O'Donnell, Mary Ann
Background
Mary Ann O'Donnell was born in Ireland c1865 and came to Australia as a young woman, living in the Gundaroo area before commencing a thirty-seven-year teaching career.
Early career in small schools
In September 1886, 20-year-old Mary Ann took charge of Mooney Mooney near Coolac, which had opened earlier that year. Eighteen months later she applied to resign, but withdrew this request as enrolments increased, remaining another six months. In 1889 she was appointed to Merrill Creek near Gunning, replacing Ellen Clark (nee Maher), whose departure was prompted by ill-health due to a six-mile walk from lodgings to school. Mary Ann found she faced the same arduous trek and soon became unwell and asked for removal.
Bedellick Public School
In January 1890 Mary Ann began at Bedellick near Hall, pending appointment of a qualified teacher. In September she applied for a water tank, stating that the children, many of whom walked over three miles to school, 'suffer greatly... especially during the hot weather'. While her request was ultimately successful, it took a year to complete installation of the 400-gallon tank, with delays in the approval process compounded by issues with the contractor's work.
In 1890 Mary Ann, still unqualified, was told she needed to improve her pupils' attainments if she hoped to retain her position. Although she pledged to make 'strenuous efforts' to bring the students 'up to the standard', her practical skill was still deemed insufficient a year later, so she was not allowed to attend a promotion examination. By this time, she had left her accommodation near the school after a disagreement with her landlady, Mrs Southwell, and was lodging in Hall which she found 'very inconvenient' so asked for removal, but was unsuccessful. In early 1892 she faced a different challenge when a parent complained she kept irregular school hours, a charge she denied, adding that the particular parent had 'annoyed' her to such an extent she had 'been advised to enter an action against him'. The local inspector could find no foundation for the allegations, which he believed stemmed from sectarian sentiment, but was forced to hold an inquiry to disprove the charges.
By mid-1892 Mary Ann was lodging at the Ginninderra Police Station with Sergeant Loughlin and family (including daughter Elizabeth who subsequently became a teacher). Mary Ann now had a six-mile ride to school and stated she could not afford the horse food cost, so renewed her application for removal. Although her appeal was marked for consideration, she was not offered an alternative position so repeated her request over the next year, adding that her health was declining due to often getting wet on the long daily rides, ultimately declaring, 'I don't know what I shall do if my health fails entirely ... all my people being at home in Ireland'. Shortly after this she was transferred.
Toual Provisonal School
Mary Ann's next position was at Toual near Murrumbateman, commencing May 1893 as the school was converted from half-time. After a year in charge, she was permitted to sit a classification exam but failed. Later that year she became so ill with influenza that after travelling to Yass to see a doctor, she needed to convalesce in a hotel for two weeks before returning to Toual. In 1895, after enduring two years accommodation in a small unventilated room '5ft in length, 8ft in breadth and 6ft in height', she applied for removal but there were no alternate appointments. Despite her challenging circumstances, a few months later she passed a classification exam, this success perhaps sustaining her through several weeks of illness due to 'heart weakness, consequent on influenza'. She spent this time in Sydney on doctor's advice, but once back at Toual, indicated that having 'worked up' the attendance she would remain until a position in a warmer climate became available.
Boambolo Provisional School
After another year at Toual, Mary Ann was moved to Boambolo south of Yass, but after twelve months asked to move to a larger school as befit her qualification. Soon after this, attendances were greatly reduced as two families left the district, so Boambolo closed.
Warraderry Public School
In November 1897 Mary Ann was appointed to Warraderry near Grenfell, which had only a small enrolment despite being classed a Public School, and had been closed two months for want of a teacher. Shortly after arriving, Mary Ann advised she was unable to find accommodation closer to school than four miles and her health would not permit her to walk that distance twice daily. (There was apparently a small room attached to the school but as this was in a forest at least a mile from the nearest house, it was not deemed a suitable option for a woman.) Her health soon deteriorated and she closed school to go to Grenfell for medical treatment. The local inspector, when asked to investigate, stated Warraderry residents believed a male teacher more suitable and would 'make small effort for a (female) teacher's comfort'. Mary Ann was promoted to a larger school soon after, with Warraderry being her final small school appointment.
Late career
Mary Ann's next position, commencing 1898, was as Assistant Teacher at Woodburn Public School in the Northern Rivers region, the promotion increasing her salary from £72 to £104 p.a. She seems to have ably managed the transition from the autonomy of a small school to working under authority of a Principal Teacher in a school of nearly 100. After a year she requested a move to the South Coast, and in 1899 was appointed Assistant Teacher at Moruya Public School, where she taught for three years, travelling by steamer to Sydney, her designated 'home', during holidays. She eventually requested removal to the city, and in 1902 was appointed to Riverstone Public School in Western Sydney where she taught six months before gaining a position at Leichardt Public School, and was soon after promoted for good service. She continued in large city schools for two more decades, working in turn at Camperdown, Balmain, Pyrmont, Castlereagh Street, William Street, Paddington, Crown Street, Albion Street, and finally Randwick Public School, her salary increasing over time to £126 p.a. In her later years she experienced several episodes of ill-health, diagnosed as 'cardiac debility ... resulting from rheumatic fever'. Mary Ann retired in 1923, age 58, having completed 37 years' service across 20 schools.
Later life
Mary Ann died six years after retiring while in care at Rydalmere Hospital, seemingly still without family in Australia, and was buried in an unmarked grave in the Catholic portion of Rookwood Cemetery ['Sydney Morning Herald', 1 June 1929, p. 16].
[Biography prepared by Joanne Toohey, 2025. Sources consulted include NSW school teachers' rolls 1868-1908, NSW school and related records 1876-1979, historic newspapers, NSW births, deaths and marriages index, and 'Early Education and Schools in the Canberra Region', (1999) by Lyall Gillespie.]