Showing posts with label Schools. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Schools. Show all posts

Friday, October 28, 2022

State Primary Schools called Koo Wee Rup

There have been five State Primary Schools named Koo Wee Rup.

School No. 2629
In 1884, School No. 2629 was built on the corner of Bayles Road and Bethune’s Road. It was originally known as Yallock, but changed its name to Koo Wee Rup in 1903. The school officially opened on November 1, 1884 and the first Head teacher was Eva Hurst with an initial enrolment was 22 pupils. Miss Hurst was replaced by Mary Dodd, who was in turn replaced by Mrs Grace MacKenzie in 1888. There was agitation, from as early as 1891, to have the school location moved closer to the town of Koo Wee Rup, which was growing due partly to the arrival of the railway in 1890.

The school population moved into the Public Hall in Rossiter Road in 1909 and in the September of 1910 classes moved to the original school building, which had been shifted into town to the site where the Secondary College now stands. Mrs MacKenzie left the school in 1911 to take up a new appointment at Moolort. The original school building became redundant when a new building was opened in February 1915 and this old building eventually became the Island Road School. In 1953, the Higher Elementary School was completed. This school included both primary and secondary classes (Forms 1 to 3 or Years 7 to 9). The school became a High School in 1957 and shared the building with the primary school students until November 1960 when the Primary School opened in Moody Street.


 The Koo Wee Rup Higher Elementary School, 1954. 
Photograph taken by Mr H.L. (Len) Anderson, who was Head Teacher 
from May 1953 to September 1956. 
Image courtesy of Ian Anderson.

School No. 3198
On July 7, 1894, the Koo Wee Rup South School, No. 3198, opened at Five Mile, on the corner of Main Drain Road and Five Mile Road. The building was previously located at San Remo School. This school has the distinction of starting its life called Koo Wee Rup South and then having its name changed to Koo Wee Rup North. 


Detail from the Parish Plan of Koo Wee Rup, showing the location of the school on the corner of Main Drain Road and Five Mile Road. There was also land set aside for a Mechanics' Institute, Recreation Reserve and a Church of England.
  Koo Wee Rup, County of Mornington. State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/104366

Peter Norris was the first Head Teacher. At one time the school population was over 100 but in July 1954 when the school celebrated its 60th anniversary there were only 20 children enrolled. However, the anniversary celebrations were a great success with over 700 people attending, including three original scholars - W. Gilchrist, W.G. De Vries and Tilly Freeman (nee O’Shea). The school parents voted for the school to close in November 1959 and the children were sent to Pakenham Consolidated School. Five Mile was the last school to join or ‘consolidate’ with the Consolidated School which had officially opened in May 1951. Read more about the Koo Wee Rup North school, here.

Pakenham Consolidated School - In the 1940s and 1950s there was a movement to consolidate small rural schools into one larger school. This was partly a response to a shortage of teachers, due to many male teachers enlisting during the Second World War. The War also caused a shortage of materials and labour and many Schools fell into disrepair. The Education Department decided that Pakenham would be one of the first six Consolidated Schools to be established and that all schools within 8 kilometres or 5 miles would be closed and beyond that, the Schools would have an option.

The Pakenham Consolidated School was officially opened on May 29, 1951, on the site of the Pakenham State School, No.1359, in Main Street. The original Pakenham School had opened on a site near the Toomuc Creek in January 1875 and it moved to the Main Street site in 1891. The Pakenham Gazette of June 8, 1951 reported that on May 29th, four buses conveyed 130 children from surrounding districts to Pakenham Consolidated School. At present there are 258 pupils attending the School, and it is hoped that in September several other schools will be consolidated, raising the attendance to over 400 children.

The first Head Master was Charles Hicks. The School offered classes up to Year 10 (Form 4). The schools that formed the Consolidated School were Pakenham Upper No. 2155 (closed January 1952), Pakenham South No. 3755 (closed September 1951), Toomuc Valley No. 3034 (closed September 1951), Army Road No. 3847 (closed April 1947), Mount Burnett No. 4506 (closed October 1949), Tynong No. 2854 (closed April 1951), Tynong North No.4464 (closed December 1951), Nar Nar Goon North No. 2914 (closed October 1951), Nar Nar Goon South No. 4554 (closed May 1951), Rythdale No. 4231 (closed September 1951), Officedale No. 4242 (closed May 1951), Cora Lynn No. 3502 (closed May 1951) and Koo-Wee-Rup North (Five Mile) No. 3198 (closed November 1959).



Koo Wee Rup North State School, No. 3198.
Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society


School No. 3201

When the Iona School, No. 3201, opened two days after the Five Mile School on July 9, 1894, on the corner of Thirteen Mile Road and Bunyip River Road, it was called Koo Wee Rup North; in 1899 it changed its name to Bunyip South and then in 1905 to Iona. This school closed in December 1993. Read more about the Iona State School, here.

School No. 3456
School No. 3456 was opened on April 1, 1903 in Modella in temporary premises in a room in a private house. At the time the area and the school was known as Koo Wee Rup East. The school moved to its permanent location, on the corner of Longwarry-Koo Wee Rup Road and Bridges Road in January 1904. On February 16, 1905, the school officially changed its name to Modella. The first teacher was Frederick Rumpff and he was there until 1907. There was then a series of short-term appointments including Dorothy Sillett, who was there in 1908. Her report in the Teacher Records file at the Public Records Office, says she was inexperienced, but anxious to do her best. Dorothy was 20 years old and had only been teaching since April 1907. Given that she was the sole teacher at the school, and that she would have been isolated by lack of transport coupled with the low pay of female teachers it is no surprise that her few months at Modella marked the end of her teaching career with the Education Department. The Modella school closed in December 1993.

