Editing Ada Cambridge (section)

==Life==
Ada was born at [[Wiggenhall St Germans|St Germans]], [[Norfolk]], the second child of Thomasine and Henry Cambridge, a gentleman farmer.<ref>Brighton Cemetery</ref> She was educated by [[governess]]es, an experience she abhorred. She wrote in a book of reminiscences: "I can truthfully affirm that I never learned anything which would now be considered worth learning until I had done with them all and started foraging for myself. I did have a few months of boarding-school at the end, and a very good school for its day it was, but it left no lasting impression on my mind." (''The Retrospect'', Chapter IV). It was an unmarried aunt who contributed most to her intellectual development.<ref name="Barton (1988) p. 134">Barton (1988) p. 134.</ref>

On 25 April 1870, she married the Rev. George Frederick Cross and a few weeks later sailed for Australia. She arrived in Melbourne in August and was surprised to find it a well-established city. Her husband was sent to [[Wangaratta]], then to [[Yackandandah]] (1872), [[Ballan, Victoria|Ballan]] (1874), [[Coleraine, Victoria|Coleraine]] (1877), [[Bendigo]] (1884) and [[Beechworth]] (1885), where they remained until 1893. Her ''Thirty Years in Australia'' (1903) describes their experiences in these parishes. She experienced lost children to [[whooping cough]] and [[scarlet fever]].<ref>Morrison (1988) p. xxvii.</ref>

[[File:Grave of Ada Cambridge (1844–1926) at Brighton General Cemetery.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Cambridge's grave at Brighton General Cemetery]]

Cross at first was the typical hard-working wife of a country clergyman, taking part in all the activities of the parish and incidentally making her own children's clothes. Her health, however, broke down, for a number of reasons, including a near-fatal [[miscarriage]] and a serious carriage accident, and her activities had to be reduced, but she continued to write.

In 1893, Cross and her husband moved to their last parish, [[Williamstown, Victoria|Williamstown]], near Melbourne, and remained there until 1909. Her husband went on the retired clergy list at the end of 1909 with permission to operate in the diocese until 1912. In 1913 they both returned to England, where they stayed until his death on 27 February 1917. Ada returned to Australia later that year. She died in Melbourne on 19 July 1926, and was buried at [[Brighton General Cemetery]]. She was survived by a daughter and a son, Dr K. Stuart Cross.