Elinor Bell Clifton

Meet Elinor Katherine Clifton Snr. (nee Bell); a driving force behind the settlement of Australind.

Elinor was born in Wandsworth, England, in 1792, the daughter of Daniel Bell and first cousin of famous English activist Elizabeth Fry.

Described as a beautiful, tall, stately woman who, as a staunch Quaker, always dressed in black. In 1811, she married out of faith, choosing Marshall Waller Clifton, a staunch Church of England, as her husband.

Arriving at a tent in Australind was a considerable adjustment for a lady who had previously managed a stately home in London. Despite this, Elinor was determined to help her husband and her children succeed as pioneers and had a steadfast resolve to maintain her Quaker faith.

Elinor soon began holding Quaker Meetings and hoped many would join her. Though she failed to convert others, Elinor’s Quakerism was regarded as having had a positive effect on the settlement. She believed girls, as well as boys, were entitled to education, and her daughters were also instructed in the practical necessities of running a household and finances. She encouraged her daughter, Louisa, to provide lessons for the children at Australind, even though no permanent arrangements could be made.

Elinor continued to correspond with and host many family and friends from the eastern colonies and London, such as leading Australian artists Frederick Mackie and Robert Lindsay, who visited her in 1855.

Elinor died in 1866 and was buried in the Australind Pioneer Cemetery.

Elinor Bell Road is named in her honour.