School No. 3502

In January 1907 the Koo Wee Rup Central School (No. 3502) was built at Cora Lynn. The first Head Teacher was John McGibbon. On July 9, 1907, Mr McGibbon wrote to the Education Department…..on July 1st the Postal authorities granted the residents here a postal service and in compliance with a general request, named the district Cora Lynn. Hence, we should like the school to bear the name likewise. Again, great delay and inconvenience are caused by parcels and letters addressed to Koo Wee Rup Central S.S. first going to Koo Wee Rup S.S., or Koo Wee Rup South or Koo Wee Rup East before finally coming to hand. This annoyance would cease with the change of name. By September of the same year its name was changed to Cora Lynn. This school became part of Pakenham Consolidated School in May 1951.


Cora Lynn State School working bee, 1907.
Image courtesy of Des Dineen
 

Sources
  • From Three to Ninety three: ninety years of education at Modella by Shirley Breese (The School, 1993)
  • On the edge of the swamp: a history of the Iona Primary School No. 3201 1894-1994 by Denise M. Nest (Iona Primary School Back-To-Committee, 1994)
  • Schooling on the Swamp: a history of Primary School No.2629 Koo Wee Rup 1884-2009 by Don Jewell (Koo Wee Rup Primary School, 2009)
  • The tale of the Blackfish: a history of the Koo Wee Rup High School 1957-1977 by Fred Hooper (Koo Wee Rup High School, 1977)
  • Vision and Realisation: a centenary history of State Education in Victoria edited by Les Blake (Education Department of Victoria, 1973)
  • Notes on the history of Cora Lynn State School, compiled by Bryan Sim, Education History Services of the Education Department in 1984.

Thursday, May 19, 2022

A short history of the first fifty years of Garfield State School, No. 2724

The Cannibal Creek State School, No. 2724, opened in April 1886 and was located in a rented building, on a block of land south of the railway line (1).  In May 1887, the Cannibal Creek Railway Siding was renamed Garfield and the school was renamed two months later in the July (2).   This initial location proved to be too damp and swampy and in 1888, the school moved to higher ground on the north side of the Princes Highway, west of North Garfield Road, into a new building (3). Some of the families who were at the school when it opened were Shipton, Badham, McMurtrie, Reynolds, Watson, Leeson, McNamara, Jefferson, Lawler, Stone, Archer,  Pearson and Boyle (4).

This site, though drier, was too far from the Garfield township for many parents and so a new site was selected closer to the town, on Garfield Road, on the top of the hill between the railway line and the Highway. The school building was re-located and opened there at the start of the school year in 1900 (5).  The teacher at this time was John Joseph Daly, who was at the school from 1897 until July 1914. Mr Daly was a very popular teacher and was married during the time he was at the school. He married Gertrude Grennan at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in St Kilda West on April 13, 1909. His wedding was written up in the Punch newspaper and, as was common in those days, a list of presents received was also published and three  gifts  from the Garfield community were listed - School children, silver butter knife and serviette rings. Garfield Branch A.N.A., handsome brass hanging Iamp. Residents of Garfield, purse of sovereigns (6). 

The school may have been in a more convenient location however some parents were still not happy. The South Bourke & Mornington Journal of November 21, 1900 reported
Much dissatisfaction is expressed at the failure of the Education department to provide sufficient accommodation for the Increasing attendance at the Garfield State School. The structure, which is 23ft. x 13ft., was supposed to accommodate 30 children, but the attendance averages 40, and at times there are as many as 50 children in the building. (7).

Newspapers used to have a Children’s column, edited by an ‘Aunt’ - in the Weekly Times children wrote to Aunt Connie and in The Advocate they wrote to Aunt Patsy. I found three letters which commented on the Garfield school. In 1903, Eva Siedeberg (8), wrote to Aunt Connie and gave this interesting account of her school and its elaborate garden -
My sister and I both go to school at Garfield. Our head teacher is Mr Daly, and Miss Skinner is our sewing mistress. They are both very nice. I am in the fourth class, and Madoline, my sister, is in the fifth. Nearly all of the children have a garden each, and the big boys have a garden between them; they grow vegetables. We have a garden in the shape of Australia, and for the towns are cactus, and for the ranges are violets; the edge of it is made of bark. Mr Daly and the boys have planted a lot of pines and blue-gums, and other sorts of trees. We also have a library in our school.... We had an arbor day at our school not long ago, and each child planted a pine. (9)

Mary Goulding (10) wrote to Aunt Patsy about her life in Garfield in November 1906 and had this to say about the school -
I pass through the township of Garfield every morning on my way to school. Then I go up a steep hill, and on the slope of the other side is the Garfield State school. Mr. Daly is our head teacher, and we like him very much. We were awarded a first class certificate for our school garden(11) Mary had written previously to Aunt Connie, in July 1906 and she said this - Mr. Daly is our head teacher. He is very kind to us. (12)


This is a photo of the female students at Garfield State School. 
 I wonder if  our letter writers, Eva and Mary are in this photo?
Garfield State School, No. 2724, dated c. 1900-1910.  State Library of Victoria Image H2008.13/15

In 1908, it was recommended that the School move again to be closer to town and the current school site was purchased (13). No doubt young Mary and many of her school mates would have been happy not have to walk up the steep hill every morning. The new building was erected, not without some drama as The Argus of June 17, 1910 reported -
A plumber named Robert Websack, was working on the gable roof of the new State school at Garfield, when a loose sheet of iron caused him to lose his hold. He grabbed the spouting but it gave way and he fell to the ground, distance of fully 20 ft., landing on his back between a heap of bricks and pile of timber. In his fall he clutched a ladder and this together with another ladder fell on top of him. He was stunned and for some time his fellow workmen thought he was dead, but later it was found that no bones were broken and that he had escaped with a severely bruised thigh and other injuries. (14)

The new school was officially opened on the morning of August 17, 1910 by the Minister of Education, Mr Billson. The Bunyip & Garfield Express of August 23, reported part of his speech –
He was very pleased to observe that the people of Garfield had used good judgement in their choice of the site for the school. It was almost essential that the building should be upon rising ground, and he could also compliment them on the large area of space they had allowed around the building as a recreation ground for the children. This was a wise policy, but one that had not been observed in the building of the earlier metropolitan schools, but the department now recognised that it was a necessary condition, and one which would receive consideration in the future; children required educating physically as well as mentally. He then continued on about Education policy and what the Government was doing in the area of education and it was reported that Mr Billson concluded his speech by proclaiming the day a school holiday and the children then adjourned to the recreation ground, where a picnic was held.

