Rosslyn Blay nee Smith, was born in Parramatta on the 13 February 1920 in Harris Street Parramatta near the Gas Works Bridge. Years later in A Living History of Parramatta she described her home:
“Our house was opposite Cains Hotel and a row of two storey terrace houses occupied mostly by people of aboriginal descent. They were good neighbours and in times of sickness offered to help with the shopping etc.”
She first attended school at Parramatta South Infants in Macquarie Street:
“I was five years old. The Headmistress was Miss Margaret Swann, a kind and talented lady who lived at Elizabeth Farm, the former home of Elizabeth and John Macarthur, in Alice Street, the oldest residential building in Australia.”
Rosslyn was later educated at Parramatta South Primary School and then at Parramatta High School:
“During primary school days, the highlight of the year was our sports day held at Cumberland Oval in Parramatta Park. We all practised our Maypole Dance for weeks and when the great day arrived, we turned up in our white dresses with our crepe paper jazz caps, different colours pointed at the top. Each team had a different colour”.
Rosslyn was only fourteen when she began working as a florist:
“My first job in 1934 was at Smith’s florist on the corner of Phillip and Church Streets. I was lucky to be selected from almost eighty applicants as this was during the depression. Sid Smith, the proprietor, was the son of J.B. Smith, who operated a produce store some time before on the south eastern corner of Phillip and Church Streets. Bruce Smith, son of Sid and Nell, a well-known Parramatta architect was also an Alderman on Parramatta City Council. …I was expected to wear silk stockings to work. These cost one shilling eleven and a half penny per pair (about one fifth of the weekly wage). You can imagine how the rose bushes and fruit trees played havoc with those silk stocking!”
Rosslyn continued working as a florist and at 21 years of age in 1941 she was the youngest florist in NSW to conduct her own business. The florist shop was in Argyle Street Parramatta.
On the 1 January 1942 Rosslyn married John Tilley Blay. Rosslyn’s parents James Bernard Smith and Rita Mary Pritoria Smith acted as witnesses. In A living history of Parramatta, Rosslyn spoke about her wedding day:
“The wedding took place on 1 January, 1942 at All Saints Church of England, Victoria Road, Parramatta at 4:00pm. The length of cream French brocade with a scattered palm leaf pattern was produced out of ‘the old oak chest’ by the bride’s mother who had always been an avid bargain hunter at remnant sales. Just as well, because at that time coupons were needed for any item of apparel or dress material. Many brides had to settle for something less than the traditional bride dress because of wartime rationing.”
All Saints church, side façade and tower.
Source: Community Archives Collection ACC002/074/064
As Rosslyn’s fiance John was enlisted in the 17 Australia Army, Service Number NX116224, the wedding preparations were fraught with anxiety:
“The first bride had two days honeymoon after a harrowing few weeks wondering if the groom would be in the locality for New Year’s Day for the wedding. The Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbour at the beginning of December and most units of the armed forces were being hurriedly packed up and moved to Northern Australia and New Guinea. Fortunately the groom made it up the aisle but then spent two years away very shortly after his marriage.”
After her husband’s return from the war, Rosslyn and John, who were known to their friends and the Parramatta community as Rossi and Jack, began their first joint florist business called Arcade Flowers in Parramatta Arcade. This arcade which was on the corner of Church Street and curved into Darcy Street was closed in 1985 and was replaced with the Connection Arcade in 1986. As this space quickly became too small for Rosslyn and John they moved their main shop to premises on Victoria Road, Parramatta before finally locating Arcade Flowers, now called Arcade Exclusive Flowers to 5 Smith Street Parramatta. Rosslyn and John kept a smaller store also called Arcade Flowers at the original location in Parramatta Arcade which was looked after by their friend Wendy Brown for over twenty years until its closure in 1985. Wendy then joined Rosslyn and John at their premises at 5 Smith Street. Rosslyn ran Arcade Exclusive Flowers at this location until her death in 1997.
Arcade Exclusive Flowers 5 Smith Street Parramatta.
Source: Parramatta CBD housing survey
Rosslyn throughout her career was also involved in many aspects of the floral industry. In 1956 she became the first woman to sit on the Board of Directors of the Interflora Australian Unit and in 1965 became its first female president. As a director for Interflora Rosslyn travelled extensively demonstrating and teaching floral art and in 1966 represented Australia at the World Interflora Flower Festival in the London Festival Hall. Rosslyn was also was an active member of the Horticulture Advisory Committee of the Department of Technical education as her most significant interest was in training other florists.
