youngest of this family of 18 children and his father built an inn in an area that became known as Widgee Crossing. This is where George had spent his childhood working on a farm in the area which was known as Muckleston Farm.

George and Elizabeth set up home in Violet Street in Gympie and George continued mining to support his bride. Their union was blessed with a son, Eric George, born in 1913. Elizabeth would have been entitled to expect that her life would be relatively comfortable. George’s large family were involved in several businesses in Gympie and perhaps this is what prompted George to give mining away and go into business for himself. This would ensure a more regular income and the work was not as dangerous.

In 1913, George purchased a rundown butcher shop in Duke Street from cattle baron William Ellworthy and proceeded to renovate it into a grocery store. The doors of the store opened in 1915 and Heilbronn’s Friendly Grocers soon became a thriving business. This success was to be short lived. On 23rd of January 1923, George was so severely injured in an accident involving a horse he did not survive. The death certificate does not indicate the involvement of the horse only the injuries that George received. Elizabeth was now a widow with a ten year old son and a business for which she was responsible.

Elizabeth’s half sister Maria Black (known as Blackie) had been living with her since approximately 1919. Together the two sisters came up with a plan to save the business for Eric to inherit. She could have sold the shop, at this point, but was obviously determined not to lose it from the family. She and Maria would work together, Elizabeth running the shop and Maria looking after the house and helping raise Eric.

This arrangement continued until Eric came of age and joined his mother in running the store and, in 1933, it became known as EM Heilbronn and Son. Eric would later expand the store by purchasing the stables next door and renovating the living quarters at the back.

Elizabeth died in 1950 and is buried here in Gympie with George. Maria had died in 1939 having given so much to her sister and nephew. Elizabeth would not have been able to preserve the inheritance for George without her assistance. The story of Elizabeth’s courage and resilience is quite well known but the contribution of Maria is often overlooked.

The story of these two remarkable women is very much woven into the fabric of our town and is remembered in the store which still bears the Heilbronn name.