Mary W. Waters

Mary W. Waters (18**-19**) was a missionary in South Africa, as well as Mary Waters was a teacher, school principal mentor, poet and playwright.

Also known as M.W. Waters or simply as Mary Waters

Biography

Born Mary Waterton Waters, she was considered a fierce, eccentric and formidable woman, with a strong interest in the history of the region. Among other things, she was the founding principal of the first junior secondary school in the Albany Road area, a facility created by Rhodes University Education Department as Rhodes Practicing School and intended to provide workplace experience for both lecturers and students. It became a high school in 1963 and was later named Mary Waters High School in her honour.

Besides penning poetry and drama, she also wrote a number of books for school use, such as the series Stories from History for Bantu Children (used for Standards I & II; III & IV; V & VI), published by Juta in the 1940s.

Contribution to South African theatre

She wrote a number of plays in Xhosa for school use, notably uNongqause (or Nonqause), which was to be the second play put on by the Bantu Dramatic Society in 1933/4(??) (Published by Lovedale Press in 1924).

Sources

Peter Kallaway. 2018. History in popular literature and textbooks for Xhosa schools, 1850-1950s. In: Yesterday and Today No 20[1]

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