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Elise
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I am a writer of Australian history in the areas of education, indigenous studies and women's history. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and History from UQ, and post-graduate qualifications in education and archives and information management. For many years i worked as an archivist establishing archival, museum and art collections. I love to write history concerning themes that have been overlooked or under-represented in the historical record.


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More About This Author
Female
Queensland
Authors Book Genres
Australian History, Biography/Memoir
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Author's Books
Book Title
Australian History, Biography/Memoir

Janet O'Connor, an educated, cultured woman of the Victorian Age, was the first Principal of the new Brisbane Girls Grammar School in 1875. Her philosophy of education would clash with the established grammar mode. She went on to found her own purpose-built, boarding and day school - Duporth, in Oxley, Qld. The school ran from 1877-1920 and educated girls from across Brisbane, Qld and Nthn NSW. Duporth had a liberal curriculum and emphasised the study of literature, art and music, and enjoyed a special friendship with Dame Nellie Melba which dated from the O'Connors' time in Victoria. The work includes select biographies of girls and their families and extensive enrolment lists of students and staff, providing a window into the world of early Qld and Australia. Richly illustrated with images of rare art and photographs, fully referenced and indexed, with a select bibliography.

"When a friend opens the door and says,'You are here, Please come in.'
It is such a pleasure to give up talking and listen to his long story" Rumi (The Meeting).
Such was my feeling as I read "A Clear Vision", Elisabeth Wheeler's recent well written history of Duporth School, established by Mrs Janet O'Connor in Oxley, Queensland , in 1888.
Elisabeth's many years of research clearly captures the determination, self trust, wisdom and foresight embraced by Mrs O'Connor and her three daughters, whose single priority was to generate a spirit of learning that would serve young women well, with opportunities both at the school level , and later, after leaving Duporth.
Diligent tracing of the lives of some Duporth students, and their contribution to the community in later life, was carefully researched.
This inspirational history of what one woman achieved is a welcome addition to early Queensland
education, and will be read and appreciated for years to come.

A wonderful account of the Education of the young women of the early Settlers of Queensland by Duporth's Janet O'Connor and how that open education influenced the development and history of Queensland.

Thank you Elisabeth Wheeler for rediscovering the story of Janet O'Connor and painting a picture of the challenges of educating girls in early Brisbane. This book gives a fascinating insight into the story of a remarkable educator and also the everyday lives in Brisbane at the turn of the 19th century. Extremely well researched, illustrated and written.

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