In 1915, a 5-roomed Teachers Residence was erected, a year too late for Mr and Mrs Daly.  To accommodate a growing school population, additions were completed in 1923 (15).  In 1929, the District Inspector wrote that The building at Garfield is at present too small for requirements . Two rooms – 20 ft by 21 ft and 36 ft by 24 feet are available for 117 pupils...many desks have  3 pupils.  The Inspector recommended that a new Infant room be built to accommodate 40 pupils.(16) Due to the Depression the building did not go ahead straight away and some classes were held in the Public Hall (17). The Infant room was opened on June 24, 1932. In the evening a reunion of past pupils was held. (18).  In 1933, the school was connected to electricity and in May 1934 the school was connected to a reticulated water supply (19)

The original school building which started off on the Highway and later moved to the top of the steep hill, was moved to Garfield North. The residents of the Garfield North area had purchased land for the school in January 1913 and it was promised that the old school would be shifted onto the site. Many parents had put off enrolling their children in anticipation of this new school, but it wasn’t until July 1914 that the building was relocated and the School, No. 3849, was opened at the beginning of August 1914 (20). 


The location of the three Garfield school sites and the Garfield North school site, superimposed on the Parish Plan of Bunyip by Bill Parish.
Bill's collection of material is at the Berwick Pakenham Historical Society.


Footnotes
(1) Cannibal Creek to Garfield: a history of Garfield Primary school, No. 2724, 1886-1986, published by the Centenary Committee. The Committee consisted of -  Mary White, B. Andrews, R. Spencer, Kevin Daley, Rosemary Parham and Mick whiting.
(2) The Argus, May 6, 1887, see here.
(3) Cannibal Creek to Garfield, op. cit., p. 16.
(4) Back to Garfield 1887-1962 Souvenir Booklet (Back to Garfield Committee, 1962), p.6
(5) Cannibal Creek to Garfield, op. cit., p. 20
(6) Punch, May 6 1909, see here.
(7) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, November 21, 1900, see here.
(8) Eva was the daughter of Hugo and Mary Ann (nee Edge) Siedeberg. Hugo was listed in the Electoral Roll as  a farmer.
(9) Weekly Times, September 26, 1903, see here.
(10) Mary was the daughter of Patrick and Ellen (nee O'Donoghue) Goulding. Patrick was listed in the Electoral Roll as a Railway employee.
(11) The Advocate, November 17, 1906, see here.
(12) The Advocate, July 14, 1906, see here.
(13) Cannibal Creek to Garfield, op. cit., p. 22
(14) The Argus, June 17, 1910, see here.
(15) Cannibal Creek to Garfield, op. cit., passim.
(16) Cannibal Creek to Garfield, op. cit., p. 27.
(17)  Cannibal Creek to Garfield, op. cit., passim.
(18) The Argus, June 27, 1932, see here.
(19) Cannibal Creek to Garfield, op. cit., p. 27.
(20) The Age, September 5, 1913, see here; There is a history of the Garfield North School - The school on the small plateau: the history of Garfield North State School, No. 3849 by Ron Smith (The Author, 2014).

Monday, November 2, 2020

Cora Lynn 1907

The Cora Lynn State School, No. 3502, opened in January 1907 as Koo Wee Rup Central. It was renamed Cora Lynn in July 1907 when the Progress Association requested that the newly established postal service be called Cora Lynn, to prevent the confusion of the name with Koo Wee Rup. Joe Dineen had recalled that it was the Head Teacher of the school, John McGibbon, who proposed the name, after the scenic rocky gorge and popular picnic  area on the North Esk River, just out of Launceston in Tasmania (1). The name Cora Lynn comes from the Gaelic coire meaning ‘cauldron or kettle’ and linn ‘pool’ (2).


Tender for the erection of the Koo Wee Rup Central / Cora Lynn School
Great Southern Advocate March 8, 1906 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article211322718

The original school building was 26 feet by 24 feet and cost £322 (3). As mentioned, the first head teacher was John McGibbon, who was at the school until September 1909 when he was transferred to Drysdale State School (4).  He was then appointed to various schools across Victoria - Miepoll (north west of Euroa), Emerald, Mirboo North and from 1931 lived at various addresses in Geelong and suburbs. John Barker McGibbin was born in 1883, so he was 24 when he started teaching at Cora Lynn. He married Margaret Emma McLean at the Geelong Presbyterian Church on Christmas Day, 1911.  He was teaching at Miepoll at the time. John died in Geelong in on May 23, 1965, aged 81. Margaret had died in 1964, aged 78 (5).

This is a list of the first pupils from 1907, at Cora Lynn State School, in the order they appear on the roll. Name, date of birth, parent’s name and occupation listed.

ANDERSON, Corrie. 13/4/1893. James Anderson. Gardener.

NESTOR, Mary. 15/12/1893. Martin Nestor. Farmer

NESTOR, Agnes. 15/4/1895. Martin Nestor. Farmer.

NESTOR, Patrick. 29/3/1894. Martin Nestor. Farmer.

FITZPATRICK, Ellen. 27/5/1895. James Fitzpatrick. Farmer.

FITZPATRICK, Margaret. 8/10/1893. James Fitzpatrick. Farmer.

FITZPATRICK, James. 8/7/1897. James Fitzpatrick. Farmer.

FITZPATRICK, Thomas. 27/3/1899. James Fitzpatrick. Farmer.

FITZPATRICK, Annie. 21/6/1901. James Fitzpatrick. Farmer.

JEFFERS, Raymond. 18/1/1893. Alexander Jeffers. Farmer. 

JEFFERS, Violet. 10/8/1894. Alexander Jeffers. Farmer

JEFFERS, Evelyn. 17/1/1900. Alexander Jeffers. Farmer

BAIN, Norman. 13/8/1895. James Bain. Farmer.

