UNE passings - death of Margaret Mackie (1914-2009)

I suppose that it is sad but inevitable that we should be experiencing so many deaths just at present of people connected in some way with the early days of higher education within New England.

It is now 82 years since the Armidale Teachers' College was established, 72 years since the New England University College was established, 61 years I think since the Newcastle University College was established. Early staff and student numbers were quite low, but then began to expand from the 1950s as part of the overall expansion within the Teachers' College and University sector.

In New England Story - new states, archives and the preservation of our past I spoke of Alexander Mackie,  a brilliant Scottish-born academic, who had come to Sydney in 1906 to head the newly established Sydney College. Alexander Mackie also became Professor of Education at the University of Sydney.

Margaret, Alexander Mackie's daughter, has just died.

Margaret came to Armidale in 1951, as a lecturer in education to Armidale Teachers' College . In 1955, when the University of New England established its external studies program, she became involved in teaching external students. She was to spend the rest of her life in Armidale.

Harriet Veitch's obituary of her in the Sydney Morning Herald provides a clear and interesting overview of her life. I will leave you to read it, but I thought that I should provide a few supporting comments.

Margaret Mackie was a very bright woman with a strong personality. I did not know her well, she was rather more a presence.

If you look at the photo, she was a very attractive young woman, but perhaps I am not reading too much into it in pointing to the firm line of her mouth.

If you look at my brief description of her father (link above), you can see that he was a man of firm views. Here I was struck by one comment from Harriet: Margaret ... went on to Oxford, "where her father had promised to send her in lieu of a dowry, and took an MA in ''Modern Greats'' (philosophy, politics and economics)."!

Margaret inherited both her father's interest in education and his emphasis on standards and excellence. Her contributions to education including distant education were significant, as were her private contributions to the community.

At the time Margaret entered teaching, career opportunities for women were limited. Teachers, for example, were still expected to leave teaching on marriage. Today, Margaret would have had more opportunities, but higher education in general and New England education in particular might have been the poorer.

Postscript:

In a comment, Kerith Power bought out the two sides to Margaret Mackie's personality. I thought that I should quote the second half of the comment in the main post because I thought that it was one of the best comments I have had.

Kerith, now a senior lecturer at Monash University wrote:

I owe her a lot. Here is the lyric of a song I wrote for her. She was the best teacher I ever had.

For a Teacher

Some people work with stone and steel
Their work is done; you walk among their buildings, travel on their roads
Some people grow and bake and sell, you taste the fruits, the food of earth
Some people make pictures, or tunes to lift our hearts and make us sing
Some people work with people and never know the alchemy they wring.

I find my touchstone in the New England granite, feel the bare bone under the skin
Walk on bedrock, feet fairly planted, see the end of all my meanings and where I begin.

The seasons turn, and turn again
And sheep like boulders graze among the monuments of stone
Each generation seeks the light, and there you shine, you see beyond the bone
Like New England poplars, new leaves are minted bronze with every spring
New children seek awakenings, and travellers return with dusty wings.

I find my touchstone in the New England granite, feel the bare bone under the skin
Walk on bedrock, feet fairly planted, see the end of all my meanings and where I begin