Helen Plummer Phillips
[5][6][7] Helen Phillips was born on 19 November 1850 to a relatively well-off family in Shaugh Prior, Devon, England and grew up in Lee Moor House.
[8] John Phillips had to sell the company and mining leases after his father's death but went on to establish Aller Vale pottery.
[10] Phillips graduated from Bedford College, London and became a teacher, a senior assistant mistress at Sheffield Girls' High, England.
[11][6] Her younger brother Richard Henry Phillips emigrated to Australia in 1884 and became Rector of the Anglican parish of Taree NSW then Canon of Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle.
"[14] She was known as a strong supporter of education for women, a progressive headmistress, and expanded the curriculum, encouraging the students to undertake public service and university entrance examinations.
[15][17] She introduced the school's motto In Christo Thesauri Sapientiae at ScientiaI, "In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge".
[19] In July 1890, she wrote a letter to the editor of the Sydney Morning Herald in response to an article written by a man saying that women had not achieved anything great, especially in poetry, drama and music.
[20] In her letter, she mentioned that Phillipa Fawcett had earned the highest marks in mathematics at Cambridge University after gaining a scholarship to Newnham College.
The mission involved university students in charitable works and educating poorer people in the area in the settlement movement tradition.
[29] In accepting the offer of this position, she resigned as principal of St Catherine's and postponed her intention to travel to northern India to help a missionary friend, Elizabeth Clay.
[17] Meanwhile, in Australia, toys, useful articles and funds were collected in Anglican churches to send to "Miss Helen Phillips' Mission Station in Ceylon".
[17] In the 1903 edition of The Church Missionary Gleaner and in her memoir, Phillips described the boys and girls at the Dodanduwa schools as her godsons and goddaughters.
[17] Phillips said she had to work hard to persuade families to allow their daughters to continue education instead of being married at a young age or kept at home.
Phillips staffed the Ceylon stall displaying the crafts of her old schools at Dodanduwa [56] She attended St Luke's Anglican church at Medlow Bath near Blackheath and became a significant benefactor.
[57] Helen Phillips died at Gordon, Sydney NSW on 25 May 1929, her funeral service was held at St John's Church of England, Gordon and she is buried at Macquarie Park Cemetery, Ryde, NSW (then Northern Suburbs General Cemetery) [58][31][59] The Anglican historian Woolston sums up Phillips legacy as: "...with profound Christian faith she was a leader when women were just beginning to emerge from educational poverty.
