Frederick McKinlay: a lifetime of service to teaching

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 19 | Service

  

Frederick McKinlay, circa 1890s

This week’s theme makes me think of the public service, an over-arching term used to describe employment in the government sector, including public schools, and one in which many of my family have worked.

My great-grandfather was the first of our McKinlay family to be born in Australia and was the first in what has become a long line of teachers in the family.  His entire working life, starting at age 13 years, was spent in the service of the Queensland Education Department; a teaching career that spanned over 40 years.

Our teachers have been under an enormous amount of pressure in recent months, which makes it even more fitting that this week I shine a light on the amazing work they do, through the story of Frederick McKinlay.

Frederick McKinlay, born 24 July 1879 in Rockhampton, was a first-generation Australian.  His father John McKinlay was a ship’s engineer from Scotland and his mother Margaret Ann Stewart a domestic servant from Ireland.  Purportedly, both arrived in Australia on the same ship, the Scottish Bard, in 1868 (although evidence of John’s arrival has not been found to date). John and Margaret married in Rockhampton in 1878 (23 September).

The couple moved between Rockhampton and the seaside town of Emu Park for many years. The first evidence of Fred’s own education is his admission to Rockhampton Primary School at the age of 8 years and 3 months in 1887.  The following year, his father was working at the Tranganbar Gold Mine where John secured the services of a retired school master purchased a large tent for use as a makeshift school for the children at the mine.  From there the family went back to Emu Park, where Margaret ran a boarding house and Fred and his siblings continued their education at Emu Park School. 

In 1893, at the age of 13 years, Fred began his teaching career, when he was admitted by the Education Department as a pupil teacher at the Emu Park State School. The pupil-teacher system was essentially an apprenticeship scheme, with training provided on the job in schools by the head teacher of the school.  Fred trained under the supervision of Benjamin Long and qualified as a teacher on 31 December 1897.

During the early years of his career, Fred underwent regular observation by the District Inspector.   The Inspectors’ comments are brief and recorded in cramped hand-writing in Fred’s teaching record but he is generally described as a fair classroom teacher, who kept good order in the classroom, was intelligent and industrious and achieved satisfactory results.  Although, one inspector was less impressed, noting that Fred had fair disciplinary powers of the repressive order, does work in a vigorous but superficial way, and very unwilling to do work outside specified school hours.  This last report was by District Inspector Brown who features in another chapter in the life of Fred in a rather negative way so one wonders whether DI Brown was an inherently critical man or just had something against Fred. But I digress.  Newspaper reports and reminiscences of former students suggest that he was a successful, valued and kindly teacher with a genuine appreciation of his students and commitment to their education.

Fred was steadily promoted during the early years of his career, rising through the various levels to Head Teacher by 1908.    Over the forty years of his career, Fred taught at a dozen  schools around Central Queensland and was Head Teacher at four of these:  Emu Park, Georgetown, Rockhampton Central (Boys), Leichardt Ward, Mt Chalmers, Stanwell, Marmor, Brandon, Hamilton Creek, Mt Morgan Boys School, Maryborough Central, and Albert State School (Maryborough).

Francia Dow and Frederick McKinlay
Wedding portrait, January 1908

When Fred was transferred from Leichardt Ward School to Mount Chalmers Provisional School at the end of 1907, Head Master Benjamin Long expressed sorrow that the school was losing Fred, who had been with them almost since the opening of the school and felt they could not allow him to go without a small memento of their esteem.  Mr. Long indicated that Fred would be very much missed as he had been a thoroughly good teacher, a most loyal assistant, and always ready to help in all those ‘hundred and one things’ a teacher had to do out of school.  He wished Fred well with the transfer and his impending marriage to Francia Dow (also a teacher) and hoped the important step he was taking would lead to the further advancement of his career.  He felt that Leichardt Ward’s loss was Mount Chalmers gain.  Fred was presented with gifts from the teachers and children – a silver teapot and biscuit barrel.  Fred expressed his sincere thanks for the beautiful presents and to Mr. Long for his kind words, attributing ‘most of his success in life’ to Mr Long, by whom he had been taught both as a student and as a trainee teacher. 

Mt Chalmers was his first posting as a Head Teacher.  The prior Head Teacher was his new wife (who was required to resign from teaching when she married) which must have been an interesting transition.  Fred spent just one year at Mt Chalmers, but was remembered warmly by one student 75 years later.  Violet Armstrong recalls the day when she was eight years old and some mineworkers came to the school and took Fred outside to talk to him.  Upon returning to the classroom, Fred said, “Lillie, Darry and Violet, your mother wants you at home as there has been an accident at the mine”.   He then put on his trademark white helmet, took the children by the hands and led them out to collect their hats and bags from where they hung on the veranda.  He accompanied the children on their walk through the scrub and it was only as they neared their home that he informed them that their father had been killed.  Hearing this news, Violet recalls that she panicked and fled into the bushland but years later appreciated the kindness of Mr McKinlay walking her and her siblings home.

