Vale Heather May McDonald OAM
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 129 No 4, 7 June 2024, page 4.
On a sultry Friday afternoon, the Enoggera Emmanuel Uniting Church was packed with people who had gathered to pay their respects to Heather May McDonald and listen in awe to fascinating stories from a remarkable life.
Heather, who has passed away two months shy of her 100th birthday, was born on 16 June 1924. Growing up in Biggenden, 280km north-west of Brisbane on a dairy farm, she learned to chop wood, milk cows, and kill snakes, the latter a role that she relished when she returned to Biggenden to teach in 1943 following her tuition at Kelvin Grove Teachers College. She was one of the first round of teachers bonded to the Queensland Government.
Heather (pictured with QTU Life Member Merline Muldoon) immediately joined the QTU. A lifelong Union member and tireless advocate for children with special needs, she was head-hunted by senior department officials to work in what were then known as opportunity schools. She worked at Dutton Park Opportunity School, and then set up two classes for slow learners at Windsor Infants School.
In late 1959, the Director of Special Education, Bill Wood, asked Heather to apply for the position of head teacher at Brisbane Children’s Hospital, later known as the Royal Brisbane Children’s Hospital School. Miss McDonald went on to be principal of the Royal Children’s Hospital school from 1960 to 1984, and was also responsible for the establishment of educational programs at the Mater Children’s Hospital in 1966, Homebound Children in 1973, and Ipswich Hospital in 1975.
Heather’s commitment to helping sick children knew no bounds. If they were too ill to come to class, she would tutor patients in their hospital bed. She travelled to the USA and Europe, delivering papers at conferences and visiting hospital schools while she was there.
In June 1984, Heather was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for services to education, especially for sick children and those with special needs. Significantly, in 2018 she was also awarded the Tribute Medal for her outstanding service supporting the education of hospitalised children and their families. The Tribute Medal commemorates the foundation of the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital.
It is so important to pause and reflect on members like Heather, who have come before us, dedicating their lives to helping Queensland students thrive and flourish. The QTU devoted a chapter to Heather in the book Dazzling Prospects, published in 1988 to honour the work and lives of prominent QTU women. Her legacy lives on.