Hogan, Catherine ('Katie')
In May 1886 Catherine Hogan, aged nineteen, was appointed to Monga Provisional School in the Braidwood district, seemingly without training. Monga was in a rugged location and its school was described as a 'rescued site ... erected entirely by local exertions'. It had undergone repairs just prior to Catherine's arrival to renew the shingle and corrugated iron chimney. Further repairs were completed three months later as the building's open foundations were 'stoned and earthed up' to reduce the amount of cold air circulating through the floor, no doubt a relief to teacher and students.
Catherine's time in Monga was short-lived. In January 1887 she was appointed to [Majura Provisional school which was reopening after a two-and-a-half-year closure. The school furniture was recalled from storage at Canberra Public School to provide for an expected daily attendance of 14 children. After four months at Majura, Katie Hogan (as she signed herself), requested permission to close the school for a week on account of illness, which was supported by a Queanbeyan doctor. After three weeks' absence a local resident informed the Department that she had not reopened the school. A few days later Katie wrote a letter of resignation, stating 'I do not wish to sever all connection with the department but hope to gain re-admission in a short time in a milder climate.' The local school inspector validated the seriousness of her illness. After furnishing a school inventory, Catherine Hogan finished teaching at Majura on May 31, then reportedly left for Sydney where her parents lived. Nothing further is known about her.
[Biography prepared by Joanne Toohey, 2023. Sources consulted 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
- Majura School
01/1887 - 05/1887