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Miss Dorothea Poole (1924 - 1930) The daughter of a Canon of St Peter's Cathedral in Adelaide, Miss Poole came to Abbotsleigh as our first Council appointed Headmistress. She held a BA from Adelaide and went to Newnham College Cambridge in 1903 and gained a second class in the Mediaeval and Modern Languages Tripos in 1906. She was granted an MA from Adelaide University on the basis of this. She also gained professional teaching qualifications from Bedford College and London University in 1915. She was the Headmistress of Ballarat Church of England Girls' Grammar School from 1919 to 1924. Miss Poole's aim was to continue the school's "goodly tradition and precious heritage" and she is described as having very high ideals. She believed that life was "to be lived worthily in the service of others". She introduced Shakespeare Day (1925), purchased (old) Murray House to replace Wollumbin so girls did not have to cross the highway, changed the school motto to its grammatical form and added new classrooms and the Marian Clarke wing. Abbotsleigh joined the Tildesley Tennis Competition (1928) and the GSSSU (the predecessor of IGSSA) during her time. Miss Poole's genius was for organisation and the appearance of the school at the time of her retirement was said to reflect this talent. Her nickname was "Pud" (short for puddle as a pun on pool). She drove a small car - rather wildly - and was held in considerable affection by her girls. She retired owing to ill health but continued to teach in South Australia and Victoria until her death in 1947. |
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