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her school.’ Again, in 1892, the paper commented that, ‘Mothers and fathers should feel very grateful to Mrs Pett
for the trouble and the expense which these school picnics must cost her.’
In May 1894 Catherine and William suffered a personal tragedy when their otherwise very healthy son, William,
known locally as ‘King’, suddenly died from an attack of ‘mock coup’. The newspaper expressed the sympathy of
the community on their loss.
By the following year Catherine’s salary had been increased to 200 Pounds per annum, the figure it would
remain for the next 15 years.
In January 1897 Catherine (it was not clear whether William was resident in the town at the time) experienced
another tragedy when, along with the rest of the Port Darwin community, a cyclone ripped through the township
devastating most buildings and killing several people. Both Catherine’s residence (which was provided as part of her
employment package) and the school building suffered substantial damage. In a newspaper report of the cyclone,
Alfred Searcy, then a former Sub Collector of Customs, wrote, ‘The schoolhouse is a large and substantial stone
building surrounded by a 10 foot verandah [and] the schoolmistress’s building is a four-roomed house, detached
kitchen and partially sheltered by the schoolroom... The schoolhouse, schoolmistress’s residence and all but two
rooms of my... quarters have gone.’
In April Catherine, who had successfully applied for a month’s paid leave and a fare to go to Adelaide following
the cyclone, asked the government to pay her return passage to Port Darwin. In support of this, she pointed out that
she had served as teacher for more than eight years and as most of her furniture had been destroyed, she would be
put to the extra expense of refurnishing her cottage. After getting V L Solomon to lobby on her behalf, the request
was granted and she returned to Darwin via SS Taiyuan on 7 May. Two weeks later, she reopened the school in its
new premises, ending the children’s ‘enforced holiday’.
Another outcome of the cyclone was the resulting death of Mrs W G Stretton, who had given birth to 10 children,
the youngest, Dorothy Mabel, only a year earlier. It would appear as if Catherine Pett became a guardian, or at
least very friendly companion, of Dorothy shortly after Mrs Stretton’s death, as there are many references over the
remainder of Catherine’s time in the Territory to Miss Stretton accompanying Mrs Pett to various local events and
on trips south.
In December of 1898, Catherine gave birth to another son, Ronald, although she continued with her duties as
schoolmistress. It is not clear when or why some concerns about her teaching capacity began, but by February 1900
she found herself embroiled in the middle of a controversy that took up substantial space in the local newspaper.
A petition had been organised by a Mr Williams who requested that a male teacher be sent to Port Darwin allegedly
on the basis of believing that Mrs Pett was about to ask for a transfer or resign her Territory position.
Prominent local resident Charles Herbert chaired the public meeting called over the issue and claimed there
‘was not the slightest grounds for the rumours which had been circulated that the object of the petition was to
disparage or injure in any way the present schoolmistress Mrs Pett. There was not a dot of truth in that suggestion.
The aim of those who had moved the matter was to have made available a higher standard of education than
was to be obtained under present conditions. Mr Herbert then entered at length into the origin of the petition and
after reading a copy very warmly maintained that there was not one word to justify the feeling which had been
shown.’
W G Stretton, however, leapt to Catherine’s defence and ‘maintained that the phrase in the petition as
read... that education obtainable in Palmerston at present was of a very low average was a slur upon the present
schoolmistress Mrs Pett.’ Herbert ‘denied the imputation and argued that it was impossible for Mrs Pett or the best
schoolmaster obtainable in SA to competently teach 45 children of various ages and in different classes.’
A debate ensued as to Mrs Pett’s status and duties with both sides reiterating their points. One of the organisers
of the petition, Williams, claimed he thought Mrs Pett was going away and had been told that Mrs Pett wanted an
assistant. He said he had been given an undertaking that the petition would point out that under the regulations
a school having a regular attendance of 40 children was entitled to an assistant. He said he had ‘not the slightest
intention to injure Mrs Pett’. Stretton said that the ‘false representations made respecting Mrs Pett’s intention
of going away was the chief reason why a counter petition had been got up but at the same time he thought the
educational requirements of Port Darwin were being fully met by Mrs Pett and at the present time we were in
no want of another teacher.’ Eventually the meeting resolved that the government be asked to allow Mrs Pett a
qualified certificated assistant and that it should provide a male teacher of ‘the best qualifications possible for the
boys of Palmerston Public School and that Mrs Pett remain as at present to teach the girls.’ In the continual search
for more control over their own affairs, the residents also resolved that the government be asked to appoint a school
board of advice and that no government employees be upon it. Reference was also made to Asiatic and European
children mixing at the school and comment was made on the ‘undesirableness of such promiscuous association.’
Catherine meanwhile wrote to the South Australian government objecting to any proposal to remove her as
teacher at Palmerston. Her lobbying was successful. In July 1900 a letter from the relevant Minister rejected the
request for a male teacher, saying that he had been informed by the Government Resident that it was not Mrs Pett’s
intention to ask for a transfer or to resign her present position and that he had been advised by the Chairman of the
Board of Inspectors of Schools that the appointment of an assistant of ‘the necessary status’ would be impossible
as junior to Mrs Pett. He concluded with a reminder to the residents of Palmerston that ‘on two previous occasions
a male teacher was appointed to the school and that ultimately a female teacher was appointed at their request.’
In December of this year, Catherine was reassured of the esteem in which she was held by most when she
was presented with a ‘purse of sovereigns subscribed by her many Port Darwin friends.’ V V Brown, who made
the presentation at the Town Hall, referred to her ‘justly earned popularity with both the youngsters and their
parents’, a remark that was heralded with ‘three ringing cheers’ by the school children present. By this time