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KATOOMBA

PUBLIC

SCHOOL

An historical account prepared from Mitchell Library, Go~ernment Archives and Department of Education sources by the Division of Research and Planning, New South Wales Department of Educati.on •

. September 1959

History of Katoomba Public School

1881 - 1939

A petition for the establishment of a Public School at

Katoomba WaS presented to the newly-founded Education Department

in September 1880. It was signed by 40 residents, headed by the

Rev. Thomas Harr'ison of Mount Victoria (in whose parish Katoomba

then was) and Mr. J.B. North. Katoomba at that time had hardly "

a~y settled population. The railway platform had only been con-

structed in 1876, and, the Municipali~y was not established until

1889. But in 1880 the Katoomba coal mine Was Qpened by a firm

of which I~. North was the head, and he was doubtless anXious to

have a school in the neighbourhood for the children of the miners.

In ~anuary 1881 an official application was sent in, signed by

n~. North and Henry Barber, a storekeeper, which stated that the

nearest schools were at Mount Victoria and Springwood, and in

February nar. North offered the Department a site for a school.

The site was at the junction of Valley Road (then called Megalong

Road) with the Western Highway. Mr. North wrote: "This allotment

is in the centre of the proposed township at Katoomba. As the

locality is fast becoming inhabited the Committee trust that a

school :may be opened without delay."

Inspector Allpass recommended that the application

should be granted. He wrote:

"This is a suitable place for a school for a large number of children living on the line of railway. Nearly 50 would arrive by train. Of these 19 at present go to Mount Victoria Public School, and 14 to Springwood Public School. Owing to the railway arrangements they reach these schools about quarter to eleven and have to'leave about half past one. The morning trains, east and west, ' reach Katoomba by nine o'clock and depart about 4 o'clock. Quite 15 others, who at present do not attend school, will attend at Katoomba. At present I consider 'the total attendance will be abou't 60."

He also stated:

"Within the 2-mile radius there are some nine families, numbering in all some 40 souls. Some few of these are tradespeople, but in a few months a population of considerable size will settle down and be engaged in the coal, shale and timber industries introduced by :Mr. North. n

The site offered by Wtr. North'was accepted by the

Department. It measured 116' x 60 1 • It was soon realised,

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however, that this was no·t large enough. and I.1r. North ·then

offered '1;0 sell five adjacent blocks forJ481.10,.0. the whole

amounting to just under one acre.. Inspector Allpass reported:

.1

"The posiijion is central and I have not the slight­est hesita·tion in stating tha'!; ere long a school at Katoomba will have an attendance of 100 pupils. The price is reasonable considerill;I~ that the land consis·ts of town­ship allotments. u

The purohase was comple·ted in November.

Consideration was being given '1;0 the possibility of

opening the school at once in a tent, without waiting to build a

permanent schoolhouse. The Inspector reported:

"l ant of opinion ·that a school tent would be unsuit­able for such an eleVated and cold locality unless some means of affording warmth to the pupils be provided, and a wooden building for a teacher be at the same time erected. If,. however. it be deemed advisable to comply with tVIr. North's request I recommend that a tent capable of accoL!llilodating 50 or 60 children be sent to Katoomba. 1f

As a result of this recommendation the <:''hief Inspector recommended

that a ·t ent be provided, and one Was erected on the school site by

Nelson and Smith for £]2.1.3. Furniture was supplied by

R.G. Troughton for £23.9.2.

On 6th December, in answer to a question by lIiIr. J:Icnson

iJ'f.L .. i1 •• the Nlinister stated in 'lihe Legislative Assembly tbat he

intended .to sanction the erection of buildings on the proposed

site~ "about 500 yards from the railway station. meanwhile a

tent has been sent QP with the necessary furniture, so that

school work may be cOlJl1nenced at once. 1I A few days later George

Your16. an us~is'lian'l; at Crown Street Public School, was directed

·to take temporary charge at Katoomba and open the school.

flir. Young asked to be allowed to remain in Sydney' because "priva'l;e

~~tters the nature of' which the Chief Inspector is acquainted will

necessitate my-presence in Sydney.1I But the Ohief Inspector re­

marked that he had already had twelve months in which to transact

his business. and his request was refused.

The school WaS opened immediately af"l;er the New Year,

and on 6th February 1882 Th1r. Young reported that after four weeks

of 01)eration the enrolment was 50 and the averaGe attendance .27.2.

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He also asked for Han allowance in lieu of a house. 1t He said

that he 'W3,S ;;>aying 30/- a week tor board and lodging~ !lwhich is

the lowest price :r C,9,n make the landlord descend to." He' was

c;iven a lodging allowance of 10/- a week. ;300n afterwax'ds he

was replaced by John Douglass, whose appointment was also

temporary, 'but was subselluently made permanent, Iw. ])ouglass re-,-

1'I:h"iining at Katoomba :for over 15 y€,al~s.

The school he,d hardly started when .. l dispute broke out

Over the site. Ks:toomba was only just beginning to be set'ned t

and it was still very doubtful where the centre of the to,vn would

be. An old map shows 'lihat a ho-tel (liThe Railway Hotel") was

already on the site now occupied by the Hotel Gearin, there were

a few houses between the railway and 'i'taratah S-treet,. and some

miners' cottages to the west of the Falls. Loftus$ Cascade,

Ku:toomba and Lux'line Streets' had been surveyed as far south as

:i!!ssenden,e Road and Goyder Avenue t where they ended in lie, s~ee:p

slope impass_able fQr horse, and difficult for man" with a swamp

at the bottom, but it was stated tha'i; Hnot one house was erected

ill any of the lots below Warata.h'Street nor in fact any improve­

ments beyond a. few pieces of scru.b removed." There Was a little

more settlement on -the Highway west of the s'liation. includil'lg a

s-tore. a hotel (just wes'l; of Buti Street) and ca sawmill, but a

number of streets which had ,been surveyed in the vicinity of

Valley Road have never been made, and over go blocks in this

locality which were surveyed for sale ~ave mostly remained un-

occupied.

The dispute t in fact, was over the whereabouts of the

future town eentre, and seems to ha.ve been largely governed by

the in-i;erests of various property owners. The first move -took

place on 10th February 1882 when, as a local newspaper reported;

1.1.1:'. Henson :1r~L.A. f l'tIr •. Withers 1\[ .. L.11.., ~lr. :i!'ul:t'ord XiI.L.A. and

several other gentlemen" asked the ,Minister to move the school -lio

a site nearer the station. This was imr.1ediately followed by a

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letter from Mr • .North to sa::! that a petition ir~ ta,vour of the

prese:p.t site was coming, "signed by bona-fide residents of

l~atoomba alld not laud s~eculators.1t The petition, which arrived

shortly afterwards. sta-lied that the mine's activities were ex­

pandi:ng. "whioh will mean mOre population on the roa.d to the mine,

and at the pa.rt speclally la.id out for the mining town in a ',I,

<firect line wi th ::~egalo~ Road!l, trmt 8.!'range.m.ents were b~ing rr.ade

to convey miners· children by truck on the mine tramway, and that

the Railways Department con-templa.ted stopping trains to coal

immediately opposite the existing site, "Where a chute will be

shortly erected for the purpose." It also stated that "im.riJ.ense

deposits of kerosene shale have been found in the l\!J:egalong

mountains :1nd 1000 acres, owned by the late T>,Ir. Mort's -trustees

are shortly to be worked," and that building was taking place

nElar the site, "as instance the house of Mr. Henderson (squatter)

costing £2.500. 11 It concluded:

"We wo~ld with all l~espeot ask you to investiga.te the sinoerity of the deputation's efforts in the interest of the publio. It is wellknown that tllree at least of the' deputation are interested in a large land speculation about one mile on the east side of Katoomba station. There is not a house on this land yet built, nor likely to be. Hone of -fihe deputation send their children to the public school, and not one is a permanent resident at Katoomba, while we live here. H

Faced with this conflict of opinions the Minister,

Sir Fran..1t Su.-litor, said that he would like a senior officer of the

Department to investigate on the spot, and the Chief Inspector,

~W. Jo~~son, decided to go and see for himself.

