Rita Mills Explained
Rita Mills |
Birth Date: | 25 August 1935 |
Birth Place: | Naghir Island, Torres Strait Islands, Queensland, Australia |
Death Date: | December 2004 |
Death Place: | Cairns, Queensland, Australia |
Genre: | Folk |
Years Active: | 19752001 |
Associated Acts: | Mills Sisters |
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.
Rita was one of the Mills Sisters with her twin sisters Cessa and Ina.[2] All three sisters sang, and Rita played guitar in their band.[3] After the twins retired in 1996, Rita continued her solo career.[4]
After she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2000 she moved to Cairns,[5] 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)
Further reading
- Web site: Rita Mills . Deadly Vibe . 29 November 2007 .
Notes and References
- News: Sunday Herald Sun. 11 March 2001. Rita calls it a day, at last. Stewart, Paul.
- News: Australian Associated Press. General News. 28 March 2003. Better late than never for Uncle Seaman. Baker, Jordan.
- The Australian, 13 December 2004, "Trailblazer sang Torres on to map" by Steve Connolly
- Australian Associated Press General News, 28 March 2003, "Better late than never for Uncle Seaman" by Jordan Baker
- News: The Australian. 8 September 2001. Northern Delights. Pryor, Cathy.
- News: Cairns Post. 31 August 2001. Sunnies select Cairns.
- News: The Australian. 13 December 2004. Trailblazer sang Torres on to map. Connolly, Steve.
- Web site: Tributes for Mills Sister . . 8 December 2004 . 26 April 2022.
- Web site: Torres News (1957-2015) available online . . 3 October 2019 . 30 April 2022.
- Web site: Rita Mills . . 30 April 2022.
- Web site: Message Stick - Frangipani Land Forever . . 9 March 2015 . 30 April 2022.