Social life of the Hughans in Noumea

In his book, Patrick O'Reilly dedicated some time to detail the involvement of the Hughan family in the local community. As I have previously mentioned, I have absolutely no understanding of the French language, and the vast tracts of O'Reilly's book that I have typed into 'babel fish' for conversion to English have only served to muddy the waters further! I have been able to uncover a slight story that makes sense amongst all of the 'gobbledegook', and that story is as follows:
Phoebe Hughan, Allan's wife, was described as being a good musician and artist in 'washed water colour'.She was a dedicated Protestant woman, and since at that time in Noumea there was no minister, she was responsible for the religious instruction of her daughters.
One of the neighbours of the Hughans, Mrs Martin ( a direct descendant of James Paddon, the first European settler of Noumea) was delighted to be able to send her two small daughters, Elisabeth and Bella, along to the Hughan home for instruction from Phoebe alongside Ruth, Minnie and Aline.
Another resident of Noumea,Miss Fernande Leriche, recalled how each Sunday she would witness "a good lady with greying hair" reading a chapter of the Scriptures to the five young girls who would be sitting before her in a half circle, seriously following the reading in their bible. The scripture explanation given, one girl would sing a canticle and one finished by a short prayer given in English.
Miss Leriche also recalled that Mrs Hughan was musician and her husband, a local photographer, played the flute. Husband and wife made their living and supported their small family with the product of their lessons. When Mrs Hughan could not give a lesson, her husband replaced her and played the air on his flute.
Miss Leriche also commented on the School of Arts and its activities, which included meetings and the monthly organisation of a ball : " Nothing grand and formal:a family evening which completed on the stroke of midnight, at the latest one hour of the morning. In turn, the youths played the piano, while the parents exchanged ideas.People danced the valsait, the polka and quadrilles. Everyone was equipped simply! It was not question of the satin or velvet which are of rule today. The muslin was enough, and with each meeting, one changed the ribbons and the artificial flowers and, after a skilled use of iron and a serious starching, our dresses, took again a new youth. Sandwiches and cakes were home made, and the youth was encouraged to make them."
To fund raise a little money, the School of Arts would give a concert or perform a theatrical evening. The programme for one of those performances, dated February 8, 1879, reveals that a concert was held in one of the the warehouses of the Stilling family, street of l' Alma. The performers were as follows:
Piano overture Semiramonde: Mrs and Miss M. Hughan.
Carnovale chorus: Misses E. Leoni, Hughan, Stilling, Lomont, B.Paddon, L. Taylor, Mrs. Quarrel Shilling.
Scene of Julius Ceasar: Brutus: Mr. Ponder, Cassius M.A Dufty
Duet with the piano: Miss Stilling and Miss Hughan
Duet: flute and piano: Miss Hughan and Mr. Hughan etc Mrs Hughan served also to accompany other performers.
Miss Leriche wrote, in French: "Les filles sont elevess chez les Soeurs de Cluny avec Sophie et Maeva de la Richerie, les enfants du gouverneur, avec Elisabeth et Belle Martin-Paddon, les petites filles du premier colon caledonien.”
Via the Babel Fish translator, we get from this "The girls are high in the Sisters of Cluny with Sophie and Maeva of Richerie, the children of the governor, with Elisabeth and Belle Martin-Paddon, the little girls of the first colonist Caledonien."
The 'Sisters of Cluny' refers to the Catholic Convent school that was conducted at Noumea by the Sisters of St. Joseph Cluny, who were also responsible for looking after more than 200 women Communard prisoners.I take Miss Leriche's statement to mean that the Hughan girls attended the Convent with the daughters of Noumea's "upper class" society, such as it was in the 1870s.
Miss Fernande Leriche was 92 years old when she died in Noumea in August of 1967, and her death brought to an end the line of direct descendants of English pioneer James Paddon.
O'Reilly reports that Allan Hughan was a Freemason.."Like a very good colonial subject of Queen Victoria, Hughan was a Freemason,a registered voter with the local Cabin, but an affiliated cabin has an English rite, differing from the French."
O'Reilly comments on the differences between the English and French Masons, stating that the English sometimes would meet for banquets, and the children would help to decorate the tables, and that family dances would also be organised.
It was also the role of the children, at the time of burials of fellow Freemasons, to furnish with mourning veils the metal suns, the fixed stars and all attributes and symbolic emblems on the white leather of the collars, badges and aprons. During these ceremonies, the members mutually covered their badges while repeating: "Brothers, let us cry! Let us cry our brother!" O'Reilly commented that "one appreciated very much the fact that the Lodge bore the load of the expenses of the funeral of one of its members.”