Morrrow, Maggie
Family background
Margaret Morrow (known as Maggie) was born in 1874 in Sligo, Ireland, second of six children to labourer John Morrow, and Mary Ann nee Hill. In 1880 the family emigrated to Sydney where John Morrow secured employment as caretaker of Long Bay Cemetery (now Randwick General). In 1885, Maggie's older sister, Anna, commenced as Pupil Teacher at Randwick Public School, but resigned three years later due to successive examination failures. A year later, Maggie gained a position.
Waverly & Randwick Public Schools
In March 1889, 15-year-old Maggie was appointed to the Infants Department at Waverly, receiving an annual salary of £24. Her position was confirmed after a few months in a report stating she was 'punctual, diligent and obedient', 'attentive to duty', and would likely 'make a good teacher'. Later that year she was moved to Randwick where she continued her training, gradually progressing through annual examinations. Meanwhile a younger brother, James, began as Pupil Teacher at Paddington, and both he and Maggie were recognised as qualified teachers when they finished training in late 1893, and retained by their respective schools.
In October 1894 Maggie's father died unexpectedly, leaving the family financially challenged. Her brother James took a position as teacher of a small school, while Maggie waited three years before applying for a similar situation. During this time, she attempted to improve her classification by examination but was unsuccessful. Nonetheless, in 1898 she gained a position in a small school and was farewelled by her colleagues who gave her a writing desk as a token of their esteem ['Daily Telegraph', 7 March 1898, p. 5].
Caulderwood Provisional School
In March 1898 Maggie, now 25, was appointed to Caulderwood near Jugiong. Various school repairs were recommended soon after her arrival, likely relating to an earlier windstorm that had 'unroofed half of the building' ['Cootamundra Herald', 27 November 1897, p. 5]. Maggie seems to have settled to her duties at Caulderwood where she taught for three years without issue (except repeated failure at promotion exams). Her health remained mostly good, despite outbreaks of whooping cough and influenza, the latter so severe the school was closed for two weeks. In early 1900 she took a temporary position at Bankstown South but resumed duty at Caulderwood after two months. Around this time, residents gave her a 'gold muff chain with pendant' as a token of esteem, and expressed the hope she would be at the school for some time ['Gundagai Times and Tumut, and Adelong and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser', 31 August 1900, p. 2]. Less than a year later, however, she was moved.
Gooda Creek Provisional School
In April 1901 Maggie was appointed to Gooda Creek near Jeir, but after six months she was promoted to a larger school.
Manchester Square Public School
In September 1901 she began as relief teacher at Manchester Square near Moss Vale, this position being made permanent after two months when the regular teacher was transferred. Over the next three years, Maggie was able to improve her classification, while encountering the regular challenges of bush schools. In 1903, the school was forced to close for several weeks due to whooping cough, with Maggie temporarily redeployed to Moss Vale, then Arina (near Picton). When Manchester Square was ready to reopen, she had great difficulty in securing lodgings, her previous accommodation being now unavailable, perhaps owing to residents voicing a preference for a male teacher. Eventually the local inspector intervened to arrange Maggie's accommodation.
Banks Meadow Public School
In October 1904, Maggie returned to Sydney, being promoted to Assistant Teacher at Banks Meadow (Botany), her annual salary increasing from £88 to £108. For the next year she travelled daily by tram from her Waverley home, then in December 1905 resigned, having completed 16 years' service.
Later life
A few weeks after resigning, Maggie married commercial traveller Alfred Henry Hockey. They initially lived in Sydney, then Molong, before settling in Orange, where they raised four children, and Maggie became 'one of the most valued workers for the Holy Trinity Church', ['Leader' (Orange), 10 April 1929, p. 1]. In 1925, she moved to Sydney along with her youngest son and her daughter, the latter taking a teaching scholarship at Sydney University, while her older sons remained with her husband, now a successful farmer and grazier. In 1929, after four years of ill-health, Margaret Morrow died at her Sydney residence, aged 56, and was buried in Long Bay Cemetery beside her father.
[Biography prepared by Joanne Toohey, 2025. Sources consulted include NSW school teachers' rolls 1868-1908, NSW school and related records 1876-1979, probate packets, historic newspapers, NSW births, deaths and marriages index, and 'Early Education and Schools in the Canberra Region', (1999) by Lyall Gillespie.]
Schools
- Gooda Creek
04/1901 - 09/1901