Born at Aberdeen, a district of Burra, South Australia, Eva was the daughter of John Roach and his second wife Jane (Silver). She was the younger sister of Hilda Roach (q.v.). Little is known of Eva other than what can be pieced together from her family history.
Eva's grandfather John was a mill-owner at Aberdeen. After the death of her grandfather in 1881 his sons maintained the mill for a while, but when they eventually had to close it Eva's father and his family moved to the city. In 1888 he established the stockbroking firm Roach Brothers in Adelaide. Their daughter Vera Gray, was born at Glenelg in 1889 and another, Phyllis, died in infancy. The family later lived at 'Widcombe', 12 Collins Street, Collinswood. John was a very popular figure, and the community was shocked when, in 1916, he committed suicide, apparently depressed by a crash in the stock market.
Electoral rolls of the period show that Eva lived at 'Widcombe' with her mother and her two sisters, Hilda and Vera Gray. She ran a riding school. From 1958 to 1960 the house was listed in the S. A. Directory under her name. She died at home and was buried in the North Road Cemetery.
