Ida Nancy Ashburn (1909–1980) was an Australian head-mistress and nurse. After graduating from the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

, she became founding principal of

Clayfield College , motto_translation = Let Your Light Shine , established = 1931 , type = Independent, day and boarding , gender = Girls and Boys , denomination = Uniting Church and Pre ...

from 1934 to 1964. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

she trained as a nurse to the

Voluntary Aid Detachment The Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) was a voluntary unit of civilians providing nursing care for military personnel in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The most important periods of operation for these units we ...

and from 1959 served on the Soldiers' Children Education Board for 20 years.

Early life

Ashburn was born on 3 August, 1909 at

Esk, Queensland Esk is a town and locality in the Somerset Region in South East Queensland, Australia. In the , Esk had a population of 1,698 people. Geography Esk is approximately northwest of Ipswich on the Brisbane Valley Highway. It was named after the ...

to married couple John Mark Ashburn and Ida Victoria, , as the fourth of five children. Her father was a grazier on the property "Rocklea" near Barcaldine, before moving to Brisbane. In her early years she was educated in a private school in

Clayfield Clayfield is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Clayfield had a population of 10,555 people. Geography Clayfield is by road from the Brisbane GPO. Clayfield is bordered to the north by Nundah, to the east by A ...

before she was moved to

Brisbane State High School , motto_translation = Knowledge is Power , city = South Brisbane , state = Queensland , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Public, selective, co-educational, secondary, ...

for girls (which was attached to

Somerville House Somerville House is an Independent school, independent, Boarding school, boarding and day school for girls, located in South Brisbane, Queensland, South Brisbane, an inner-city suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Es ...

) from between 1923 and 1927, where the ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'' observes "she was noted by the co-principals Constance Harker and Marjorie Jarrett 'for future use'." Ashburn was the recipient of a State scholarship in 1923, which was extended for two years in 1926.

Career

After being granted her extended scholarship in 1926 to the Teachers' Training College in Brisbane, Ashburn qualified for University

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...

— she came third class in English, French, Greek, mathematics A and ancient history and second class in biology. Ashburn graduated from the

in 1929 with a double-major in English, and Language and Psychology. She taught at her first school, Albert State School in Maryborough, as an assistant-teacher before transferring to

Monto Monto was the nickname for the one-time red light district in the northeast of Dublin, Ireland. The Monto was roughly the area bounded by Talbot Street, Amiens Street, Gardiner Street and Seán McDermott Street (formerly Gloucester Street) in ...

State School in May 1930. When

Clayfield College , motto_translation = Let Your Light Shine , established = 1931 , type = Independent, day and boarding , gender = Girls and Boys , denomination = Uniting Church and Pre ...

moved to Bayview Terrace in

she resigned from Monto State School and commenced a position as mistress-in-charge of the college's primary school. The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' describes her as "an energetic and dynamic teacher" who also "undertook all secretarial and administrative tasks in her early days at Clayfield College". She was made head-mistress of the school in 1934, and in 1938 she formed one of the first instances of a parent's committee in a Brisbane school. Whilst in this position she studied the Classics part-time at the University of Queensland and received her B.A. in 1936. She was a regular member of St Mark's

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

in Clayton. After her only brother Colin died in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

she trained as a nurse with the State

and later served on the State branch of the

Repatriation Department The Repatriation Department was an Australian government department that provided support for disabled military veterans and widows of military personnel, as well as their dependents. It existed between September 1917 and June 1974. H ...

's Soldiers' Children Education Board. She remained on the board from 1959 before retiring in 1979.

Retirement and death

Ashburn retired from Clayfield College in 1964. The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' notes that the school could never have been considered large, but that this allowed her to know each student personally — to the point where students nick-named her "Ashie". Ashburn died on 20 October 1980 in Clayfield and was cremated. The college library was named after her, and later the college developed the Nancy Ashburn Learning Centre in her honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashburn, Ida Nancy 1909 births 1980 deaths Schoolteachers from Queensland University of Queensland alumni Australian headmistresses 20th-century Australian women People from Esk, Queensland