The Australian Women's Register

Nina Bills was the daughter of Albert Henry Bills and Hilda L’Estelle (nee Nankiville). She had one sister, Winsome Francis, and two brothers, Gordon Henry and Alan Maynard. Gordon contracted diphtheria at the age of seven and passed away in 1913. Nina had her own brush with serious illness when she contracted polio at the age of two. She continued to use a walking stick most of her life.

Nina was educated at Broken Hill High School before moving to Adelaide to attend the Presbyterian Ladies’ College, and finally Adelaide University. On her return to Broken Hill she became a journalist for the Barrier Daily Truth, and wrote the regular social page under the pen name ‘L’Estelle’. She reported on many and varied social events including the Movie Star look-a-like competition. Nina also produced the weekly page for women, covering engagements, weddings, births, fashions and art. She broadcast on subjects of local interest at the ABC (2NB) radio station on Friday mornings.

In the late 1930s, Nina and her sister Winsome opened a florist shop, Thelma, but closed in 1941 when Winsome was expecting her first child. Nina married James Robert Adam on 12 March 1943 at the Broken Hill Registry Office. They had two children: Jeanette Margaret (born 1947) and James Alexander (born 1949).