Rouse, Amy
Amy Rouse was born in the Tumut district in 1874, youngest of three daughters to telegraph station master Edward Rouse, and Mary Ann Thatcher nee Ford. Two years after Amy's birth the family moved to Wagga Wagga, where her father died when she was nine. A year later one sister commenced teaching in a small school while the other married. Amy's mother eventually remarried, but was widowed within three years, and twelve months later Amy began teaching.
Notherwono Lagoon House-to-House/Provisional School
Amy was 18 when she commenced duty at Notherwono, about 15 km west of Wagga Wagga, in July 1892. The school had an expected attendance of 10-12, this low enrolment requiring residents to agree to supplement Amy's salary if needed to ensure her a minimum income of £6 per month. Over the next few years Amy gained experience in school management, with occasional reprimands for oversights such as taking a week's sick leave without appropriate approval. While this early infringement seems to have been quickly resolved, she also faced a complaint over irregular school hours. After admitting to occasionally opening the school late or closing early, she was sternly informed that 'any future departure from the timetable must be reported to the inspector'.
As Notherwono enrolments gradually rose, it was reclassified as a Provisional school, with an ensuing increase in Amy's salary. This rise notwithstanding, in 1894 she applied for a school nearer her home and although this request was noted, there was no suitable vacancy. Soon after this, Notherwono was upgraded to a Public School due to an influx of children from a nearby unemployment camp, and Amy was deemed 'unsuited for so large a school'.
Pikedale Provisional School
In October 1895 Amy was appointed to Pikedale which had an average attendance near 20. Although further from her Wagga home, Pikedale's proximity to a train station offered an easier return journey. Over the next six months, however, Pikedale's enrolment fell and Amy applied for 'a better school'.
Warham Provisional School
In May 1896 Amy was appointed to Warham, which had been recently converted from a Half-Time school. She seems to have been welcomed into the community as only a month later it was reported 'Miss Rouse ... is making rapid progress with the children' and 'a more sociable young lady, could not be met with' ['Yass Courier', 9 June 1896, p. 2]. Amy's tenure at Warham, however, lasted only twelve months as she resigned in May 1897.
Later life
A few days after resigning, Amy married Jugiong butcher Alfred Thatcher. They lived in the Yass district where they raised three children. Amy was widowed in 1927 and later moved to Sydney where her two adult sons lived. She died in 1956, aged 86, and was buried in Rookwood Cemetery.
[Biography prepared by Joanne Toohey, 2024. Sources include NSW school teachers' rolls 1868-1908, NSW school and related records 1876-1979, historic newspapers, NSW births, deaths and marriages index, probate documents, and 'Early Education and Schools in the Canberra Region', (1999) by Lyall Gillespie.]
Schools
- Warham
04/1896 - 05/1897