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Rita Mills

Rita Mills
Born25 August 1935
Naghir Island, Torres Strait Islands, Queensland, Australia
DiedDecember 2004
Cairns, Queensland, Australia
GenresFolk
Years active1975 – 2001

Rita Mills (25 August 1935 – 8 December 2004), also known as Rita Fell Rita Tyrell, and Rita Fell-Tyrell, was an Australian singer from the Torres Strait Islands. She was one of the band the Mills Sisters.

Biography

Mills was born in 1934 on Naghir Island in Torres Strait.[1] She lived on Thursday Island, and during World War II was temporarily evacuated to the mainland.[2]

Rita was one of the Mills Sisters with her twin sisters Cessa and Ina.[3] All three sisters sang, and Rita played guitar in their band.[4] After the twins retired in 1996, Rita continued her solo career.[5]

After she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2000 she moved to Cairns,[2] retiring in 2001[6] and she died on 8 December 2004.[7][8]

Personal life

As of 1970 she was married to Jack Fell.[9] She was later also known as Rita Tyrell[10] and Rita Fell-Tyrell.[11]

Discography

  • Blue Mountain (1999)
  • Mata Nice (2001)

References

  1. ^ Stewart, Paul (11 March 2001). "Rita calls it a day, at last". Sunday Herald Sun.
  2. ^ a b Pryor, Cathy (8 September 2001). "Northern Delights". The Australian.
  3. ^ Baker, Jordan (28 March 2003). "Better late than never for Uncle Seaman". General News. Australian Associated Press.
  4. ^ The Australian, 13 December 2004, "Trailblazer sang Torres on to map" by Steve Connolly
  5. ^ Australian Associated Press General News, 28 March 2003, "Better late than never for Uncle Seaman" by Jordan Baker
  6. ^ "Sunnies select Cairns". Cairns Post. 31 August 2001.
  7. ^ Connolly, Steve (13 December 2004). "Trailblazer sang Torres on to map". The Australian.
  8. ^ "Tributes for Mills Sister". The Age. 8 December 2004. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Torres News (1957-2015) available online". State Library Of Queensland. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  10. ^ "Rita Mills". AustLit. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Message Stick - Frangipani Land Forever". ABC Commercial. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2022.

Further reading
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