Illre Johnson made his report on the 3rd- March. He began

by pointing out that lIat present 57 children attend the school.

Eight of -these live at :1;11e mine, 28 at Katoomba., 3 at, number 9

Gate (3miles East) 7 at Wentworth Falls (4 miles East) 5 at I

Lawson (8 miles East) 6 at l1Iedlow (3 miles West). 11 He also pointed

out tl'l.at if the school had been placed near the station the miners f

- children would have had no further to walk than they did at

present; while the children who came by train had a just cause of

complaint in that they had to walk nearly a mile to school from

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the station. 1:... public mee'ting called by :Mr. Johnson voted in

favour of the existine site by 17 to 7; he noted, "'those in

favour of the existing site mainly consisted of Mr. North and

his employees, and those in favour of a site nearer the station

consisted of Messrs. Chissold (the owner of the Katoomha estate)

'rhompson, ,Grahaln, Bile (the ho'cel-keeper) , and three others."

I~<~ conclucled by reconunending t.h;:3;t the erection of permanent

buildings be deferre~ until it was clearer what the prospects of

the mine were, and where the population would settle. He also

pointed out tha't the tent would be unsuitable for school during

the winter, and suggested that premises near the station .should

be rented as a temporary measure. Consequently a cottage about

half' way between the station and the school site Was leased from

~fr. North. The lease was for a year from 1st April, with right

of renewal for a further year, at a rent of £16.5.0 a quarter.

An internal partition Was removed to n~ke one large schoolroom.

A request was received on the 9th August 18~2, signed by

R. Davies and J. Hepburn. for permission to use 'the rented building

for church services on Sundays. They had been using the building

for this purpose until they had been forbidden to do so not long

before. They wrote:

"The building was used until two weeks since 'f.or Sunday School and church purposes, and no oomplaint could possibly be matle as to the mode of conduc·ting the servicesJ

which were entirely unsactarian. The building has been summarily taken from the worshippers wi'lihout notice or time allowed to procure another building. There is no religious s~rvice whatever now held in the town."

They asked for permission to use th,e building for six months while

'lihe church was being erected. Inspector Bridges cOIUmented:

tI As· the buildil1g at Katoomba has been rented for public school purposes it seems to me that so far as its use is ooncerned it should be dealt with as one vested in the Minister. The granting the use of the building for holding religious services in would ft~nish a troublesome precedent. It

The request was consequently refused.

The question of obtaining a new site came up for consid­

era.tion during 1383. A Mr .. Harry Howell wrote to the Department: 1100r school for children here is very dickey, it is

fit to hold about 20 children at the most, while the attend-

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anes is over 40, and the:i..~e a,re 60 or 70 on 'lihe rolls. The room is only 8 feet high with very small windows. Now we are increasing very fast; in a short time every-

thing near 'the station will be taken up, and building is GOinG on very fast.H

Ins~ector.Rridges exa3ined the ~osition ~~d in July he

re1;Jorted that a new buildiuci was needed 'on a new site. He

wrote:

,,,,0 "The site belonging '1;0 the Department is not centrally situated, and I would recommend that a new site nearer to' the railway station be secured. The best avail­able site consists of th2~ee allotments in Parke street. :tr. Thompson, t1).e owner, is willing to sell the land for 37/6 per foot. The land is worth the price asked. I1

It Was decided to buy this land from Mr. Thompson and plans were

immediately ,drawn up by the Architect for a school building

estimated to cost £350. The lease of the cottage expired in

March 1884, but .the new building was not ready and the Department

continued to lease the cottage from month to month until July

when the new building Was occupied by the school.

f'iieanwhile arrangements had been made to dispose of the

site already held by the Department. It was decided to sell it

bY auction, and a reserve of £100 was suggested. Since this was

very much less than the site had cost only two years before,

Inspector A11passt who had recow~ended its purchase t was asked

if he thought such a low reserve was reasonable. Mr. Allpasst

who· had now been moved to another distric"l;, replied:

"I should imagine that, from the fact that another site has been chosen for Katoombat the prospects of that place had much changed from what I was led to expect when I visited the place, either through the failure of the business works then under projection by 1~. North or that tb.e settlement of the place has taken a direction not then expected by me. The site obtained and bought from Mr. North contail'l.J3 6 town allotments ar.J.d they should, even under altered circumstances, be deserving a reserve price of £150."

This reserve WA,S PU"t on, and '~he land was subsequently bought

'by ~'i!r. Henderson, ,,,ha had built a house on the land adjacent

to the east, for £'J70.

At the end of 1885 Inspector Lobban recommended that a

vested residence should be built. He pointed out that the

teacher was about to be married, and local rents were very high.

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He drew up plans for a weather-board house of 4 rooms and kitchen .

with an iron roof, and in order to Save time obtained an offer

from James Donald of Li~hgow for £263. Chief Inspector Maynard

commented on this:' ·'InsIlector Lobban has had many small schools

erected in a very satisfactory and economical manner. I

~/~coID.t"l1end that the tender be accepted a.nd that the work ()e

carried out under his supervision." ~he lUnister, howevep,

ordered that tenders be invited, "but all those received were Do'" oJI 01 IS

higher than Douglas·s so his was accepted. In reporting on this

Inspector Lobban stated:

"To ensure that no loophole might occur by which an unprincipled tra.desman might scamp his work., I submitted the plans and specif·ications to a friend of mine who is a master huilder t before calling for tenders. Oompetition for. the work was brisk, no less than six tenders· having been received. t1

The work waS done during the first month of 1886, and

while it Vias in progress it was decided to improve the.school

bt:tilding. The Inspector pointed out that it was a wooden frame

structure on wooden blocks and that there was a considerable

draught of air upwards between the'flooring bo~rds. In view of

the cold vreather at Katoomba he recommended "that the spaces

between the foundation blocks should be closed UPt and this was

done. Later in the year it waS decided to have the school

building painted and a tender of £25 from Donald waS accepted.

About this time a complaint VlaS made against the teachert

Mr. Douglass, that he did not take proper preca~tions against

the spread of infectious diseases. Inspector Lobban reported

that the charge was unfounded. nThere is no teacher who performs

his duty more conscientiously and faithfully than Mr. TIouglass.

The child who had Scarlet Fever was not attended by a Doctor

because there is none nearer than Penrith or Lithgow." .

