General News
11 March, 2025
'Girl in Red' found
Two weeks ago, the Warracknabeal Herald we featured the story of a handpainted 255-panel patchwork quilt being returned to Rural Northwest Health (RNH).
The item had been in storage for almost 20 years, and etched in history on the quilt were the names of families from Warracknabeal.
The story caused Wimmera Mallee News staff to look further into the creator, known as the "Girl in Red".
Here's what else we found.
Nita Rossyln was born in Manchester, England.
She started her adventures on her bike in 1930, biking around Britain, with just five shillings to her name.
In March 1935 she began to conquer New Zealand, staying with residents and meeting the mayor of each town she visited.
She performed on stage in theatres in these towns, singing in different languages, playing a banjolene and sharing her stories.
As she travelled, curiosity followed her, with questions about her age, her name, her journey and even if she had an extra uniform or washed and wore the same one over and over.
In December 1935 Nita fell off her bike, suffering confusion and concussion, and as she lay in hospital rumours swirled about the Girl in Red, making her more mysterious.
With plans to travel Australia and Tasmania, Nita left New Zealand in 1936 and seemingly vanished before popping up in Queensland.
Nita met Frederick Freestone Phillips, a 44-year-old farmer and World War I veteran, and in 1939 they were married.
She died in 1978; Frederick four years later.
In a memoir of her travels, Nita wrote: "I have had accidents, a broken jaw and head injuries. I have been without food for two days; I have cycled 105 miles in a day and gone straight onto the stage to earn my way.
"For the first few weeks I suffered agony from cramped limbs, and often I had to be carried from the meal table because my legs had locked; but now I'm remarkably strong.
"However, I've met all sorts of people – sometimes distinguished people in mansions, sometimes poverty-stricken people in the slums, and I've enjoyed it all immensely."
Nita's famous bike now hangs on display in the Hervey Bay Historical Museum and her quilt is on show at Yarriambiack Lodge.