Mary Hannay Foott
Encyclopedia
Mary Hannay Foott was an Australian poet and editor who is best remembered for the poem Where the pelican builds.
Mary Hannay Foott was born at Glasgow
to a merchant, James Black, and his wife Miss Grant. The family came to Australia in 1853. Mary lived for some years with her parents near Melbourne and went to Miss Harper's school. She was afterwards one of the first students at the Melbourne National Gallery Art School, and also studied painting under Louis Buvelot
.
In 1874 Mary married Thomas Wade Foott and lived for three years in Bourke, New South Wales
. In 1877 her husband took up country on the Paroo River
in south-west Queensland
. One of her poems, "New Country", is descriptive of her own experience, and the next seven years in this country had a great influence on her writings. Her husband died in 1884 from over-work and exposure during the drought of that year, and the losses of stock were so great that Mrs Foott was obliged to sell her interest in the property and move to Toowoomba, Queensland
.
In July 1885 Foott went to Rocklea, near Brisbane
, and opened a private school which supported her family. In the same year she published her first volume Where the Pelican Builds and Other Poems, and began to do journalistic work for the Queenslander and Brisbane Courier. In 1887 she joined the staff of the Queenslander and wrote under the pen-name of "La Quenouille", but several stories also appeared in her own name. These have never been collected. Morna Lee and Other Poems, largely a reprint of her first volume, was published in 1890. Mrs Foott continued her literary work for many years at Brisbane, and from 1907 at Bundaberg, Queensland
, where she died in September 1918.
Foott's younger son was killed in action at Passchendaele in September 1917, and she was survived by her other son, Brigadier-General Cecil Henry Foott
, C.B., C.M.G., who was born on 16 January 1876, educated as an engineer, and serving with distinction through the great war was six times mentioned in dispatches. He commanded the 4th Division A.M.F. 1929-31, and died on 27 June 1942.
Mrs Foott's published verse was small in quantity but usually of good quality. One of her poems "Where the Pelican Builds" is included in most Australian anthologies.
Mary Hannay Foott was born at Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
to a merchant, James Black, and his wife Miss Grant. The family came to Australia in 1853. Mary lived for some years with her parents near Melbourne and went to Miss Harper's school. She was afterwards one of the first students at the Melbourne National Gallery Art School, and also studied painting under Louis Buvelot
Louis Buvelot
Louis Buvelot , born Abram-Louis Buvelot, was a Swiss-born landscape painter who emigrated to Australia in 1865 and influenced the Heidelberg School of painters.-Early life:...
.
In 1874 Mary married Thomas Wade Foott and lived for three years in Bourke, New South Wales
Bourke, New South Wales
-Transportation:Bourke can be reached by the Mitchell Highway, with additional sealed roads from town to the north , east and south . The town is also served by Bourke Airport and has Countrylink bus service to other regional centres, like Dubbo...
. In 1877 her husband took up country on the Paroo River
Paroo River
The Paroo River is a river in Eastern Australia and is often considered to be major tributary of the Darling River in eastern Australia, although its flow generally dissipates before it reaches the Darling...
in south-west Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. One of her poems, "New Country", is descriptive of her own experience, and the next seven years in this country had a great influence on her writings. Her husband died in 1884 from over-work and exposure during the drought of that year, and the losses of stock were so great that Mrs Foott was obliged to sell her interest in the property and move to Toowoomba, Queensland
Toowoomba, Queensland
Toowoomba is a city in Southern Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital city, Brisbane. With an estimated district population of 128,600, Toowoomba is Australia's second largest inland city and its largest non-capital inland city...
.
In July 1885 Foott went to Rocklea, near Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, and opened a private school which supported her family. In the same year she published her first volume Where the Pelican Builds and Other Poems, and began to do journalistic work for the Queenslander and Brisbane Courier. In 1887 she joined the staff of the Queenslander and wrote under the pen-name of "La Quenouille", but several stories also appeared in her own name. These have never been collected. Morna Lee and Other Poems, largely a reprint of her first volume, was published in 1890. Mrs Foott continued her literary work for many years at Brisbane, and from 1907 at Bundaberg, Queensland
Bundaberg, Queensland
Bundaberg is a city in Queensland, Australia. It is part of the Local Government Area of the Bundaberg Region and is a major centre within Queensland's broader Wide Bay-Burnett geographical region...
, where she died in September 1918.
Foott's younger son was killed in action at Passchendaele in September 1917, and she was survived by her other son, Brigadier-General Cecil Henry Foott
Cecil Henry Foott
Major General Cecil Henry Foott CB, CMG was an Australian Army colonel and temporary Brigadier General in World War I...
, C.B., C.M.G., who was born on 16 January 1876, educated as an engineer, and serving with distinction through the great war was six times mentioned in dispatches. He commanded the 4th Division A.M.F. 1929-31, and died on 27 June 1942.
Mrs Foott's published verse was small in quantity but usually of good quality. One of her poems "Where the Pelican Builds" is included in most Australian anthologies.
External links
- Margaret Henry, Cecil Hadgraft, 'Foott, Mary Hannay (1846 - 1918)', Australian Dictionary of BiographyAustralian Dictionary of BiographyThe Australian Dictionary of Biography is a national, co-operative enterprise, founded and maintained by the Australian National University to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's history....
, Volume 4, Melbourne University Press, 1972, pp 194-195. - Text of Where the Pelican Builds and Other Poems.