12. Education - Marrar That Becomes Woodville

Early in 1895 it was proposed that the school building at Eurandelong should be moved to Brucedale and used as a kitchen.  However, before it could be removed, the Department received a petition from Mr. George Britt and other parents requesting the removal of the Eurandelong building to a more central location about two miles from the Hay railway line, and roughly midway between the old Marrar school and the Pinnacle.  If this were done, and they pointed out they were 'not in a position to move the buildings themselves in these depressed times', they would guarantee an attendance large enough to keep the school open.  Such a petition followed closely on the heels of another seeking the establishment of a new Provisional school altogether on the proposed site, but this had been declined.  In May, George Britt wrote a third time:

The parents here are anxious to have the Eurandelong building moved to the new site.  As they have no way for their children being educated they have been residing where the school is required for years and are selectors and many of the children cannot read or write; which is far from encouraging.

Yathella school was only five miles away and had an attendance of twenty three.  It was felt that for the time being, it met the needs of the children seeking schooling in the area.

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A Plea for Action
In November, the Department received a letter from a Mr. G.H. Cornell indicating that he proposed to form a school in the area, that he had the requisite qualifications for such a position, and that he would have twenty pupils to begin with, and more could be expected.  Three days later, he sent a further letter in which he declared:

I have the honour to inform you that since my last letter there are fully a dozen more children who would go to a school put midway between Marrar and The Pinnacle.  The school which was closed about two years ago, The Pinnacle School, is not in the right situation to receive the majority of scholars in the district.  All the children I have named are without means of education and this is the cause of much discontent on the part of the parents.  If you could only pay the salary I am sure the farmers would be willing to put up a temporary school until it was proved to the Department that a school was necessary and would be lasting.

The parents repeated their request, and on November 27, 1895, submitted a formal request for a Provisional school to be located at Marrar Platform.  The application was signed by Caroline Robertson, Frances Roberts, John Keogh, Lizzie Wooden, John Bell, Isaac Jackson and George Britt.  They stated that there were eight boys and twelve girls between the ages of four and fourteen, and that within two years, as the area continued to be opened up, there could well be fifty children eligible to attend the school.  The site suggested was described as being on the reserve near the Marrar boundary, not far from John Bell's selection, and about two and a half miles from the former Eurandelong school.

Whilst Inspector Lawford was considering how he might respond to the application, and what recommendations he might make to his superior officers in Sydney, a further letter from Mr. Cornell arrived on his desk.

The residents are urgently in need of a school and the proposed site of the reserve near J. Bell's selection is as nearly as possible, the centre of the district.  It is about 2- 2 1/2 miles from the site of the old Pinnacle School which was closed, and you will see by the papers enclosed that there are thirty five children promised by their parents to attend regularly ... and another seven are possible … If a school cannot be erected soon or another school removed, a school tent would satisfy us for a time, in fact, the necessity is so immediate that I promised the people on my first coming that I would teach privately after Christmas if a tent or school were not provided by them, but of this there should be no need.

Lawford investigated the matter.  His conversations with the parents confirmed the genuineness of their longings for a school, their sincerity in wishing to send their children each day to ensure a school once established could be maintained, and indicated the potential of the area.  But he was unable to discover more than twenty possible pupils, Mr. Cornell's claims appeared to be gross exaggerations!  On January 30, 1896 he recommended that a Provisional School be established, and that tenders be called for the erection of a suitable building.

The contract to erect the eighteen feet by fifteen feet wooden building was awarded to Messrs Charles Hardy and Co. at a cost of £57.  The side was described in the contract as 'being on The Pinnacle* Reserve about ¾ mile south from the 10 mile peg on the Junee to Hay Railway.' The furniture included one chair, three desks, and four forms.

Note re Pinnacle - There are two Pinnacles referred to in these notes: -

1. Eurandelong School situated south of Marrar, was originally called 'The Pinnacle', officially by The Education Authority from 1882-till 1890.

2. Woodville School, situated near the Rockview Crossing, was referred to as the 'Pinnacle'.  This was only a local connotation and the school was always officially called 'Woodville'.