The next matter to be considered was the construction

of a weather-shed. In September 1886 the Architect recommended

"that one should be built, pointing out that there was no shelter

in "the playground for the children~ Inspec"tor Bridges recommended

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1;ha;tr there was no urgent need for one until ·the following

winter, but a co~ple of montha later he sent in another report

pointipg out that many children who cwne to school by train had

to take their lunbheon in the school grounds, which were without

shade of any kind, and that he now thoug~t a weather-shed was

;necessary. The Depari-ment f however, thought that the verandah , . . gave enough shelter, although it was pointed out that wi~h an

ordinary attendance of 75 it was not large enough. In March

1887 the Local School Board asked for a weather-shed to be

built, and Inspector Lobban supported this, stating that this

was one of the exceptional cases where a weather-shed was needed.

This time the recommendation was approved, and in the following

July a t,ender by John WiU.iam.s for £33.14.3 was accepted. The

work was completed in September.

In May 1887 the Local School Board asked that part of

the school room should be partitioned off to fOl~ a separate

classroom. Inspector Lobban held that thi~ wotud be a serious

mistake. He pointed outl "No clergyman attended the school to

give religious instruction, and as the classroom is not a:tpresent

needed for the efficient management of the school the matter

might be allowed to stand over.1! In October John Hurley M.L.A.

asked for the provision of a new building. He wrote; "The

premises are ill-looking, totally inadequate, and in the severe

portions of winter and summer almost unbearable. The so-called

school should only accomodate 50. but there are actually'130 on

the rolls." rlIr. Dougla.ss was asked for a report and he replied

tha.t the enrolment was 99 with an ordinary attendance of about

83. The maximum accommqdation was for 87 but thaI'e was only

comfortable room for 70. He pointed out that the building had

an iron roof only four feet above the -ceiling. liOn several hot

days lately 89 children were present and the heat of the roof

together with the breaths of the children made the air in the

room extremely close and oppressive. If He also said that the

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washing facilities expanded. He reported:

liThe school is a temporary wooden structure. It has a low ctlrved roof and the ventilation, as in all. buildings of this kind, is defective. The washing arrangements are as good as those found in any of the temporary wooden buildings in the district."

The improvements were carried out at the beginning of the

.. ;following year by H. Simonson for £90 • . ~ ..

An exhibition of school Vlork was held in the school

room just before the Christmas holidays in 1887. Mr. Douglass

was permitted ~o close the school so that it could be held.

Similar exhibitions were held in later years.

rlTr. H. C. Goyde:r, who was the proprietor of the

Carrington Hotel and also Chairman of the Progress Oommitteej

wrote to .the ~epartment in August 1889 asking for a new

building. He wrote:

"This place being now the recognised centre' of the mountains is increasing year by year~ and provision must be made to keep up the status of the Department; hesides, we question the righteousnes.s of packing children together in such a space under a ceiling 10 feet high. With two private schools in the neighbourhood unless something is done parents will take their children away from the public school."

The Inspector pointed out that there was accammodation

for 121 and the average a-1;tendance was only 99. He commen~ed:

II! can quite understand the Progress Committee tlrging the erection of new premises, for everyone who has any interest in Katoomba desires to see it not only go ahead but to push it ahead~ still, the place must take time to grow, and I believe the educational requirements of the place ar~ fully met. If

A reQuest was also made for the levelling of the playground. The

Inspector thought tr.is wa.s needed, but the Department did not

approve it, because it was not considered urgent.

On 26th June .1890 the Katoomba Municipal Oouncil carried

the motion: "That this Oouncil does not think that the present

site of the 'public school is central. It. The Council. Clerk informed

the.Depa.rtment that the Council wanted the schoo:). moved to a.

position between the station and the mine. The corner of Parke

and Waratah Streets was suggested. Howe~er, a few days l~ter

'.

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Inspector Kevin reported:

"l have had a conference with the whole of the Municipal Council with the result that the resolution of 26th ·June was rescinded and another carried: 'that the school remain where it .is·. The first resolution was carried through in a complete hole-and-corner manner, and the alderman concerned are likely to hear more about the affair at the next Municipal elections. To bring the whole Council, Mayor included, face to face was' the only way to settle the

'.', business promlltly and effectively,. and I need not say that :<" I consider the present site central and in ,every way

deSirable. It .

At this time the Department was anxious to improve

school playgrounds by the planting of trees. In April 1890 the

Headmaster asked for 20 pines to be supplied and said that three

parents were prepared to help him plant them. But the

Insllector recommended that a mixture of pines, oaks and poplars

be sent. £1.16.6 was raised by local subscription and an equal

sum was allowed by the Department. In October, Mr. Albert Gale,

SUperintendent of Gardens, visited the school. He wrote in his

~epo:pt~

"The playground of this school is only a little over an acre, The surface is covered with a loose iron-stone. The playground improvements are 20 circular or oblong flower beds that, when the flowers come into bloom, wil.l be very picttlresque. Six large laurels have been transp~anted into the playground from the adjoining garden. The teaoher, aided by the sohoolboys, has removed about four tons of stone for the purpose of forming the flower gardens. He oertainly deserves muoh credit for his energy. There is a fairly well designed flower garden in front of the teachers home, and a small vegetable garden at the back. 11

Mr. Gale reconIDlended that rookeries should be formed in

the corners of the playground With the loose stones and a space

about 9 feet wide on the southern Side should be broken up to

form a vegetable garden. In accordance with his usual practice

Mr. Gale gave the children a l~sson appropriate to their ohief

interest in na*ure study. At Katoomba the topic waS flowers.

In October 1890 there were further complaints about the

school building and the playground. The Munici.pal. Council

suggested that the building was too small and the playground was

so rough that it 'Was dangerous,.. Inspector Kevin. pointed out that

the existing building was one of a class which had been put up

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some years previously. as an experiment in cheap buildings, and it

was not very satisfactory. He suggested that a permanent building

be ereoted, .and that the Arohi t.ect be asked to advise about

levelling the playground.

The Arohiteot inspected the playground ruld school and

-.pointed out that since there was a fall of 22ft from front to

back of the sohool grounds levelling was impracticable, but that

by outting away the or own of the hill a level space could be

created for drill purposes. Arrangements were immediately made

for the erection of a new building, and a tender from G.G. Payne

for £570 was acoepted. It was at first proposed to erect only a

portion of the building designed. The Municipal Council wished the

whole building to be put up at once, but Inspeotor Kevin

considered that the proposed portion would be qui t.e suffioient

for the time being. The Council then asked when the foundation

stone would be laid. The Architeot reported:

"It has never been the practice of the Department to have any fomal laying of a foundation stone. To do so would incur unnecessary' expense. If the people of Katoomba wish to haye a demonstration they might be authorized to Iuake arrangements with the contractor. 11 .

:" • )<,.'<4.

