Jean Helen Stewart was born on 21 October 1898 in Bundaberg, the fifth child of James Stewart and Eliza Cleaton Wilding. She married Walter John Limpus at St Andrews Presbyterian Church, Bundaberg, on 8 August 1925. They remained married for 64 years, and had two children, Allan and Colin.
Sunnyside Croquet Club
Jean joined the Original Sunnyside Croquet Club in the late 1920s or early 1930s, and was club president by 1936. When the club needed a new home in 1939, Jean and Walter's connections with the Mayor of Bundaberg secured what is now the Sunnyside Club's Thompson Park site; Jean lent the club interest-free funds to build a clubhouse there. She served as club president in 1939-43 and again from 1948 to 1964 and 1967-68, and was club champion in 1934 and across many further years through to 1970.
State and national roles
Jean was Queensland Croquet Association State President in 1973, 1974 and 1975, and went on to serve as National President and as Patron of both state and national croquet.
Playing career
Jean's interstate record was, at the time of writing, unmatched by any other Sunnyside club member. Highlights across a long playing career include:
- Won the President's Trophy interstate series, 1939
- Queensland State Team member across many years, including as Captain in 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967 and 1974, winning the A.C.C. Cup in Adelaide (1963) and Perth (1960)
- Australian Doubles Championship, Adelaide, 1963
- Gibson Gold Medal, 1963
- Queensland Singles Championship, 1965
Jean was also instrumental in organising the first Sunnyside Tournament, now the biennial Burnett Tournament held jointly between the Sunnyside and Bundaberg clubs.
Beyond croquet
Jean also competed at Bundaberg Bowling Club, winning local and state competitions, and was an active CWA member, contributing to the war effort during WW2. She died on 14 October 1988, aged 89, and is remembered through the Sunnyside-donated Jean Limpus Memorial Trophy (2nd Division, State level).
*Special thanks to Allan Limpus, her son, for supplying personal details of her life. Author: Chrissy Wellborne, Secretary, Sunnyside Croquet Club.*