Very few Mother Duck families, and indeed not so many of the current staff, will have heard of Roslyn Hinton, who passed away in May at the age of 85. However Mrs Ros, as she was known at the centres, played a huge role in establishing the Mother Duck we know and love today.

The story begins

Mrs Ros and Mr Denis Hinton bought the Enoggera Mother Duck business back in 1990, when it was just the one centre operating in a rickety church hall. Ros was the welcoming face who greeted most parents when they arrived in those days. Her focus on happy families was a key factor in the business. Ros was just as busy behind the scenes, establishing a standard of business operation that continues to be aspired to throughout Mother Duck. The ‘Ros Factor’, as it became known, meant old-school family values, kindness to all, and a willingness to go the extra mile to ensure the happiness of all the children, parents and staff.

Ros felt that having happy staff was a key part of a successful childcare centre, because happy staff meant happy children. Thus she ensured that there were always flowers for staff birthdays, and she established traditions such as the staff Christmas party, which endures to this day. Of course in those days the Christmas party was a group of 8 Enoggera employees. It’s now closer to 400 people and requires a convention centre!

Ros’s story

Roslyn Hinton was born in Maclean in New South Wales in 1939, and grew up among the Northern New South Wales cane fields where her father was a sugar cane scientist. She went to high school in Sydney, and then worked in a city bank. A highlight of her early 20s was a year spent working at the bank’s London branch, and a couple of months travelling around Europe. A few years later Ros met a handsome young farmer while skiing at Thredbo, and a move north to Queensland beckoned. Ros and Denis married in 1967, and she started a new life as a farmer’s wife in Biloela, Central Queensland.

After several decades of rural life, having raised two daughters, city lights beckoned again. Ros and Denis moved to Brisbane and took over the running of Mother Duck Enoggera, then the only Mother Duck childcare centre. It was a steep learning curve, however the centre flourished under the tight-knit team. Ros and Denis saw an opportunity to expand the Mother Duck community, and started a second centre at Strathpine in 1992, followed by a third at Lawnton in 1993. While Ros was no longer hands-on at the childcare centres, she still was still an integral part of the Mother Duck group. As the years passed, Ros was no longer able to take part in Mother Duck life but she was always interested in the developments and activities at the centres. And the Mother Duck organisation has never lost ‘the Ros Factor.’

A word from Miss Katy

Mother Duck is proud to have a number of staff who have worked as part of the organisation for many years, in some cases even multiple decades. One person who started her Mother Duck journey when Mrs Ros was ‘hands on’ in the Enoggera centre is Katy Bloodworth. Miss Katy was just finishing high school when she was interviewed by Mrs Ros for her first job at Mother Duck Enoggera in 1990. She is still working with the organisation today, an astounding 34 years later.

Katy is still close to the Hinton family and remained Ros’s friend to the end. She recalls, ‘Ros had the most outstanding quality of kindness; she was always generous, and considerate. When we worked together, hers was the first face families would be greeted with on arrival. Her strong family values would provide the parents with a sense of security and trust.’

Ros leaves behind her beloved husband, Mr Denis, who is still instrumental in the operation of Mother Duck today, as well as her daughters, Lisa and Fiona, with whom she was always very close. She was dearly loved by her four grandsons, for whom she was Grandma Ros rather than Mrs Ros. Ros will be missed and fondly remembered by her Mother Duck family as well as her own family and friends. And Mother Duck will continue to build on the foundations and values that have been the shaped by her. RIP to Mother Duck’s lovely Mrs Ros.