A Woman of Substance - Ipswich Libraries

Her real name was Sarah Jane Pender but everyone knew her as Jeannie. She was a force of nature. Her compassion for others, social conscience, leadership and energy were plain to see.

Let’s start at the beginning…

Sarah Jane Pender was born in 1880, a native of Grandchester. Her parents Mary and Edward Pender were pioneers of the district having moved there from Ipswich early in their marriage. They had five sons and five daughters.¹

Jeanie attended Grandchester School. Later she was educated at Ipswich Girls Grammar School where she excelled at the Trinity College, London musical knowledge examination.²In 1898 Jeannie won a scholarship to Sydney University however she did not pursue a university career. Instead, she became an assistant teacher in country Queensland.

After a few years she returned to Ipswich to reside in Roderick Street. From at least 1913-1915 she worked as a clerk according to the electoral rolls for those years.

Around 1916-1917 Jeannie became the proprietor of the Rosewood Register and Marburg Mail and went to live and work in John Street, Rosewood. With this move she became a businesswoman, publisher, editor and journalist. The Rosewood Register and Marburg Mail was a four-page local weekly newspaper published every Friday.³ The paper filled its pages with public notices, accounts of Council meetings, church functions, weddings and other social occasions. News gathering for the newspaper gave Jeannie plenty of scope to get around the district and become well-known. In this role as presswoman she also started to attend Country Press Conferences where female delegates were few. In 1932 Jeannie was the only female newspaper proprietor and editor in southern Queensland ⁴ and one of only three women in charge of newspapers in Queensland.⁵

Articles in the Rosewood Register and Marburg Mail were often quoted or re-printed in other newspapers around the state. A notable employee during that time was Mr Gordon Chalk who would later briefly become the 30^th Premier of Queensland.

Printers from the Rosewood Register & Marburg Mail, newspaper, Ipswich, ca. 1920s – Image Courtesy of Picture Ipswich

Jeannie ran the newspaper until 1938 when health issues prompted a holiday and a return to Ipswich. She was honoured at a large gathering in the Farmers Hall with Councillor A. J. Loveday, Chairman of the Rosewood Shire Council in attendance to praise her leadership and long contribution to public affairs in Rosewood.⁶It was quite a formal affair with lots of speeches and entertainment. She received a morocco-fitted travelling bag as a parting gift. The parish ladies of St Brigid’s Catholic Church also farewelled her at an afternoon tea in the convent schoolroom and presented her with a canvas travelling bag.

In 1931 whilst still living in the town, Jeannie was sworn in at the Rosewood Court House to become the first woman Justice of the Peace in Rosewood.⁷ This was another notable achievement for the woman, and for a woman of her times.

Before that, in 1924 a new branch of the Country Women’s Association (CWA) was established in Rosewood. From its inception Jeannie was there. She became the first Secretary of the branch.⁸ This marks the beginning of her office bearing at the Qld CWA becoming also ‘first President of the West Moreton Division, and a councillor of the association.’⁹She appears to have embraced the institution and its abiding principles attending meetings in neighbouring towns, attending conferences, fund-raising and organising activities. ‘She spent a great deal of her time travelling the district making C.W.A. known far and wide.’ ¹⁰ On one occasion Jeannie attended a reception for the Duke of Gloucester, and another at Parliament House representing the CWA. In this way she became well-known beyond the Ipswich-Rosewood area. In fact the Courier Mail opined in 1952 that Jeanie was ‘perhaps the best-known C.W.A. leader in the State.’¹¹Considering the popularity of the organisation around this time, such praise is notable.

When World War II came around women of the CWA contributed to the war effort in their own way, supporting local soldiers. One project was making camouflage nets to cover soldiers’ helmets. The CWA also repaired military clothing and made cakes for soldiers at Christmas. At the end of the war they would assist returning soldiers, women arriving from overseas, and send food to war-ravaged England and Europe.

In January of 1945 as President of the West Moreton Division of CWA, Jeannie began a regular weekly column in The Queensland Times under the heading – The CWA in Action. Here she stated that the purpose of the association was to ‘improve conditions and promote welfare of women and children.’¹² Projects like the CWA Restroom in Rosewood and provision of a visiting child welfare nurse did just that. Miss Pender was also a prime motivating force for the establishment of the CWA Mothers Hostel in Limestone Street and the hostels located at the corner of Brisbane and Milford Streets, Ipswich. Members of the CWA raised funds to purchase and furnish the old Campbell home and the former Oakdale Private Hospital to become those hostels. Motivation for the provision of these boarding homes was altruism. None of them were intended to produce an income. The intent was to help expectant mothers, mothers of sick kids, boys from the country desirous of obtaining a secondary education, and young women needing somewhere safe to live. The hostels were a part of the Ipswich landscape for many years and provided a much needed social service. The money raised for these projects was considerable and involved a mammoth effort and commitment on behalf of the CWA.

Miss Jeannie Pender was a woman of many parts. As well as being a publisher, journalist and CWA executive she had a passion for horticulture and was designated a life member of Rosewood Agricultural & Horticultural Association.¹³ She took a very active interest and role in civic affairs including the Show Society, fund raising for the Comforts Fund during World War II, and was a member of St Brigid’s Roman Catholic Church.

Jeannie could be described as a pillar of the community. When she died in Lyndhurst Private Hospital on 29^th February 1952, Jeannie Pender had achieved much and lived a remarkable life. Her funeral was at St Mary’s and burial at Ipswich General Cemetery.