Thanks Sue. I don't actually have details of the 1881 census for Alma but I have her in the 1861 and 1871 aged 6 and 16 respectively so 26 is right for 1881. She married Bernard Arthur Craine 3 Sept 1881 and the copy I have of the marriage although indistinct in places clearly shows her to be 35. Bernard is 32. They have 2 children I know of Robert Edward b22 October 1882 and Dorothy b7 Nov 1885. she then disappears completely and the children seem to be brought up by Bernards sisters. Now she seems to have made a reappearance in NSW!
I have been sent a transcription of the death cert of the person she married in NSW and it states they had no children. It was his second marriage and he already had a large family. However on the passenger lists she is recorded as being 20.
In the 1911 census days before Bernard Arthur's death in Ramsey Cottage hospital, he says he has been married for 38 years and had 4 children only 2 of whom lived. The years don't fit here either.
What a tangled web!