Deasy, Margaret Ann
Family background
Margaret Ann Deasy was born in Braidwood in 1870, eldest of five daughters to policeman Luke Deasy and Ellen Mary nee Scott, both Irish immigrants. Like many teachers of her time Margaret began at a young age as a Pupil Teacher, but unlike most female teachers, she taught for fifty years, her career culminating in a decade as Headmistress in large Sydney schools.
Pupil teacher: Leichhardt, Plunkett Street and Braidwood Public schools
In July 1884 Margaret, aged 14, commenced in the Infants' Department of Leichhardt Public School. Four months later her father asked for her to be transferred to Braidwood, anxious to have her 'as near home as possible'. She was instead moved to Plunkett Street in Woolloomooloo, which at least shortened her daily travel from lodgings in Paddington. Fortunately, in mid-1885, having by now passed the first of four annual examinations in her Pupil Teacher course, a vacancy arose at Braidwood so she was moved. The following year however her practical skill was judged below standard so her promotion to the next level was deferred, but by the end of 1888 she had passed her final examination as a Pupil Teacher, then continued at Braidwood awaiting appointment.
Cooma and Queanbeyan Public schools
After several months Margaret was appointed temporary Assistant at Cooma although it was custom for ex-Pupil Teachers to be assigned to a bush school. She seems to have managed capably at Cooma although two months after commencing, a parent complained that she was administering corporal punishment herself rather than sending pupils to the headmaster, but an inquiry found the complaint unproven. She was next appointed temporary Assistant at Queanbeyan, where after six months the local inspector recommended her removal to a small school as she was 'not qualified ... to perform satisfactorily the duties of Assistant' according to Departmental regulations.
Brooks Creek Public School
In March 1890 Margaret was instructed to take temporary charge of Brooks Creek, the inspector presuming she would find the move satisfactory as it would increase her salary and bring her closer to her Braidwood home. After three days on duty she returned home to Braidwood for the Easter vacation, at the end of which she requested two weeks leave suffering from 'chlorosis', a form of iron deficiency. Although her illness was verified by a doctor, the main reason she remained in Braidwood appears to have been her extreme reluctance to return to Brooks Creek, telling a family friend, 'I don't think the Dept could have picked out a worse place all over N. S. Wales'. She applied to be removed to a position at a larger school (having avowed she would rather resign than 'go out into the bush to a small school') and complained that both the food and accommodation at Brooks Creek were 'such that I could not put up with them'. The local inspector, after investigating Margaret's representations, concluded she had portrayed the situation more negatively than it was. He was also concerned that her placement in a larger school would disadvantage teachers with prior claims. Nonethless, she was soon replaced at Brooks Creek by Eliza Kellet, and was then briefly assigned to the Parramatta Industrial School for Girls, an institution for children considered neglected, vagrant, uncontrollable, abandoned, or guilty of petty crimes (Dictionary of Sydney, dictionaryofsydney.org).
Hill End Public School
In June 1890 Margaret was appointed temporary Assistant at Hill End near Bathurst. Six months later she was successful at a classification examination so her position was confirmed. The following year she took leave to care for her father in Sydney after he had undergone a 'severe operation'. At the end of 1891 she applied for removal closer to Sydney in order to avail herself of greater educational opportunities as she was 'anxious to study' for a higher classification. In 1892 she reiterated her request and although it was recommended for consideration nothing ensued. In 1894, her fourth year at Hill End, she gained a higher classification by examination, then applied for promotion to the metropolitan district. At the same time her father requested her removal near Sydney as he expected to relocate there soon, stating that his circumstances had been 'considerably reduced', so it would be advantageous to him if Margaret could reside at home. Although this request was to be 'kept in view', it was another year before she was transferred from Hill End.
Metropolitan schools
After 11 years in country schools, Margaret received a position in Sydney. She was now 25 years old and would spend the next four decades in metropolitan schools, her annual salary increasing from £100 to over £400 by the time she retired, reflecting her increasingly responsible appointments as summarised below.
