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Line 1: {{Use dmy dates\|date=February 2021}} {{Use Australian English\|date=~~February~~July 2021}} {{Short description\|Australian Sister of Charity and educator}} {{Infobox religious biography \| religion = Catholicism Line 13 ⟶ 14: '''Mary Dunstan Wilson''' (born Ella, 1870–1959) was an [[Australians\|Australian]] educator and member of the [[Sisters of Charity of Australia]]. == Early life and education == ~~== Biography ==~~ Ella Wilson was born on 21 August 1870, in [[Maitland, New South Wales\|Maitland]], [[New South Wales]], [[Australia]]. Her parents were Frederick Alfred Adolphus Wilson and Jemima Duncan Wilson (née Thomson). Her father worked as a bank accountant.<ref name=":0">{{Citation\|last=O'Carrigan\|first=Catherine\|title=Wilson, Ella (1870–1959)\|url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/wilson-ella-12046\|work=Australian Dictionary of Biography\|place=Canberra\|publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University\|access-date=2021-02-09}}</ref> Wilson attended the [[University of Sydney]], earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1892 and a Master of Arts in 1895.<ref name=":0" /> It was still quite uncommon for women to earn advanced degrees at the time. The first two women graduated from the University of Sydney in 1985, only seven years before Wilson began her studies.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web\|last=Melbourne\|first=The University of\|title=Early Graduates – Theme – The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia\|url=http://www.womenaustralia.info/leaders/biogs/WLE0432b.htm\|access-date=2021-02-09\|website=www.womenaustralia.info\|language=en-gb}}</ref> == Career == Like many of the first women university graduates,<ref name=":1" /> Wilson became a teacher. She began her career teaching at the [[Ipswich Girls Grammar School]] and other grammar schools in Queensland. She taught swimming as well as the general curriculum.<ref name=":0" /> In 1900, Wilson converted to Catholicism. She was drawn to the religious life, and joined the Sisters of Charity of Australia, professing her final vows in 1905. The Sisters of Charity were the first Catholic religious sisters to establish a community in Australia; they arrived in 1838.<ref>{{Cite web\|title=Our History – Sisters of Charity Australia\|url=https://www.sistersofcharity.org.au/who-we-are/history/\|access-date=2021-02-09\|language=en}}</ref> By the 1900s the Sisters of Charity were well established in New South Wales, and had a positive reputation for their commitment to education and health care.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web\|last=Melbourne\|first=The University of\|title=Catholic Schools – Theme – The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia\|url=http://www.womenaustralia.info/leaders/biogs/WLE0688b.htm\|access-date=2021-02-09\|website=www.womenaustralia.info\|language=en-gb}}</ref> Upon joining the order, Wilson took on the religious name Mary Dunstan. In 1872, the Australian government had ceased funding denominational schools, and began expanding public schools. Catholic schools began to rely heavily on religious orders to provide teaching and curriculum development.<ref name=":2" /> Sister Dunstan, as she was now known, was sent by her order to study at the [[University of Melbourne]], where she earned a Diploma in Education in 1908.<ref name=":0" /> She then taught at St. Vincent's Training School, affiliated with the order's Mother House in Sydney. In 1915, Sister Dunstan became the mistress of method. In this role, she lectured, and authored articles and books on education, methodology and other subjects. She greatly influenced the teaching at St. Vincent's for the next twenty-seven years. One of Sister Dunstan's more notable books was an introduction of psychology, entitled ''How our Minds Work'', which was published in 1925.<ref>{{Cite web\|title=Wilson, M. Dunstan (Mary Dunstan), Sister, 1870–1959 – Full record view – Libraries Australia Search\|url=https://librariesaustralia.nla.gov.au/search/display?dbid=auth&id=36298855\|access-date=2021-02-09\|website=librariesaustralia.nla.gov.au}}</ref> It was well-regarded as an introductory text, and commended by the school inspectors, who evaluated public and private education in Victoria, on behalf of the government.<ref>{{Cite news\|date=1925-12-03\|title=AN INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY.\|pages=12\|work=Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954)\|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16258719\|access-date=2021-02-09}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Sister Dunstan also authored ''Social Studies for Secondary School Pupils and Those at Home,'' in 1939, and ''The Junior Bible and Church History'' in 1941.<ref name=":0" /> Line 26 ⟶ 30: From 1942 to 1948, Mother Dunstan served as the general councillor and assistant to the superior general of her order. She advised the superior general on educational matters.<ref name=":0" /> == Death == After being cared for in the Sacred Heart hospice, in Darlinghurst, Mother Dunstan died on 29 March 1959. She was 88 years old.<ref name=":0" /> Line 33 ⟶ 38: {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT: Wilson, Mary Dunstan}} [[Category:1870 births]] [[Category:1959 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century Australian Roman Catholic ~~religious sisters and~~ nuns]] [[Category:19th-century Australian women]] ~~[[Category:20th-century Australian women]]~~ [[Category:People from Maitland, New South Wales]] [[Category: Australian schoolteachers]] [[Category:Sisters of Charity of Australia]]