Miss Gleadall taught piano from the School’s inception until her retirement in 1976 – a record of 54 years of continuous service to the school!

Miss Dorothy Gleadall was born in Brighton of musical parents, her father being an opera singer and her mother a pianist.

Dorothy showed musical talent early and trained at Melbourne University's Conservatorium. Her first teaching was at a small school called St. Andrew's; then in 1922 she was invited to teach piano at Carey when it opened in February 1923. She was present at the School's very first assembly. For almost sixty years after that she taught a large number of Carey students, in various locations in the school, including a tiny room in the coach house, a room upstairs in Urangeline, and a studio in Laycock House. Even those who had no other contact with her will remember her enormous, blue Studebaker Lark, for which a place in the drive always had to be kept, and out of which every morning stepped a slight figure carrying an armful of books and hurrying off to work.

Miss Gleadall was a tireless worker. Her “meticulous attention to detail and her unwavering insistence on the highest standard of execution made her an outstanding teacher from whom innumerable Carey boys have benefited.

She also taught private pupils at her home in Mont Albert - her first lesson was often at 6.30 a.m. and often the last finished at 11.00 p.m. She had a great gift for teaching music theory, and for a long time she lectured on this subject, and the history of music, to students at the Albert Street Conservatorium. For 25 years she taught also at P.L.C. when the school was located in East Melbourne.

Her former pupils recall that she was a pretty demanding bundle of energy, with very exacting standards, however, they also remember her kindness and her total devotion to music. Many of her students learnt not only music from her, but also sincerity, and what it means to work hard and to pursue as much excellence as one is capable of.

Miss Gleadall died in Kew on 6 May 1985 aged 88 years. She was the last surviving foundation member of Carey’s staff.