The new building seems to have:-puii--up very qu.ickly and /

on the 25th February 1891 the Minister, Sir J.fi. Carruthers, was

asked to open it. He accepted the invitation and was accompanied

for the -occasion by the Under-Secretary. l'I1r. Johnson. Unfortunat­

ely he was not at all pleased with the way in which the building

had been placed on the site, as a blank wall was facing the

street. 'The Architect replied that this was to provide room

for the end wings to be added later, and that the ground was

scarcely large enough to permit the building to be placed

parallel to the street. But the Minister was not impressed~ He

commented:

". "

"-<. "l consider this is another grave error of judgement ,',_ from the architect's offioe. No worse arrangement could have been contrived, and the architect must in futUre submit a. block plan showing how he intends to locate the buildings in. '-"",­order that the Under-Secretary and other officials may correct

"

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mistakes such as this. The architect must bring his office into greater efficiency or I will abolish it entirely-. 11

The Architect replied that the plans had in fact been passed

by the Under-Secretary, and that if the building had been sited

as the Minister wished it would have been necessary to demolish

the old building before the new one could be begun • . '.

~ith the completion of the new school it was depided

to get rid of the old bUilding, and it was sold to W.R. Edwards

for £63.

In June 1891 the Municipal Oouncil wrote to the

Department that a nuisance was being created by the flow of

sto~ water from the school grounds on. to Mr. PurSIOV1' s property,

which a.djoined on the south.. Mr. Donglass reported that this

was due to the slope of the land, which was a. steep hill, and

he could not see what could be done about it. Inspector Kevin

commented: fiT-here is no nuisance. Mr. Purslow does not complain

in any way and if it had .not been for the officiousness of the

inspector .of Nuisances nothing would have come of the affair."

The Council were infor.med that the Department did not consider

itself responsible.

The Headmaster report.ed in September 1891 that the

average attendance was now 111.8 and the staff consisted of

himself and two pupil teachers. Shortly afterwards a female

assistant was appointed instead of one of the pupil teachers.

At this time the municipal Council levelled the streets,

and this resulted in Parke Street being lowered by 5£t. and

Cascade Street by 10ft. This meant that in order to get in and , -,

out of the school the'children had to scramble up and down high

embankments., ~he architeot r.eco~~ended that the front embankment

should be cut down and a fence made across the back.

was done by Drew and Benn for £99.10.0.

The work

The number of children in the school was rapidly

increa8ing~ and in February 1892 InspeotorKevin remarked that

the building would have to be enlarged soon, although there was np

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immediate need. A week later a loca,l newspaper published a

paragraph:

IIPreviousJ.,y when the Municipal Council asked for extensions to the ~~hool building it was merely to make it look more like ~ school ~~g less like a barn. Now the $cene changes and imrliee,q,: 'Q;f seeing the school-house comfortably filled we see" the children· packed like so many sardines in a box~ The Mountains are very fertile and young Australians are .shooting up like mushrooms •

• J Last vVednesday 170 attended the school. The Council. .~. ought to take the matter up again."

Inspector Kevin cOTIm1ented on this: "As a rule nobody

seems to notice the ravings of the editor of this small print.

The accolllmodation at the IlUblic school is just about equal to

the attendance. When it exceeds this I viiI 1 submit a recommendat-

ion." However, during the following month a deputation from the

Council interviewed the Minister, Sir F.B. Suttor, to ask for

extensions to the building. They pointed out that during the

previous three months the enrolment had risen from 188 to 212,

and the average attendance from 117 to 154. The Minister stated

that he was satisfied that the school should be enlarged, and

plans were made to build the wing facing Parke Street. In

August the Department asked the Inspector if the matter could be

held over in view of the necessity of rigid economYt but the

Inspector replied:

"It is impossible t"o delay the matter longer. The present accommodation is now quite inadequate and the porch has to be used. I counted 90' infants here the other day, while the school-room proper was full. If the extensions are not carried out before summer a building at South Katoomba will be demanded."

Tenders were invited and no less than 15 were received, of which

the lowest, by Patrick Ward for £495, was accepted. The work

was done early in 1893.

There was at this time a prolonged agitation for a

school at South Katoomba, near the coal mine. In May 1891, 31

parents living in that neighbourhood asked the Department to open

an infants' sohool in a Congregational chapel for those children

"too small to walk to the public school lIal ong the hilly and rough

roads." Inspector Kevin reported that most of the children in.

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-the neighbourhood were babies, and they could easily _walk to

school when they were old enough to attend, and the petition

was declined. In Maroh 1892 a petition signed by 144 r~sidents

of South Katoomba, representing 101 ohildren, asked for a public . -

school to be opened on a site near the cascades. They claimed

that South Katoomba1l.as a ruining -township quite distinct from

~atoomba itself, and that although the mine had previously been

in difficulties the compa.ny l).ad now been reorganized and the mine

was likely to expand.

IINot one-third of the South Ka-toomba children are attending school who should be attending. If an infants' school was established~ in oonnection with a publio school at Katoomba, many children who are too young to go to Katoomba would be sent to school: their mothers would be glad of the opportunity of getting- rid of -them. In the , last 6 or 7 years there have always been 60 or 70 children at the mines."

~1r. Douglass was asked to cownent on this petition, and

he reported that several people had signed the petition who were

residents of Katoomba, while many others were unmarried men.

Quite a number had signed whose address was given as Mort's Shale

Minet and since the only practicable way from this 'mine was

through Nellie's Glen, a journey of about 5 miles, a school at

Sou-th Katoomba would be no use to them. He continued:

"Children from South Katoomba are not the only ones inconvenienced by bad weather. About la children attend Katoomba School from Leura who are supposed -~o go and return by train but it frequently happens tha.t they must come a.nd return on foot. Of the 101 children listed I learn that 13 range from three years to infants in arms, 16 are between four ~d six years, pO of the number do not live in South Katoomba but in Katoomba, while 18 of the others would be as far from South Katoomba as from Katoomba. 1I

He also pointed out that of 30 school children living in South

Katooraba, 28 were already attending Katoomba School. Inspector

Kevin pointed out that 'South Katoomba was not a township but one

of the wards of Katoomba Municipality.

"The Department is not supposed to find a nursery for babies and infants as the petition would indicate. Though the new coal and shale company m~ have grea-t hopes of prosperity and sLlccess, the realisa-~ion of these hopes lies in the future. One cOE!pany has failed at the place, and the present one _ is not lowS enough in operation to say what is before 't;hem. To wait would be wise. The prime mover in the matter is an ex-Alderman, a publican in So~th Katoomba and a busybody. He said to the Minister that he

,represented the Borough Council, whereas the Council knew

- 15 -

nothing of his action and would not support H if they had. He is very anxious to get into the Council again, and he thinks that if he can get a school for South Katoomba. he is sure of being re-elected for South Katoomba Ward."

The application for a school was. declined.

In July 1892 Dr. John Sparke wrote to 'I;he Department

·asking for Katoomba to be made a Superior Public School. He wrote:

nyou will find our school roll now has 220 names. :: Of the 27 forming fourth class, 14 have already passed the

.' standard, and nearly all the others are eligible to pass.· Children who have left would in some cases return. Mount Victoria, :Blackheath, \Ventworth and Lawson all would send their quota to 5th class. 1t

On en'luiry it was found that the average attendance was now 149.6

with Cl staff of headmaster, assistant and three pupil teachers.

On 20th Lu[,'Ust the school was made a Superior Public School. It

was noted that the children of summer visitors would be likely to

attend.

