Mangan, Mary E.
Family background
Mary Elizabeth (Bessie) Mangan was born in the Illawarra district in 1853, second of five children to John Lucas Mangan and Louisa nee Jaggers. She grew up in Bega where her father began a school that later became the Roman Catholic school, while her mother took in laundry to supplement the family income ['Bega Gazette and Eden District or South Coast Advertiser', 15 February 1868, p. 3]. Mary's family left Bega about 1871 when her father was appointed to Brown Mountain Provisional School in the Monaro region, then moved to nearby Bobundarah where, assisted by his wife, he was teacher, accountant, storekeeper and postmaster.
Unfortunately, after a couple of years, John Mangan was dismissed from Bobundarah after a dispute with his employer, and the family returned to Bega ['Bega Gazette and Eden District or South Coast Advertiser', 20 February 1873, p. 4]. Mary's sisters successively married, while she took employment as a stewardess for the Illawarra Steam Navigation Company who conveyed passengers and freight along the NSW coast. While the company was well-regarded, Mary would have undoubtably experienced challenges at sea, the frequency of steamship disasters at the time leading a reporter to remark that the 'loss of steamers on the Australian coast is so common an occurrence as to scarcely elicit remark' ['Bega Gazette and Eden District or South Coast Advertiser', 8 February 1882, p. 3]. Eventually she left the Illawarra Company and, at 33 years of age, embarked on a long teaching career where the resilience required in her maritime employment would again be needed.
Countegany Provisional School
Mary's first appointment in June 1886 was to Countegany east of Cooma, which had just been raised from half-time, the residents erecting and furnishing a building for an expected attendance of 14 students. She taught at Countegany for eighteen months, seemingly without incident.
Paupong Public School
In early 1888 Mary was appointed to Paupong south of Jindabyne, which was at an elevation of almost 1,000 metres, and although living only half a mile from school, she was regularly prevented from reaching it due to snowfall and heavy rain. A further challenge was the condition of the roads as she experienced when her 'buggy smashed in two' while returning to Paupong after a break. During her time at the school, Mary also suffered ill health, so in 1890 asked for removal stating 'Upon every cold day I have a return of Neuralgia ... I simply could not suffer a repetition of last winter'. By this time, she had twice failed at classification exams, so her leverage for a better situation was limited.
Burrembooka Public School
In July 1891, Mary had just returned to Paupong after school holidays, when she received notice to take charge at Burrembooka near Bombala (at significantly lower elevation). Her commitment to duty earned her some acclaim as she 'immediately packed her worldly possessions into her buggy and, notwithstanding the heavy rain and bad roads, drove herself to Bombala ... At four different creeks and rivers the horse had almost to swim, the buggy being nearly submerged' ['Armidale and New England Daily Advertiser', 28 July 1891, p. 7]. After this notable start, Mary taught at Burrembooka for two-and-a-half years, during which time she gained a classification. Towards the end of 1893, with the school's attendance falling, she asked to be moved to a larger school to improve her income as 'private matters' caused her 'to be very anxious'.
Gunnary Provisional School
In January 1894 Mary was transferred to Gunnary (Water Hole Flat), east of Boorowa, 'with the hope of working it up to a ... Public School'. She replaced Nanno O'Donovan who had been removed after complaining of primitive accommodation and difficulty of getting to school across two creeks and 'a wet flat'. While Mary seems to have been less concerned about the material conditions at Gunnary, after seven months she asked for removal because the enrolment had fallen to eleven.
Dalton Public School
In August 1894 Mary was appointed Assistant teacher at Dalton, north west of Gunning, which had an average attendance of 60. She would remain there five years, over the course of which she repeatedly applied for charge of a small school where she would be better remunerated, stating her salary (£91 p.a.) was 'far from adequate to the demands made upon it', her priority being the support of her widowed mother. In 1897, Mary was promoted for Good Service but her salary, being linked to enrolments, did not change so she continued applying for removal, reiterating with polite tenacity, that she wanted to do more for her invalid mother. Sadly, her mother died in 1898, six months before Mary was granted a transfer.
