Millicent Rowntree was the fourth child of Francis and Anne Rowntree and elder sister to Amy Rowntree, the Tasmanian Educationist and local historian. She attended Battery Point Primary School and Friends School which she left before completing the Matriculation year. Millicent worked as a governess for seven years in Sandy Bay and in East Kew, Melbourne. During her time in Melbourne she was associated with the School for the Blind.
