Scandal in Broadmount

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks | Week 7 - Valentine

#52 Ancestors

Francia Dow, 1904

Any number of love stories from our family tree spring to mind in response to this week’s theme. There’s great-aunt Jean who married her childhood sweetheart (who was also her first cousin) amidst much family disapproval; great-great aunts Eva and Annie who never married after losing beaus in World War I; and my grandma Rosina who lost her handsome husband far too soon. But I’ve chosen my great-grandmother, Francia Dow (1884-1943) whose romance with my great-grandfather caused a brief, but rather intense, scandal in a small central Queensland community in 1906.

Francia was born in 1884 in Maryborough (Queensland) the second of six children of Louis Henry and Catherine (nee Simpson) Dow. She excelled academically in her primary education at Albert State School and was awarded a scholarship to Maryborough Grammar School in 1898. Francia then undertook teacher training and, at the age of 19 years in 1903, was admitted as a teacher by the Department of Public Instruction. Teaching offered an honourable and profitable career to educated women at this time and with steadily rising numbers of children of school age, female teachers were increasingly utilized by the Department. There was no teacher training college in Queensland at the turn of the century and teachers were recruited and trained through the pupil teacher system. Although no records have been located, this is presumably how Francia received her training.

Francia’s first posting was to Broadmount Provisional School. Broadmount was a small, and quite isolated, port community on the Fitzroy River east of Rockhampton. The population of Broadmount was never large and dwindled as use of the port was scaled back. In 1906, the Broadmount Provisional School was closed due to small attendance numbers.  

The community was upset by the closure of their school and local businessman, Robert Fleming, sent an angry missive to the District Inspector, Thomas R. Brown. For reasons that remain unclear, much of his ire was directed at Francia, with accusations of ‘falsehoods’, ‘hoodwinking’, and ‘carrying on during school hours’. He further intimated that Francia had in some way orchestrated the closing of the school and that a gross impropriety had taken place in Francia receiving 6 weeks holiday rather than the standard 5. He asserted that this alleged misconduct was a result of ideas having been “put into her head by a young man a school teacher in the Leichardt School Rockhampton” (Robert Fleming, February 13, 1906).

The young man to whom he referred was Frederick McKinlay, another of the district’s school teachers. He was also a friend of the Dow family and, more importantly, he was Francia’s fiancé. Mr. Fleming goes on to allege that:

…this young man has been in the habit of riding down to B’Mount very near every week end, and as our teacher is living in a cottage far separated from any other house, every one can draw their own conclusions where he stops… now sir do you think such carrying on is right with young people especially teachers of young children (Robert Fleming, February 13, 1906) 

Mr. Fleming also asserts that Francia's farewells to this young man on the wharf at the end of these weekend visits were too fond.   

Fortunately, Francia appears to have had an ally in the District Inspector, Mr. Thomas Brown, who gave the young couple an opportunity to respond to the charges, accepted their representations, then staunchly supported them in defense of the allegations against them.

Although Mr. Brown had indicated that he would not involve Francia’s father, Fred happened to meet up with him, informed him of the matter and Louis lost no time in penning a letter in support of his daughter and her fiance:

I have the honour to state that my daughter is engaged to be married to Mr. F. McKinlay with my consent and her mothers. I have been acquainted with the fact that Mr. McKinlay has visited Broadmount every weekend and have quite approve [sic] of his having done so.  Mr. McKinlay will inform you of my wishes in the matter.  I have known Mr. McKinlay for sixteen or seventeen years and have always considered him and his family as most intimate friends. (Louis H Dow, March 2, 1906) 

Mr. Brown’s response to Mr. Fleming took a firm stance, urging that:

It will be well I think to consider separately what you say with reference to Miss Dow in her capacity as teacher, and the very serious reflections you make on her honour and reputation as a woman.

He closed the matter by stating:

In the present state of my knowledge of these matters I come to the conclusion that there are no substantial grounds for your charges and insinuations, and no call for further inquiry unless fresh facts are laid before the Ministers.  (Thomas R. Brown, District Inspector, 1 March, 1906)

Francia Dow and Frederick McKinlay
on their wedding day in 1908

Fortunately, nothing further appears to have come of this matter. Francia moved on to her next posting, Mt. Chalmers Provisional School where she taught for several years. Fred and Francia were married in 1908 and had three children – Mavis, Rae and Jock. Fred continued to teach at various schools around central Queensland, ably but unofficially assisted by Francia (as she was required to resign her position upon her marriage), until his death in 1936.

The events of 1906 were but a small chapter in Fred and Francia’s lives (albeit no doubt quite distressing at the time). For me, reading about it in school correspondence files over 100 years later, I was given a glimpse of my great-grandparents as typical young couple in love, finding opportunities to be together whenever and however they could.