BAIN, Richard. 13/9/1898.James Bain. Farmer.

QUIGLEY, Bridget. 24/4/1896. Margaret Quigley. Farmer.

QUIGLEY, Agnes. 15/6/1899. Margaret Quigley. Farmer.

EVANS, Grace. 30/10/1898. James Evans. Farmer.

EVANS, Rupert. 27/12/1900. James Evans. Farmer.

WATSON, John. 14/8/1900. Robert Watson. Farmer.

FINNIGAN, Joseph. 22/10/1900. Joseph Finnigan. Farmer.

JEFFERS, Robert.15/1/1900. Robert Jeffers. Farmer.

JEFFERS, Thomas. 28/3/1901. Robert Jeffers. Farmer

DINEEN, Thomas. 7/9/1898. Michael Dineen. Farmer.

DINEEN, Adela. 3/6/1900. Michael Dineen. Farmer.

STRIBLING, Charles. 22/7/1897. Charles Stribling. Farmer.

HUGHES, Ruby.11/4/1897. Thomas Hughes. Farmer.

HUGHES, David. 11/8/1899. Thomas Hughes. Farmer.

JOHNSTON, Frank. 5/4/1899. William Johnston. Farmer.

JOHNSTON, Alberta. 26/2/1897. Henry Johnston. Farmer.

LEVISTON, Caroline. 22/11/1901. Benjamin Leviston. Farmer.

LEVISTON, Emily. 19/2/1896. Benjamin Leviston. Farmer.

TIERNEY, Patrick. 30/12/ 1893. Patrick Tierney. Farmer.

SCANLAN, Joseph. 25/7/1895. William Scanlan. Farmer.

SCANLAN, John. 25/5/1897. William Scanlan. Farmer.

LEVISTON, David. 21/10/1893. Benjamin Leviston. Farmer.

FISCHER, June. 14/1/1897. Walter Fischer. Farmer.

SCANLAN, Evelyn. 4/9/1899. William Scanlan. Farmer.

SMITH, Bertie. 9/12/1895. William Smith. Farmer.

MURDOCH, Arthur. 25/7/1898. George Murdoch. Storekeeper/Farmer.

MURDOCH, Mary. 31/8/1899. Storekeeper/Farmer.

MURDOCH, Hugh. 22/3/1902.  Storekeeper/Farmer.

JOHNSON, Tudor. 17/1/1895. Henry Johnson. Farmer. 

WALSH, Walter. 19/5/1901. Peter Walsh. Farmer.

JOHNSTON, Edwin. 18/1/1901. William Johnston. Farmer.

JOHNSTON, Esmonde. 5/5/1901. Henry Johnston. Farmer.

CARROLL, Michael. 20/12/1899. Michael Carroll. Farmer.

CLAPPERTON, Leslie.  19/07/1896. Thomas Clapperton.  Sergeant of Police. 

LEVISTON, Ernest. 03/08/1901. Ernest Leviston. Blacksmith.


The first mention of Cora Lynn that I could find in the newspapers was in the South Bourke & Mornington Journal of July 17, 1907 -
The Cora-Lynn folks are quite jubilant at having a daily mail running from Garfield. The time, I think, is not far distant when there will be a quite a little township at that place (6)

The following two letters are from The Advocate of July 20, 1907. The Advocate was a Catholic newspaper which reported on and promoted Catholic interests. It was published from 1868 until 1990. The paper had a children’s column run by Aunt Patsy, which published letters and poems from school children. They had a club called the Magic Fairy Boat Club which the children could join. Aunt Patsy referred to all the children as her nieces and nephews, they called her aunty and referred to all the other children in the Club as their cousins. 

Cora Lynn, l/7/1907.
Dear Aunt Patsy,
It is a long time since I last wrote to you, so I thought I would write to you again. I am going to a new school now: I like it very much. Our teacher's name is Mr. M'Gibbon, and we all like him exceedingly. There are 38 children going to school. It was opened after the Christmas holidays. I have two sisters and two brothers going to school with me. We are getting a shelter-shed put up at our school. We are going to have Arbour Day at the school on Friday next; we expect it will be a fine day. We have got a loose bag from Garfield to the school, and we can get our mail there. I will bring my letter to a close, hoping you and the curly-headed captain are well,
I remain, your loving niece, Ellen M. E. Fitzpatrick

Cora Lynn, I/7/1907.
Dear Aunt Patsy,
This is the first letter I have written to you. I hope you will accept me as one of your many nieces. My parents take the ''Advocate" every week; I like reading the Children's Corner very much. My sister has written to you before, so I thought I would write, too. On the 10th of this month, our little twin babies will be twelve months old; their names are Michael John and Francis. I go to the Koo-wee-rup Central State School with my brothers and sisters. Our teacher's name is Mr. M'Gibbon, and we all like him very much. The name of our school is going to be changed to Cora Lynn. We have to walk 1¾ miles to school. I will bring my letter to a close, with love to yourself and the curly-headed captain,
I remain, your would-be niece, Margaret Emma Veronica Fitzpatrick (7)

As Ellen mentioned in her letter to Aunt Patsy, a shelter shed was to be erected at the school and the South Bourke & Mornington Journal of August 21, 1907 reported that -
A dance will be held at the Cora Lynn. Shelter Shed on Friday evening to raise funds to meet the building expenses. As this is a worthy object it is to be hoped that the dance will be a success (8).

On November 16, 1907 this letter written to ‘Uncle Ben’ was published in the Weekly Times, foreshadowing the new store that was to be built in the town.

Cora Lynn, 7th October
Dear Uncle Ben,
This is the first time I have written to you. I would very much like to see my letter published in "The Weekly Times." I go to school every day, and I am in the second class. I have two miles to walk to school. We have a football at school, and we have great fun with it. My father is getting a new store built in Cora Lynn. It will only be about two chains from the school. We are having lovely weather here now. The grass is looking beautiful in the paddocks. My sister has a little pet lamb. There are a good many hares about here. My father shot one yesterday. There are a great many snakes here this season. I killed a small one last week. With love to yourself, Aunt Connie and the little children in the cots
I remain your loving friend, Arthur Murdoch, aged 10 years and 3 months (9).


