Frederick Bridges (1840–1904) was an Australian educationalist and former chief inspector of schools.

Early life

Born in

Windsor, New South Wales Windsor is a historic town in north-western Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. It is the council Seat of government, seat of the City of Hawkesbury, Hawkesbury Local government in Australia, local government area. The town sits on the Hawkesb ...

on 2 February 1840, Bridges was brought to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

as an infant. He was the son of a Scottish-born

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...

brought to

John Dunmore Lang John Dunmore Lang (25 August 1799 – 8 August 1878) was a Scottish-born Australian Presbyterian minister, writer, historian, politician and activist. He was the first prominent advocate of an independent Australian nation and of Australian rep ...

and his wife. He was educated at the Fort Street Model School and was one of its first pupils.

Educationalist work

Bridges became the first

pupil-teacher Pupil teacher was a training program in wide use before the twentieth century, as an apprentice system for teachers. With the emergence in the beginning of the nineteenth century of education for the masses, demand for teachers increased. By 1840, ...

trained by the Board of National Education who was a man. He began to work for the Board in 1852 and after four years became an assistant in Sydney schools. He became the headmaster of Balmain Public School in 1861, of Mudgee High School in 1863, of

Cleveland Street Intensive English High School Central Sydney Intensive English High School (CSIEHS), formerly known as Cleveland Street Intensive English High School, is an ESL high school located in the Inner Sydney suburb of Alexandria, New South Wales, Australia and operated by the New So ...

in 1865, and of Fort Street Model School in 1867. He remained at the last of these until his appointment as a school inspector in 1876. He was the inspector of schools in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

and Bathurst. In 1884, he became the deputy chief inspector; in 1889, superintendent of technical education; in 1894, chief inspector of schools and under-secretary in 1903. During his tenure, state aid for

religious schools A religious school is a school that either has a religious component in its operations or its curriculum, or exists primarily for the purpose of teaching aspects of a particular religion. For children A 2002 study in the United States found highe ...

was revoked, the education system became more centralised, and state provision was given to secondary and technical education. Although involved in these branches, Bridges was mainly focused on public elementary education. At a conference in April 1904 discussing a report made by Sir

George Handley Knibbs Sir George Handley Knibbs (13 June 1858 – 30 March 1929)Bambrick, S.. ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 9, Melbourne University Press, 1983, pp. 620-621. Retrieved 24 August 2009 was an Australian scientist, the first Commonwea ...

and J. W. Turner on the educational system, he opposed several resolutions which were designed to replace the pupil-teacher system with one of

pre-service teacher education Pre-service teacher education is the education and training provided to student teachers before they have undertaken any teaching. In contrast, in-service teacher education provides learning opportunities for practicing teachers. Requirements ...

; however, this was passed without consent among conference voters.

Death

On 16 November 1904, Bridges died of diabetes. His funeral was attended by many in the profession and a memorial was later erected in his honour in Gore Hill Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridges, Frederick 1840 births 1904 deaths 19th-century Australian educators 20th-century Australian educators Australian schoolteachers People educated at Fort Street High School Colony of New South Wales people

Early life

Educationalist work

Death

See also

References