Born at Mailors Flats in 1883, Minnie Horan was the sixth child of James and Mary Horan. By the time the family settled on their dairy farm at Alvie, near Colac, she was growing up in a lively household filled with brothers and sisters. More children would follow, and although two of the younger boys would later die, the Horan home was rarely quiet. There were cows to be milked, meals to prepare, younger children to watch over and countless daily chores that came with life on a busy farm.
As Minnie grew older, she became part of the team that kept the household running. Like her older sisters Annie and Margaret, she was expected to help wherever she could. What may have begun as ordinary family duties took on greater importance when her mother became ill with tuberculosis. As Mary Horan's strength faded, increasing responsibility fell upon the shoulders of her daughters. At just fifteen years of age, Minnie found herself helping to care for both her mother and her younger siblings during a difficult and uncertain time.
Then, only four months after her mother's diagnosis, tragedy struck again. In February 1899, Minnie herself began showing the symptoms of tuberculosis. For an active young girl accustomed to the freedom and work of farm life, being confined to bed must have been especially difficult. Her illness progressed rapidly, and on 17 March 1899, less than seven weeks after her mother's death, Minnie passed away.
The large crowd that gathered for her funeral reflected the esteem in which the Horan family was held and the sorrow felt throughout the district. Minnie lived only fifteen years, yet she is remembered as a daughter whose willingness to help others became most evident when her family needed her most.
Research by Jill Judd
Story by Lynne Johnston

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