Emily Bessie CANNELL M.B.E. [4579]

  General Notes:

1906 NZ Birth /20156 Cannell Emily Bessie, Ada Emily, William Douglas
1991 NZ Death /28168 Cannell Emily Bessie dob 3 October 1906)

Occupation: Teacher

Member of the Order of the British Empire (Civil Div)
Miss Emily Bessie Cannell - of New Plymouth. For services to education and child welfare, 1964.
Women's Viewpoint October 1964
Congratulations to Miss Emmie Cannell on being awarded the M.B.E. in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, for outstanding service to aducation, particularly in Taranaki. All branches of education in the city and district are very sincere in their congratulations to her in her well-deserved award. Mr Campbell, Director of Education, has written to her "of the honour given to one of our pioneer visiting teachers".

Miss Cannell was born in Palmerston North and had her post-primary education at New Plymouth Girls' High School. After her training as a primary school teacher she held positions in various grades of schools and spent a year as an exchange teacher in Canada. Later she was head teacher of a school of 60 pupils in the far north - Ngunguru - where she did outstanding work which built up a real community centre for the parents and children of the district. In a letter of commendations to Miss Cannell, written in 1939 by the Hon. W. E. Parry, the then Minister of Internal Affairs, he says: "This most interesting account of how initiative and interest, coupled with determination, have succeeded in converting a lethargic atmosphere deep-rooted among the people of a village, into an enthusiastic little community, taking part in sports, entertainments and other forms of recreation in their own interests, pleasure and enjoyment and benefit. You have the right spirit and courage, and are deserving of congratulation and high commendation. It is work such as you have done that will speed on the country districts the movement of lifting people out of themselves by showing them how they can reach enjoyment, entertainment and recreation without the need to be off to the cities for their pleasure".

This experience led Miss Cannell to take the position of senior woman at the Intermediate Department of the Whantgarei High School, and at the same time she was in charge of the Girls' Hostel, which from a roll number of 29 rose quickly to 100.
In 1945 Miss Cannell was appointed a visiting teacher in New Plymouth. Dr Beeby, Director of Education at that time, considered that visiting teachers might assist in preventing delinquency after World War II, the visitor serving as a link between home and school where there were children with unsolved problems. There was a short course for such specialist teachers in Christchurch in 1949, but Miss Cannell felt that more training was necessary, so she went to Queensland in 1952 to a course in Remedial Education at Brisbane University under Professor Schonell, Dean of Education. After a concentrated three months course Miss Cannell received a Diploma in Remedial Teaching and was thus qualified to carry out psycholotgical testing and interpret the results of these tests. The training also covered psychiatric social work and training in home interviewing, which is an art in itself. The psychological testing of the bright or child results in finding out where extra encouragement is needed. These has been no trained psychologist in Taranaki until recently, so much work of the visiting teacher has been to get "onside" with the teachers, to discuss the problems with the parents and so endeavour to help the child with the unresolved problems. Mis Cannell has worked with both shool and home in a very tactful understanding manner. Her experience in detecting children of lower intelligence for whom ordinary school life would be impossible for both teacher and child, led her to be interested in the establishment of special classes for intellectually handicapped children and naturally this has led to her liaison with the Crippled Children's Society and the cases dealt with by this organisation. For many years she was an active member of Heritage and maintained a close link With Primary and secondary schools as well as the homes of Heritage children.

Since Miss Cannell's retirement in 1961, she has been acting in a part-time capacity as Counsellor at Spotswood College, a recently established co-educational school with a number of Maori girl students living at the adjacent Rangiatea Hostel. A student not fitting in to school work, or unsuccessful, or unhappy, can talk things out with an understanding woman with knowledge and experience. In her position, Miss Cannell can maintain a balanced outlook between the academic standard of the school and teacher, and the bias of the parent, often with its too-close emotional relationship, and so resolve the difficulties with harmony. She understands the difficulties of the adolescent in self-adjustment during that sometimes stormy period, and can sympathise with the parents in the exasperation or impatience which they sometimes experience while waiting for the "settling down" period to appear. She looks to the day when a trained counsellor will be serving full time on the staff of every large secondary school and particularly in boarding schools.
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Pandora's Box
Name: CANNELL Emily Bessie
Reference: NZ Gazette 1922
Source: NZ Government Gazette 1922
Additional Info: SCOLAR
Date: 1922
Page: 302
Further enquiries to: Refer source above

Pandora's Box
Name: CANNELL Emily Bessie
Reference: NZ Gazette 1933
Source: NZ Government Gazette 1933
Additional Info: TEACHR
Date: 1933
Page: 632
Further enquiries to: Refer source above

NZ Gazette Entries
Name: CANNELL Emily Bessie
Date: 1940
Place:
Occupation: Teacher
Source: NZ Gazette 1940 Vol 1
Page: 506
Record Type: Teachers Register
Further enquiries to: NZSG Family Research Centre or Main Centre Libraries

  Other Records

• NZ Electoral Rolls 1853-1981: spinster, 1928, Uruti, Mt Messenger, New Zealand.

• NZ Electoral Rolls 1853-1981: spinster, 1938, Ngunguru, New Zealand.

• NZ Electoral Rolls 1853-1981: spinster, 1943, Ngunguru, New Zealand.

• NZ Electoral Rolls 1853-1981: spinster, 1946, 20 Newton Street, New Plymouth, NZ.

• NZ Electoral Rolls 1853-1981: spinster, 1949, 20 Newton Street, New Plymouth, NZ.

• NZ Electoral Rolls 1853-1981: spinster, 1957, Manutahi Rd, Hillsborough, Stratford, New Zealand.

• NZ Electoral Rolls 1853-1981: spinster, 1960, 15 Manutahi Rd, Stratford, New Zealand.

• NZ Electoral Rolls 1853-1981: retired, 1963, 7 Blenheim Place, New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand.

• M.B.E.: Education, 1964, New Zealand. Emily Bessie Cannell, M.B.E. (article courtesy Women's Viewpoint October 1962)

• NZ Electoral Rolls 1853-1981: retired, 1966, 7 Blenheim Place, New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand.

• NZ Electoral Rolls 1853-1981: spinster, 1969, 290A Carrington Street, New Plymouth, NZ.

• NZ Electoral Rolls 1853-1981: spinster, 1972, 8 Grange road, Auckland, New Zealand.