Isola Florence Thompson (18 November 1861 – 8 December 1915) was an Australian educator. One of the first two women to graduate from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, she was the first to complete a Master of Arts at the same university.

Life and career

Isola Florence Thompson was born in Newcastle, New South Wales on 18 November 1861. Her father, Joseph Thompson was headmaster there, before moving the family to Albury where he was again headmaster of the public school. She was successful in passing the Department of Public Instruction's entrance exam for teaching. On completing her schooling she was educated at home by her father and later by Mr C. A. Flint MA. In 1882, she was one of the first women to sit for and pass the matriculation examination. Three years later she and Mary Elizabeth Brown were the first two women to graduate from the University of Sydney with a bachelor of arts degree. On graduation she was employed by

Sydney Girls High School , motto_translation = Work Conquers All , location = Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Sydney#New South Wales#Australia , established = , type = Governmen ...

as a teacher. She continued studying at the University of Sydney and graduated with a master of arts in 1887, the first woman to achieve this higher degree. Thompson remained on the staff of Sydney Girls High for 29 years, mainly in the role of first assistant (now deputy principal). She retired due to ill health in April 1914 and 400 former pupils of the school attended a presentation in her honour, including Dr

Lucy Gullett Lucy Edith Gullett (28 September 1876 – 12 November 1949) was an Australian medical practitioner and philanthropist. Early life and education Lucy Edith Gullett was born in Hawthorn in Melbourne to journalist Henry Gullett and Lucy, ''n ...

and

Ethel Turner Ethel Turner (24 January 1870 – 8 April 1958) was an English-born Australian novelist and children's literature writer. Life She was born Ethel Mary Burwell in Doncaster in England. Her father died when she was two, leaving her mother Sarah J ...

. Thompson died on 8 December 1915 in a private hospital in

Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the highest points of London, at high. The district, which ...

, New South Wales. She was buried in

Rookwood Cemetery Rookwood Cemetery (officially named Rookwood Necropolis) is a heritage-listed cemetery in Rookwood, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere and is the world's largest remaining operating ...

. An obituary by Jean in ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', with the subheading "Kind and True", acknowledged Thompson as a "well-loved figure in school history" and noted: A former pupil, M.W., wrote of how she "helped to mould the personalities of the hundreds of girls who passed through her hands" and remembered her kindness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Isola Florence 1861 births 1915 deaths University of Sydney alumni Australian schoolteachers Colony of New South Wales people