If Emma Fowler is not the first Aboriginal Catholic school principal in South Australia, then she’s almost certainly the second or third. Source: The Southern Cross.
Regardless, Ms Fowler, who has run St Raphael’s School in Parkside for the past 18 months, comes with someone pretty cool in her corner.
“I look out to Annie for advice and guidance when I need it,” she said.
Annie Brice is her great-great-grandmother, an Aboriginal woman whose mother was married to a convict from Van Diemen’s Land in the mid-19th century, the epitome of Australiana.
What’s more, Annie was taught to read and write on the Penola mission where she grew up by St Mary MacKillop.
“Mary MacKillop believed every child deserved access to education, no matter their background or circumstance,” Ms Fowler said.
“That belief changed my great-great-grandmother’s life and continues to inspire me every day as I work to nurture a love of learning in my students.”
Ms Fowler’s story goes even deeper. She didn’t learn of Annie’s story until she was about 22 years old.
“Being Aboriginal was really quite taboo, people were denying their heritage because of the racism in Australia and it wasn’t talked about by my grandparents,” she explained.
“My grandfather was a bricklayer in Mount Gambier. They didn’t talk about the heritage or people wouldn’t go to him for work because he was married to a woman who had Aboriginal heritage.
“It was liberating for us to talk about it when we found out. A lot of things started to make sense that had not before.”
Annie was born in 1849 and, remarkably for the times, lived until she was 92. Ms Fowler credits Annie with pushing her into a teaching career.
Unsure what career path to follow, she worked in a school in England before becoming an education support officer in a school “with really challenging children with severe disabilities”. She loved it and knew this was her calling.
“The impact on me was flowing down from Annie and Mary. Annie was the person pulling me back into education and purpose.”
FUYLL STORY
Love of teaching inspired by Annie (By Richard Evans, The Southern Cross)