Footnotes:
(1) This information comes from Des Dineen
(2) Blake, Les Place names of Victoria (Rigby, 1977)
(3) Blake, L. J (editor) Vision and Realisation: a centenary history of State Education in Victoria, (Education Department of Victoria, 1973)
(4) The Age, September 1, 1909, see here.
(5) School locations and addresses come from the Electoral Rolls on Ancestry; Birth, Death, and Marriage information comes from the Victorian Indexes to the Births, Deaths and Marriages; wedding information is from the Geelong Advertiser, December 30, 1911, see here; his death date comes from the Geelong Cemeteries Trust website, gct.net.au
(6) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, July 17, 1907, see here.
(7) The Advocate, July 20, 1907, see here.
(8) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, August 21, 1907, see here.
(9) Weekly Times, November 7, 1907, see here.

Sunday, April 21, 2019

Local High Schools on or connected to the Koo Wee Rup Swamp

In Victoria, the Education Act, which came into effect on January 1, 1873, made State education ‘secular, compulsory and free’. The Act said that parents of children of ‘not less than six years and not more than fifteen years’ were required to send their children to school. (1). Primary schools in those days went up to Grade Eight.

For children who wanted further education, if their parents were wealthy enough, they would have been sent to a private school as the first Government High School in the area didn’t open until 40 years after the Education Act came into effect. This was Warragul High School, the construction of which began in March 1911, however classes started in the Shire Hall in the August of that year and the School was officially opened in 1912, with Mr J. McLennan as Head Master and a staff of four.  The School was opened as an Agricultural High School. It was situated on 23 acres, and the first students had to help with the clearing, draining and fencing of the site.  By the 1930s, enrolment numbers in the agricultural courses had declined so this arm of the curriculum was dropped, and the school concentrated on the Academic curriculum and introduced Technical courses. In 1936, Domestic Science was introduced for the girls and by 1940 there was a blacksmith, metal work and wood work rooms. (2). 

In 1940, enrollments were around 400 and accommodation was at a premium, so much so that in 1945 when my father, Frank Rouse, started his Form 1A had all their classes at the Warragul State School, where Olive ‘Bonnie’ Marrabel, instructed the pupils in all subjects. The school bus, which had picked up students from Garfield, Vervale, Modella and Bunyip used to drop Dad and his fellow students at the High School and they had to walk the mile every morning and night to and from the State School.

It seems that Cora Lynn was the border of the Warragul catchment area, as pupils who lived on the west side of Cora Lynn State School went to Dandenong High School and pupils on the east side went to Warragul.  The Dandenong High School (DHS) was opened on March 10, 1919. This was later than the usual School opening date due to the outbreak of pneumonic influenza that was prevalent at the end of the First World War. When the School opened it was in temporary premises with the junior students housed at the old Fire Station and the senior students at the Temperance Hall and Church of Christ. There were 104 students. The foundation stone of the permanent building was laid on November 21, 1919 and the School was officially opened in late 1920. In 1920 the DHS enrolment was 150 of which 60 students came from the Berwick, Pakenham, Garfield, Bunyip, Hallam, Lyndhurst, Cranbourne, Koo Wee Rup, Carnegie and Murrumbeena areas. (3).

However, the journey to these schools often required an early start and a late return – there was one report in a paper that said that pupils leave home at 5.45 a.m. and did not reach home until 8 p.m. (4). This was for students who lived around Heath Hill / Yannathan, so it was not surprising that there was agitation for closer school, which had actually started in the 1920s. 

In the May 13, 1926 issue of the Koo Wee Rup Sun, there was the following report -
High School Desired - A movement has been initiated by Garfield residents with the object of securing a high school to serve the swamp area. Such a proposal should have the  heartiest commendation and support of all parents of the district. The various branches of the Women's Section of the Farmers' Union are taking the matter up enthusiastically, and the different school committees and other public bodies are also giving support. This afternoon a meeting will take place at the Kooweerup State School, when the matter will be discussed. The children of the district who desire to reach a higher educational standard are beset with man difficulties, and it is earnestly hoped that something of a concrete character will be achieved for them. To reach success will involve  a good deal of work and organising, but we must keep on knocking until the doors are opens. At the Lord Mayor's dinner in Melbourne on Monday the Chief Justice, Sir William Irvine referring to the conditions of the country, said that one of the many ways of making the country more favorable was to give greater educational facilities. (5)

In August 1926, The Age reported that -
A public meeting was held at Cora Lynn when representatives were present from all parts of the Kooweerup swamp area, from Lang Lang and Yannathan to Narnargoon. Cr. P. Walsh, of Berwick shire, presided. The meeting was organised by the Iona women's section V.F.U., who have for some months been engaged in a movement to establish a high school in the swamp. A motion in favor of this was carried. Mr. Wrigley, assistant chief inspector of secondary schools, delivered an instructive address on the establishing of high schools. He said the department existed for the education of the children, but parents must take advantage of it. A site of eight acres was necessary for a H.E. [Higher Elementary] school and 10 acres for a high school, to be vested in the Minister. The local cash contribution varied from £1000 for a H.E. school to £10,000 for a high schoolA committee was appointed representing 22 school centres, Cr. McCulloch and Cr. Dowd to represent Cranbourne and Berwick shires respectively. The lona and Kooweerup branches are to continue to act. (6).

The Age reported again the next month - 
 At a meeting of district representatives at Cora Lynn the high school proposal was further considered. Sites at Cora Lynn and Bayles were reviewed, and it was unanimously decided to recommend an area of Crown land at Bayles, which is above flood level and large enough for all requirements. It was resolved to ask the Education department for an early inspection of the site. An active canvass for subscriptions and guarantees from parents is to be undertaken. Mrs. Shreeves was elected president, and Mrs. Terrill secretary(7).

