John Marden

John Marden (9 April 1855 – 29 October 1924) was an Australian headmaster, pioneer of women's education, and Presbyterian elder.

Early life and training Born in Prahran, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Marden was the fifth child of English parents, John Marden, a butcher, and his wife Catherine, née Murphy. He was educated at The Geelong College and the University of Melbourne, where he graduated as a Master of Arts in Mathematics and Physics.

While completing his law degree, Marden married a schoolteacher, Jane Armstrong at Cape Clear, on 20 December 1883. He also returned to his old school, The Geelong College, this time as a teacher under notable educator George Morrison, moving to the Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne (M.L.C Melbourne) as a Science master three years later.

Career In July 1887, the committee of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New South Wales advertised for an appropriate Principal for its new school, The Presbyterian Ladies' College in Sydney. Marden applied for the position and was unanimously selected "because of his high academic standing, his experience and success in teaching and his high Christian character."

In 1890, after his examination in jurisprudence, the University of Sydney conferred on him the degree of LL.D. That year the College had outgrown the Ashfield site, and so the Presbyterian Church in New South Wales purchased Shubra Hall, the home of Anthony Hordern, at Croydon. Marden worked closely with Albert Bond, the architect of the new school, and was responsible for most of the ideas for the new buildings, based on what he had seen at M.L.C Melbourne.

He believed that women should share in opportunities for secondary and tertiary education, and also hold high Christian ideals. Although trained as a lawyer, he gave physics, chemistry and biology a prominent place at a time when few schools included much science in the curriculum. He also instituted a house system in both schools. In his later years he was assisted by a prominent educational innovator, Dr E. Neil McQueen, a scientist and an ardent advocate of the Dalton plan for education, who later succeeded him at the Croydon College.

Marden was active in the Presbyterian Church, serving as an elder at Ashfield for 28 years, and for his last six years at Wentworth Falls. He died at Randwick on 29 October 1924 at 69 years of age, and was buried in South Head Cemetery. His wife, son and three daughters survived him.

Legacy The Marden Memorial Library at the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney, Marden Boarding House at Pymble Ladies' College and Marden house are named after him.