Phebe Watson

{{Short description|(1876–1964) educationist and women's leader}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}} {{Use Australian English|date=January 2017}}

'''Phebe Naomi Watson''' {{Post-nominals|country=AUS|MBE}} (23 May 1876 – 19 September 1964) was a South Australian teacher and educator, active in securing better conditions for women teachers.

==History== Phebe Watson was born in Princess Street, near Angas Street, Adelaide, the eldest daughter of Edward Watson (c. 1846 – 27 February 1884) and his wife, Sarah Jane  Watson, née Goldsmith (c. 1852 – 19 June 1927). Phebe was educated at a private school, then enrolled at the Grote Street Public School, in order to sit for the monitor's examination to gain entrance to the Education Department.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article129773071 |title=Women in Education |newspaper=News |volume=VI |issue=911 |location=South Australia |date=15 June 1926 |accessdate=7 March 2016 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> She served as a pupil teacher at Goodwood Public School, then in 1896 entered the training college, at that time under Andrew Scott. She taught briefly at Quorn under A. T. Darke,<ref>Albert Thomas Darke (c. 1862–1923), later Inspector of Schools, was headmaster of Quorn 1891–1906.</ref> when her health broke down and she was forced temporarily to abandon her career. She resumed work at Mitcham, then Woodville School, where R. Miethke was the longtime headmaster. Then began a lifelong professional and personal relationship with his daughter Adelaide Miethke.

In February 1901 she was appointed a teacher's assistant under A. H. Neale.<ref>Lieut.-Col. Alfred Hillary Neale V.D. (1854–1915) was later Acting Director of Education and Acting Chief Inspector of Schools.</ref> at Grote Street School, which specialised in training of pupil-teachers. In 1908 she became assistant at the Currie Street Observation School under J. Fairweather,<ref>John Fairweather (c. 1862–1935) was headmaster of Norwood High School and president of the Teachers' Union, later Inspector of Schools then Staff Inspector.</ref> with special responsibilities as Supervisor of Lodgings, then in 1916 head teacher of its model country school. She became mistress of method in 1921 and assumed full charge of training country teachers. In 1923 the whole of the Currie Street school was dedicated to training of country teachers with Phebe as head lecturer. She also served as warden of women teachers, giving practical advice on deportment, dress, manners and personal relationships, in which she, by example, set high standards. This position was formalized at the Teachers' College in 1926.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article132042457 |title=Women's Warden |newspaper=News |volume=VI |issue=765 |location=South Australia |date=6 January 1926 |accessdate=2 March 2016 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

She retired from the Education Department in December 1936, and in 1946 moved to Brighton, Victoria,<ref name=adb/> where she lived at 6 Stewart Street, Brighton Beach, returning to South Australia shortly before her death.

==Union activity== Phebe Watson was General Secretary from 1913 of the Women Teachers' Association, which became the Women Teachers' Progressive League in 1915;<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59297486 |title=Women Teachers |newspaper=The Mail |volume=3 |issue=145 |location=South Australia |date=20 February 1915 |accessdate=7 March 2016 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> she continued in this role until 1923, when she received her transfer to the Teachers' College staff, and was appointed the League's Press Secretary. She was elected vice-president of the Public Teachers' Union in 1923,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article64307423 |title=Teachers' Congress |newspaper=The Register (Adelaide) |volume=LXXXVIII |issue=25,746 |location=South Australia |date=4 July 1923 |accessdate=7 March 2016 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> In 1937, some six hundred teachers, frustration at the inability of the Union to achieve anything like pay equality for women teachers, broke away from the Union to form the South Australian Women Teachers' Guild, and Phebe was elected its first president.<ref name=adb>B. K. Hyams, 'Watson, Phebe Naomi (1876–1964)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/watson-phebe-naomi-9004/text15851, published first in hardcopy 1990, accessed online 6 March 2016.</ref> (The following year, those women members of the Union who did not join the Guild formed the Women Teachers' Association.)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74211974 |title=New Organisation Of Women Teachers |newspaper=The Advertiser |location=South Australia |date=2 March 1938 |accessdate=7 March 2016 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> She also edited the Guild's ''Chronicle'', which she continued after her resignation as president in 1940.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131519070 |title=Teachers Honor Miss P. Watson |newspaper=The News |location=South Australia |date=1 July 1941 |accessdate=7 March 2016 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

