Hill (nee Ryan), Mrs Mary Ann
Family background
Mary Ann Hill was born in Binalong in 1871, fifth of ten children to bootmaker Michael Ryan and Honora (Nora) nee Mahoney. The family experienced the adversity of several infant deaths, then the collapse of their boot-making business in 1877. These misfortunes were followed by Michael Ryan's death in 1882 after undergoing surgery for 'dropsy'. By this time Mary's older sister Margaret had been accepted as a Pupil Teacher, progressing to teacher of a small school in 1884, which presumably gave some economic assistance to the family. In 1886, when Mary was eleven, her mother remarried but this unfortunately increased the family's trials as her stepfather was regularly in Gundagai court on charges including drunkenness, indecency, assault, and animal cruelty.
Bulga Hut Provisional School
In 1890 Mary, now 19, was accepted to teach in a small school and soon appointed to Bulga Hut near Gundagai South. (Her sister Margaret meanwhile was promoted to a city position, and ultimately had a 47-year teaching career). Mary rented a house in Bulga Hut for herself and her mother, who was by then living apart from her husband, and appears to have settled to her duties without issue, although like most small schools, Bulga Hut was in poor repair. Attendance was also an issue with a number of parents apparently keeping their children home as helpers, although some absences were due to illness such as widespread influenza in November 1891 that kept all pupils away for a week, as Mary reported in a letter endorsed by her mother and a school parent.
In 1892 Mary applied to sit a classification exam but was told she had 'not shown the degree of practical skill necessary to warrant examination'. Not content to accept this rebuff, she applied for removal, arguing she was unable to achieve the required skills in her present situation due to the children's irregular attendance. Although a futile appeal, the episode is an indication of her resolve and self-advocacy, which she soon required to manage a major domestic problem, when her stepfather arrived in Bulga Hut 'under the influence of drink', threatening to kill her and her mother. Mary apparently confronted her stepfather, telling him to leave, and the police were summoned. When the case went to court, Mary and her mother testified to the man's recurrent aggression, and demanded he be 'bound over to keep the peace'. ['Gundagai Times and Tumut, Adelong and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser', 6 December, 1892]. Six months after this incident, attendances at Bulga Hut diminished with families moving from the district, and the school was closed.
Mooney Mooney Provisional School
Mary's next position was north of Gundagai at Mooney Mooney, where enrolment was initially so low that parents had to undertake to subsidise her salary to ensure a minimum of £72 per annum. Mary seems to have settled to her duties and in 1895 gained a classification by examination. In 1897 she married Rufus Hill, a farmer from nearby Coolac, then continued to teach at Mooney Mooney, although later that year she applied for a school in an area with a milder climate. Perhaps anticipating this request would not be granted quickly, she asked to use the old Mooney Mooney school building (then used as a weathershed) as a residence for as long as she remained in situ. When was approved, her husband fixed up the building to give them a home.
Over the next five years at Mooney Mooney, Mary gave birth to three children, returning to teaching after a month's leave each time. By mid-1898 enrolment had risen to 20, with 10 more pupils expected from a gold mining community nearby. By 1902, Mary and family had moved to a rented property in Coolac, so she travelled a significant distance to school each day. As enrolment gradually decreased, with an ensuing drop in salary, she again applied for a larger school and was eventually moved in 1904 as Mooney Mooney closed.
Toual Public School
Mary took charge at Toual (Nanima Creek) in February 1904, succeeding Minnie May Armstrong nee Young, but shortly after arriving, asked for removal as accommodation difficulties in Toual meant that she and her children were living in a tent. (Her husband appears to have continued farming in Coolac). Fortunately, Mary was soon offered three rooms to rent near the school. Less fortuitous was her subsequent discovery that regulations did not permit her to claim a rent allowance as this subsidy was only granted to married male teachers.
Despite accommodation costs, Mary remained at Toual for over three years, likely returning to Coolac during school vacations. In her first year she oversaw necessary maintenance including repairs to the school hearth and door frame, as well as levelling of the school yard. At the end of that year she had confinement leave, travelling to Cootamundra for the birth of her fourth child, then returning to teaching, only to be questioned by the Department over her delay in submitting attendance figures!
Mary's coordination of professional and domestic schedules does not appear to have caused problems with the Toual community where she was well regarded, as evidenced at an Empire Day school picnic where her courtesy and attention to the numerous visitors was applauded ['Yass Evening Tribune', 1 June 1905, p. 2]. By mid-1906, however, she was so unwell she required three months leave for 'general debility', Miss Ann Davis being appointed relief teacher in her stead. Mary again asked to be moved to a milder climate, but when this did not eventuate, resumed duties at Toual until April 1907 when she retired, having completed 17 years' teaching service.
Later life
Mary returned to Coolac where her family expanded in time with the birth of three more children. Her husband, who in later years took employment with the Gundagai Shire, eventually purchased a property where they lived until death, Mary dying in 1944, aged 72, outliving her husband by six years. She was buried in Coolac Cemetery.
[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, and 'Early Education and Schools in the Canberra Region', (1999) by Lyall Gillespie.]
Schools
- Gooda Creek
01/1897 - 04/1901 - Brooklands
04/1901 - Toual
02/1904 - 05/1907