The lIlunicipal Council wrote on 14th September tha·t they

were about "1;0 kerb and gutter Parke street in front of the Council

Chambers adj oining the school and ·they suggested that the

Department should kerb and gu"tter the street in fX'ont of the

school. The Inspector said that it would improve the school's

appearance, but that the Department should only pay half the cost.

However, after six months the Council had done nothing so the

Department decided to let the matter rest for the ·time being.

The residence was proving to be too small for the

Headmas"l;erts family. In August 1892 two members of Parliament

asked the Minister to have another room built on, but it waS

decided no:t "~o do anything. In June 1893 Mr. ;oouglass complained

that it was not only too small but in bad repair.

"During the recent wet weather water streamed down the walls and under the windows to such an extent as to form pools on the floor. The floors have shrunk so much that in many pl:3.ces the tongues are out of the grooves and the westerly winds sweep with full force underneath, caus­ing pe:i:'ishing draughts. The windo'\'ls and doors are badly fitted, and the back door is too narrow. Though the build­ing has been up for more than 7 years it has never received a coat ot paint. It is badly constructed and, especially during the cold mountain Winters, we r~ve suffered a deal of discomfort."

The Inspector reported that the residence was too small, not

- 16 -

weather proof, was occupying land needed for the plaYb~ound,

and was "not a'~ all in keeping with the new and handsome school

buildings. If He recommended that the headJ;rlaster be authorized to rent

a house and that the residence be sold. The Under-Secretary dis­

agreed, and recommended tl~t t~e house should be repaired. To this

the Inspector rep;Lied: liThe residence is not in need of repairs. ,t.

11: is unsuitable and too small. However. as the Departmer;t's

funds are reduced for the year, I recommend that the matter be

deferred." Iv'Ir. Douglass then as~ed for the roof to be made water

tight, the windows and doors to be refitted, and an additional

room to be added; one of the existing rooms to be divided by a

partition and the whole house to De painted. The Architect was

asked to report. He estimated that the necessary work would cost

about £200 and that if it was carried out the house would be as

good a residence as one costing £450 or £500. In January 1894 a

tender by Morris and WaUars for £193 was aocepted, and the work

was done during the following months.

Owing to the increasing numbers of children it was being·

found that the site was '/ioo small. In consequence the Municipal

Council suggested that the Department should acquire the fairly

large block of land lying to the south of the school, which was

available at that time. However nothing was done.

In March 1897 1w. Douglass reported that the weather-shed

was t·oo small. He pointed out that it was built when the attend­

ance had been less than 60. Owing to so WJ,ny childl.~en coming from

a distance a large number had to have lunch at the school and

there waS no room in the shed for all of them. It had never been

pain'ted since it was put up and was in bad repair. The Chief

Clerk of Works recommended that . h' \ a double weather-s ed measur~ng \ '\,

40 ft. by 15 ft.with a division in the centre should be erected.

and the old shed removed. This would save space~ He added: lIIt

is essential to specify the use of North Coast hardwood. The

local mountain timber is useless for building purposes, but unless

North Coast timber is clearly specified the contractors will try

- 17 -

-~o work in the local st1.1.f'f as it is e. little cheaper and easier

to work." In February 1898 a tender Was accepted from

Brnest Kirkham to build a new weather-shed for £'.244- and to do

general painting and repairs for £180. The work was finished in . -the following A~~ust~

At the end of 1898 the headmaster reported that the ,<

,eJ?.rob181lt ',;':3.8 24·3 wi'th an (lVeraie attendanoe of 180. Ire rem~lrked

that these numbers were likely to be conside:!"ably aug:nen-ted over,

There were still many com.plaints about the roughness

of tiJe -p,b.ygr.ound. In I,ial'ch 1899 a lle'Ui tion w:;tS signGd 'by many

parents whioh s-!;a;!;ed that:

liThe su.rface is COlnl)letelystudded with ironstone outer'op, is most uneven, and in its presen-t sta.te entirely unfitted for the purpose for which it is in!;ended. Several yery serious accidents have occurred; in one instance a child's leg was broken. 1I

N'U'. Gostelow, OlerIc of Works, inspected the grounds and suggested

building a retain:L!li~ wall at the back and extensive levelling.

He estimated the cost at £276. rn:eanwhile the Headl!l.<:1.ster, now,

IVlt'. Wright :311d th, had suppor'ted the parents t request eta-!;ing:

"lYial1Jl da,xlgerous 9.ccidents htlVe occurred some lit-lile time ago'.

Gerald ii..ttwell broke his arm, Zachariah Nimmo had a collar bone

broken, John O'Regan had a.n arm broken and numerous other pupils

haye sustained Ll02'e or less se~'iot1s injuries. It

The Departm911t, however, thought Wt!'. (}ostelow t s plan

too expellsiye, so he produced an ar.lended version costing £70.

The Arch:i.tect recolmnel'ld~d th~l.t the fence should be repaired but

considered the res'!; of the work ~roposed was still too expensive •

.At this the Council Clerk wrote to the Department protesting

that

liThe playground is a disgrace to the Department and dangerous to the scholars. It is full of jagged stones jutting out of the ground, it is unfenced, and on one side there is a rough dangerous embankment fully 10 ft. high in places."

As a resalt of this protest a Mr. ?urslow was engaged to remove

rocks aYld loose stones, and this work was done during the follow-'

ing year. However this did not satisfy the Council and during the

- 18 -

folloiving June a de];lu-I;ation Si2i.W the lVIinister. They cOIJ1pl~dned

tht"'.t tbe playground was on a steep slope alld that levelling was

ineffecti-ve becau.se rain water washed a'way -the surface earth and

left the rocks exposed. They asked for the playground to be

asphal tea,. It was decided that part of the playground might be

aSI)hal tea and this work wns done by mr. Purslow towards the end ,I,

of the year- for £93. At the SalllE- time the Oouncil offered to

asphalt th:'l path in front of the school :Ln Eal'ke street if the

])epar'tment vvo1.Ll6. pa;/ h""lf the cost of kerbing and g'l.:!-ttering.

This waS agreed to.

Chief Inspector Bridges visited the school in November

1900 and he reported that more accommodation was needed. He

reco1D.1Jiended that a new classroom be erected of the S00me size as

the existing main school room, and that brick dividing walls

inside the main building should be removed. The He admas-{; er, also;

asked, for these interior walls to be removed saying that they

were a serious obstacle to both discipline and organization and

that they were neither useful nor ornamental. The walls were

removed by Mr. Purslow in August 1901 for £10.

In 1906 the Headmaster applied for extensive pain-!;ing

and repairs. These were ap:~roved, and in Ootober· a tender by

o.w. Medcalf tor £199 was accepted. The work W~~S cOnlple'ted during

the' CbristULas holidays.

The Pt=,rents atld Ci-tizens r Association jiHkes its first

appe.:clr1Omce in the reoords in February 19G7 t and '[v11'. Heal, who had

succeeded i!ir. 3with as principal, applied on their behalf for

permission to cut a doorway, and put in a door. in the west end

of the school below floor leveL Ue explained that the floor was

about 8 ft. above the ground at that :point. The object was to

use the space under the floor as a store room for the boys'

carpentry outfits in cO~Jlection with the proposed carpentry

classes. Permission to have the plan ~arried out was granted.

