Matilda and Thomas had 12 children, of whom only five had children of their own; of these five, only Thomas de M. M-P and Lizzie Jardine had any grandchildren.

All four of Rosa's children predeceased her. The life of her only daughter, Maud, was especially tragic. It is no wonder that Rosa took to the popular fad of her era, spiritualism.

1. Matilda (Maud) Elizabeth Mackworth Praed (1874-1941), born 8 February 1874 at Rosa's family home 'Montpelier'.
Rosa Praed and her daughter Maud, aged ten months, Rockhampton, ca 1874, QJO.
Maud was known as clever and also appears to have been a talented artist - there is an attractive watercolour landscape in the NLA with a note on the back that it was 'Maud's'.¹⁾ She was also profoundly deaf, a disability that Rosa blamed on her syringing Maud's ears when she was a baby.²⁾ Mother-blame was strongly assumed when a child had health problems, and in one of her novels Rosa writes, 'My little girl is almost an idiot. She is deaf and dumb. They said - they said that it was because I had been unhappy [when pregnant]. I have suffered - I can't speak of it.' Later Rosa came convinced that Maud's suffering and later violence towards her was due to Rosa's sins in a past life in ancient Rome.³⁾ The reality was likely to be much more prosaic; that Maud's deafness was caused by measles or scarlet fever.⁴⁾

TLM-P visited 'poor dear little Maudie' when she was 8 years old and living in an institution which taught deaf children through lip reading. He described her as 'a nicely made little lady, with very quiet manners and an intelligent look… black eyes bright and loving and thick brown hair.' At this stage she was very loving to her mother. Seeing her and the others struggle to talk 'made poor Rosie and me sad, but Maudie is a darling little creature'.⁵⁾

In his will TLM-P tried to ensure Maud's future by stipulating that his legacy to Rosa would go to Maud on her mother's death. As with the other women legatees, this was to be 'free from marital control'. Maud was admitted to a private mental hospital in Bournemouth in 1900; tragically she remained committed within a hospital for the rest of her life, over 40 years. She died on 6 July 1941.⁶⁾ As Jessica White so eloquently writes, for Rosa the pain of her daughter's fate could not be expressed in writing: 'Rather, it could be heard only through a thunderous silence.'⁷⁾

It is unfair, but Maud Praed's life seems all the more tragic given she was, as shown here, a beautiful young woman.⁸⁾

The hospital case book for Maud suggests that she became paranoid after the death of her beloved father. On 28 September 1902 her hospital the notes stated that 'She informs me she is accused of killing her father & that the police are spreading reports of scandals about her - she cannot sleep & wishes to escape from the persecution'. She could lip-read and read writing, but could not speak very intelligibly, and suffered from various paranoia delusions and hallucinations. In April 1907 she was transferred to the private asylum St Ann's at Bournemouth.⁹⁾

Maud's story has recently inspired a 'creative non-fiction' book by Jessica White titled Hearing Maud (UWA Publishing, 2019).

2. Bulkley Campbell Mackworth Praed (1875-1931), born 6 December 1875, less than two years after Maud. Rosa, like her step-mother, did not welcome getting pregnant on virtually a yearly basis, with Nora writing to her that 'I am sorry at the hint you give of future expectations but you could not expect to go scot free'.¹⁰⁾ By the time Bulkley was born, the Praeds had abandoned their struggle to make a living on Port Curtis Island, and were living at Rosa's family home 'Montpelier'. Bulkley's birth certificate has one of the witnesses to the birth as 'Mrs Prior (Nurse)' - Nora?¹¹⁾ Buckley was the stereotypical responsible, sober eldest son - until he could take no more of the chronic, intense pain of terminal cancer. To end his suffering, Bulkley shot himself on 29 April 1931. Typically, Rosa saw herself as central, wondering what impact it had on him that, while she was pregnant with him, she was extremely distressed because baby Maud was 'so near death'.¹²⁾

