Vera HARRY / BATTERSBY
Born 31 January 1900 in Cottesloe, Western Australia [15] [P335]
Daughter of William HARRY and Amelia BOASE [15]
Along with her brothers Sam and Bill and sisters Beth and Lyle she grew up in Perth suburb of Mosman Park [P335]
Educated at the Buckland Hill State School and then on a scholarship at Methodist Ladies College [P335]
After finishing her schooling she continued for two years as a School Monitor and was then passed as a School Teacher [P335]
School Monitor at the Cottesloe State School and then the Buckland Hill State School on an annual salary of £40 in 1917 [41]
In 1918 she was a Teacher at the Beaconsfield State School and then at Subiaco Infants, on a salary of £50 per year [41]
Head School Teacher of the Binnu State School in Binnu near Northampton in 1919 and 1920 [41]
Then taught at the Meekatharra State School on an salary of £200 per year plus an allowance of £35 [41]
Following a temporary closure she re-opened the Coorow State School upon her arrival in Coorow in April 1921 [215]
School Teacher of the Coorow State School in Coorow 1921-1924, on an annual salary of £222 [73] [215]
During her time teaching in Coorow she boarded with Mrs Annie M. BATTERSBY "for the modest sum of 15/- per week" [215]
She had a room to herself at Mrs BATTERSBY's, was driven to the school each morning, and walked home each afternoon [215]
During her time teaching the Coorow State School was initially in a makeshift hessian and iron room near the railway station [215]
On 29 May 1922 the school shifted after the Education Department moved a building to Coorow from Golden Ridge [215]
After Coorow she briefly taught at the Miling State School in Miling, north-east of Moora [P335]
Married Coorow farmer George BATTERSBY in Perth in June 1925 [P335]
Resided with her husband and later children on Wattle Vale Farm in Coorow 1925-1951 [P335]
Won 1st prizes for Embroidered Cushion and Half Dozen Photographs at the Coorow-Waddy Agricultural Show in 1933 [5: 15-Sep-1933]
Member of the Coorow Rifle Club in 1937 [5: 2-Jul-1937]
Member of the Coorow Parents & Citizens Association [P335]
In 1940 a new house was built on Wattle Vale Farm by a builder and using bricks that had been made by her husband [P335]
Won 1st for Onions and Beetroot and 2nd for Swedes at the 1945 Coorow-Waddy Red Cross Flower & Vegetable Show [5: 21-Sep-1945]
Committee Member of the Coorow-Waddy Forest Parents & Citizens' Association 1946-1949 [5: 26-Apr-1946, 9-Apr-1948, 24-Mar-1949]
In 1946 she was one of the association's two Vice Presidents and also served as a member on the School Board [5: 26-Apr-1946]
Along with her husband and children Harry, Rae, Iris and Edna left Coorow in 1951 and shifted to the Perth suburb of Cottesloe [P335]
Their sons Jack and Donald remained farming in Coorow [P335]
Resided in the Perth suburb of Cottesloe and later at the Rowethorpe Retirement Village the Perth suburb of Bentley [P8]
Mother of Jack, Harry, Donald, Rae, Iris and Edna [P335]
Died 24 April 1974; ashes scattered over the Rose Garden at the Karrakatta Cemetery in Perth, Western Australia [2]
| Reference: Carnamah Historical Society & Museum and North Midlands Project, 'Vera Harry / Battersby' in Biographical Dictionary of Coorow, Carnamah and Three Springs, retrieved 16 April 2024 from www.carnamah.com.au/bio/vera-harry [reference list] |
 |
Use the below form or email history@carnamah.com.au |