Ada Mary à Beckett MSc (18 May 1872 – 20 May 1948), née Lambert, was an Australian biologist, academic and leader of the kindergarten movement in Australia. She was the first woman appointed lecturer at

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state of Victoria. Its ...

History

Ada Mary Lambert was born in Adelaide, the eldest daughter of Rev. Henry John Lambert (c. 1836 – 14 July 1924) and Helen Lambert, née Garrett ( – 10 October 1914), of

Norwood, South Australia Norwood is a suburb of Adelaide, about east of the Adelaide city centre. The suburb is in the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters, whose predecessor was the oldest South Australian local government municipality. The Parade, Adelaide, The Parad ...

. Her father was born in London, and was a Baptist pastor in

King's Lynn, Norfolk King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

and emigrated to South Australia to take charge of the Baptist church at Moonta, South Australia around 1860. He was appointed the first pastor of the Baptist church at Norwood in 1867 and served there until October 1888, when he left for England. Around 1890 he returned to South Australia, where he joined the Presbyterian Church, and served at Spalding, Koolunga, and

Wallaroo Wallaroo is a common name for several species of moderately large macropods, intermediate in size between the kangaroos and the wallabies, that are native to Australia and Papua New Guinea. The word "wallaroo" is from the Dharug ''walaru'' wi ...

, then in 1905 succeeded Matthew Johnson as Moderator of the South Australian General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. He later moved to Victoria, and died at his daughter Ada's home in East St Kilda. Ada was educated at the

Advanced School for Girls The Advanced School for Girls was a South Australian State school whose purpose was to prepare girls to qualify for entry to the University of Adelaide. Founded in 1879, the school merged with Adelaide High School in 1907. History From its inc ...

in Adelaide, and gained her BSc. (the second woman to graduate in Science at M.U.) and MSc. degrees at

in 1895 and 1897 respectively, and was the recipient of several awards and scholarships. She was appointed demonstrator and assistant lecturer at the University during W. Baldwin Spencer's anthropological tour of

Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and ...

in 1901. This was the university's first appointment of a woman as lecturer. In 1903 Ada married solicitor Thomas Archibald à Beckett, the eldest son of Sir Thomas à Beckett; they had three sons. She returned to teaching at the Melbourne Church of England Girls' Grammar School, and served as demonstrator in biology at Melbourne University. She lectured in biology at

Scotch College, Melbourne Scotch College is a private, Presbyterian day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The college was established in 1851 as The Melbourne Academy in a house in Spri ...

, and was a member of the Council of the Federation of University Women. She was a founder of the Free Kindergarten Union, and served it for 40 years. A pioneer of the Kindergarten Training College in Victoria, she was also president of the Australian Association for Pre-school Child Development.

Recognition

*She was appointed a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1935. *A portrait by Charles Wheeler hangs in the Institute of Early Childhood Development,

Kew, Victoria Kew () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, found 5 km east from Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District. Kew is located within the City of Boroondara Local government areas of ...

. *A kindergarten in

Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of the Melbourne central business district, located within the Cities of City of Melbourne, Melbourne and City of Port Phillip, Port Phillip Local government ...

and a scholarship for kindergarten teachers are named for her.

Family

She married Thomas Archibald à Beckett (1868–1930) on 19 February 1903. He was the eldest son of Justice Sir

Thomas à Beckett Thomas à Beckett or Becket may refer to: * Thomas à Beckett (judge) (1836–1919), Australian solicitor and judge * Thomas Becket or à Becket (1119/20–1170), murdered Archbishop of Canterbury, Roman Catholic and Anglican saint and martyr * Tho ...

(1836–1919). Their children included Edward Lambert ("Ted") à Beckett (11 August 1907 2 June 1989), a noted cricketer. They had a residence on Lansdowne Street,

East St Kilda, Victoria St Kilda East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Glen Eira and Port Phillip local government areas. St Kilda East recorded a population of 1 ...

, where she died on 20 May 1948. She was cremated, following a service at St. George's Church, East St Kilda.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abeckett, Ada Australian women academics Academic staff of the University of Melbourne Early childhood education in Australia 1872 births 1948 deaths 19th-century Australian women scientists 20th-century Australian women scientists 20th-century Australian biologists Scientists from Adelaide Australian people of English descent Australian schoolteachers People educated at the Advanced School for Girls Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire À Beckett family