Wapengo Public School
In April 1889 Mary commenced duty at Wapengo, north east of Bega, which then had an average attendance of 17 students, her salary now increased to £113 p.a. Shortly after arriving she canvassed prospects for future enrolments and finding the number likely to reduce, asked to be moved if the school's classification was subsequently lowered. Rather than wait for this outcome, however, she made enquiries, and hearing the teacher at Kameruka intended to resign, fruitfully asked for a transfer.
Kameruka Public School
Mary commenced duty at Kameruka, south-west of Bega, in November 1899. She was then 46, her age and singlehood perhaps rendering her socially irrelevant at the time, but her outlook was both positive and progressive. She showed interest in advancing her teaching skills and subscribed to 'The Dawn', an early feminist journal ['Dawn' (Sydney), 1 April 1901, p. 28]. Her pupils at Kameruka were children of workers on a self-contained agricultural estate (modelled on an English village), but despite the innovative organisation, once entering duty, Mary encountered the typical problems of small schools including poor weather, inadequate accommodation, and bureaucratic obstruction. Over the next two decades she was forced to close the school on multiple occasions due to flooded creeks, in some cases relocating to a hall, earning her a commendation for 'earnest devotion to duty'.
Another challenge was her quest for further promotion, being informed annually from 1901 that her practical skill was 'not sufficient to warrant promotion'. In 1903 she was called to explain small defects in school records, irregularity in pupils' attendance, and her unpunctual arrival on the day of school inspection. Her spirited defence detailed the children's farm duties, and her own challenges on the day of review with a footbridge down, difficulty in catching her horse, and the death of her landlady's husband! This rationale was however deemed unsatisfactory and she received the first censure of her career, something she felt 'very keenly'. While it took many more years of requesting an upgrade, Mary was finally successful in 1910.
Meanwhile she also encountered difficulties obtaining suitable accommodation and by 1906, found it necessary to take lodgings over five miles from the school. She lobbied both the Kameruka Estate management and the Department of Instruction to erect a small residence adjacent to the school, and despite offering to pay a third of construction costs her entreaty was unsuccessful. A couple of months later the Department decided to close the school until accommodation was provided, so Mary was transferred at short notice. At a hastily organised farewell, a 'silver-mounted purse containing a sum of money was presented to Miss Mangan with a request that she would purchase a memento of the children ['Bega Budget', 5 May 1906, p. 3].
Majura Public School
In May 1906, Mary received vouchers to cover her travel to Majura to take up duty. A week later, by now in Queanbeyan, she received a telegram telling her to remain at Kameruka - the reason unclear (though perhaps related to lodging), so within a month she returned to Kameruka.
Kameruka Public School
Mary spent another thirteen years at Kameruka and in 1913, as she approached her 60th birthday, she began a process of annual approval to continue teaching. In 1914, a parent alleged dissatisfaction with her management while others wrote in support of her capabilities. The local inspector, after investigating, concluded there was 'genuine regard for Miss Mangan on the part of parents and pupils', and the school was 'in a satisfactory state of efficiency'. Her yearly endorsement continued for four years, the inspector noting in 1917 that 'Miss Mangan ... continues to carry out her duties in an earnest and conscientious manner ...(her) influence is for good and her character is excellent'.
In January 1919, having completed thirty-two years teaching service, Mary commenced nine months leave preliminary to retiring. A large crowd of friends, pupils, and ex-pupils from Kameruka, attended a farewell where she was given a 'gold wristlet watch suitably engraved and initialled', and 'a solid silver serviette ring', also inscribed. In addition to her long teaching career, she was recognised for her 'untiring energy' as a 'war worker' ['Southern Record and Advertiser', 21 December 1918, p. 3].
Later life
Mary settled in Bega after retirement but sadly died only two years later, aged 67. She was described in her obituary as 'a woman of culture and refinement ... held in the highest esteem' ['Yass Courier', 24 March 1921, p. 4], and her will specified that her funeral expenses were to be minimal and a portion of her estate should go to nominated charities. After her well-attended funeral, she was buried in the Catholic section of Bega Cemetery.
[Biography prepared by Joanne Toohey, 2025. Sources include NSW School Teachers' Rolls and Career Cards, 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
- Majura School
07/1906