Hazel Rose Telfer

Role: Daughter of Adam Francis Telfer and Margaret Dougal Telfer; youngest of twelve children

Born: 23 June 1891 — Tantanoola, South Australia
Died: 1939

Father: Adam Francis Telfer (1842–1925)
Mother: Margaret Dougal Telfer (1849–1936)
Spouse: Arnold Cuthbert Lawrie (m. 28 June 1924)

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Family

Relation	Name
Father	Adam Francis Telfer (1842–1925)
Mother	Margaret Dougal Telfer (1849–1936)
Spouse	Arnold Cuthbert Lawrie

Children

Child	Born
Barbara June Lawrie	1928
Malcolm Roderick "Rod" Lawrie	1931

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Life Summary

Hazel Rose Telfer was the youngest of twelve children of Adam and Margaret Telfer, born at Tantanoola on 23 June 1891. She spent her early years at "Edgerston" in Tantanoola, attending Tantanoola School.

When the family moved to Waverley Park, Hazel worked in city offices performing secretarial duties. She was a valued member of the Knightsbridge Baptist Church choir — a soprano with an extensive collection of music. She played the piano, studied singing, and was much in demand as a soloist at various functions.

Marriage

She married Arnold Cuthbert Lawrie (known as Cuth) on 28 June 1924. Cuth was the son of John and Elizabeth (née Nunan) Lawrie of Nelshaby near Port Pirie, a compositor in the printing trade and a skilled artisan.

During the early years of their marriage they lived in Adelaide, but the Great Depression forced them to leave the city and seek work in the country. They moved to Ceduna on the Far West Coast, where Cuth was employed at the gypsum works.

It was there, at the small bush nursing home in Ceduna, that their first child Barbara June Lawrie was born in 1928. Hazel's sister Elsie, a trained nurse, travelled to Ceduna to help her sister after the birth. Barbara was given the second name "June" because both her parents were born in June, they were married in June, and Barbara herself was born in June.

A second child, Malcolm Roderick Lawrie (known as Rod), was born at Rose Park Hospital in 1931.

As economic conditions improved, the family left the West Coast and moved to Murray Bridge, where Cuth resumed his trade as a compositor at the Murray Valley Standard newspaper. Both children started school at Murray Bridge Infant School, where Hazel was an enthusiastic member of the Mothers' Club.

(From the Borders to the Bush, pp. 279, 331–333)

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Sources

• Genealogy SA — Birth Registration `TELFER, Hazel Rose · 23-Jun-1891 · F · Adam Francis TELFER · Margaret McDougal TELFER · Tantanoola · District Grey · Book 483 / Page 22` (accessed 11 Sep 2026)
• Donald Telfer, From the Borders to the Bush (1986), pp. 279, 331–333
• D. Telfer, A Telfer Family Tree — Supplement (2008), entry 12: "Hazel Rose TELFER, b. 23 Jun 1891 Tantanoola, SA"
• A Brief Account of the First Members of the Telfer Family to Settle in South Australia (1986 reunion booklet)

Note on birthplace

From the Borders to the Bush (p. 331) gives Hazel's birthplace as Mount Gambier. The SA Birth Registration (483/22) and the 2008 Supplement both give Tantanoola, and her sister Adelaide Elsie Pearl's registration (442/344) confirms the family was at Tantanoola in 1889. The page follows the register.

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