 In July 1885, Foott went to Rocklea, near Brisbane, where she opened a private school, which supported her family.In the same year she published a first volume, "Where the Pelican Builds and Other Poems", and began to do journalistic work for "The Queenslander" and the "Brisbane Courier".In 1887, she joined the staff of "The Queenslander", where she wrote under the pseudonym "La Quenouille", but several stories also appeared in her own name.