Julia Farr
Julia Warren Farr née Ord was an English-born South Australian philanthropist.
History
Julia was a daughter of Major Robert Hutchinson Ord, whose family were associated with Greensted Hall, Essex, and his wife Elizabeth Ord. She was young when her parents died and she and her siblings went to live with an uncle.She married Rev. George Henry Farr, Vicar of St. Wenn's Church in Cornwall, in 1846 after a four-year engagement, the delay being occasioned by her uncle's disapproval, the Ords being Plymouth Brethren and in much wealthier circumstances.
In 1854 George Henry Farr was offered the position of headmaster of St Peter's College, Adelaide, which he promptly accepted, hoping the drier climate of South Australia would improve his wife's delicate health. George and Julia, their six-year-old daughter Eleanora and Julia's half-sister Edith Bayley sailed to South Australia aboard Daylesford, arriving in Adelaide in July 1854 after a long four-month voyage during which an outbreak of measles affected the children, the ship ran out of provisions, and the captain, missing the entrance to Gulf St Vincent, nearly ran the ship aground at the Murray Mouth.
Their first few weeks did not augur well for life in the new colony: the ship's Adelaide agent had gone broke and the captain had to borrow money from passengers before he could continue to Melbourne. The only transportation they could find at the port was an old cart that broke down in Hindley Street and the women had to put up for the night at a temperance hotel. The next day was Sunday and Julia Farr and Edith Bayley were expected at the 11 am service at the College chapel, but they could not find a cab and had to walk the two miles of what must have been rudimentary, and possibly muddy, tracks in their best clothes. The Farrs' accommodation was not yet habitable and they had to board with Mrs Baye, the college matron.
Farr assumed responsibility for running the boarding school for the College, overseeing the dairy and poultry that supplied the kitchen.
Philanthropy
Farr was concerned at the plight of orphaned girls who had been committed to the Adelaide Destitute Asylum, an unsatisfactory situation in many ways. She organised a group of like-minded friends and founded the Church of England's Orphan Home for Girls. Located near the corner of Carrington Street and East Terrace, previously a German hospital, it opened in October 1861. The all female founding committee consisted of Millicent Short, Mrs. Jane Kent Hughes, Lady Amelia 'Emily' Grace Cooper,, a Mrs. Prankerd, Stuckey and Farr.The girls were looked after, fed, clothed and educated to the age of 14, then most found employment as servants to middle-class households. The first secretary of the Home was H. Kent Hughes, and matron Mrs. Sarah Birt. The Home was relocated to 588 Fullarton Road, Mitcham in August 1909, after the management of the home bought the residence of T. O'Halloran Giles. The Home was renamed Farr House in honour of Julia Farr 1935 and closed in 1982.
Farr was also concerned with alleviating problems for people with intractable physical problems, and set about establishing the Home for Incurables. A committee was formed in 1878 and a house on Fisher Street, Fullarton was purchased. Over the years, as demand increased, new buildings were added, and wings were appended to those. A section of the complex was demolished in 2011 and some retirement homes were built on that piece of land.
Julia Farr died at her residence on Barnard street, North Adelaide, after an extended period of ill-health. She is buried with her husband at North Road Cemetery, Nailsworth.
Her daughter Julia, granddaughter Mary Clift, and great-granddaughter Joan Clift followed her in succession as committee members of the Orphan Home.
Other interests
The Farrs purchased a property near Tea Tree Gully and built there a holiday house, dubbed "Brightlands". Dr. William T. Angove initially used Brightlands' extensive cellars to mature his wines before moving to the St. Agnes property.Recognition
- Each year the Annual General Meeting of the Church of England Orphan Home for Girls was held on 14 April, in recognition of her birthday.
- The Orphan Home for Girls at 588 Fullarton Road, Mitcham was named Farr House in 1935.
- She was accorded the privilege of, on 13 October 1906, laying the foundation stone of the new wing of the Home for Incurables at 99 Fisher Street, Fullarton.
- The Home for Incurables was renamed Julia Farr Centre in 1981.
Family
Julia Warren Ord married George Henry Farr on 5 February 1846. Their children included:- Eleanora Elizabeth Farr married Edwin Gordon Blackmore in 1872
- Mary Edith Patteson Farr married (William) Hey Sharp, later known as Canon Sharp, warden of St Paul's College, University of Sydney, on 17 June 1876.
- Lewis Henry Ord Farr married Mabel Beatrice Steward Bruce in 1901. He was a surveyor of Teatree Gully, later of Port Lincoln. He disappeared from the vessel Rupara, presumed drowned, while travelling to Streaky Bay on business. Suicide was not suspected. He had "a family of four or five children" including:
- Gertrude Margaret Farr studied art, exhibited at least once.
- Julia Coleridge Farr also studied art, became missionary on Norfolk Island. She was author of Early Days at St. Peter's.
Muriel was a daughter of Edmund Arnold Farr who married Mildred Elizabeth Booker on 25 April 1905; he was the eldest son of Joseph Farr of Kings Walden, Hertfordshire, and a manager at G. & R. Wills & Co., then partner Charles Birks & Co.
Edith Jane Stewart Bayley married George Wright Hawkes on 18 December 1854.