Harmer (nee Wallbank), Mrs Winifred Mary
Pupil teacher: Newtown, Tempe, and St. Peters Public Schools
Winifred Mary Wallbank was born in 1882, only child of Joseph Wallbank and Amelia nee Butler, and grew up in Marrickville. At age 15, she began as Pupil Teacher at Newtown Public but after her father's death in late 1898, was moved to Tempe Public. This was closer to home, but still a significant walking distance, 'no conveyance being of any use to her'. In 1900 she suffered acute pharyngitis which was ascribed to prevalent fogs in Tempe, and her doctor suggested she be moved to a school 'on higher ground'. She consequently spent her final Pupil Teacher year at St Peters, then passed an examination for Training School admission, but failed to gain a scholarship so applied to teach at a small school.
Mundawaddera Provisional and Merton Public School
In April 1902, Winifred, now 20, was appointed to Mundawaddera, south-west of Wagga, on an annual salary of £88. In 1903, with her practical skill rated as 'Tolerable to Fair', she attended a classification exam in Wagga but her results were deemed insufficient. Despite this failure, she was subsequently appointed to Merton Public (in the Forbes district) as relief teacher for two months.
Old Jeremiah Creek Public School
In January 1904 Winifred was appointed to Old Jeremiah Creek as the school reopened after a fifteen-month closure. Later that year the results of her 1903 classification exam were reviewed, and she was awarded a qualification. She appears to have settled readily to her new position while still returning to her mother's home in Sydney during vacations. In 1905 she was allowed to hold a picnic 'in order to commence a school library', although her coincident request to hold a dance was denied. Later that year a parent complained Winifred lacked control over the school children but an investigation showed this charge was unsubstantiated, and that all other parents supported her school management.
In 1906, Winifred made an unusual request to the Department asking 'to erect a room 20ft x 10 ft in a corner of the playground' at her own expense, and pledging to remove it when she left the school. This request was approved, the building's purpose being to provide lodgings for her widowed mother who was in declining health and had been advised to leave Sydney. In December 1906, a week before her mother ultimately died, Winifred married local station hand John Joseph Harmer. She resigned from teaching on 31 January 1907, having completed ten years' service.
Later life
After marriage Winifred lived in the Yass area then moved to Wee Jasper as her husband became manager of Cooradigbee station. In November 1917, now with four children, she was employed as an 'emergency (war service) teacher' at Wee Jasper Provisional School. Despite indicating her willingness to continue in the position, Winifred's services were terminated after two months when a married male teacher was appointed. By 1928, Winifred and her family had moved to Cavan where her husband firstly managed Salt Box station, then Sugarloaf. Winifred died in 1957, aged 75, having been widowed four years earlier, and was buried in Yass General 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, and 'Early Education and Schools in the Canberra Region', (1999) by Lyall Gillespie.]
Schools
- Wee Jasper
11/1917 - 12/1917