Edith Annesley Badham (6 December 1853 – 17 May 1920) was an Australian

educator 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

headmistress A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

of the

Sydney Church of England Girls Grammar School , motto_translation = Let Your Light Shine , established = , type = Independent single-sex primary and secondary day and boarding school , denomination = Anglicanism , oversight = , educational_authority = New South Wales Depar ...

in Darlinghurst, New South Wales (a suburb of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

), now known as SCEGGS Darlinghurst.

Early life

Badham was born in England in

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town *Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * County ...

, Lincolnshire. She was the oldest daughter of Reverend Charles Badham and his first wife, Julia Matilda ( Smith). She went to school in

Dinant Dinant () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Namur Province, province of Namur, Belgium. On the shores of river Meuse, in the Ardennes, it lies south-east of Brussels, south ...

, France, where she was taught by her father, who recognised her gift for languages as a student. In 1867, the family moved to

, where her father was a Professor of Classics and Principal of the University of Sydney. Although women were not allowed to attend university, she studied all the subjects on the arts course and became so proficient that she helped her father in his work and corrected examination papers alongside him. In 1883–84, she looked after her brother's house in Tenterfield.

Role as educator

Badham was very religious, and was a member of a provisional committee set up by the Church of England which was formed to establish a high school for girls under the aegis of the Church for a nominal salary amid a nationwide economic depression. The

in Darlinghurst, New South Wales (a suburb of

) was officially opened on 17 July 1895 in the presence of six

bishops A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

and with only one pupil. Like her father, Edith saw education as a tool to develop discipline and strong character. In particular, she focused on the teaching of classical languages such as Latin and Greek; however, the curriculum also included a wide variety of courses. In an article in '' Cosmos Magazine'' written in April 1895, she condemned

Australian literature Australian literature is the written or literary work produced in the area or by the people of the Commonwealth of Australia and its preceding colonies. During its early Western history, Australia was a collection of British colonies; as such, ...

as being inferior to classical European literature. In 1896, the school moved to larger premises at Potts Point. A kindergarten was opened in 1900, and the school moved again to larger premises at Barham, Forbes Street. She became headmistress when branch schools were opened at Bowral in 1906 and North Sydney in 1911. The school was registered with the Department of Public Instruction of New South Wales in 1914. However, in an annual prize-giving ceremony of that year, she said how she wanted to withdraw the school from the Department as she believed that the public school curriculum contained too many books for women to read.

Personal views and writing

Badham's views on education and social thinking have been described as conservative; for example, she was an

anti-suffragist Anti-suffragism was a political movement composed of both men and women that began in the late 19th century in order to campaign against women's suffrage in countries such as Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States. To ...

(arguing against women's right to vote in '' The Brisbane Courier'' in 1895), and argued that motherhood and marriage were the highest developments of women's nature, a theme her schooling instilled into its pupils. Her views were widely held by the population at large, and her school flourished.

Bibliography

* ''A Trip to Java'' (1909) * ''Java Revisited and Malaya'' (1912)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Badham, Edith 1853 births 1920 deaths People from Louth, Lincolnshire Women classical scholars 19th-century Australian writers 19th-century Australian women writers 20th-century Australian writers 20th-century Australian women writers People from Sydney 19th-century Australian educators 20th-century Australian educators Australian schoolteachers Australian women educators Australian classical scholars 19th-century women educators 20th-century women educators