Elsie was the sixth child of George William and Johanna Studd.
She was born in the old Studd house on George Charles and Victoria's
property, just out of Amphitheatre.
Records show her enrolled at Avoca State School in October 1909,
her father being a miner.
She married Albert Poole in 1948 at St John's Church of England,
Avoca and they remained in that house for the rest of their lives.
Elsie didn't get her driver's licence until she was seventy and
even then, didn't have a car. When she had to do any shopping, she
used to drive her Ferguson tractor from the farm into the
village (about 2 kilometres) along the Pyrenees Highway.
She was a real local identity.
tractor.jpg)
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Despite having
the Avoca River and Greenhill Creek flowing through the
area, the country is quite harsh, often dry, full of old gold diggings,
tailings and quartzite rock.
Elsie and Bert Poole worked very hard with their sheep, and they were
known to sleep overnight in the hay after hours of stooking the hay.
After Bert died in 1967, she continued to run the farm virtually single
handedly until she died in 1979.
One of her great-nephews, Tom Wakefield, took over the property and
is still there with his wife Barbara and their children. The history
of the property itself is still being researched.
Sources: Mary Dridan, Amphitheatre resident
Avoca & District Historical Society