Cecil Nielson
Cecil Maeve Nielson (1938—) is a retired Australian educator and linguist.
Nielson lived in the Northern Territory from 1965 until her retirement in 2004. Over her 39 years with the NT Department of Education, she worked in Aboriginal and bilingual (ESL) education, outstation (remote) and post-primary education, curriculum and assessment and multicultural education.
In her own words to the Zonta Club of Caboolture, Queensland, in 2017:
"My mother was a Townsville girl and married Dad, from Brisbane, a builder and painter who came to Townsville for a work project. I was born in 1938 in Townsville, and we moved to Brisbane two years later. My brother Gil was born 1944. In Brisbane I experienced a stable life – attended Kangaroo Point State School all my primary years, then State Commercial High School, had a teacher’s scholarship for my last two years there and continued on to Kelvin Grove Teachers’ Training College, the only one in Queensland at that time, for one year. I had wanted to become a teacher since my primary school days, and being a Sunday school teacher from the age of 14 was invaluable in preparing me to interact with children as a teacher in my professional life.
"After teaching in Queensland schools 1957 to 1964, I moved to Milingimbi, NT, with Methodist Overseas Missions, in 1965, the year my father died. Living in a traditional Aboriginal community in the 60’s and early 70s was certainly an eye-opener and at first a culture shock for me. But I came to know and respect the Milingimbi folk – their kinship system, their language Gupupuyngu, and their cultural customs, and I loved teaching the children who had to learn English as another language. This was the beginning of my career in the English as a Second Language field.
"To upgrade my qualifications I completed the Bachelor of Education Degree in 1968 as a part-time student. I left Milingimbi in March 1971 to take up a promotional position as Senior Curriculum Advisor in English for all Aboriginal Schools, becoming the most highly paid senior woman in the Commonwealth Public Service in NT. Thereafter I occupied senior positions in English, Curriculum Development and Multicultural Education for all NT schools. Further studies included Graduate Diploma in TESL 1973 (University of PNG), and Master’s Degree in Curriculum Studies 1988 (University of New England). I returned to the specialist ESL field in 1983, as Principal Education Officer TESL, a position I held until my retirement at the end of 1999. During 1996-99, as well as ESL, I oversaw Commonwealth funded curriculum projects for Aboriginal Schools, producing curriculum materials for teachers and children for English, Social Education, Mathematics, and Science.
"After my retirement from the NT Education Department (December 1999), I was a part-time lecturer in TESL at the University in Darwin for three years. To experience more of life around me in NT, I joined the Zonta Club of Darwin in 1983 (officially 1984), and met wonderful women in business and other professions, and eventually was President twice over. In the Arts area I became a member of the North Australian Eisteddfod Council in the 1970’s and remain a Life Member. My Sunday school involvement, now called Children’s Ministry, continued in NT and now continues here in Caboolture. Joining other professional associations led me into areas of leadership in NT and nationally, and I am a Life Member in these associations. I never married, nor had children, but have enjoyed valuable friendships and teaching scores of children in Queensland and NT. My mother and my brother Gil joined me in NT in 1974. Mum and I survived Cyclone Tracy that year, and Mum remained with me until her death in 1990." (Nielson, 2017: p 5-6).
Nielson retired to Caboolture, Queensland in 2004. She lives with her brother Gil.
Nielson, C. (2017, February 22). Zontians at work in our community [newsletter]. Zonta Club of Caboolture, Inc. https://zontadistrict22.org/wp-content/uploads/Newsletter-February-2017.pdf