In June 1907 Mr. ,Purslow who owned the land adjoining

the school on the south side, informed the Department that he

- 19 -

wished to sell i't and he aslced if the Department Was prepared

·to buy. Inspector Murray said:

liThe increased area v/ould be of decided advantage. Mr. Purslow's land has an area of 66 ft. by 200 ft. On it is a wooden builqing perfectly useless to the Department. I consider £330 would be a fair price. Seeing that the sum of £600 is asked I recommend that Iflr. Purslow's offer be declined."

.' . Water Was laid on to the school in March 1908., the work

being done by F. Jones for £12.10.0.

Mr. DuYille was appointed headmaster in October 1908 and

he found that the residence Was too small for his f.amily. Since

it could not be expanded without encroaching on the playground he

asked permission to rent a house.· Inspector Murray reported:

"The residence is too good to be condemned but is not such as a teacher occupying the position of principal here might reasonably expect. It is scarcely good enough for such a locality but too good to be'left unoccupied .. "

He suggested that the teacher might rent a house and

that the residence might be used for technical classes •. fIe said

that there was a growing feeling in Katoomba towaz'ds the es'tab­

lishment of technical classes, and that classes for dress­

making, shorthand and elocution were already in existence. Chief

Inspector Bradley thought that the extension of techniCal classes

to Katoomba Was a remote contingency. so it WaS eventually decided

to allow the teacher to rent a house t and to let the residence for

not less 'than 12/6 a week. In May 1909 Plfr. Dunne moved to a house

called "Sunbury" in Lovell Street, for which a rent of £65 a year

Was paid.

In October Mr. Dunne protested at the number of ·!;eachers

in poor health who were appointed t·o Katoomba. He wrote: 111 have

heard that a lady teacher who is at pr~sent at Katoomha recruiting

her he;:llth has applied for appoint;ment to this school. ConSidering

that two out of a staff of five are already in delicate health it

seems hardly fair to add another invalid." One teacher fainted, in

class and was subse~uently declared unfit for work by Dr. Roth of

'the School Medical Service. She resigned at the end of the year.

- 20 -

:Mr. Crawford, one of the a.ssistant teachers, was

president of the School of Arts. I-.'i:r;. Dunne'reported that he

had helped 'to extend educa'Uon by providing university extension

lectures, which was a dietinc'l; advanoe on arlYth.1ng formerly . exist'ing at Katoomba.

Owing to increasing numbers the need Was again being

,telt for extensions to the school premises. As early as 1908

W~" Dunne had reported:

IlIr'iy room has to accommodate three tea.chers. It is 54 ft. long and 19 ft. wide; but as three big fireplaces project 14 inches into the room, and the circular iron .fenders another 18 inches" there is available for teaching space only a width of 16 ft. 4 inches. The seating is so arranged that 'l;l1e light comes from the back. The Director of Education, on a recent visit, told me that the way to remedy such a narrow building is to divide the room into two by a glass partition, to level the floor ,and arrange the seating so that the light would come from the left, and to build another room ,for the infants. Under the new scheme a Superior Public School will be expected to provide a certain amount of,advanced education for places even beyond its immediate Vicinity. Katoomba is only in its infancy; it is the leading tourist resort in the sta'~et and it hurts one I s pride in the Departmen't to hea.r the buildings con­demned by so many visitors from all parts of the world."

The Inspector agreed that the main room w,:;.s too narrow and should

be altered, but thought that the matter should no'~ be dealt with

jus'!:; then. In June 1909 the principal renewed his application,

pointing out'that in addition to desks the room had to house a

library press; book presses; a museum press and a piano. There

was accollUnodation for 144 children and the ordinary a;l;i;endance

was about 190. Kat 0 omba' was moving ahead fast, buildings were

going up on all sides ,and the permanent population was rapidly

increaSing. Not only were the children overcrowded but the Same

size of desks and seats were used by children of six and those of

16. In August the District Works Officer inspected the building

and he drew up a plan to put in a cen'(;ral partition, level the

floor, install dual desks and extend the building as it had been

originally intended. At the beginning of 1910 the Headmaster

poin'~ed out that there were six teachers at the school but only

four classrooms and that children were beinG taught in both the

weather-sheds. The enrolment was over 290. It Was decided to

carry out a plan drawn up by the Works Officer and in July a

- 21 -

tender by Arnold Rigby for.£1,980 Was accepted. By the new year

it Was reported that the brickwork was finished and that the

in'fierior imp:r'ovements were well advanc~d. The contract WaS

finally completed.in June9

.At this time sewera.;.-;e was being laid in Katoomba, and

in N'ovember 1910 :tITr~ Dunne reported that the contractor would

.~oon be la~ing the sewer to the edge of the school grounds and

that he had offered to make further excavations necessary to lay

i'l; on to the school if the work were done at once.. The Inspector

reported that the 'Nork was being carried out under the

supervision of fiTr" Engineer Fitzgerald of the Works Depar'!;ment,

and he recolUIll6nded that it should be done immediately.. It was

decided to ask ~tr. Rigby, who was extending the school, to do the

work, and his tender for £127 Was accepted. The work was com-

pleted at the end of 1911.

The Parents and Citizens' Associa'tion and the Municipal

Council were both· anxious that the school should acquire some

land south of the playground, and in August 1910 they wished to

send .9. deputa.'lsion to the 1'!inister about it. They pointed ou't that

when the additions, ·then being made, were finished the playground

SPace would be ba.t'ely half an acre,. while the attendance waS over

200 and was likely to be over 300 in summer. They pointed out

'that the land values were increasing and if the Illt. ... tter was delayed

much longer the resumption would cost the Department a much larger

sum. However, nothine was.done just then~

Trouble was still being experienoed with the surface of

the 111ayground 1:Pld Mr. Dunne reported thatt in spHe of the

grea:!;es'!i diligence exercised in uprooting and taking out stones,

the .ground was still unsafe and entirely unfit for physical

training and drill t and that children were comrtantly getting

hurt. Besides, parents were complaining about the destruction

of the children's boots.. He asked that the playground should be

asp}~lted. This work was estimated to cost £173 and the

Department considered it too expensive. Assistarrt Chief Inspector

- 22 -

Lawford re~'ll.a.rked: "We are asked to spend ,f,173 in aSl'Jhalting a

portion of the playground of a country tow 1'1 school. I recolllmend

a refusal."

The exte~sions to the school included a n~nual training

room, and a'l; the beginning of 1911 the headmaster ap:plied for it

to be fitted with benches and tools. The Chief Inspector wanted ',I

.to know if there was a manual training teacher on the staff.

lvIr. Dunne replied ·that Mr. Easterbrook, first assistant, would

teach manual training and that the Parents and Citizens.

Association had raised over £10 to supply tools.

One result of the rapidly increaSing population was a

difficulty in getting cleaners. In reply to an enquiry by the

Department Mr. Dun.ne said: "Charwomen at Katoomba c01lllIland their'

own price, and then let one see plainly that they are dOing the

work as a sort of compliment."

