The St Margaret’s Story – 125 years strong

Ros Curtis

Principal

The St Margaret’s Story

– 125 years strong

For 125 years there has been consistency in the St Margaret’s narrative. From its foundation to the present day, St Margaret’s has always been a school where both academic achievement and a wholistic education have been encouraged. At times in its history, its continued existence was uncertain, but the school prevailed thanks to the dedication and strength of the Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Advent (SSA). St Margaret’s flourished as a result of the vision, courage and commitment of two women. The order and school were established by Sister Caroline Amy who came to Australia to further the mission to care for people and educate young women and girls. It was Sister Emma who, as mother of the order, oversaw the development of the SSA’s ministry in schools and a commitment to rural and regional areas. St Margaret’s was one of 10 schools created by the Sisters, two of which remain under the banner of the SSA Trust. In 1895, St Margaret’s began with an enrolment of three students – Effie Morris, Agnes McDonnell and a girl from Morven. We, unfortunately, do not know her name as there was no register of enrolment at the time. St Margaret’s began in Nundah, relocated to Toorak Hill and eventually moved to its current location in 1910. St Margaret’s early growth and development occurred while Australia was in its infancy as a nation; the backdrop of the second Boer War, Federation in 1901, Conscription, World War I, and the Flu Epidemic play out in its first 25 years. There was no electricity, no telephone, and, for some of that time (until 1914 at least), no uniform. Back then, life was very different. Information gleaned from early census data tells us those formative years occurred during a time when many children were illiterate, and the colony had a larger male population (although that changed after World War I). Since those early days, there has been a 480 times increase in university students, an eight times increase in independent and catholic schools, and Brisbane has increased its population by about 17 times. The St Margaret’s narrative is supported by stories of individual achievement and endeavour by the Sisters, staff and students. Despite varied student experiences there is a common theme; I will call it the St Margaret’s spirit, and what interests me is how the St Margaret’s spirit has endured for 125 years, while everything and everyone in the school has changed and continues to change. After researching the archives and talking to past and current students, there is little doubt that community features largely in the success of the school. High expectations of behaviour and academic scholarship are common references, as are friendship, respect, hard work and responsibility. In fact, the six core values – courage, passion, spirit, faith, integrity and respect – reflect well the consistency in the story over 125 years. They were not recorded until 2002; nevertheless, they feature in practice for the entire St Margaret’s story. There are other aspects to the narrative too, some not so positive. Mother Emma’s diary reveals a story of limited resources through growth, indicating that the Sisters had to beg in order to do their work, including running St Margaret’s. There were two Church of England girls’ schools operating at the turn of the 20th century – Eton High School for girls that was to become St Margaret’s and the Church of England Collegiate School for Girls. The latter closed early; St Margaret’s remained viable but only because the Sisters were, of course, unpaid. These early times were precarious. The Sisters also began a school in an era of ambivalence to girls’ education. In fact, The Church Chronicle in 1900, in reference to the debate about the importance of religious education in schools, wrote: ‘We are inclined to think that the Church must always undertake secondary education – at least of boys.’ There is no doubt the prevailing view of the time was that secondary education of boys was accorded a greater priority than for girls. The Sisters did not let limited resources and the focus on boys deter them from their mission. SUNATA 9

