skip to content

Sheedy (nee McTavish), Mrs Jessie

Family background

Jessie Edith Sheedy was born in the Braidwood district in 1864 to Alexander McTavish, a goldminer, and Mary nee McPherson. She was the 8th of sixteen children, several dying in infancy.

Nerrabundah (Long Gully) Provisional School

In January 1886, 22-year-old Jessie was appointed inaugural teacher at Nerrabundah (Long Gully) where residents had erected a slab school building for an expected enrolment of 20. Jessie seems to have settled readily to teaching duties, although later that year needed three weeks leave for acute tonsillitis. In May 1887 she married John Sheedy of Queanbeyan then continued teaching, residing with her husband on a farm close to the school. By mid-1888 her salary was reduced as Nerrabundah enrolment had fallen, then in November 1889 it was decided to close the school and transfer Jessie, recognising her as 'a deserving teacher, capable of conducting efficiently a much larger school'.

Inglewood Forest/Ingledow Provisonal School

Jessie's next appointment was to Inglewood Forest, south-east of Bungendore, recently raised from half-time status with an enrolment of 19 pupils. As there was no suitable accommodation for a married couple, a resident agreed to erect a small house on his property close to the school, although the construction delayed Jessie commencing teaching, obliging her to take unpaid leave. After entering duty in mid-January 1890 she remained nine years, the school's name changing to Ingledow in 1892.

Jessie oversaw various improvements in her time at the school, including new water closets (this work completed by her husband), construction of a verandah, and installation of 400-gallon water tank which replaced the reliance on creek water of dubious quality. She was less successful in gaining a classification, failing three successive exams, her disappointment perhaps mitigated by her pupils' achievements at the Bungendore Show ['Goulburn Herald', 6 March 1891, p. 4; 'Goulburn Evening Penny Post', 24 April 1894, p. 4]. She also seems to have developed a positive rapport with the community, as seen in recognition of 'the energetic way' she worked towards success of a school picnic ['Goulburn Evening Penny Post', 13 March 1894, p. 4]. By Dec 1898, however, the enrolment at Ingledow had fallen below that needed for a full-time school and as it returned to half-time, Jessie was moved to Jacqua Public School, near Bungonia - a short-lived position as this school was reduced to half-time within a year.

Tharwa Provisonal School

In January 1900 Jessie was appointed to Tharwa, where rising enrolments had prompted conversion from half-time. Accommodation was initially offered by her husband's uncle, (also John Sheedy), but the couple soon organised a separate dwelling. In June 1900 Jessie's husband was contracted to complete various repairs to the school including renovations to the chimney, hearth and flue, and closing and levelling floor slabs. In the latter half of 1900 Jessie was reduced to a 'very sick and prostrate condition' and the school was closed in consequence. Initially diagnosed with 'cold & indigestion', then 'inflammation of the liver and kidneys', she was granted 3 months sick leave. By November she had been admitted to hospital with 'Purulent peritonitis', where she remained some months. After resuming duty mid-April 1901, she continued until Tharwa's reduction to half-time prompted a transfer, the timing of this relocation perhaps fortuitous as she had been enduring ongoing hostility from a neighbour ['Age' (Queanbeyan), 19 August 1904, p. 3].

Peger Gully Provisional School

In 1905 Jessie was appointed inaugural teacher at Peger Gully, north-west of Goulburn, on an annual salary of £88. Although now an experienced teacher, in 1906 she received a negative report for incomplete lesson records and was 'severely censured for neglect of duty', as well as warned that 'unless she performs her school duties with more zeal and efficiency ... her removal from the Service will be recommended'. This harsh judgement seems to have been prompted in part by the local inspector's perception that Jessie was reluctant to adopt 'modern educational methods'. Despite the reproach, Jessie remained four years at Peger Gully then resigned, having fulfilled 23 years' service.

Later life

The timing of Jessie's resignation coincided with her husband becoming licensee of the Victoria Hotel in Bungonia, south-east of Goulburn, and the couple then ran the hotel for five years ['Queanbeyan Age', 23 October, 1914, p. 6]. They next managed the 'Lake Bathurst Hotel' in Tarago, a substantial establishment with 14 bedrooms. In 1917, however, John Sheedy died, leaving his wife a £500 estate, primarily comprising hotel furniture and stock in trade (largely rum and whisky). As she took on the hotel licence, Jessie noted the goodwill was 'worth nothing on account of the six o'clock closing and the general depression'. She maintained the business until the mid-1920s, then she sold it and moved to Canberra. A decade later she moved to Berrima to reside with a sister, where she remained until her death in 1948, aged 83.

[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

Teachers >

<< Early Canberra Government Schools