Sarah Heap (27November 187014July 1960) was a New Zealand physical education teacher and drill mistress who became the country's leading authority in physical education for women.

Biography

Sarah Miller was born in

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 48,604 at the 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, Greater Manchester, ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

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on 27 November 1870, as the daughter of Elizabeth Ann Dixon and Henry Miller. While little is known of Sarah's early life, she was already a schoolteacher when she married a master saddler by the name of Henry Heap on 30 March 1893 at

Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, it had a population of 26,830. Historic counties of England, Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east o ...

, Lancashire. In 1904 or 1905, Sarah and Henry left England to live in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand. In Auckland, Heap became widely known as an expert drill mistress for girls and physical education teacher. Although she tried to create a physical training college for women in Auckland, that effort failed and she decided to establish herself as a teacher. By 1908, Heap headed the physical training program at the Diocesan High School for Girls. In 1909 she was the visiting drill mistress at the

Auckland Girls' Grammar School Auckland Girls' Grammar School (AGGS) is a New Zealand secondary school for girls located in Newton, New Zealand, Newton, Auckland. Established in 1878 as Auckland Girls' High School, it is one of the oldest secondary institutions in the countr ...

even as she was teaching at other secondary schools such as Mount Eden Collegiate. In 1910, she was giving classes for girls at the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

and the following year she began working part-time at the Auckland Training College (now part of the University of Auckland). By 1912, Sarah Heap was regarded as "the country's leading authority on the physical training of girls". In 1912, Heap was the only female teacher appointed to an advisory committee reporting to the Minister of Education about primary school physical education standards. There, she played an essential role in shaping the country's new system of physical instruction and medical inspection, which was introduced under the Education Acts of 1912 and 1914. In 1915, she was hired to a full-time position at the Auckland Girls' Grammar School where she remained until her retirement. There she developed "the most comprehensive system of physical training for secondary school girls in New Zealand. In addition to lessons in drill, where girls swung dumb-bells, marched and performed exercises to her piano accompaniment, she organised school games, took dancing classes and gave instruction in first aid and home nursing." Her classes evolved into a Saturday morning dance class which, in turn led to more dance lessons on Friday nights. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Heap took responsibility for training the grammar school squad of the Women's National Reserve of New Zealand. Sarah Heap retired in 1931. She died in Auckland on 14 July 1960, twenty years after the death of her husband. She is buried in Purewa Cemetery, Block G Row 01 Plot 021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heap, Sarah 1870 births 1960 deaths People from Ashton-under-Lyne English emigrants to New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand educators 20th-century New Zealand women educators