Elizabeth Cleary was born on 10 October 1888 in Granville, New South Wales.[1][2]. She was the daughter of Michael Anthony Cleary and Elizabeth Nash.
The family moved around New South Wales, to the rural town of Wellington and later to Hoxton Park, near Liverpool. With her siblings, she attended Hoxton Park Public School.[3] Like her siblings, Elizabeth was a beneficiary of the Public Instruction Act (1880) which provided government-funded compulsory primary school education for all children in New South Wales.
Elizabeth herself became a school teacher. According to a newspaper article[4] published when she was 90 years old, Elizabeth ceased teaching and became a journalist, working for the South Coast Times" and The (Illawarra) Mercury for 40 years.
At the age of 39, she married Peter Monaghan in the Liverpool district of New South Wales..[5] A family story was that Peter Monaghan operated a banana plantation in Queensland, but this has not been confirmed. Elizabeth and Peter were the parents of two children.
One of Elizabeth Monaghan's books |
No doubt, influenced by her experience as a teacher, Elizabeth co-authored at least two children's books, published in her own name. Family sources also reported that she published other works under the pseudonym "Mona Ghan" derived from her married surname.
In later years, Elizabeth resided at 3 Bank Street, Bulli, New South Wales. She died on 21 December 1982 at the Wollongong Nursing Home in Figtree, New South Wales.[6]
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