May Mead is the great granddaughter of Mary Jane Cain, Queen of Burrabeedee. Mary Jane Cain was given this title because she wrote several letters to Queen Victoria who eventually titled her a small section of land on which the Burrabeedee Mission was built.
Mead received schooling until she was twelve. When she was thirteen, she commenced domestic work, but quit after a few months. When her cousin visited Coonabarabran, Mead was offered a job looking after her cousin's children in Sydney. While in Sydney, she also took on work from Manpower, who gave various industrial jobs to women to replace the men who had gone to war. During her stay in Sydney, she married and had one child.
When Mead returned back to Coonabarabran, she went droving with her husband until she got a job in the hospital. While working at the hospital, Mead bought a block of land for her family to live on. By this time, Mead was caring for invalid relatives, including her mother and deaf brother. Mead also worked for the Housing Company, the Housing Commission (where she held a position on the board), Homecare and St Vincent de Paul.
(Source: Somerville, M., [et.al], Sun Dancin': People and Place in Coonabarabran, Aboriginal Studies Press, 1994)