Stanwell State School was bounded by a creek, which regularly flooded in heavy rains, rendering the children unable to cross and attend school.  Rather than have the children miss school, Fred purchased a boat at his own expense and rowed the children across the creek each morning and afternoon.   Fred’s ferrying services rapidly expanded to the general public and in representations to the Fitzroy Shire Council for the construction of a footbridge across the creek, he described  having made over 100 trips across the creek to oblige dairymen, travellers and stockmen, even carrying a cyclist and his motorcycle on one occasion. 

In his roles as Head Teacher, Fred regularly advocated for improvements to the school facilities for the benefit of teachers and students alike.  While at Stanwell School, another significant infrastructure problem was that of the latrines, which apparently filled with water during heavy rains and emitted a ‘most awful stench’.  In correspondence to the Department, he describes having to ‘rush from the ‘office’ with disarranged garments (fortunately ‘twas dark) the stench was so bad.  Mrs McKinlay is quite unable to use the ‘office’ and has to make arrangements neither convenient nor agreeable’.  He also expressed concern that these conditions were making children ill and cited the genuine risk of typhoid.  At Marmor School, he was successful in efforts to have a new school building erected and improvements made to the teacher’s residence.

As Head Teacher Fred was also responsible for facilitating the many extra-curricular activities of these small rural schools.  At Stanwell School many successful Arbour Day events were held, raising money through Sports Days and dances. At Hamilton Creek school the end of the school year was regularly celebrated with large picnics.  Upon his move south to schools in the Maryborough District, he was involved with various sporting bodies, especially in swimming carnivals and as secretary of the combined District State School Sports Association.

The school buildings in rural schools were regularly used by community groups such as the Ambulance Brigade and Progress Association for social and civic activities.  This required Fred to write tedious memos to the Department seeking permission each and every time a community group requested use of the facilities.   

Fred was also active in professional networks and held several committee roles with the Teachers’ Association (Mount Morgan and Dawson).  A particularly vexed topic was homework, which Fred asserted was a nuisance for teachers but argued was invaluable to those children who regularly requested it but did not believe it needed to be mandatory and advocated for an approach that gave students some involvement in the choice of task.   His professional activities also involved him supervising pupil teachers.

Fred also had an interest in what we now call ‘adult education’ or ‘lifelong learning’ and was a member of the public lecture sub-committee of the Mount Morgan Technical College which organised talks and lectures on a variety of topics for the broader community.

Hamilton Creek School, circa 1920s

The longest posting of Fred’s career was to Hamilton Creek State School, outside Mt. Morgan.  This was when Mt. Morgan was in its heyday and there were numerous state schools serving the township.  It was here that Fred’s three children grew up and attended school.  Fred appreciated a nice garden and the prolonged period he spent at Hamilton Creek provided an opportunity to see his plantings established and flourishing.   A rose bush was planted for every child along the lane down to the road.  Tall sprinklers were installed to spray the garden.  A lush quisqualis rambled on the veranda rails of the teacher’s residence. 

 During his years in Hamilton Creek Fred purchased a Model T Ford.  A former fellow student of his daughter Mavis McKinlay, at the age of 103 years, recalled Fred as follows: ‘Oh yes! McKinlay! He was the school teacher chap. Drove his daughters to school every day in his Model T Ford’.  [See Week 2’s post for more on this story].

In May 1927, Fred was transferred to the Mt Morgan Boys School.  The locals gathered in the school on a Saturday night to farewell him.  Mr. F. Toppenberg, an engineer with the Main Roads and President of the Progress Association, presided and in his remarks eulogised Fred’s qualities, both as a teacher and as a resident among them.  Fred was presented with a gold pencil and Francia with a silver memento cup as a token of affection and esteem.  Mr. Campion also spoke of Fred in glowing terms.  Fred offered the appropriate responses.  The speeches were followed by musical items (including some performed by Fred’s own daughters), dancing, and supper.

In 1936, Fred took substantial sick leave during July and August. Unfortunately, in December that year, he was admitted to the Nundah Private Hospital and passed away on Boxing Day from complications following emergency surgery for bowel cancer.  This was only three week after the death of his mother.

Fred’s obituary describes him as “very popular with the scholars”, which is a short statement for forty years of work, but a lovely way to be remembered.

There was obviously much more to Fred than his role as a teacher.  He was a son, brother, cousin, husband, father, uncle, grandfather and friend, but that, as they say, is a story for another day.  This week was all about service and Fred definitely put in many good years with the education department, starting a tradition of teaching in the family – his brother also trained as a teacher (although only worked in this profession for a few brief years), both his daughters trained as teachers, and at least six of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren are or have been involved in education.

Here’s to Fred and all the wonderful teachers out there, continuing this tradition of service to education.