ROSE HARRIS  1885  -  1977

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The Queensland Times in September 1927, published a biography on the famous lady saddler Rose Harris. It stated:

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An accomplished boxer, tennis player, swimmer, and rider; as skilled with a mandolin as she is with the organ or piano; the heart and soul of every local movement that requires organising and administrative ability; a saddler who makes her own living at the trade—such is Miss R. Harris, known to everyone in Clermont, Queensland, as "the Rose of Clermont," and the heroine of the great 1916 flood. You may pass by her father's shop in Clermont any day in the week, and find her plying her trade as a saddler, and a very proficient one, too. She can make a set of harness throughout, and holds numerous prized for her exhibits at local shows. It is nothing for her to counterline about 200 saddles a year. She was destined for the teaching profession, but preferred her father's occupation. Boxing, swimming, riding, tennis, and club-swinging are but few of her sporting accomplishments. As a boxer she gained considerable prominence, and her services were always in demand by the youths of Clermont who desired a friendly spar— and they learnt to respect her knowledge of the fistic art. On one occasion her brother could not get a suitable opponent to spar with in preparation for a fight with the notorious Dummy Winters, but Miss Harris came to her brother's assistance, and in the end he wondered who should really fight Winters!

SEVERAL BLUE RIBBONS. As a horsewoman she has few equals. In the good old days of the Peak Downs shows her services were always availed of. She has won for several owners numerous blue ribbons, and has, on a couple of occasions, been declared the champion lady rider of the show. Of late years the woman rider is seldom seen in small towns, but in the country and on the small selectors' holdings it is not a rare sight to see women stock riders mustering and driving stock. When nine years old Miss Harris rode 18 miles a day to school. To cap these accomplishments Miss Harris is a very accomplished musician, playing the organ, piano, and mandolin. In amateur theatricals, too, she has filled important roles. Her organising ability is in most demand for charitable entertainments, and no annual race ball— the chief event of the year in western towns—would be complete without her services and presence. During the great war, Miss Harris was a devoted friend of the boys on "the other side." She handled a lot of correspondence and sent parcels regularly. Her kind actions were not forgotten when the boys returned.

ENDEARED TO THE TOWNS-PEOPLE. It was the Clermont flood of 1916—one of the greatest disasters in Australian history, when 70 lives were lost and damage done to property estimated at £10,000— that Miss Harris displayed heroism which has endeared her for all time to Clermont folks. Harris' shop was a two-storied building in old Drummond-street, and when 30in. of rain fell that night, and the treacherous creeks in the vicinity let loose their flooded contents, the water in the street rose to 11ft. 6in. The top portion of Harris' shop was just above flood mark, and Miss Harris and her father saw persons being swept down the street in a raging torrent running between 50 and 60 miles an hour. At considerable risk Miss Harris swam through the flooded portions of the shop and collected halters and ropes. Forming the halters and ropes into lariats, Miss Harris threw these from a balcony to persons who were being swirled down the street. On occasions she lashed herself to one end of a rope and swam out and rescued others. By this means the lives of five were saved. Alongside her, doing similar work, was a Chinaman, named Wing Long, a brave man, who proved that there is no such thing as Chinaman's luck. He rescued nine people, but in attempting the tenth was swept away and drowned. Such is the career of Rose Harris, a noble woman, and a typical Australian.

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As a result of a devastating fire of which Miss Harris lost all her possessions except for a few saddles and some clothing, it was reported in the Central Queensland Herald, Thursday 15 July 1948, that Miss Rose Harris will, recommence her saddlery business soon. Miss Harris is proud, of the fact that this business was commenced by her late father in Drummond Street in the old town of Clermont. After the flood of 1916 the building was re-erected in the new main street, and the business has been conducted by the Harris family for over 50 years. It is the oldest established business in Clermont which has remained in the family since its foundation. The people of Clermont and district are organising a fund to extend to Miss Harris a small measure of assistance in her loss in the fire.

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It says a lot of Rose's popularity when dozens of former Clermont residents said hello to the 66-year-old heroine of Clermont in Brisbane yesterday, as reported the Courier Mail on 5 March 1951.

They waited at Eagle Farm to see her as she .passed through to New Zealand on her first holiday in 23 years. She is Miss Rose Harris— 'The Rose of Clermont.' The greetings were brief as she had only a few minutes to transfer from one plane to another. Miss Harris became known as 'The Rose of Clermont" when she saved five lives in a 1916 flood which drowned 70 Clermont residents. Clermont is 228 miles north-west of Rockhampton.

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After a lot research, and numerous articles read about Rose, it has become quite clear that it is extremely possible that her birth date has been incorrectly recorded on her gravestone. Too many stories contradict the registered birth date of 1895, and it is believed that her true birth year is 1885.

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Another amusing story connected to Rose, is that the census records have her down as a male, as the recorders must have thought it impossible for a woman having a trade as a saddler.

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Clermont was very proud of this lady, and they named a major park in their town "Rose Harris Park", a tribute to her bravery in rescuing her fellow drowning townspeople in the 1916 floods.

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