Ms Patricia Dewey, retired teacher and historian

• retired as a teacher at Beecroft Primary School (BPS) where she taught from early 1989. 

• Patricia is a local resident – having called Pennant Hills home for close to 40 years.

• Patricia has long held an interest in local history – and was both a member of and later president of the Hornsby Shire Historical Society.

• At BPS One of the first things she did was to prepare a booklet showing the places of historical interest in and around the school and for several years children in her various classes would walk around the local area with a copy of the booklet observing the landmarks and recording their own observations. 

• When the centenary celebrations of the school were being considered the principal asked her to write a history of the school to mark this significant occasion. This she did – with The book completed in time for the centenary celebrations in 1997.

• At BPS she gathered all the historical resources held at the schools and systemically filed them in a space dedicated to securing the archives of BPS. 

• When the North Connex Tunnel was being constructed her thoughts turned to the people who had owned property along its route so she wrote a book, They Lived Along Pennant Hills Road. 

• The book was completed in time for the opening of the tunnel. Patricia and her husband were invited to and represented the local community at the official opening of the tunnel as community representatives. 

 

The history of Beecroft Public School, 1897-1997