Grace Mackintosh
Grace Mackintosh | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 September 1890 |
| Died | 23 March 1954 |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | University of Aberdeen |
| Occupation | Principal |
| Employer | Pymble Ladies' College |
| Known for | headmistress in New Zealand and Australia |
| Predecessor | Nancy Jobson |
| Successor | Dorothy Knox |
| Parent(s) | Grace and John Mackintosh |
Grace Mackintosh (September 5, 1890 – March 23, 1954) was from Aberdeen in Scotland. She became a headmistress in leading schools in New Zealand and Australia but then returned to being a teacher. She was later a college lecturer in English Literature.
Life
Mackintosh was born in Aberdeen in 1890. Her parents were Grace Smith (born Knight) and the historian and writer John Mackintosh. Her father wrote the four volume The History of Civilisation in Scotland. She gained a second class degree in English language and literature from her local university before she qualified as a teacher at the University of Cambridge in 1915. Her first teaching posts were at the Royal Academy in Inverness and the Central School, Aberdeen (later Aberdeen Academy).[1]
Mackintosh became a head at Columba College in New Zealand taking over from the founding head Frances Ross.[2] Mackintosh was had not too successful. She suffered with the cold weather, her arthritis and some routine decisions,.[1] She is creditted with introducing the school's house system which is still in use.[3]
Meanwhile Nancy Jobson was principal of Pymble Ladies' College, but she[4] left following a disagreement.[5] In 1933 Mackintosh was her replacement but she failed to impress despite her academic qualifications. Younger students found her Scottish accent difficult and as the depression deepened then the number of students began to fall further. Mackintosh decided to introduce new ideas including including those about Presbyterianism. She introduced a new prayer that she had constructed based on Greek and biblical sources to show the link between religion and education. However she failed to bond with the staff or the pupils and she had lost her own faith in the church by 1936. She decided to resign[1] and in July 1936 Dorothy Isabel Knox OBE AM became her replacement.[6]
Mackintosh went back to Scotland before she began working as a secondary school teacher in Sydney. In 1943 she was moved temporarily from North Sydney Girls' High School to become an English litereature lecturer. She left in 1953 while still on a temporary appointment and returned again to Scotland. Mackintosh lived with her brother, John, and she died in Aberdeen of cancer in 1954.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d Sherington, G. E., "Grace Mackintosh (1890–1954)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 2024-01-07
- ^ Frances Ross at DNZB
- ^ College, Columba (2023-06-01). "Houses at Columba College — Welcome To Boarding At Columba College for 2024". Columba College. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
- ^ Turney, C. (1969). Pioneers of Australian Education: Studies of the development of education in Australia, 1900-50. Sydney University Press. p. 176.
- ^ Sherington, G. E. "Jobson, Nancy (1880–1964)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
- ^ Teale, Ruth, "Dorothy Isabel Knox (1902–1983)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 2023-11-23