The School Opens
Miss Lela Vincent was appointed as the teacher of the Provisional School at Marrar and took up her position on June 8, 1896.  In the meantime, negotiations were taking place back in Sydney to acquire the land upon which the school had been erected.  In June 1897 the Government Gazette proclaimed that a two acre site, being Portion 191 in the Parish of Maror had been dedicated for school purposes.

By October the enrolment at the school had reached 30 and average attendance 23.6. The district inspector recommended that it be reclassified as a Public School and Miss Vincent be retained as its teacher.

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The Tank Was Dry
The long vacation at the end of 1897 was a hot one, and when school resumed in January 1898 it was no surprise that the school tank was dry.  Miss Vincent wrote to the inspector:

Sir, I have the honour to apply for a supply of water for the above school.  At present the tank is dry and the only water available is unfit for use.

Not lacking a sense of humour, Mr. Lawford replied:

Miss Vincent, Where do you propose getting this water?  We cannot send it by post.  If for a reasonable sum you can get a supply delivered in the school tank, do so, and send the account to me.

There were fewer smiles a few months later.  On April 25 Lawford carried out a routine inspection of the school, its equipment, the quality of the teacher's efforts, and the responsiveness and progress of the pupils.  Lawford was not impressed.  The room was said to be untidy, many of the pupils were said to be 'dull' and overall standards were said to be 'low'.  Miss Vincent responded to the criticisms by pointing out the difficulty of keeping the room spotless when water was so scarce; the necessity of storing papers on the mantle piece to keep them out of the reach of mice in the press; and the unresponsiveness of the pupils to nervousness, and irregular attendances caused by the 'sore eye' illnesses of the past quarter.

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Nowhere To Lay Her Head
Miss Vincent completed her term at Marrar on September 28, 1899 and was succeeded for twelve months by Miss Cath O'Brien.  Her service at Marrar, however, was brought to an abrupt end on September 7, 1900 when she was evicted from her accommodation and was unable to find an alternative place to board.  Whilst she sought accommodation, and negotiated with the railways with a view to having the train from Old Junee stop at Marrar Platform, (Rockview Siding) the school remained closed.  Her efforts were in vain.

Mrs. Frances Lightband, appointed to the school on September 26 was able to rent a house from Mr. Hill some two miles from the school.  The fourteen months that followed were quite uneventful.  In January 1902 Mrs. Lightband contracted an illness which immobilized her for at least ten weeks.  On April 12, the local inspector mentioned in his weekly report to the Chief Inspector -

The school has been closed for the past eight weeks.  The parents become disheartened, discontented and indifferent when deprived of the services of a teacher for such long periods.

In fact, Marrar was but one of five schools in the area closed for want of a teacher.

A little time after Mrs. Lightband resumed duty she was informed by Mr. Hill that he wanted his house, and that she would have to seek accommodation elsewhere.  It seemed like the old story all over again.  On August 1 she sought leave to close the school for a week to enable her to canvass the residents for some assistance.  That week became a fortnight, and ultimately three months!  At regular intervals, Marrar residents wrote to their local member of Parliament, the Minister, and the district inspector, wanting to know when their school would be reopened.  So far as the Department was concerned, the school would not be reopened until the residents were able to provide lodgings for a single teacher.  The parents responded by suggesting that either a residence be built next to the school or a male teacher willing to travel a short distance each day be appointed.

After some delay, the Department adopted the latter proposition, and Walter Hamilton commenced duty in November 1902.  In 1903 the name of the school was changed to Woodville.

Extensions and Renovations
In October 1907, a petition was signed by the nine families whose twenty eight children comprised the school population.  In their petition, they sought a number of repairs to the school - lining of the inner walls, painting of the exterior, - as well as construction of a six feet wide verandah on three sides, lavatory facilities on each end of the verandah on the northern side, and two new closets to replace the old ones.  In October they urged immediate action on the grounds that the hot weather was imminent; in February and May 1908 when they repeated their requests, they pointed to the discomfort of Marrar's cold winter as a reason for expediting the job.  Eventually George Marsden was granted a contract to do the work, a task he completed in October 1909-.  The same month a six foot high wire fence was erected on two sides of the school site to keep out the cattle which grazed on the Reserve.