Phebe Watson

Phebe Naomi Watson (23 May 1876 – 19 September 1964) was a South Australian teacher and educator, active in securing better conditions for women teachers.

Phebe Watson was born in Princess Street, near Angas Street, Adelaide, the eldest daughter of Edward Watson (c. 1846 – 27 February 1884) and his wife, Sarah Jane Watson, née Goldsmith (c. 1852 – 19 June 1927). Phebe was educated at a private school, then enrolled at the Grote Street Public School, in order to sit for the monitor's examination to gain entrance to the Education Department. She served as a pupil teacher at Goodwood Public School, then in 1896 entered the training college, at that time under Andrew Scott. She taught briefly at Quorn under A. T. Darke, when her health broke down and she was forced temporarily to abandon her career. She resumed work at Mitcham, then Woodville School, where R. Miethke was the longtime headmaster. Then began a lifelong professional and personal relationship with his daughter Adelaide Miethke.

In February 1901 she was appointed a teacher's assistant under A. H. Neale. at Grote Street School, which specialised in training of pupil-teachers. In 1908 she became assistant at the Currie Street Observation School under J. Fairweather, with special responsibilities as Supervisor of Lodgings, then in 1916 head teacher of its model country school. She became mistress of method in 1921 and assumed full charge of training country teachers. In 1923 the whole of the Currie Street school was dedicated to training of country teachers with Phebe as head lecturer. She also served as warden of women teachers, giving practical advice on deportment, dress, manners and personal relationships, in which she, by example, set high standards. This position was formalized at the Teachers' College in 1926.

She retired from the Education Department in December 1936, and in 1946 moved to Brighton, Victoria, where she lived at 6 Stewart Street, Brighton Beach, returning to South Australia shortly before her death.

Phebe Watson was General Secretary from 1913 of the Women Teachers' Association, which became the Women Teachers' Progressive League in 1915; she continued in this role until 1923, when she received her transfer to the Teachers' College staff, and was appointed the League's Press Secretary. She was elected vice-president of the Public Teachers' Union in 1923, In 1937, some six hundred teachers, frustration at the inability of the Union to achieve anything like pay equality for women teachers, broke away from the Union to form the South Australian Women Teachers' Guild, and Phebe was elected its first president. (The following year, those women members of the Union who did not join the Guild formed the Women Teachers' Association.) She also edited the Guild's Chronicle, which she continued after her resignation as president in 1940.

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