SKEWES, Stella Tabitha

Stella Tabitha Harris was born on 11th June 1912, having three older brothers.  She lived in Corbett Street, Ballarat East, and attended the Queen Street State School, as did her father before her.  Her father, Steven Harris, was a local miner but her mother was an English girl who had settled in Maryborough.  After leaving school Stella went to work at Owen's Sports Depot which had a warehouse and a shop on Armstrong Street and a factory on Little Bridge Street in the vicinity of the Elderly Citizens Club.  The sport's debut manufactured such games as Snakes and Ladders, Ludo, Draft Boards, and School Paper covers.  She worked here for approx. ten years before moving to work for two brothers, Vin and Harry Armstrong in Main Road in a similar role.  

The family was very church-oriented, being staunch Baptists.  She joined a Church Club, the 'Social and Literary Society' which had scripture readings and socials with other similar clubs and she was in the Church Choir, as were two of her brothers and her father.  The Baptist Church was opposite the Convent of Mercy.  Stella attended church all her life.  During the Depression Stella was the victim of a very sad occurrence when her then-boyfriend whom she hoped to marry was killed by a fall of earth at White Flat, he was 23.

Stella married Owen Skewes at the age of 26 and they purchased a house on Victoria Street.  Owen served in the Air Force, he had worked at the munitions factory at Maribyrnong before joining up, previously being an ambulance driver. Amazingly, during the Depression he rode his bicycle to Mildura, sleeping under trees beside the road en route to pick fruit, and then he rode home again to Ballarat.  Owen later worked for Electrolux and then for Godfrey's. He passed away in February 2000.

Stella died at the age of 92 on the 23rd August 2004 and is buried at the Ballarat New Cemetery with her husband Owen in Lawn F Row 51 Grave 21.

This story has been written using information collected from the book Recollections.