3. Humphrey Praed (1877-1904), born in England, 9 May 1877. As was common for younger sons, he was sent to outposts of the British Empire to make his living. After an unhappy time in Western Australia, he moved to California where he was an assistant manager for a company that owned orange groves; he also bought his own orchard. He was a talented sportsman and a playboy: on 20 November 1904, taking an actress for a drive in his sports car (with his chauffeur in the back seat) in the early hours of the morning, there was an accident, and he died 'almost immediately', aged 24.¹³⁾

4. Geoffrey Praed (1879-1925), born in England, 19 December 1879. According to Roderick, he was the black sheep of the family. He ran away and enlisted to fight the Boers in South Africa; the family subsequently brought him home, provided him with an army commission and sent him 'to India to learn to be a soldier and a gentleman'. It is not sure if they succeeded, but he did prove to be a talented linguist so, against his will, was retained in India during the First World War until repatriated to England when he became ill. After the war, with a Major's pension, he returned to South Africa with the aim of becoming a big game hunter. He died in Rhodesia in September 1925 after a rhinoceroses, not appreciating that Geoffrey was the hunter and not the prey, charged and fatally wounded him.¹⁴⁾\\

See entry for More on Hervey M-P

1. Rosa Katherine Maule Jardine (14 March 1884-1973)¹⁵⁾. She was baptised at Rockhampton on about 16 June 1884 by the Rev. Diggins. Her aunt Rosa Praed was a godmother.¹⁶⁾

Rosa Jardine married dentist Dr Eric Frederic Molle (8 February 1879¹⁷⁾ - 28 January 1975¹⁸⁾) in 1912.¹⁹⁾ He served in the Boer War as a private in the 3rd Queensland Mounted Infantry, returning to Australia in 1901.²⁰⁾ In 1908, he was referred to as 'Lieutenant Eric Molle'.²¹⁾ He was prominent enough socially that the Brisbane newspaper reported the event when he spent a weekend at Southport.²²⁾ In July 1915, he was one of the first six dentists selected in July 1915 to form the Dental Corps of the AIF. By that stage he had qualified as a DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) from the University of Pennsylvania, USA.²³⁾ By November 1915, he was at Heliopolis Palace Hospital, Egypt.²⁴⁾ He rose to the rank of Major and was mentioned in despatches. In 1967, he was awarded an honorary membership of the Australian Dental Association (Queensland branch).²⁵⁾

He and Rosa had three children: John Macquarie Molle (2 February 1913²⁶⁾-60); George Jardine Molle (10 March 1915-1916)²⁷⁾; and Cynthia Mary Molle (25 July 1919²⁸⁾ - ?). In 1924, Cynthia's step-aunt and godmother, Mary Bundock, left her a legacy of £200. She was described in the will as the daughter of Eric Molle of Crescent Street, Hamilton, Brisbane.²⁹⁾ One source states she was an 'Aircraftwoman in the Women's Australian Air Force' during World War II, and married Wilton Cobb in 1940.³⁰⁾

2. John Lodge Murray Jardine (1 September 1888 - 29 July 1916).³¹⁾ When he joined the army, John gave his occupation as station manager. His photo (shown below) was published in The Queenslander Pictorial, 26 February 1916, p.23. In July that year, just 5 months later, he was killed in action at Pozières, France.³²⁾


3. Francis (Frank) Alexander Lascelles Jardine (14 February 1893 - 1950³³⁾ born at Albion, Brisbane. When he joined the army, his occupation was a 'mercantile clerk'. He enlisted in 5th Light Horse Regiment shortly after the outbreak of World War I and served at Gallipoli. He was wounded in action by shrapnel in his thigh, sent to hospitals in Malta then England before being invalided home in 1916, as medically unfit for further action.³⁴⁾

Frank Jardine married Madge Dorothy Ellen Blackman in 1924³⁵⁾; their son Murray Hugh Lascelles Jardine was born in Brisbane on 23 July 1925 and died c.26 October 2004. Murray Jardine reportedly served in the airforce during World War II. He married Alma Glenise Byrne on 3 June 1950 at St. Marks Church of England, Brisbane.³⁶⁾

See under entry for baby Egerton's father, Egerton M-P