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Sir Francis Anderson, philosopher and educationist, was Sydney University’s first Challis professor of logic and mental philosophy. Critical of the pupil-teacher system that prevailed in NSW at the time, and of the rigidity of curriculum and teaching methods, he adopted the slogan “Train the Teacher, Trust the Teacher and Pay the Teacher” and helped develop what became known in NSW as the New Syllabus. He married Maybanke Wolstenholme, née Selfe, in 1899.

Glebe connections

Francis Anderson, from the collection of National Library of Australia, nla.pic-an22410688
Francis Anderson, from the collection of National Library of Australia, nla.pic-an22410688

For a number of years while he was Challis professor of logic and mental philosophy at the University of Sydney, Francis Anderson and his wife Maybanke Anderson divided their time between Apricot, a ‘picturesque town house’ at 27 Arundel Street, and a larger property at Pittwater, near Bayview Post Office. The Andersons were at Apricot from ca 1910 to 1916. The house has since been demolished.

More information

Australian Dictionary of Biography

Glebe Society Bulletin, 8/2008, p6 ‘Maybanke Anderson and Francis Anderson’

Glebe Walks – 61 Arundel Street

Posted on 6 April 2013 by Peter

For more information email: heritage@glebesociety.org.au


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