Myra Juliet Farrell
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Myra Juliet Farrell (also Myra Juliet Welsh and Myra Juliet Taylor; 25 February 1878 – 8 March 1957) was an Australian visionary, inventor and artist. Born in
County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...
, Ireland, she migrated to Australia as a child, growing up in
Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...
, travelled widely and settled in
Mosman Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governm ...
, Sydney. She held more than two dozen patents ranging from a military barricade to a press stud that could be applied without stitching. Myra Juliet Farrell was born on February 25, 1878. Originally from County Cork, Ireland, she was an inventor and painter that went by the names Myra Juliet Farrell, Myra Juliet Welsh, and Myra Juliet Taylor. Her father was Frederick Welsh, an engineer from a distinguished Irish family tracing its ancestry back to King William III’s chaplain. Her mother, Harriet (nee Dove), was born in Australia and moved to Ireland with her husband. Myra’s dad, shortly after they were married There were reports that her mother was an engineer as well, and this may have been where Myra got her inclination for creating new inventions stemmed from. Farell often looked for ways to simplify life and improve functionality from a young age. As she grew older, she revealed in interviews that her innovative ideas frequently originated from her dreams These inspirations would wake her up, and she would record them while half awake before they slipped away. Later, it was learned that she had a rare neurological condition called somnambulant writing, which allowed her to focus on an idea as she slipped into sleep. When she awoke, she would have an invention developed or problem solved by morning This aided her in having so many revolutionary inventions that are still in use today. One of her inventions was a corset without any hard stays. Many women in the 1800s and 1900s found corsets fashionable and wore them often, however, they began demanding change as they knew these corsets could cause damage to their bodies due to their tight fit and hard material Farrell knew about these health risks and wanted to fix this issue, so in 1911, she received an Australian patent for a new form of a corset that was equally as supportive but was washable and ‘boneless’. She sold these corsets around the world. Myra Farell originally created it to support women with scoliosis, but the corset grew in popularity amongst women who wanted to wear it for fashion While corsets have changed in design over time, she revolutionized the way women dressed forever by providing comfort and reducing the health hazards posed by corset garments. Farell had several inventions. In 1905, Miss Myra Welsh obtained a patent for her initial creation, which was a clever mechanical tracking device. This innovative machine had the ability to replicate sewing patterns of a fixed size from books directly onto fabric, while also allowing for adjustments in size. As a result, seamstresses and tailors could now produce custom-fit garments more effectively, ensuring they remained true to the original design. Another of her inventions aided in Australia’s war effort. This was her “stitch-less button”, known as the press-stud today, and her “stitch-less hook and eye.” This gave soldiers the ability to rapidly take on and off the now pull-apart fronts of their khakis. She also created a Defence Fence, which had survived the lengthy assessment process, from many culled entries, following the department’s shout-out for ideas


