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Constance Le Plastrier

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Constance Le Plastrier
Le Plastrier in 1923
Le Plastrier in 1923
Born(1864-01-23)23 January 1864
St Kilda, Victoria, Australia
Died7 February 1938(1938-02-07) (aged 74)
North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Pen name
  • Erica
  • Mary Lee

Constance Mary Le Plastrier (23 January 1864 – 7 February 1938) was an Australian schoolteacher, botanist and writer. She was the first woman to be elected president of the Field Naturalists' Society of New South Wales. Shortly before her death she received the Cross of Pope Leo XIII (pro Ecclesia et Pontifice).[1]

Life

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Le Plastrier was born in St Kilda, Victoria on 23 January 1864.[2] She began her teaching career in Melbourne and in 1895 she converted to Roman Catholicism.[2]

She moved to Sydney in 1900 where she was employed by Redlands School in Cremorne, teaching English, Latin and botany.[3] She was a long-term contributor to both the Catholic Press and Sacred Heart Messenger.[4] Her 1916 textbook, Botany for Australian students, co-written with Agnes A. Brewster, was considered "the best work to date on Australian botany, a book which has obtained a high reputation in botanical circles, at home and abroad".[4]

She joined the Field Naturalists' Society of New South Wales in about 1912 and in 1919 was elected president, the first woman to fill that role.[4] In 1922, became its first female secretary.[5] At the same time she was president of the Assistant Mistresses' Association, hon. secretary of the Teachers' Guild of NSW (since c.1913) and hon. editor of Microscopical Society of New South Wales' journal.[5]

Le Plastrier died in the Mater Misericordiae private hospital in North Sydney on 7 February 1938. She was survived by three sisters and two brothers.[6] Her funeral left her home at 22 Provincial Road, Lindfield for the Northern Suburbs Cemetery.[7]

Works

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As herself

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  • Le Plastrier, Constance M. (1910), Heirs in exile, William P. Linehan
  • Brewster, Agnes A.; Le Plastrier, Constance M. (1916), Botany for Australian students, Dymock's Book Arcade
  • Le Plastrier, Constance M. (1929), The Cloudy Porch, Sands
  • Le Plastrier, Constance M. (1933), The story of our plants: First steps in Australian botany, Nangle, E. M. (illustrator), Shakespeare Head Press

As Mary Lee

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  • Lee, Mary (1929–30), "The Heir of Tramore" (serialised), Catholic Press
  • Lee, Mary (1930–31), "Tempering the Steel" (serialised), Catholic Press

References

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  1. ^ "Amongst Our Catholic People". Catholic Freeman's Journal. Vol. LXXXVI. New South Wales, Australia. 6 January 1938. p. 18. Retrieved 4 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ a b "Constance Mary Le Plastrier". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. Archived from the original on 4 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Late Miss Constance Le Plastrier". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 31, 237. New South Wales, Australia. 12 February 1938. p. 20. Retrieved 4 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ a b c "All About People: Tittle Tattle". The Catholic Press. No. 1232. New South Wales, Australia. 7 August 1919. p. 24. Retrieved 4 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ a b "Another Pioneer". The Daily Telegraph. No. 13, 809. New South Wales, Australia. 14 August 1923. p. 4. Retrieved 4 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Obituar". The Catholic Press. No. 2196. New South Wales, Australia. 17 February 1938. p. 21. Retrieved 4 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 31, 234. New South Wales, Australia. 9 February 1938. p. 15. Retrieved 4 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
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