At the end of 1911 Mr. ,Dunne was asked to explain why

there was such a high average ~~e in the lower 'classes. He

replied: "This is EL tourist sanatoriUtl1 school and ca.nnot be

judged by the standard of an ordinary one. Fully two-thirds of

the new pupils brin.,g doctors· certificates, letters or other

evide:nce of ill health. I\fany ot our pupils are enrolled in the

lower first at an age that in other districts would lead one to

expect enrolment in second class. Most of the pupils in the

upper cle-sses have not been thx'ough the lower classes hers; they

are gathered from all quarters. 1t His explanation was accepted.

The need for extending the school site and for obtaining

another residence Was kept in mind throughout this period. In

April 1911 "Sunbury"~ the house which the headmaster was renting

at 'I;be time, was offered to the Department, but the f;Iinister

decided that it should not be bought. In July l!/Jr. Dunue had to

leave this houset and he moved to ttTarrawingie"; which he le'ased

for one year at a rent of £90 per annum. This Was considerably

!nore than the rent which Was usually kJ.11owed to a teacher of his

classification, but the Department gave him full rent allowance

- 23 -

as a special case owing to the difficulty of obtaining a house

in Ka.toomba.

In view of .the higb. rents which had to be paid for a

house leased by the Headmaster it was decided to build another

residence. In order to do this land had to be acquired and in

August 1911 the minister decided to resume the two adjoining .'. 'properties on the south side owned by NU's. Nolan and Mr. ,Stout,

and also some land on the opposite side of Parke Street owned by

Mr. Andersol'l and Mr. Govett. The resumptions were gazetted on

21s'I; February 1912. A good deal of compensation had to be paid.

~ITs. Nolan's block contained a cottage which she had let to a

I~s. Taylor, who informed the Department that ,she had recently

spent a large sum of money equipping it as a boarding house.

After negotia·t;ions l'lfrs. Nolan agreed to accept £950 and

Mrs. Taylor £175. Mr. Stout, whose block'contained a weather-

board ~utf accepted £500. ~IT. Anderson's block, on the opposite

side of Parke street. con'l;ained quite a J,.arge house Called

ItFroIIlL,,1I and compensation of £1,54-0 was agreed to. Mr. Govett IS

block Was not built on, but he had recently received permission

from the municipal Council to build some small blocks of flats

on it and he asked for compensation to be higher in view of this

fact. It was eventually fixed at £650.

The Minister immediately decided that tenders should be

called for the erection of a residence. It WaS thought at first

that "Froma" might be used for this purpose, but the Inspector hsd

a look at i't and he reported tha.t it WaS in bad condition. It

needed a new roof, new walls, new floors and, he thought, new

foundations. He recommended that it should be demolished and

the SPace used for a boys' playground. He pointed out that the

recent addition.to t}fe school only just met requirements of the

rapidly increasing population, and that it would soon be necessary

to build again. It was consequently decided to dispose of all

the buildings on the recently acquired land and IIFroma" waS sold

to Figgis and Simons for £61 and the buildings on the s~une side of

- 24 -

Parke Street as the school to M.C. Heraty for £106.10.0. The

purchasers had -to demolish the buildings and remove the materials.

It was decided to build a new residence on the same side of

Parke Street as t49 school.: Plans were drawn up ~y the Architect,

a tender by R. Miles for £l~029 was accepted~ and at the beginning

of 1913, after the removal of the old buildings, he began work. ',:

.~he Chief Inspector thought that it was expensive, but in view of

the difficulty of getting a house at Katoomba he thought it best

'~o go ahead wi~h the work. The residence was co.:r'ple-tied in

June 1913.

In July 1912, X.IIr. Dunne reported that he had leased the

old Masonic Hall, which adjoined the school, tor 12 months to

house additional enrolments. The usual attendanoe at this time

waS about 280. The hall had recently been sold to a Mr. Wardrope.

The lease was renewed in July f913, and hb? Dunne then reported

that i"ti was rumoured that the Town Council wan.ted to buy the hall

for use as a supper room when the Town Hall was engaged. The

possibility that the Department ndght itself buy the hall waS

considered, but Tvir. 'Nardrope wanted £700, whioh was considered

too much, and in November the hall was bOt~ht by the Council.

They allowed the school to continue to occupy it. ~lIeanwhile in

April 1913 the Department had sanctioned the addition of four more

classroows, but the speed at which Katoomba.. was growing at this

time is shown by the fact that Inspector Wright l'eported that even

these additions would barely meet requirements as the enrolment

was noVl 451.

In July 1913 Mr • .Drume reported that the attendance had

doubled in lour years, _ and he said that the present ra-tie of

increase would be maintained. The Inspector reported tha·t he

thought it advisable to erect six new rooms and to utilize the

new buildiTh~ for the older pupils, leaving the existing one for

the juniors. Mr. Lawford remarked that 207 boys al'ld 190 girls

were enrolled in the school and that about 'twice the present

accomnl0dation was needed. A new school on the site across the

street had been au.thorized, but it WaS impossible for it to be

- 25 -

ready in less than a year. In November the Architect reported

that the plans for a proposed new school of six classroomS were

ready and r&r. Lawford urged that the work be proceeded with at

once. In March 19l~ tenders were called for and that of

Thomas Jones, for £4,300, was the lowest, and both the Architect

and ~~. Lawford recommended its acceptance. But the Minister

d?bided tllat the work should be done by day labour, at a cost of

£4,437. This building Was on the site of "Froma". The work

was done during 1914 and was completed in January 1915. On the

2nd Februar.y Mr. Adamson,who was now headmaster, reported that

the new building had been occupied, and that the old building

was being used for the infantst classes. At the s~ne time the

old masonic Hall was vacated.

In September 1912 it had been decided to start a cookery

school in a room of the old residence. This involved alterations

estimated at £62. In addition it was arranged to obtain equip­

ment from ot~er schools at East Sydney, Balmain and Mudgee. Then

at the last minute it was decided to hold the matter over. A

request for a cookery school was made again in 1913, but

Mr. Lawford commented:

liThe population of the town is a very floating one, and it is vexy doubtful if anything like a regular attend­ance of girls could be got even if the numbers were sufficient. From a conversation I had with the headmaster he said about 30 could be got. This is not nearly enough to justify the establishment of a school at present."

In October 1912 Mr. Dunne reported:

.1 The back part of I Cliffview ' allotment, which has recently been resurAed by the Department, and which had been intended as an extension of the present playground. is a~ present very rough and uneven. Across Parke street, and at the rear of the Carrington, considerable excavations have been commenced on the sites of proposed garage and electric lighting stations. The material; mostly decomposed sand­stone, is very suitable for filling and levelling."

He said that the contractor was willing to supply it for 4d. a

load whereas normally it would cost between 3/- and 4/-. £5.0.0

worth was boug~tt and Was subsequently used for levelling the new

parts of the playground.

After the resumption of "Froma" the IVIunicipal Council

- 26 -

asked if the Department would give a right of way between

Parke Street and an existing lane leading into Katoomba Street.

Mr. Milligan, who ,owned the adjoining property' on the northt

had already left a ~ath 3 ft. wide along the edge of his property

sO the Department agreed to give another 7 ft. to make a lane

10 ft. wide on condition that the pouncil would be responsible

fo'!' the maintenance and lighting of it. The Council agreed to :

this.