Another meeting was held in  February 1927 -
At meeting of delegates held at Cora Lynn from the various centres of the swamp settlement it was decided that a site at Bayles be selected for the proposed higher elementary school. It will probably be some time before the school becomes an established fact. The Education department is to be asked to allow a temporary school to be held in the hall at Cora Lynn. (8).
Another report of this meeting noted that -
Crs. McCulloch (president of Cranbourne Shire Council), Dowd (president of Berwick Shire Council), Bennett and Sage (Cranbourne Shire) have been appointed a deputation to request the Minister for Education to establish a higher elementary school at Bayles. (9)

Two years later, in June 1929, The Argus reported that 
The Education department has decided to establish a temporary elementary high school at Cora Lynn if sufficient inducement offers. A permanent site has been chosen at Bayles. (10).

Clearly, nothing happened about that as there was never a secondary school built at either Bayles or Cora Lynn. Students were still attending Warragul High, in large numbers, as the Herald reported in December 1943, that The High School, which serves from Moe to Pakenham and from Noojee to Korumburra, has been asked to take more than 500 pupils next year, although it was over crowded this term with 390. (11)


As we saw before, with students having to start their journey at 5.45am a new bus service commencing in February 1944 would  have been unlikely to have made this day any shorter -  a new daily school bus route will be commenced from Yannathan to the Dandenong High School, opening up the way to a High School education for about 26 pupils who would otherwise be unable to attend….starting from Yannathan, thence to Catani, Cora Lynn, Bayles, Five Mile, Island road, Cardinia and Clyde North. (12).  Any students on the train line such as Lang Lang, Caldermeade, Koo Wee Rup or Tooradin would have caught the train to school. 

Dad had been at Cora Lynn State School and he had to sit an exam, in Grade 6, before he was accepted into the High School. His brother, Jim, who was two years older than him, completed Grade 8 at Cora Lynn, and also went onto Warragul High School in 1945. Despite Jim having his Merit certificate and being two years older, he was also put into Form 1. This appeared to be a common practice.  Apart from Miss Marrabel, Dad also specifically remembers two other teachers - Roma Bull (Mrs Gordon Jenkins) and Gladys Worthington (later Mrs Lindsay Jones, who incidentally is the sister-in-law of George Jones, with whom Dad did his National Service. You can see a photo of Dad and George, here.)

In 1953, the Dandenong Journal reported Tynong, situated roughly half way between Dandenong and Warragul High Schools….. feels that it has strong claims for the establishment of a High School there - and is pushing them (13).


Buses at Warragul High School
State Library of Victoria Image H2008.12/44

By this time (1952) the enrolment at Warragul High was around 800 and was obviously not relieved by the establishment of a High School at Tynong  as that never happened;  but did decline with the establishment of Drouin High School. Drouin High opened in 1956 and classes were held at the primary school and various Halls. It opened on the current site in 1957. This was the same year as Koo Wee Rup High School. Koo Wee Rup had started as a Higher Elementary School in 1953 with classes up to Form 4. Drouin State School operated a Form 1 and Form 2 from 1953 to 1955 as Drouin Central School. (14) Dad’s sister, Marion, had been at Cora Lynn State School until May 1951 when it became part of Pakenham Consolidated School, she then did the rest of Grade 5 and Grade 6 at Pakenham, then Form 1 and Form 2 at Drouin Central and finally went on to Form 3 at Warragul High.

Pakenham High School, the other nearest High School to Garfield, opened in 1967 with classes being held at the Consolidated School and moved to its current site in 1970. (15)  Interestingly, when Pakenham High was established the population of the town was something like 1,700 - it is now over 46,000 and when I first wrote this post in 2019, there was still only one Government High School in Pakenham and no additional High School between Pakenham and Drouin.  If you want a prime example of how none of the State governments of either persuasion have planned for infrastructure in growth areas, then this would be it. Getting back to Warragul High School - in the late 1950s there was a move to separate the Technical and High School streams and in 1959 Warragul Technical School opened. In 1994 they were merged to form the Warragul Regional College. (16)


All the Grenda's buses lined up at Pakenham High, early 1980s.
Casey Cardinia Libraries photo

Trove list - I have created a list of newspaper articles, on Trove, relating to High Schools on the Koo Wee Rup Swamp.You can access the list, here.

Footnotes 
(1)  Read the Education Act here (it is only 6 pages long) http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/hist_act/tea1872134/
(2) Blake, L. J (editor) Vision and Realisation: a centenary history of State Education in Victoria,  (Education Department of Victoria, 1973), vol. 3; Warragul High School, 1911-1991: 80 years on (published by the School in 1991)
(3) Blake, ibid; Mitchell, K.B., A history of the Dandenong High School, 1919-1968 (published by the School in 1968)
(4) Dandenong Journal, January 12, 1944, see here.
(5) Koo Wee Rup Sun, May 13, 1926, p.4.
(6) The Age, August 28, 1926,  see here.
(7) The Age, September 17, 1926, see here.
(8) The Argus, February 19, 1927, see here.
(9) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, February 24, 1927, see here.
(10) The Argus, June 1, 1929, see here.
(11) The Herald, December 15, 1943, see here.
(12) Dandenong Journal, February 2, 1944, see here.
(13) Dandenong Journal, October 28, 1953, see here.
(14) Blake, op. cit;  Hooper, Fred The tale of the Blackfish: a history of the Koo Wee Rup High School 1957-1977 (published by the School in  1977)
(15) Ibid
(16) Warragul High School, 1911-1991: 80 years on , op. cit; Warragul Regional College website  https://wrc.vic.edu.au/

I have written about other local High Schools here 
Dandenong High School https://victoriaspast.blogspot.com/2024/02/dandenong-high-school.html
and local Technical Schools here 
Technical Schools in the Shires of Berwick and Cranbourne https://victoriaspast.blogspot.com/2024/02/technical-schools-in-shires-of-berwick.html

Sunday, June 17, 2018

Early Swamp Schools

The first school on the Koo Wee Rup Swamp was School No. 2629 which had opened on November 1, 1884 on the corner of Bethunes Road and the Koo Wee Rup to Bayles Road. It was originally known as Yallock School and changed its name to Koo Wee Rup on July 24, 1903. The building was shifted into Rossiter Road (where the Secondary College is) in September 1910. A new building was opened in February 1915 which burnt down in May 1950. The replacement school opened as a Higher Elementary School (both primary and some secondary classes) in mid 1952. The Primary school eventually moved to its Moody Street location and was officially opened there on November 25, 1960.