Myra's Background

Myra Farrell was born in Ireland on 25 February 1878 and was registered as Maria Julia, the third of six children of Marcus Frederick Welsh and Harriett Curtis (née Dove) of Scragh House,
County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...
. Farrell's family were
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
, descendants of the Reverend George, chaplain to
William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...
.Geraldton Guardian
Woman's Invention''
Saturday 17 July 1915 (retrieved 22 February 2014)
Many of her family were clergy, or military. They were major land-owners in County Clare, and many served as magistrates and as
High Sheriff of Clare The High Sheriff of Clare was a High Sheriff title. Records show that the title was in existence from at least the late 16th century, though it is not used today in the modern Republic of Ireland. The title existed within County Clare in the west ...
. Farrell's father travelled to New Zealand where he took part in the
New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars () took place from 1845 to 1872 between the Colony of New Zealand, New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori people, Māori on one side, and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. Though the wars were initi ...
and married Harriett Curtis Dove, the daughter of an engineer. Marcus Welsh then returned to Ireland with his wife, to take up his estate at Kilrush. The destruction of the Scragh House by arson caused the family to flee to their Studdert relatives who provided a home for them for several years in the ruinous
Bunratty Castle Bunratty Castle () is a large 15th-century tower house in County Clare, Ireland. It is located in the centre of Bunratty village, by the N18 road between Limerick and Ennis, near Shannon Town and its airport. The castle and the adjoining folk ...
. In the 1880s the family migrated to Australia, where Farrell's mother, Harriett Welsh, had been born, and where one of Marcus Welsh's brothers was already living. They disembarked in
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
and travelled north to
Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...
. Silver had recently been discovered to the west at Umberumberka. Marcus and Harriett established a school at the new town of Silverton and for a time had the author
Mary Gilmore Dame Mary Jean Gilmore (née Cameron; 16 August 18653 December 1962) was an Australian writer and journalist known for her prolific contributions to Australian literature and the broader national discourse. She wrote both prose and poetry. Gi ...
as their assistant. They then moved into Broken Hill and established St Peter's School, where Myra was educated. Harriett Welsh was particularly esteemed as a music teacher. Farrell's brothers remained in Broken Hill, while her sisters married and moved to Sydney and Perth.''
The Barrier Miner ''The Barrier Miner'' was a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Broken Hill in far western New South Wales from 1888 to 1974. History First published on 28 February 1888, ''The Barrier Miner'' was published continuously until 25 November 1 ...
'', Broken Hill, ''Obituary of Harriet Curtis Welsh'', 18 July 1913, (retrieved 22 February 2014)


Inventions


Method of working

Farrell's earliest ideas for practical inventions came to her as a child when at the age of ten she came up with the idea of a self-locking safety pin. She later described her lifelong method of working, in a newspaper interview. Farrell would perceive a need for a particular product, would think about it, and sleep on it. Farrell claimed that in her dreams she would see the solution to the problem in great detail, including the way in which the object should be constructed. She would get out of bed and write down the details of construction, or the formula of a medication. She wrote on whatever was near to hand, including sometimes the bed-linen or the wall, and her somnambulant writing was always right to left, rather than left to right. In the morning, she would copy it out, with the aid of a mirror. She also drew all the detailed diagrams and created the models for submission for the patents process.


Practical devices

Farrell's first patent was for a tailoring device that enabled a small skirt pattern in a pattern book to be transferred directly to a piece of cloth. Her inventions included a number of practical household devices including a folding clothesline for use in
flats Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Apartment, known as a flat in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), a two-dimens ...
. Her physical aids included a boneless
corset A corset /ˈkɔːrsɪt/ is a support garment worn to constrict the torso into the desired shape and Posture correction, posture. They are traditionally constructed out of fabric with boning made of Baleen, whalebone or steel, a stiff panel in th ...
for sufferers of
scoliosis Scoliosis (: scolioses) is a condition in which a person's Vertebral column, spine has an irregular curve in the coronal plane. The curve is usually S- or C-shaped over three dimensions. In some, the degree of curve is stable, while in others ...
, a brace for
hernia A hernia (: hernias or herniae, from Latin, meaning 'rupture') is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. The term is also used for the normal Devel ...
s and a device that effected a
facelift A facelift, technically known as a rhytidectomy (from the Ancient Greek () 'wrinkle', and () 'excision', the surgical removal of wrinkles), is a type of cosmetic surgery procedure intended to give a more youthful facial appearance. There are ...
by simple mechanical means. Farrell also developed a sling for carrying a baby, at a time when these were not in common use in Western countries. According to the author
Ruth Park Rosina Ruth Lucia Park AM (24 August 191714 December 2010) was a New Zealand–born Australian author. Her best known works are the novels '' The Harp in the South'' (1948) and '' Playing Beatie Bow'' (1980), and the children's radio serial '' ...
, this device promoted the comment from Americans that Australian mothers had learnt from kangaroos to carry their babies in pouches. Inventions for rural industry included an automated fruit picker and packer, and a device for sampling and weighing wheat. Farrell also invented the press-stud that can be attached to a garment without stitching, and the folding pram hood. By 1915 Farrell had 24 patented inventions.


