Her family moved to Western Australia in 1904, and at different stages lived in Wongan Hills, Mundaring, Cottesloe, and Leederville during the first world war.
The town lies within the Mundaring-Kalamunda Important Bird Area, so identified by BirdLife International because of its importance as a non-breeding season roost site and foraging base for Long-billed Black Cockatoos.
The town of Southern Cross is one of the many towns which run along the Mundaring to Kalgoorlie Goldfields Water Supply Scheme engineered by C. Y. O'Connor.