SUNATA 10

Sister Teresa in 1918 indicated that she had a clear vision about the value of girls’ education. She wrote: ‘There will be little room for incapable women.’ St Margaret’s role was ‘to train women to play a worthy part in the world’ and to do that it had to ‘be alive to the needs of the times, up-to-date in its methods, and ready for experiments’. This statement is as relevant today as it was in that Annual Report of 1918. The Sisters are impressive leadership role models. In its entire history, the SSA never had any more than 85 Sisters, and possibly no more than half of those at any one time. They did not just nurse and educate and minister; they established, built and operated orphanages, hostels, schools and a hospital. They were remarkable. There have been many societal changes over the past 125 years; yet, the culture and spirit of St Margaret’s have remained identifiable from the earliest to current times. We hear stories from the past about how much better behaved and compliant young people were. The research is not definitive in this area; however, children have not really changed much over this time and this appears to be borne out in Mother Emma’s diary entries. The diaries indicate that Mother Emma took great joy from the achievements of the girls, whether it was in Music Exams, or in Junior and Senior Examinations. These moments of student achievement were entered into her diary. But there were other entries. On 7 September 1902 she wrote: ‘Some of the girls were troublesome.’ Please note this was a school with a population of less than 40. On 22 November she wrote: ‘Blanche was very naughty this morning. We did not let her go home with the other girls.’ Then there was Winnie Sword who demonstrated ‘excellent ability but unpunctual’; Mildred Mackay who attended in 1909 to 1910 – she was ‘dreamy and highly strung, popular, with good steady work’ and what about Elaine K (1909 to 1911) who possessed ‘bad manners owing to conceit, impatient of authority (but with) very good ability’. And let’s not forget the rebellious and troublesome Lilah Kemsley who was put in the hands of a special tutor, Miss Harris, in 1907, but Miss Harris was ‘not strong enough to continue the charge of Lilah’. The official government district examiner was very enthusiastic about the school from even those early years – the general results were ‘decidedly good’; he said the neatness of pupils was ‘very good’; and their general behaviour and school discipline were excellent…. He went on to say: ‘I feel that I can confidently recommend Eton High School as an establishment where pupils are receiving a sound education combined with excellent supervision and moral training. The pupils appeared to me to be singularly happy and cheerful.’ There is no doubt that St Margaret’s was established in response to a change of societal expectation. It began just before the turn of the twentieth century at a time when the health of young children began to receive serious attention, as did their education. The Sisters’ commitment to education was really a commitment to the health and wellbeing of girls and young women. In the first half of the twentieth century, behaviourism dominated child rearing with the emphasis on raising the obedient child. It is during this time that children were meant to be seen and not heard. Parents generally supported the authority of the Sisters and the teachers, in pursuit of this obedient child. However, this was not always the case. Parents were not always happy with the discipline of their daughter. Mother Emma wrote: ‘I have had a letter from Mrs J giving the reason for removing Elaine. It is a rude note.’ We all know there are essentially four parenting styles. Parents are either authoritarian, authoritative, permissive or uninvolved. The past 125 years of St Margaret’s has seen evidence of all four. I suspect, given what our school records show, parenting styles have not really changed but the balance in each of the four categories has now changed. There are fewer authoritarian, many authoritative and a growing number of permissive and uninvolved. In the post-World War era, the economic boom enabled parents to invest more resources and their hopes into their children on a scale that had never been seen before in history. By the end of the twentieth century, children could expect family financial support throughout their twenties, something unimaginable in previous centuries and, from the 1970s onward, with a great emphasis on the rights of children. The status of children in families and society has increased significantly. This is reflected in the history of a growing enrolment at St Margaret’s, as education of women and children became more important, and the school created more opportunities for students – from ski trips, to an extension of the sport offerings, to musicals and to much of what we have today. St Margaret’s is a very special community, with a spirit and a faith which has adapted yet remained unique and identifiable for 125 years. There are over 7000 past students who have benefited from a St Margaret’s education and the work of the Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Advent and it has been a privilege to be leading the school through its 125th anniversary and have the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of so many in the past, but particularly our founders, the Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Advent.

References

Archival Documents, St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School. Giese, R 2012, The Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Advent and their contribution to educating girls since 1895, Victory Press, Brisbane. Giese, S and Laurie, M 1997, Per Volar Sunata 101 years at St Margaret’s School 1895 - 1996, Boolarong Press, Brisbane. King, M 2019, Inspired to fly 125 years of St Margaret’s, 1895 - 2020, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane. Moores, E 1992, One Hundred Years of Ministry A History of the Society of the Sacred Advent 1892 -1992, Clark and Mackay, Brisbane.