Woodbridge, Mary
Family background
Mary Woodbridge was born near Young in 1883, sixth of ten children to farmer Daniel Woodbridge and Bridget nee O'Brien. In 1908, five months after the death of her mother, she began teaching.
Sapling Creek Provisional School
After a short-term appointment to Walla West in the Riverina district, Mary took up duty at Sapling Creek, near Laggan, where she would remain three-and-a half years, her annual salary rising over time to £96. In her second year, a resident removed his children from the school claiming 'they were in danger of their lives ... on account of the stone throwing'. He also alleged Mary took leave whenever she wanted, and demanded an inquiry be held. Other residents viewed the complaint as 'the outcome of cruel malice, bias, and selfishness', and stated that Mary had their 'undivided confidence and esteem for her earnestness and ability in the discharge of her duties & her worth as a citizen'. When the district inspector interviewed Mary over the alleged issues, she refuted the claim of stone throwing and justified her school absences. While the inspector was satisfied with her management, he was less convinced of the legitimacy of the absences and recommended she be censured.
While Mary received no further complaint in her ensuing years at Sapling Creek, she was occasionally forced to close school due to severe weather or ill health. She also struggled to gain a teaching classification, being twice unsuccessful at examinations. When she was eventually transferred from Sapling Creek, a male successor was advocated due to the 'roughness of the locality and the distance of suitable accommodation from the school'. In August 1911 she took up duty at Williamwood in the Camden district, her salary now £104, but her tenure lasted less than a year as enrolments fell below the minimum for a full-time teacher.
Gibraltar Provisional School
In May 1912 Mary was appointed to Gibraltar in the Tidbinbilla district, where as in all small schools, she regularly dealt with maintenance issues. Six months after arriving, the school roof was badly damaged in a storm and she deemed it unsafe to use the building so seemingly taught outside until repairs were completed almost two months later. Meanwhile she passed a promotion examination so her classification was raised, after which she began studying for further promotion. Although her attempts to obtain this while at Gibraltar were futile, her disappointment was perhaps assuaged by her pupils' success at examinations ['Young Witness', 9 March 1915, p. 2].
As Mary completed her fourth year at Gibraltar, she applied for removal closer to a township, noting that she was currently 20 miles from a railway, with the mail delivered only once a week. Her request was recommended, and she was transferred in July 1916.
Junee district schools
For the next five years Mary had successive appointments in the Junee district, beginning with Ivor. Having failed repeated examinations for further promotion, she sought guidance from the examiners and was informed that 'her ideas ... are not very clearly formulated' and that she lacked 'the power to express such views as she has'. The following year she again failed a promotion exam. Meanwhile, convenient accommodation at Ivor was proving difficult – a problem that would recur throughout her career – so she was transferred, and Ivor closed temporarily.
Her next appointment was at Gwynne where 'suitable accommodation for a lady teacher' close to the school was promised. While her annual salary now increased to £156, she made two more fruitless attempts at examinations over the next three years, eventually asking for appointment nearer a large town 'in order to obtain tuition ... for a higher classification'. Her request was also prompted by being unable to board convenient to school, a weakness in one foot preventing her from walking far.
Mary was next appointed to Glossop, a larger school, which increased her salary to £222 p.a.. Within six months, however, she again had accommodation difficulties. After inquiring into the situation, the local inspector was informed that residents considered Mary's health and personal habits 'a menace to the health of their young children'. As a result, she was called to examination by a Departmental Medical officer who concluded that her health was good, 'and although she is possessed of a nervous & peculiar mannerism, there is nothing to point to any abnormal condition'. By now however, Glossop residents, plus a local parliamentary member, had asked for a change of teacher so Mary received a series of short-term positions: firstly, Borambola east of Wagga, then Buxton and Hill Top, both in the Camden district.
In September 1922 Mary was appointed to Thornford near Goulburn, where she was undoubtedly pleased to hear she had finally passed a promotion examination, although her upgrade was conditional on a positive assessment of her practical efficiency at a school inspection. Unfortunately, her next school report was negative, the inspector declaring there was little evidence of student progress, and that while 'the pupils behave well enough, government does not appear to fill them within the desire for learning'. Mary offered a lengthy response to the report without effect, the inspector noting, 'No doubt, in her own way, Miss Woodbridge tries earnestly enough, but I fear she will never be a strong teacher. I think a gentle warning would be sufficient this time'. The following year she received another negative report, and when she suggested she had been unfairly treated she was informed that the Department was satisfied with 'the accuracy and justice' of the report.
By the following year, Thornford was under threat of closure due to small enrolment, so Mary was transferred to the Boys' department of Goulburn Public. Within a month, however, the headmaster contacted the Department stating Mary lacked control over students, and was afflicted by 'deafness, acute catarrh and polypus of the nose, and goitre'. As a result, she was assessed by a medical officer who endorsed nasal surgery, after which she was also treated for gallbladder inflammation. Upon recovery, she held short-term positions at Stanbridge (Riverina district), Rye Park (Southern Tablelands), Elton Hills (Young district), then Rossi (Queanbeyan district) where she finally gained a positive inspection report and had her promotion ratified.
Mary's ultimate appointment, commencing May 1928, was Sammy's Mount near Molong, her annual salary now £263. Her health however became problematic and at the end of the year she was hospitalised and variously treated for kidney stones, pleurisy, lumbago, and gastritis, until a spinal tumour was eventually diagnosed. Her condition gradually declined and she was unable to return to teaching. Mary Woodbridge died in September 1929, aged 44, having completed 21 years' service, 'highly esteemed by all who knew her' ['Young Chronicle', 17 September 1929, p. 2].
[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, and 'Early Education and Schools in the Canberra Region', (1999) by Lyall Gillespie.]
Schools
- Gibraltar School
1912 - 1916