by Narissa Phelps for the Lennox Wave

Lake Ainsworth, our renown local landmark, was named after James Ainsworth. Whilst much has been written about James, his wife Christina is less widely acknowledged. Who was Christina and what was life like for one of the earliest European women in the North Creek district?

Christina Williams was born in Sydney in 1847, the daughter of convict Henry Williams and his second wife Elizabeth Taylor, a free settler. In 1851, the couple made their first north coast home at Cumbalum, where they were the first settlers of the Emigrant Creek area. There were no facilities in the area at this time, and the family lived in a rough shelter whilst Henry engaged in cedar cutting.

In 1863, aged just 16, Christina married James Ainsworth. 1867 the couple selected 50-acres of land which ran from North Creek Road to Seven Mile Beach. Christina’s North Creek home would initially have been a small slab hut of just one or two rooms. With only occasional access to supplies, self-sufficiency was essential, so Christina would have grown vegetables and fruit for her family. James worked as a cedar cutter whilst Christina raised a family of fourteen children, between 1864 and 1890. The hardship of rearing such a large family in an infant settlement warrants our utmost respect. Christina was not immune to the heartbreak of losing children, so common in these early years. Florence died aged 10 months (1874), Roy aged 6 months in 1891 and the following year Henry died at the age of 27. The family would not have been alone in their loss for, despite the relative isolation of these early years, communities supported each other and each resident was well known, even if contact was irregular.

In retirement, in the closing decade of the nineteenth century, James and Christina retired to Ballina, where they remained until their deaths. James died in 1924 and Christina in June 1926 aged 79 years. She left behind 57 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.

Christina Ainsworth in her later years. Photo courtesy of Reminiscences. Ballina in the Early Days. 1987.