==Other activities== She was a member of the Adelaide Lyceum Club from 1923 and Hon. Treasurer, National Council of Women in 1924. She served as vice-president of the Adelaide Women's Club.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63783426 |title=How Women Club in Adelaide |newspaper=The Mail |volume=12 |issue=593 |location=South Australia |date=22 September 1923 |accessdate=7 March 2016 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> She was on the executive committee of the National Council of Women and its vice-president from 1936 to 1941.<ref name=adb/> She was active with the Girl Guides, and a Guide Commissioner from 1933 to 1936.<ref name=adb/> She was a temperance advocate and an active member of the Ladies Harbour Lights Guild, an adjunct to Missions to Seamen. She contributed book reviews to the ''Teachers' Journal'' and a regular column dedicated to pupil teachers from the country. She was a foundation member of the Adelaide Repertory Theatre and a fine singer, a light soprano. She was an active organiser with the Women's Centenary Committee in the year leading up to the SA Centenary celebrations of 1936, and was largely responsible for ''A Book of South Australia – Women in the First Hundred Years''. In many of these activities she served as "right-hand-man" to her friend and mentor Adelaide Miethke. During World War II she served as organiser of Women's Voluntary Services in South Australia, and the Women's Voluntary National Register. She also played an occasional game of golf.

==Recognition== She was appointed MBE in January 1937.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41617311 |title=Miss Phebe Watson, M.B.E. |newspaper=The Advertiser |location=South Australia |date=1 February 1937 |accessdate=8 March 2016 |page=16 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

==Family== Benjamin Watson (c. 1817 – 14 January 1905) arrived in SA around 1850.<ref>Perhaps January 1850 on the ''Bolivar'', but no mention of wife and children on the ship's manifest, prob. on later ship.</ref> His children included:<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article209099084 |title=Deaths Caused by Heat |newspaper=The Express and Telegraph |volume=XLII |issue=12,391 |location=South Australia |date=16 January 1905 |accessdate=8 March 2016 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}} Name and details of his wife and son H. Watson have yet to be found.</ref> *Phoebe Watson (c. 1841 – 4 July 1893) died at Princess Street, Adelaide *Joseph Watson (c. 1843 – 24 December 1888) died of heatstroke at Wilcannia<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204467879 |title=Deaths |newspaper=Evening Journal |volume=XX |issue=5721 |location=South Australia |date=27 December 1888 |accessdate=8 March 2016 |page=2 (SECOND EDITION) |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref> *Edward Watson (c. 1846 – 27 February 1884) married Sarah Goldsmith (c. 1852 – 20 June 1927) on 20 March 1871, lived at Princess Street, died at 344 South Terrace; all four of his children spent much of their adult lives at the South Terrace address. Only Walter married.  :*'''Phebe Naomi Watson''' (23 May 1876 – 19 September 1964)<ref>Her name was only ever spelled "Phebe", though her aunt was "Phoebe" and earlier sister, born in April 1874 but died six months later was named "Olive Phoebe".</ref> :*Nell Watson ( – 8 March 1950) :*Walter Alan Watson ( – 9 September 1945) married Lavinia Mary "Vinnie" Stenning (c. 1877 – 5 March 1914) on 21 September 1901. She killed herself by drinking phenol disinfectant.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59645459 |title=Sad Poisoning Case |newspaper=The Mail |volume=2 |issue=97 |location=South Australia |date=7 March 1914 |accessdate=7 March 2016 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> :*Benjamin Clayton "Ben" Watson (c. 1884 – 28 June 1946) *H. Watson with Waterworks department *Edith Mary Watson (c. 1859 – 22 July 1927) trained as a nurse, married Frederick James Wamsley (c. 1866 – 13 June 1901) of St. Kilda, Victoria on 12 June 1889, lived in Elwood, Victoria, then Blackburn, Victoria. After his death she returned with her two children to Princess Street, Adelaide. :*Florence Maude Lucy Wamsley (c. 1893 – 30 August 1973) married John Leonard Eustace (c. 1889 – 16 July 1974) on 8 April 1914. He endowed the University of Adelaide Dental School to fund the J. L. Eustace Travelling Awards.{{cite web|url=https://www.adelaide.edu.au/legalandrisk/trusts-bequests/scholarships/UTR2.94.pdf|title=The J. L. Eustace Travelling Awards|publisher=University of Adelaide|accessdate=8 March 2016}} :*Reginald Allenby Wamsley (c. 1895 – 19 October 1982) married Dorothy Edith (c. 1897 – 28 February 1989) lived in Barmera<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.berribarmera.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=153&c=23456|title=Wamsley, Reginald Allenby|publisher=Berri Barmera Council|accessdate=8 March 2016|archive-date=8 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308103039/http://www.berribarmera.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=153&c=23456|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}} {{Feminism}} {{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Phebe}} Category:Australian educators Category:Australian temperance activists Category:1876 births Category:1964 deaths Category:Australian women's rights activists Category:People from Adelaide Category:Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:19th-century Australian women Category:20th-century Australian women