Vale Merline Muldoon
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 126 No 4, 28 May 2021, page no.6
When I first began my union activism in the early 90s, I remember attending my first meeting of QTU State Council. I could not help but notice Merline Muldoon, a striking figure on the floor of Council, who was not only highly regarded but was, as I later learned, the only female delegate on the floor of State Council for most of the 1960s.
Merline was famous for her quick wit, extensive knowledge of her subject area, and the authority which with she delivered her speeches. I was impressed by her colourful dress sense, her timeless style and elegance, and her hypnotic use of eye shadow. Merline was the quintessential single female teacher, who taught in a range of metropolitan and country settings, including Mt Isa School of the Air.
Merline studied at Kelvin Grove Teachers College in 1953, and after one year of teacher education, she began teaching at Mackay Central State School, with a class of 40 children. She also taught at Fairleigh SS, Cribb Island SS, Cloncurry SS and later became principal at Windsor Infants School, West End Infants State School, Wellers Hills State Primary School, and the Royal Children’s Hospital Special School.
Merline was elected President of East Moreton Branch in 1963, the first female to be elected as Branch President.
From the moment Merline joined the Union, she was active in the campaign for teacher accommodation. She was instrumental in the development of the first teacher accommodation policy and oversaw a survey of rural and remote housing, which was later used by the Union to advocate for state government funding for teacher housing in rural and remote areas.
Merline also developed the Union’s policy on teacher registration in the 1960s, and in 1968, as a member of QTU Executive, attended an Industrial Commission hearing on the Emergency Assistant Teacher Scheme (the “eight-week wonders”). This dispute assisted the QTU in its efforts to establish the Queensland Board of Teacher Registration (later the Queensland College of Teachers).
From 1966, Merline Muldoon was a trustee of the Union for four consecutive nine-year terms, before taking her retirement in1993. The QTU awarded her Life Membership in 1995. Merline’s life journey as a committed teacher and QTU activist sadly came to an end when she passed away on 23 April this year.
To her family, we extend our heartfelt sympathies, and assure them that every fortnight, when senior officers and Executive members meet in the Merline Muldoon Room (on the second floor of the QTU building in Milton) she is quite literally, watching over us, with a guiding hand and a compassionate heart. On behalf of teachers and principal members across the state, we acknowledge her highly valuable and long-lasting contribution to QTU policy, campaigns, and achievements.