In June 1895 she was assigned to Willoughby Public, travelling each day from North Sydney where she lived with her parents and siblings. Within fourteen months, however, both her parents had died, so she became chief financial support for her younger sisters. In September 1896, after requesting a school nearer North Sydney as she found her daily travel 'fatiguing and injurious to health', she was transferred to Naremburn Public. In late 1900 she received a promotion for good service and was soon after appointed to Granville Public, where she remained eight years. In 1909 she was promoted to Crystal Street Public (Petersham), where two years later, having become run down, she reluctantly relinquished duty for a month – her first period of leave since 1896. A year later, evidently returned to full health, she was appointed Mistress of the Domestic Science Continuation School at Crystal Street, this role entailing executive duties as well as a teaching load. A year later, the Inspector of Continuation Schools declared Crystal Street 'our most successful Domestic School'. (The aim of Domestic Science schools was to continue girls' education after primary school, training them as homemakers and giving some preparation for employment prior to marriage).
Margaret's next appointment, commencing mid-1917, was First Assistant at Newtown Public, her salary having now reached £192 and her responsibilities including the oversight of Pupil Teachers in addition to teaching her own class. In 1920, now fifty years old and with 35 years teaching experience, she purchased a property in Manly with assistance from a bank mortgage, signifying her economic independence. Between 1922 and 1923, she was placed in charge of Newtown's Domestic Science School during the Headmistress's absence, and whilst granted a 'relieving allowance', she was expected to continue her duties as First Assistant as well as fulfil the Headmistress role. The strain of this time seemingly affected her health and at the end of 1924, she requested a month's leave, her first in fifteen years. During her leave period, she moved to the Newcastle district to live with a niece suffering ill-health. Rather than return to Newtown she then secured the role of Mistress of the Girls' Departments at Waratah Public (1 year), then New Lambton Public (3 years), her annual salary now £398. After her niece died in 1927, she returned to Sydney.
Margaret's penultimate position was Headmistress of the Girls' Department of Enfield Public. As with preceding executive appointments, her duties included ensuring efficient coverage of classes, dealing with parental complaints, approving staff leave, reporting playground incidents, ordering school equipment, arranging fee exemptions, managing school repairs, and teaching a senior class. In early 1930, as a result of turning 60, she was asked if she wished to continue teaching, to which she replied 'Yes', with the local inspector declaring her 'mentally and physically capable of satisfactorily performing' her duties, a process that was repeated annually until her retirement.
In January 1931 she was appointed Headmistress of the newly established Girls' Department of Manly West Public, her annual salary now £420. Her competence, affirmed by yearly appraisals, was also evident in her preparedness to teach classes of up to 70 students due to staff absences. As she approached her 65th birthday her retirement was approved effective 25 January 1935, after 50 years and 5 months' service. Prior to her departure the Manly West staff gathered for a farewell, with letters of praise from the Director of the Department of Public Instruction and the Chief Inspector read aloud. Her colleagues presented her with a 'cut-glass rose bowl and a pair of crystal vases, and a box of dainty handkerchiefs', as well as a 'magnificent floral basket'. Interestingly, in her response, she recounted 'some humorous incidents of her experiences as a young teacher in outback country places', time seemingly mellowing her recollections of the bush [Journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation, Vol.16, No.3, 1935, p. 3].
Later life
Two months after retiring, Margaret was able to discharge the mortgage on her Manly cottage, which was home to two of her sisters as well as herself, her role as chief support for her siblings continuing. Seven years later she died at this residence, aged 73, and was buried in Manly Cemetery with a sister who had predeceased her. She left her house and furniture, which included a grand piano, to her youngest sister, while the residue of her estate was shared equally between her two surviving sisters and two grandnephews.
[Biography prepared by Joanne Toohey, 2025. 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
- Brooks Creek
03/1890 - 05/1890