Mahala Kent (1833-1902)

Mahala Kent was born in 1833 in Essex, England, the 6th known child of Thomas Kent and Sarah Ruffell. Her father was a mariner, and her siblings were Sally, William, Jane, Mary & Thomas.

The family lived on East Street in Wivenhoe. Down the road boarded a William Mills, who Mahala succumbed to the charms of. He had been a soldier in the Sihk Wars in India and now had an apprenticeship as a shipwright which he had begun before joining the military. He worked for twelve hours a day from 7am to 7pm for 7 days a week for 1/- per day. The couple were married in the church at Wivenhoe in 1854. They were given a part of the Old Garrison House as a bridal home and they eventually had 14 children. Mahala had a very fine contralto voice, which was used to advantage singing both as a soloist and as a chorister in the Wivenhoe Church and the Colchester Cathedral.

With the phasing out of wooden ships and the introduction of steel hulls, William's shipwright skills were not in great demand. By 1878 he was listening to the overtures from his brother George, who had migrated to South Australia some time earlier, and who was prepared to act as a sponsor for William and his family to move there too.

Australia
In October 1878, part of the family set out from Wivenhoe and travelled by train to Portsmouth where they boarded the ship Woodlark on 8th November 1878. They arrived in South Australia on 21st February 1879. It is likely that the family was first housed with brother George and that William worked with his brother as a carpenter until he could move into a home of his own. Mahala and the girls contributed to the family's support as seamstresses. William seems to have retired early, as later documents change his occupation from shipwright to 'Gentleman'.

Mahala died in 1902 at Stepney, aged 69 years. She was buried in the Paynhem Cemetery, and William was later buried with her.

Children

 * colspan="3" bgcolor="#FFfce0" style="color: #000000;" |Children of William and Mahala Mills
 * colspan="3" bgcolor="#FFfce0" style="color: #000000;" |Children of William and Mahala Mills