A Clear Vision is the story of Mrs Janet O'Connor, first Lady Principal of the new Brisbane Girls Grammar School in 1875. Her philosophy of education would clash with the grammar mode and she went on to found her own school in the City which moved to Oxley and was called Duporth. Designed and purpose-built as a boarding and day school for girls, students came from Brisbane and across Queensland and Northern New South Wales. Duporth was known for its liberal curriculum, art and music, and the best teachers were appointed. The school had a close friendship with Dame Nellie Melba.
The book contains biographies of students as well as lists of enrolments and staff, between 1877 and 1920, shedding light on the role of women in Colonial Australia, particularly in education.
The book is a reconstruction and an anatomy of a school - a window into the world of early Queensland and Australia, its people, emergent classes, values and aspirations.