History of the 'Little Old School House'
The Little Red School House was originally a school that operated at Fuchsia Creek (approximately 18km from here) from 1925 – 1949. The school opened on the 6th July 1925 with 9 pupils and one teacher. The school was described as a one room building with a small library in the porch. The inside arrangement was of three rows of desks – high ones at the back for the older children to low ones with stools for the little children at the front. There were inkwells on the desks. The teachers desk had one drawer containing the roll and the strap. And there was a little organ for music. On the walls were blackboards – a low one at one end for the young ones to draw on and a high one at the other end for the older children to use. A potbelly fireplace at the side provided the only heating which you can still tell today where it went through the ceiling from inside. Outside there was a playshed where the pupils ate their lunch, even on wet and cold days. There were two toilets with buckets away from the school – one for boys and one for girls. A tank at one end of the school with a tap provided drinking water. In the early years there was no power – a lantern maybe, for light.
There was a frequent turnover of teachers. They weren’t all trained teachers – they were sometimes people who had passed matriculation at high school only. The parents had to board them and took turns doing this.
The flag was raised every Friday morning. Church was held in the school once or twice a month at 11am on a Sunday morning and the organist would play on the school organ. The school became the centre of the district.
The highest the school roll reached was 11 during the years 1929 -1931. By 1948 the school roll had dropped to 4 and the school closed on the 31st January 1949.
During the 1950s the school was relocated to its current position and used as shearers quarters for the overflow of Mount Dasher Station next door. It was left untouched until 2007 when a bathroom was added and then in 2017 it was opened up as the present day Little Red School House.
There was a frequent turnover of teachers. They weren’t all trained teachers – they were sometimes people who had passed matriculation at high school only. The parents had to board them and took turns doing this.
The flag was raised every Friday morning. Church was held in the school once or twice a month at 11am on a Sunday morning and the organist would play on the school organ. The school became the centre of the district.
The highest the school roll reached was 11 during the years 1929 -1931. By 1948 the school roll had dropped to 4 and the school closed on the 31st January 1949.
During the 1950s the school was relocated to its current position and used as shearers quarters for the overflow of Mount Dasher Station next door. It was left untouched until 2007 when a bathroom was added and then in 2017 it was opened up as the present day Little Red School House.
