People Australia

Sheila Agnes Rose Cleary, née McLennan (1906-1991) teacher and trade unionist 

Birth: 24 September 1906 at Randwick, New South Wales, daughter of Scottish-born Alexander McLennan (1868-1945), sailmaker, foundation member of Randwick branch of the Australian Labor Party, and secretary of Sailmakers Union, and Victorian-born Catherine ‘Katie’, née Sloan (1872-1945). Marriage: 21 December 1929 at the Presbyterian church, Randwick, to Sydney-born Harold Leslie Cleary (1906-1979), carrier, later clerk. They had two daughters and two sons, one named Ken. Death: 9 May 1991 in a nursing home at Springwood, NSW. 

• From 10 June 1924 to 1971 she was an infants’ teacher and later infants’ mistress in numerous schools in NSW.
• Active in NSW Teachers Federation from 1924. At forefront of campaigns to repeal Married Women Teachers and Lecturers Act and Equal Pay Campaign, aligned with Sam Lewis.
• NSW Teachers Federation councillor for 31 years, frequently acting as secretary. Foundation member of Teachers' Club. Board member of ten years.
• Life member of Randwick Literary Institute and Randwick Historical Society, and 'an early environmentalist'.
• Retired to Springwood, in the Blue Mountains, NSW, in 1971.
• Cause of death: cerebro-vascular arteriosclerosis and congestive cardiac failure.
• Author of A Manual for Infants’ Teachers (Sydney, n.d.) and children’s stories in Aussie Animals (Sydney, [1946?]), and Aussie Birds (Sydney, [1948?].
• Body donated to the University of New South Wales.

Sources
Education, 20 May 1991.