I (Malcolm McKinnon) am a member of the committee we formed to organise a reunion of Mount Marshall State School alumni – 230 of them over 42 years. The school was closed 46 years ago (1965) and at least 50 have passed on. Nevertheless we have 125 paid-up attendees for our reunion lunch at the Glengallan Homestead precinct this coming Saturday.
Formal schooling for the district started with a private school on the Glengallan station (only a few metres from where our reunion luncheon will be held) for the children of station employees. This was some time in the 1880s. An 1886 photo in the Oxley Library proves it was in existence then. In 1892, in a new building, it was granted Provisional status by the Department of Public Instruction.
In 1904, W B Slade, owner of Glengallan station, donated land fronting the New England Highway for a school. This school catered for both the children of the farmers who had started farming on former Glengallan station land and the station itself. The new school was called “Glengallan”. Another provisional school further west towards Hendon was established in 1906 – Wilsonville. Both Glengallan and Wilsonville were granted State School status in 1909.
These two schools operated – always with single teachers, as there was no government-provided accommodation – until 1922. The turnover of teachers was fairly high, as female teachers were compelled to retire from teaching on marriage, and male teachers were forced to move on marriage, as suitable accommodation was not available.
Both schools closed in 1922 and in 1923; they were replaced by Mount Marshall State School at a more central site. The Glengallan School building was moved to the new site to be the Mount Marshall School building and the Wilsonville School was remodelled on the new site as the teacher’s residence.
From 1923 to 1965, while this school operated, it was a “golden age” – there was stability of teacher resources (two teachers, Sam Blake and Bill Munt, each stayed for more than 10 years) and the teachers became part of the community. The response to reunion invitations from the children of this period is indicative of their appreciation of the friendships made and the schooling gained in this period.
The committee has set up a website: users.tpg.com.au/maljul00/index.
While we cannot accommodate any further attendees for lunch, the precinct will be open to the public. People wanting to catch up and mingle with alumni can gain entry to the precinct by payment of the usual admission fee. It promises to be a marvellous occasion.
Malcolm McKinnon
