With the school year recently begun, let us turn our attention to one of the peninsula’s earliest educators, Arthur Ashmole.
A native of Essex, Mr Ashmole came to Brisbane in 1886, aged 33. Information about his background is scanty: he was from a prosperous family and worked in London as a quantity surveyor for several years. Married in 1884 to one Selina Fawdry, he nevertheless came to Brisbane alone and the certificate of his second marriage, to Alice Cutts in 1890, records him as having been divorced.
In 1886, there was a movement afoot – expressed by “a large and representative meeting of the residents of Humpybong” – for the establishment of another school. There was already a Humpybong school, but it was thought that, with 41 pupils, another was warranted. The new school duly opened in 1888 with Mr Ashmole as the teacher, although there is no record of his having any training or experience in teaching. Nevertheless, the school remained open, with Mr Ashmole in charge, until 1908. His retirement from teaching was marked by the presentation of an illuminated address and a silver watch.
From Educator to Civic Leader
But Mr Ashmole’s working life was by no means over. Within a few months of the conclusion of his teaching career, he was appointed shire clerk, a post he held for six years. His work as clerk encompassed a wide range of matters, including: the campaign for a Sandgate to Humpybong railway; regulation of public jetties; and the promulgation of by-laws relating to public sanitation. In 1910, there appeared, over his name as shire clerk, a notice advising campers that, for a charge of “2/6 per tent”, the council would in future be responsible for the clearing up of campsites – a very practical decision for so popular a holiday destination as Redcliffe.
Upon Ashmole’s retirement from the clerkship, the position – “Clerk, Overseer, Sanitary Inspector etc” – was advertised in the Brisbane Courier, providing an interesting insight into the duties, responsibilities and remuneration of the shire clerk: salary, “£250 per annum, including house rent free”, although out of that he had to pay the wages of an assistant; the successful applicant would also be required to keep a horse.
Mr Ashmole’s post-work life was not given over to idleness: he was an active Mason and a lay reader at St Mary’s Anglican Church as well as president of the Redcliffe Progress Association and a JP. He died in 1919, mourned by many fellow Redcliffians and later honoured by having two streets named for him: Arthur Street, Woody Point and Ashmole Road.
( With thanks to City of Moreton Bay )
Featured image: Redcliffe Provisional School, Arthur Ashmole far right. Image courtesy of City of Moreton Bay, reference number RLPC-000\000435.
Read more stories from our Redcliffe Guide print magazine here:
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- Laugh Your Way to a New You
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