Amy Grace Wheaton, (née Priest; 10 July 1898 – 12 February 1988) was
social worker educator

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

who was the president of the

Australian Federation of Women Voters The Australian Federation of Women Voters (AFWV) originally the Australian Womens Register in 1921 became the AFWV in 1924. Also known as The Australian Federation of Women's Societies for Equal Citizenship it was founded as a national lobby grou ...

, co-founder and vice president of the South Australian Council of Social Service, and the first director of the South Australian Board of Social Studies.

Biography

Wheaton was born on 10 July 1898 in Gawler South,

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. She was the eldest daughter of Ernest Conrad William Priest and Emily Sarah Springbett Priest (née Carman) and great-granddaughter of Charles Thomas Hewett, with six siblings. She married bank officer Douglas Wheaton on 5 February 1925 in the Stow Memorial Congregational Church and they had three sons: Geoff, Neville and Roger. She became the president of the

from 1951–1954 to promote representation at every level of government with claims that "equal responsibility is more important than equal pay". She was bilingual, with fluency in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, and had interests in Australian immigration,

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

child welfare Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home. One of the ways to e ...

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

, positive development within communities,

town planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

, and all topics of

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

and

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

. In 1939, Wheaton was awarded for her service in the community by the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

, who gifted her an

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

in the birthday honours, and she became a life member of the

Australian Association of Social Workers The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) is the professional representative body of social workers in Australia. It was formed in 1946 at the federal level, although a number of state branches had formed prior to this. The AASW created a ...

in 1965. She died on 12 February in 1988 in Adelaide and was

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

Education

Wheaton studied at

Adelaide High School Adelaide High School is a coeducational state high school situated on the corner of West Terrace and Glover Avenue in the Adelaide Parklands. Following the Advanced School for Girls, it was the second government high school in South Australia ...

and the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

where she completed her bachelor's degree in 1920 and her master's in 1923 and was awarded a secondary teachers certificate after completing teacher training for two years in 1916. She attended advanced courses in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

social psychology Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the r ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

and

social philosophy Social philosophy examines questions about the foundations of social institutions, social behavior, and interpretations of society in terms of ethical values rather than empirical relations. Social philosophers emphasize understanding the social ...

and was enrolled as a

doctoral candidate "All but dissertation" (ABD) is a term identifying a stage in the process of obtaining a research doctorate, most commonly used in the United States. In typical usage of the term, the ABD graduate student has completed the required preparatory ...

at the

London school of Economics and political science , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

in 1927. In 1936, she became honorary director of the new South Australian Board of Social Study and Training with her

and

lectures experiencing high demand and positive feedback from students. In 1942, the department of social science was developed at

Adelaide University The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

with Wheaton being the head lecturer of her two-year diploma course and promoted as senior lecturer in 1955. In the following year (1957), the course was extended to three years and the faculty was renamed the 'department of social studies'. With a passion for social work, Wheaton claimed that education for social work should be "sufficiently broad for graduates" so that they might differentiate the social problems of individuals, groups and communities. After retirement in 1975 at the age of sixty, Wheaton was accepted by the welfare secretariat of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

where she helped develop postgraduate studies in social work in the universities of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

West Pakistan West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was d ...

, and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

between July 1958 to September 1962 as both an

adviser An adviser or advisor is normally a person with more and deeper knowledge in a specific area and usually also includes persons with cross-functional and multidisciplinary expertise. An adviser's role is that of a mentor or guide and differs categor ...

and examiner. Prior to this, she visited schools of

and

social service Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

agencies in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Wheaton returned to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and lectured on social aspects of

at the

's college of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

and

for another decade. She also gave

lectures to social work students at the

South Australian Institute of Technology The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

(University of South Australia), where she was honoured with The Amy Wheaton Building at the Magill campus of the

University of South Australia The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

. Wheaton fostered the growth of social work as a profession, emphasising "collaboration over competition". Alongside teaching, Wheaton participated in

civic Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things: General *Civics, the science of comparative government *Civic engagement, the connection one feels with their larger community *Civic center, a comm ...

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

and international affairs and served her time by contributing towards projects as a

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

Achievements

* Received teacher training certificate in 1917 * Completed Bachelors in 1920 and masters in 1923 * Building named in her honour at the University of South Australia * President of the Australian Federation of Women Voters * First director of the South Australian Board of social studies * Co-founder and vice president of the south Australian could of social service * Awarded an MBE in the 1939 King's Birthday Honours * Life member of the Australian Association of Social Workers

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheaton, Amy Grace 1898 births 1988 deaths Australian social workers People educated at Adelaide High School University of Adelaide alumni Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire Australian feminists Australian women educators People from Gawler, South Australia