Annie Mary Christina Collins (1901 – 1981) known as Mollie Collins, was the first of eight children born to John Collins (d 1943 aged 67) and Anastasia (nee Conroy, d 1946 aged 63). After her school days at St Joseph’s Convent, in Araluen, Mollie left for Sydney in 1931 with ‘one of the largest and most representative gatherings ever seen in the Federal Hall’1Braidwood Dispatch and Mining Journal (NSW : 1888-1954), Friday 17 April 1931, p 3 held to farewell her.
Chris Woodland writing in the Tallaganda Times 2Chris Woodland, To the late Mollie Collins of the Araluen Valley, Tallaganda Times, Wednesday February 3 1982, p 4 details ‘Miss Collins’ own account of her earlier life :- I was born in Araluen, my lovely Valley of Peace in 1901. My father, John Collins, had a vineyard at Crown Flat, Araluen when he married my mother Anastasia Conroy, from Redfern Sydney… [then] my father went into cattle and dairying… Araluen cheese was famous and the lovely cows that produced the milk were valuable… [later] P.W. Tuesbury put Gold Dredges into the Araluen Valley. My father became his contractor. Dad employed three drivers, a groom and five wood choppers…. When the dredges closed down we went to Collins Tavern.’
Mollie was a determined person who fought many causes, and held strong opinions. In the mid 1940’s she decided that flowers were the inevitable choice after developing a passion for flowers in Araluen, and bought a florist’s business in Elizabeth Bay, Sydney.3Sun-Herald (Sydney, NSW : 1953-1954), Sunday 28 March 1954, p 28 She became the only woman foundation member of Inter-flora.
Mollie returned to Araluen in the 1960s and loved to call Araluen, the little spot of Australia dearest to her heart, ‘The Valley of Peace’4A Courageous Women and her Valley of Peace. Catholic Weekly (Sydney, NSW : 1942-1954), Thursday 19 April 1945, p 2. Her vision for the Valley was set out in the Catholic Weekly in 1945. 5Catholic Weekly (Sydney, NSW : 1942-1954), Thursday 19 April 1945, p 2 ‘She saw her valley irrigated, the farmers living in their own homes, a co-operative rural scheme, organised by the farmers and citizens of the valley, bringing prosperity and peace.’ Mollie started a Farm Mechanisation Scheme6Braidwood Dispatch and Mining Journal (NSW : 1888-1954), Friday 21 December 1951, p 1 which necessitated the formation of a Cooperative Society. At the time, there was only one tractor in the Valley, an old model Fordson, which had spiked metal wheels. Mollie was incensed at the eventual failure of the Araluen Cooperative Society. Among her many community achievements, Mollie was a founder of the Araluen Progress Association.7Catholic Weekly (Sydney, NSW : 1942-1954), Thursday 19 April 1945, p 2
Mollie ran the pub, which she would refer to as ‘My Father’s house, or the tavern’.8Chris Woodland. Araluen. A History through Photographs c. 1840 – 2000. Snap Printing, Williamstown, VIC. 2014. p 44 Jackie French writing in the Canberra Times in 1987 wrote ‘She only had the pub a dozen years; but her father owned it and she grew up there; a well-dressed lass with a determined chin that took her out of the bush to Sydney … 9Jackie French. The pub, the peaches and Molly Collins. Down in Araluen. Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995), Sunday 12 July 1987, p 22 When she had the bar a customer might get a three-hour saga of Araluen but not get his lips on a drink. He couldn’t get a word in edgeways to ask for one’.
Mollie Collins is now at rest at the Araluen Catholic Cemetery.10FindaGrave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/198538528/annie-mary_christina-collins. Accessed 27 Feb 2023