For many years this was the only school on the Swamp. After four years of work the newly drained Swamp was considered ready for settlement in 1893 and families began to arrive, however it wasn’t until July 1894 that the schools at Five Mile and Iona opened.

It must have been a great occasion for the swamp settlers at the eastern end of the swamp to have schools that their children could attend, however apparently some children were less than excited as they had been roaming free and not attending school for 12 months and a newspaper report at the time said that the Iona Head Teacher, Arthur Jamieson, ‘found the that the children were in a deplorable condition of ignorance and barbaric wildness.’*

Koo Wee Rup North State School, No. 3198
The first of these schools to open was No. 3198, on the corner of Five Mile Road and Main Drain Road, and it opened on July 7, 1894. This School was originally called Koo Wee Rup South and changed its name to Koo Wee Rup North (and unofficially called Five Mile School). When the Iona School, No, 3201,  opened two days later on July 9, 1894, on the corner of Thirteen Mile Road and Bunyip River Road, it was called Koo Wee Rup North; in 1899 it changed its name to Bunyip South and then in 1905 to Iona.


Koo Wee Rup North, showing school, Mechanics' Institute (Hall) and 
recreation reserve location.
Detail from Koo-Wee-Rup, County of Mornington Department of Crown Lands and Survey, 1939.


Five Mile School had Peter Norris as the first Head Teacher. At one time the school population was over 100 but in July 1954 when the School celebrated its 60th anniversary there were only 20 children enrolled.  However, the anniversary celebrations were a great success with over 700 people attending, including three original scholars - W. Gilchrist, W.G. De Vries and Tilly Freeman (nee O’Shea).  The school parents voted for the school to close in November 1959 and the children were sent to Pakenham Consolidated School. Five Mile was the last school to join or ‘consolidate’ with the Consolidated School which had officially opened in May 1951.

I have written about World War One soldiers from Koo Wee Rup North area, here. The post also includes information on two previous teachers from the School who served -  Captain Frank McNamara who received the Victoria Cross and Captain William Wilson who received the Military Cross.



Koo Wee Rup North State School 1927
Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society photo

Iona State School, No. 3201
The Iona State School was located on the corner of Thirteen Mile Road and Bunyip River Road at Vervale. The name of Vervale didn’t come into use for this area until around 1917, 23 years after the school was established, which is why it was never officially known by that name. 

The Iona school opened on July 9, 1894 with 83 pupils enrolled and the Head Teacher was Arthur Jamieson. As we saw before,when the school opened many of the local children had not been at school since their parents had moved to the area (it was around 1893 that permanent settlers moved to the Swamp) so it was not an easy time for Mr Jamieson as some children had no interest in attending school after a year or so of freedom. Mr Jamieson also had to find a place to board, establish a school garden and a playground. 

By 1895, the school population had grown to 120 pupils and the new Head Teacher Joseph Lyons arrived in April 1895. He had three assistants - Mr Colquhoun, Miss Alston and Mrs Lyons. Joseph Lyons remained at the school until 1907.

The Teachers Residence was built in 1908; previous to this the Head Teacher had to live in Garfield.  The original school building burnt down on July 6, 1913 and the new building opened on April 28, 1914 with 164 pupils. 

The Education Department established the War Relief Fund in August 1914, to raise money for the War effort or as the Education Department’s Record of War Service, 1914-1919 book put it ‘sustained and generous help by Victorian boys and girls may well assist to keep Australia free from the horrors of war. Every boy and girl should therefore endeavour to make regular contributions till the close of War’. This book lists the amount of money raised by children at all schools in Victoria and the children at Iona raised 196 pounds for this fund, a substantial amount compared to other schools in the area. 

After the War, from 1920 to the end of 1927 the Head Teacher was World War One veteran, Percy Scouller. Percy Osborne Scouller had enlisted on February 8, 1915 at the age of 23. After serving overseas Sergeant Scouller arrived back home in Australia in June 1919 and was discharged in the August and then took up his post at Iona.

In 1942, electricity was supplied to the school and the telephone was connected in 1964. Celebrations took place in 1964 to mark the 50th anniversary of the new building with between 500 and 600 people attending. Another celebration took place in 1989 to mark the 75th anniversary the 1914 building. Sadly, the school community could not celebrate one hundred years of education as the school was closed on December 17, 1993, seven months short of its centenary. The building is now at Nar Nar Goon and used as a Scout Hall.


Iona State School - opening of the new building in 1918. 
Photo: On the edge of the swamp: a history of the Iona Primary School no. 3201 1894-1994 
by Denise Nest


* Gippsland Independent, March 6, 1895, as quoted by Denise Nest (see below).

Sources
Vision and Realisation : a centenary history of State Education in Victoria, edited by L.J. Blake. Published by the Education Department of Victoria, 1973.
On the edge of the swamp: a history of the Iona Primary School No. 3201 1894-1994 by Denise M. Nest ( Iona Primary School Back-To-Committee, 1994)

Saturday, August 15, 2015

100 years ago this week - Junior teacher position available

Want a job as a teacher? Then apply to the Bunyip State School. You must be over 16, apply in your own hand writing, and prepared to pay a fee of 2/6 to sit the examination!


Bunyip Free Press  August 26, 1915

Sunday, April 19, 2015

100 years ago this week - St Joseph's Convent School Iona opened

St Joseph's Convent School at Iona opened one hundred years ago, on April 11 1915. A report two weeks later  said that three Sisters of St Joseph on the teaching staff and sixty children attend daily,


Bunyip Free Press April 15, 1915



The opening of the Convent in 1915, from 100 years of a Catholic Faith Community: St Joseph's Iona 1905-2005 by Damian Smith.