Medications

While living in Broken Hill, Farrell suffered acute respiratory problems. She dreamt of the formula of an inhalation of which the properties of the various ingredients had the effect of cutting mucous, reducing inflammation and promoting healing. She manufactured tablets to this formula; they were burned in a clarifier and the fumes were inhaled. Farrell then met William Taylor, a young man from
Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...
in Scotland, who had come to Australia suffering from
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
. Farrell treated Taylor with her inhalant. He experienced a remarkable improvement, they were married in 1906, and he lived for another six years. Subsequently, the product was marketed as "Membrosus". Farrell also had great success with an ointment, known as "Myra's ointment", with which she successfully treated a woman who contacted her, suffering from a rare fungal disease of the skin.


Military aids

During World War I Farrell worked on the invention of a barricade that could repel ammunition and lessen the impact of shells. The
Australian Department of Defence The Department of Defence, also known simply as Defence, is a department of the Australian Government that is responsible for administering the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and its related entities, and is charged with the defence of Austra ...
took Farrell's plans for investigation, but whether the barricade was developed and utilised was not acknowledged. At about the same time, she developed a light that could be projected to a great distance. She initially saw its use as being for advertising purposes, but the military also took the plans and Farrell's prototype. The unconfirmed family legend is that the light was tested from the North Head of
Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a ria, natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane ...
, causing confusion to the crew of a vessel out at sea who mistook the beam for that of the South Head lighthouse.


Personal

Myra Farrell, then Taylor, was described in an article in the ''Western Age'': Farrell married twice, firstly William Taylor with whom she had children Lavie Curtis Taylor and William Paterson Welsh Taylor, and secondly William George Farrell with whom she had a son, the violinist George Harry Welsh Farrell.''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
''
Death Notice of William George Farrell
1 Jan 1947, (retrieved 22 February 2014)
After the death of her first husband in Adelaide, Farrell lived at various times in Western Australia and at Bondi in Sydney, spending her later life in
Mosman Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governm ...
. Aside from her inventions, Myra was a keen painter. Having learnt from an artist who painted stage scenery, she had a broad
Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
style using intense colours and with little mixing of the paint. All her known remaining works are small landscapes. Farrell was known in
Theosophical Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neo ...
circles and subscribed to the building of a
grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators, typically at sports stadiums and including both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium i ...
at
Balmoral Beach Balmoral is an urban locality in the suburb of Mosman in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is in the local government area of the Municipality of Mosman and is part of the Lower North Shore. The locality is mostly known for its beach, of ...
to witness the arrival of
Krishnamurti ( ) is a South Indian name. It has several variants. Variants Some forms separate the name elements , e.g. . English language renditions generally follow corresponding variations of the name in regional Indian languages. The following is a non ...
in Sydney. She financially supported the
utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...
n
William Lane William Lane (6 September 1861 – 26 August 1917) was an English-born journalist, author, advocate of Australian labour politics and a utopian socialist ideologue. Lane was born in Bristol, England into an impoverished family. After showi ...
in his enterprise to found an ideal colony in
Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
. In this she argued at length with Mary Gilmore, who also supported William Lane but was scornful of Farrell's religious ideology. She was regarded as an eccentric, even within the family. Her eccentricities included keeping the foot of an
Egyptian mummy The ancient Egyptians had an elaborate set of funerary practices that they believed were necessary to ensure their immortality after death. These rituals included mummifying the body, casting magic spells, and burials with specific grave goods ...
on the mantelpiece, where it gathered dust because the housemaid refused to touch it. It was thrown out with the garbage and was subject to a police investigation when it was discovered by the garbage collector. Farrell died at her home at Mosman on 8 March 1957.


Accolades

Myra Farrell was described in the ''
Geraldton Guardian The ''Geraldton Guardian'' is a newspaper that was established in Geraldton, Western Australia, on 1 October 1906 to serve the Victoria and Murchison Districts. It was launched on principles of liberal democracy, state rights, nationalism and B ...
'': The Western Age, Dubbo:


References


External links


Broken Hill Family History Group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Myra Juliet 1878 births 1957 deaths People from County Clare People from Broken Hill, New South Wales 20th-century Australian inventors Irish emigrants to colonial Australia 20th-century women inventors Australian women of World War I