Young (Mrs Armstrong), Minnie May
Family background
Minnie May Young was born in 1877 on Duntroon estate near the Molonglo River, eldest of eight children to carpenter Frederick John Young and Charlotte Amelia nee Webber, daughter of Queanbeyan's Chief Constable. The family moved to Queanbeyan around 1889 where Minnie subsequently passed an examination enabling her to become a Pupil Teacher.
Pupil Teacher: Queanbeyan Public School
In October 1892 Minnie, aged fifteen, commenced as Pupil Teacher at Queanbeyan which then had an average attendance of 180 managed by headmaster, James Dunlop, an Assistant Teacher, and two Pupil Teachers. Mr Dunlop had responsibility for ensuring Minnie taught full-time and received guidance in class management, as well as monitoring her rigorous homework course in preparation for examinations. In an early report he stated Minnie had excellent moral character and 'as a teacher ... gives great promise'. Over the next four years she passed annual exams without issue, advancing to Pupil Teacher Class I by December 1895, bearing out Mr Dunlop's opinion of her potential. She required a couple of periods of sick leave during her training, firstly for mumps and then for influenza, but largely maintained good health even though epidemics regularly affected the school, such as measles, which in 1893 'prevailed for 5 or 6 weeks ... (and) kept nearly all the children away'.
In 1895 Minnie experienced the gravity of childhood illness first hand with the death of her five-year-old sister due to 'congestion of the brain' and dysentery, then widespread in the district. In the same year she was involved in an issue at school when a parent called for Mr Dunlop's removal, charging him with publicly insulting a fifteen-year-old student (the complainant's daughter). The Department held an inquiry, taking evidence from staff and students, while the wider Queanbeyan community, showed support for Mr Dunlop in a petition attesting to the headmaster's 'ability, conscientiousness and judgment'. Ultimately it was decided the evidence was not sufficient to substantiate the allegations against Mr Dunlop, but he was warned about his use of 'opprobrious terms'.
When Minnie completed her training at the end of 1896, she sat an examination for admission to the teacher training school in Sydney, but was unsuccessful. She then continued at Queanbeyan as an ex-Pupil Teacher while awaiting employment in a small school.
Toual Provisional School
On 6 August 1897, Minnie began duty at Toual (Nanima Creek), a mining area near Murrumbateman. While a previous teacher had experienced issues obtaining suitable accommodation, Minnie had no difficulty lodging near the school with widow Elizabeth Armstrong, who had agitated for Toual's teacher vacancy to be redressed. A few months later, Minnie requested minor repairs to the relatively new Toual school building, including window panes, a window fastener and chimney whitewashing. By April 1898, enrolments had increased sufficiently for Toual's conversion to a Public School and Minnie, although unclassified, was recommended to continue in charge at an annual salary of £88.
While Minnie seems to have settled into her position at Toual, she experienced several health issues over the next few years. In 1899 she had leave for 'Neuralgia, Gastric Catarrh & Debility', which included recovery from the removal of ten teeth. In 1900, she wrote from Yass Hospital to request leave, 'suffering from Suppuration of the Middle Ear & (mastoid) Abscess'. Then in 1903 she had a 'severe attack of Neuralgia, and Hysteria' for which her doctor recommended 'a fortnight holiday'. This remedy seems to have produced a return to good health as a few weeks later Minnie married farmer Thomas Armstrong, (son of her landlady), notifying the Department of her desire to retain her teaching position. At the beginning of 1904, however, Minnie resigned having completed eleven years' service.
Later life
After resigning, Minnie and her husband remained in Nanima Creek nearly two decades, where their eight children were born, then moved to Boorowa. Sadly, Minnie died in 1927, aged 50, after a brief illness, her death likely 'accelerated by a severe fall'. Her obituary recounts her skills as church organist, and her generous efforts on behalf of community groups including the Country Women's Association; the Girl's Friendly Society; the Parents' and Citizens' Association; and Boorowa Hospital Committee. ['Queanbeyan Age Canberra Advocate', 19 July 1927, p. 1]. One of Minnie's sons became a teacher the year she died, his long career ultimately culminating in school inspector.
[Biography prepared by Joanne Toohey, 2024. Sources include NSW school teachers' rolls 1868-1908, NSW school and related records 1876-1979, historic newspapers, NSW births, deaths and marriages index, probate documents, 'Early Education and Schools in the Canberra Region' by Lyall Gillespie (1999), and 'Biographical Register of Canberra and Queanbeyan 1820-1930', compiled and edited by Peter Procter (2001).]
Schools
- Toual
08/1897 - 01/1904