A more detailed report, some of which is reproduced here,was in The Advocate, of April 17, 1915. the full article can be read here - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page17855840


Here's some description of the  building, from the same Advocate article.



Here's more description of the new Iona Convent from The Advocate, of April 17 1915.




Monday, October 21, 2013

100 years ago this week - Iona State School, No. 3201.

This comes from The Argus of October 22,1913, 100 years ago this week.



The Iona State School was located on the corner of Thirteen Mile Road and Bunyip River Road at Vervale. It commenced in 1894 and was originally known as Koo-Wee-Rup North; in 1899 it changed its name to Bunyip South and then in 1905 to Iona. When the school opened on July 9, 1894 it had 83 pupils and the Head Teacher was Arthur Jamieson. By 1895, it had grown to 120 pupils and the new Head Teacher Joseph Lyons arrived in the April of that year. He had three assistants – Mr Colquhoun, Miss Alston and Mrs Lyons. Joseph Lyons remained at the school until 1903. The Teachers Residence was built in 1908; previous to this the Head Teacher had to live in Garfield.  The original building burnt down on July 6, 1913.  The new building opened on April 28, 1914 with 164 pupils. In 1942, electricity was supplied to the school and the telephone was connected in 1964.

Celebrations took place in 1964 to mark the 50th anniversary of the new building with between 500 and 600 people attending. Another celebration took place in 1989 to mark the 75th anniversary the 1914 building. Sadly, the school community could not celebrate one hundred years of education as the school was closed on December 17, 1993, seven months short of its centenary. The building is now at Nar Nar Goon and used as a Scout Hall.

Sources: On the edge of the swamp: a history of the Iona Primary School No. 3201 1894-1994 by Denise M. Nest ( Iona Primary School Back-To-Committee, 1994)
Vision and Realisation : a centenary history of State Education in Victoria edited by L.J. Blake (Education Department of Victoria, 1973)

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Island Road School No. 3952

The Island Road School, formerly Dalmore East, opened June 23, 1919. The people of Dalmore East had been agitating for a school for a few years. In August 1916, Mr W. Giles, the Secretary of the Manks Road and District Farmers Association had written a letter to the Education Department with a list of 36 children who might attend the local school. In October 1916, the Education Department purchased one and a half acres of land from F. Wood for £20.00 per acre. A working bee was held to clear the land as the Education Department had a spare building in Koo-Wee-Rup that they were willing to move to Dalmore.  This building was the original Koo-Wee-Rup State School, No. 2629, building. School No. 2629 had opened on November 1, 1884 on the corner of Bethunes Road and the Koo-Wee-Rup to Bayles Road. It was originally known as Yallock School and changed its name to Koo-Wee-Rup on July 24, 1903. The building was shifted into Rossiter Road (where the Secondary College is) in September 1910. This building became redundant when a new building was opened in February 1915. It was this redundant building that the Education Department wanted to move to Dalmore East.


The School, in 1913, on the Rossiter Road site.
Photograph from the Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp Historical society collection.

Perhaps due to the War there were difficulties finding a contractor to re-locate the building and it wasn’t until May/June 1919 that a contractor could be found to move the School.  When it was opened on June 23, 1919 there were eighteen children enrolled –Alice Dixon, Annie Dixon, Ethel Dixon, Elsie Follett ,Vera Follett, Bessie Giles, Pauline Giles, Rosalind Levey, Wilfred Levey, David Mills, Alice Pepper, Gwendelon Pepper, Samuel Pepper, Sarah Pepper, Clara Wood, Clifford Wood, Emily Wood and Frank Wood. Another twelve children enrolled during the year. 

The first teacher was Miss Estella Forbes. Estella Forbes had previously taught at Flemington Primary School and this School had an average attendance of 580 students in 1915, so Island Road would have been a bit of a shock to her. Estella did not stay very long as the first year of operation saw a succession of teachers; after Estella there was Elizabeth Anderson, then Alexander Munro, then Eric Elliott who started in 1920 and left in 1923. This succession of teachers probably reflects the reality of teaching in a one teacher country school - many of these teachers would have been young; there was no school house so they would have had to board locally or else travel in from Koo-Wee-Rup on a horse, or as Eric did a bicycle. As well, resources were poor and the teachers complained about lack of basic resources such as desks and blackboards.  



The School, in 1969, at Island Road.
Photograph from the Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp Historical Society collection.

The School was surrounded by water in the December 1934 flood but it did not enter the actual building, although the shelter shed and outdoor toilets were inundated.  It was due  to the fact the school was an island during the flood that James Marshall, who was the teacher at the school from 1932 until 1936, suggested that the school change its name to Island Road School  and this was adopted in 1935. 

From 1919 until 1945 there had been 15 teachers at the school, and the school was closed for a short time in 1944-45 when no suitable accommodation for a teacher could be provided. This succession of teachers came to an end in 1945 when Allan Humphries was appointed, as he stayed until 1955. During his tenure, electricity was installed in 1953.
A Young Farmers Club was established at the school in 1939 by teacher Walter Koochew and in 1946 Allan Humphries started a Scout Troop, with himself as the Scout Leader.  Mr Humphries also started evening classes to teach English to the newly arrived migrants from Holland, Italy and Greece. After Humphries left in 1955 there was another succession of teachers with none staying more than three years.  At the time of the Island Road School Golden Jubilee celebrations and ‘Back-to’ in 1969, student numbers were down to seventeen. In a documet that we have at the Society, it was reported that in the fifty years the school had educated 344 students. Over 500 people attended the Golden Jubilee celebrations.  Island Road School, No.3952, closed in 1974 when enrolments were down to six. 

In 1984, Koo-Wee-Rup Primary School, No. 2629, celebrated its centenary and fittingly its original building was moved back onto the Koo-Wee-Rup Primary School site from Island Road that year.