StateLibQld 1 86028 Unidentified residence in Bowen Hills, Brisbane, ca

John Gerard Anderson (12 February 1836 – 23 August 1911) was a Scottish-born educationist. Emigrating to the

Colony of Queensland The Colony of Queensland was a colony of the British Empire from 1859 to 1901, when it became a State in the federal Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. At its greatest extent, the colony included the present-day State of Queensland, ...

in 1862, Anderson served various posts on its board of education and served as the 2nd Director-General of Education from 1878 to 1904.

Biography

Early life and education

John Gerald Anderson was born on 12 February 1836 in

Orphir Orphir (pronounced , Old Norse: Jorfjara/OrfjaraPedersen, Roy (January 1992) ''Orkneyjar ok Katanes'' (map, Inverness, Nevis Print)) is a parish and settlement on Mainland, Orkney. It is approximately southwest of Kirkwall, and comprises a s ...

, a parish in Orkney, Scotland. He was the sixth child of

James Anderson James Anderson may refer to: Arts *James Anderson (American actor) (1921–1969), American actor *James Anderson (author) (1936–2007), British mystery writer *James Anderson (English actor) (born 1980), British actor * James Anderson (filmmaker) ...

and Susan Anderson , and attended

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Abredonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Universi ...

. He graduated with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

in 1854. Anderson then remained there as a student of

divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

Career

After serving as headmaster of headmaster of Spencer's School,

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, Anderson emigrated to the

in 1862 to accept a position on its board of education. He became the first district inspector of schools in September 1863, senior inspector in June 1869, acting general inspector in September 1874, general inspector in 1876 and under-secretary in November 1878. Anderson served as head of the Department of Public Instruction from 1878 to 1904. He was associated with the introduction of free, compulsory and secular education, and was a member of the 1981 Royal Commission to establish the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

. Confronted by demands for change, Anderson became "cautious, conservative and autocratic" and was criticized by the 1887 royal commission as running the department in an arbitrary manner. He faced further demands for educational reforms by the turn of the century, but retired before any of them were implemented. Anderson was afterwards awarded the Imperial Service Order for "long and meritorious service".

Private life

On 17 April 1873, Anderson married Edith Sarah, daughter of William Wood, reader at the

Queensland Government Printing Office The Queensland Government Printing Office is a heritage-listed printing house at 110 George Street and 84 William Street, Brisbane City, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by John James Clark, Francis Drummond Greville Stanley, and Edwi ...

. They had two sons and three daughters. He died on 23 August 1911 at his home in

South Brisbane South Brisbane is an inner southern Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people. Geography The suburb is on the southern bank of the Brisba ...

. One of his daughters, artist

Edith Susan Gerard Anderson Edith Susan Gerard Anderson (16 February 1880 – 31 March 1961), who became Edith Susan Boyd when she married, was an Australian artist, Playwdramatist, and painter. She was also known for being a model for the artist E. Phillips Fox, Emanuel ...

, married painter Theodore Penleigh Boyd. Another, Maud Edith Anderson, married

John Ashton John Ashton may refer to: Entertainment * John Ashton (composer) (1830–1896), Welsh musician * Will Ashton (John William Ashton, 1881–1963), British-Australian artist and art director * John Rowland Ashton (1917–2008), English author * John ...

, who became Bishop of Grafton.

References

1836 births 1911 deaths People from Orkney Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia Scottish educational theorists Australian public servants People from Queensland {{Edu-bio-stub