In addition to working as a florist Rosslyn was also active in Soroptimist International, an international organisation which offers professional and business women the opportunity to engage and contribute to community services both locally and internationally, using the expertise and experience they have acquired in their profession. Their objective is to encourage high standards of civic behaviour in both their business and professional lives. Today Soroptimist International has a network of around 72,000 club members in 121 countries and is a strong advocate for human rights and gender equality.
The Soroptimist International of Parramatta was chartered in 1953. Rosslyn was Charter President of the Parramatta Branch in 1953-1955 and 1971-1973. She was also President of the NSW Divisional Union 1973-1975. The Parramatta Branch of Soroptimist International celebrated many achievements whilst Rosslyn was a member. Some of the many achievements include: helping to supply equipment for a maternity wing of Parramatta Hospital; supporting the creation of the Parramatta Civic Centre; assisting schools with providing facilities; being responsible for the riverbank garden at Parramatta Riverside Theatres; publishing the book A Living History of Parramatta: A tapestry of life in the cradle city; helping to create Pecky’s Playground in Prospect to assist children with physical and intellectual disabilities and generously supporting the opening of the Children’s Hospital in Westmead.
Rosslyn’s contribution to the Parramatta community also included being President of the Parramatta Inner Wheel Club in 1962; Vice President of the Parramatta Trust in 1975 and a member of the Advisory Committee for International Women’s Year in 1975. She also edited and contributed significantly to two books on Parramatta history, Women of Parramatta and A Living History of Parramatta.
In response to Parramatta Council's community consultation for the naming of reserves, and to acknowledge the enormous contribution Rosslyn had made to the Parramatta community, it was put forward that an unnamed reserve at 51A Grose Street Parramatta be named Rosslyn Blay Park. The nomination was made by Matron Betty Margaret Schofield who had been a Matron and Director of Nursing at Parramatta Hospital for almost twenty years from 1966 to 1981.
The Geographical Names Board proposed the name on the 24 December 1997 and it was officially assigned on the 13 February 1998.
Rosslyn Blay Park – Fenced District Playground, North Parramatta. Source: ParraParents
Rosslyn had lived at 47 Grose Street Parramatta, close to where Rosslyn Blay Park is now located, with her husband and three sons throughout the 1940s and 1950s until they moved to 4 Barry Road, Kellyville in 1957. Rosslyn and her family remained in Kellyville until her death in 1997. Rosslyn died on the 23 January 1997 two days before the Australia Day Awards were announced. She was awarded the OAM on Australia Day for sixty years of commitment to the Parramatta community. A year earlier in 1996 she had received the Parramatta Senior Citizen of the Year Award. Rosslyn’s funeral service was held on the 29 January at All Saints Church of England where she and John had been married in 1942. At the conclusion of the service the cortege proceeded to the Castlebrook Crematorium on Windsor Road in Rouse Hill.
Caroline Finlay, Regional Studies Facilitator, Parramatta Heritage Centre, City of Parramatta, 2021
References:
Blay, R (Ed.). (1977). Women of Parramatta. Parramatta: Ladies' Auxiliary of the Parramatta Trust, pp. 103-104.
Blay, R. (Ed.). (1992). A Living History of Parramatta: A tapestry of life in the cradle city. Parramatta: Soroptimist International of Parramatta.
Ancestry.com. Australia. (2010). Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
Ancestry.com. Sydney, Australia, Anglican Parish Registers, 1814-2011 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
Flower era comes to end. (1985, December 18). The Parramatta Advertiser, p. 33.
National Trust of Australia. (2000). Parramatta CBD housing survey. Parramatta: The National Trust of Australia.
Soroptimist International of Parramatta. (VF 1122). Heritage Centre Research Library Vertical File Collection.
Soroptimist International. (2021). Soroptimist International is a global volunteer movement. Retrieved from https://www.soroptimistinternational.org/
Women’s club leader supports Civic Centre Plan. (1962, August 8). The Cumberland Argus. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131330543
Mayor praises work of Parramatta Soroptimists. (1956, June 6). The Cumberland Argus. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131390324
Party a gem for businesswomen. (1993, June 23). The Parramatta Advertiser, p. 18.
Geographical Names Act 1966 (1997, December 24). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article231954990
Geographical Names Board. (2021). Rosslyn Blay Park. Retrieved from https://proposals.gnb.nsw.gov.au/public/geonames/7ebcbb6e-2b3e-4ac4-908b-6c7be91493e7
Blay, Rosslyn Lydia Mary OAM. (1997, January 25). The Sydney Morning Herald, p. 79.
Tributes flow for ‘Rossi’. (1997, February 5). The Parramatta Advertiser, p. 23.