Mary Nelson (nee Baker) is the great great niece of Williamstown educator and literary lover Kate Baker O.B.E. (1861-1953). Mary is researching Kate’s life and wants community help locating a bronze plaque dedicated to her great great aunt.
Described in the Williamstown Chronicle in June 1945 as a “distinguished daughter of Williamstown”, a young nine year old Kate Baker and her family arrived from Ireland after three months at sea in October, 1870.
She was fortunate to have attended a small church school in Ireland from an early age. Arriving in Williamstown, Kate commenced schooling at the Church of England school headed by Mr Otter P. Blom in 1871. This school had around 500 students in attendance and amalgamated with Williamstown North school when it opened in 1874.
Completing her schooling some 10 years later, Kate went on to train as a pupil teacher and taught in many schools throughout regional Victoria during her long career. Prior to, and during her teaching career, Kate haunted the Williamstown Mechanics Institute and was often first to arrive and the last to leave. She shared the space with Mrs Ada Cross (wife of the Reverend George Cross – Holy Trinity Church, Williamstown) also known as Ada Cambridge, pioneer Australian author.
Today if you are inside the Town Hall, you can see a memorial plaque dedicated to Ada Cambridge as a resident of Williamstown and an additional plaque acknowledging the restoration of the Town Hall and the completion of the Ada Cambridge Forecourt.
It was Kate Baker and her contacts at the Adam Lindsay Gordon Lover’s Society that led the initiative to have the plaque erected inside the Town Hall in 1946. Having returned to teach at Williamstown North School on several occasions for 13 or so years, Kate was well and truly wedded to what was happening in Williamstown.
With a large extended family still in residence at ’Waterford’ at 33 Junction Street, Williamstown, Kate remained devoted to the town her family now called home. She and other members of the Baker family were lifelong members of the ’Old Williamstownian’s Association’, and Kate was called on to present reminiscences and recitations at regular reunions.
In October 1938 on the occasion of the North Williamstown State School reunion, Kate had been invited as a special guest to address the gathering. She approached the microphone receiving an ovation as she spoke, and paid tribute to past headmaster Mr Ulbrick.
As well, she presented the school with a bronze plaque of herself that she had been awarded as a tribute to the work she had done in the ‘cause of Australian literature’ by the Australian Literature Society.
Williamstown North Primary School is celebrating its 150th year this year and it would be wonderful to locate the plaque to further Kate’s story and her connection with Williamstown.
Anyone with information please contact maglnelson@bigpond.com