At the beginning of 1915 Th1r~ Adamson asked for a separate

Infants Department to be formed, as the recently constr~cted

building on the opposite side of the street. and ,the two parts

of the school were about 100 yards apart. His request was

declined.

On the 1st May 1915 N~. Adamson reported that he had

been requested by the Katoomba Recruiting Association to take the

senior ,pupils and their teachers to join the,~itizens and marc4

, out. to meet ,the Gilgandrarecrui ts. Th!3 ,.recruits were' expe'cted , .,"' "I

to reach Kat-aoroba at ,10.30 ~~m. Eio ,it :wouldme~n',su.~penq.ing:, " . ,.' , ~ .' ". ,

Ordi'nary' .work for the senior "Pupil~ ~til' 'li~', This was' approved .. '.: ~ .,~' , '. " • ' • ,,'. .," ". , ••• ' , I •. ' ',. '. .' ',' "'

In Novemb~r- ~ • .Adamsonreport~d that he had,',gi-iint:ed, permission ~'

to' t'h~ Katoomba. Re:cr~ting A~S?(dati~n: i~;' ~,,'p~rt,y' of re:crrlts " " , ",', 1 ' ' ,,,' , ""',',

,to use );he school, grounds a.s a:,ct;tJnping ~roundt" during :the co,urse'" '

of their niar~h, ,to Sydney., Thi~ ,also wa~ approved. "

'I:: In dune 1.917 it Was proposed to move, Mr. Adamson to

another school. Mr. Adamson ~as popular in 'Kaii0 omba,:' and protests

against his remova.l. were received: from the Parents and Citizens' ,

ASSOCiation. the Baptist and ,.Oongregational lfin1s,ters and ,ths

, Win the :War League, of which'the Secretary stated:',

If Mr. ',Adamscin has the rare faculty of bei~· able to win the love and esteem of the pupils bymak~ng school life p~easant instead of a term of drudgery, and constant fear of' \vhat might happen; and to secure such happy conditions without ,sacrificing discipline. ' The school results are excellent."

As a result of the protest 'his removal Was cancelled and

Mr. Adamson'was allowed 'to remain at Katoomba_

A l'ot of trouble Was experienced with the roof of the '

- 27 -

new re~3idel1ce. In S(:'lpteJllber 1917 ;'f.r.· 1l.da;mson complained that

it had given trouble ever since his arrival; there were frequent

leaks dUG to tiles being bl1 0ken by st0.11 lflS, and he suggested t,hat

the tiles should be replaced by iron. The Architect said that . -this would cost £110, owing to the high price of- iron, and he

thought that after repairs the roof wottld not give any more

.J;rOl.lble for some time. However complaints continued to be ,

received for many years and tiles were constantly having to be

rei.)laced.

At the end of 1917 the Katoomba School Board informed

the Department that they would like a District School to ba

formed at Katoomba. They stated:

liThe reoent dislocation of railway traffic owing to the strike Was responsible for much loss of time to the pupils at-I;ending at Parr.9,J.il.:3.tta. Those of the children who did go were foroed to trave~ by the train leaving Katoomba at 6.2.1- !'}..m .. re-curning by JGhe 5.18 p.lll.. from SydneYJ arriv­ing here at 8.6 p .. m."

They stated that a scheme for conveying children by rail motor

to a central school at Lithgow, which had been referred to by

the "Daily Telegraph", would not in any wa:}! suit the mountain

towns, and they considered the establishment ot a District

School at Katoomba to be an urgent necessity. At that time the

nearest secondary school to Katoomba was Pa.rr.9,J.~tta.

Soon afterwards a deputation SaW the Director ot

Education, Mr. Board, and asked him. to establish a District

School at Katoomba. The deputation was sympa-I;hetically received,

and ~ifr. BOard said tha.t he thought they had a strong case, but

the difficulty ~as to find the necessary sta.ft for a secondary

school. Over 700 teachers had anlis'lied and it was particularly

diffioult to get science teachers. In'the following April the

Parents and Citizens' Assooiation wrote to the Department pointing

ou'l; that the mountain Public Schools, from Mount Victoria to

Glenbrook, passed go pupils at the Qualifying Certificate

Examination in 1917, and as only very few of these pupils could

obtain admission to a. high school, it was felt that theestab­

lishment of a district school was an urgent necessity-. Mr. :Board

--.:......---~------ -

.- .. '

,'. ~-

- 28 -

replied th:1t a district school would start as soon as the

necessary teachers were available, a.nd in August the ~~1inister

prQmised to st::1rt a district school at the beginning of the

next financial ye~. In Decem.ber, Ghief Inspector Dawson wanted

to know if two' 'olassrooms would be !D.'3.de available for secondary

classes without interf"ering wi-lih the pr:Lmary school, and

):nspector Noble replied that there were two emi)"l;y cla.ssrooms in

-the old building and one classroom already used by secondary

classes in the new building. ConsequentlY', if two primax-y

classes were transferred to the old building three classrooms

would be availa,ble for. secondary work. The district school Was

formed at the beginning of 1919 with Mr. Reynolds as !rdncipal.

Soon after the ope~1ng of the district school be asked

if it 'We,s classed as an Intermediate Righ School. Chief

Inspector Dawaon replied:

"There is a llk"'J,tarial differenoe between a dis'f;rict school and an intermediate high sohool. The former meets

the seconda1~y requirements of country centres~ whilst the latter performs the functions or a high school in a large Central !lIetropolitan School to meet the overflow of pupils who cannot be accommodated atl.a nearby high aohool. lI

The Paren'!is and Citize:hs" Association asked the

Department, in August 1919, to form a separate Infants Department.

The request was refused at the time, b~cause the enrolment and

at·texldance were not large enough, bu.t at the beginning of the

following year 247 infants were enrolled, and the Chief Inspector

recommended that a separa.te Infants Department should be set.up

as soon as practicable. At this time the enrolment of the whole

school was 678, with an average attendance of 452.3.

A public meeting held in July 1920 unanimously passed

a resolu.tion asking for the establishment of a commercial course

at Ka·~oomba. It was stated that 50 children wished to take it.

The Department replied that no teacher WaS available, and that

it was too late in the year for a new course to be begun, but they

would try to start one at the beginning of the following year.

In Sep·tem.ber the Parents and Citizens' Association again

approached the Department, ~his time to request that the school

I ,

- 29 -

be made a full High School. They were informed:

"It is the practice of this Department to 'establish high schools only in those centres where there are sufficient pupils following 3rd and 4th year courses to justify the ex­pense of providing the necessary accomraodation and teaching staff. The Department would need to be satisfied that the number of pupils following work in advance of the Intermediate Certificate 'Was adeq,uate to maintain two classes. Kat 0 omba school is working to the Intermediate Certificate stage only. There is a very noticeable fall in the attendance in 2nd year

, classes t a fall which does not point to the growth of the ;'" upper classes on which the establishment of a high school

must largely depend. At present the applica'cion for a'high school at Katoomba is premature."

The enrolment in secondary classes at this time was 51 in 1st

year, 30 in Remove and 11 in 2nd year. However, the sc~ool Was

raised to the status of an Intermediate High School on 1st July,

1920.

At the beginning of 1921 the average attendance for the

whole school Was OVer 580, and overcrowding was again being ex­

perienced. In conseq,uence the basement was remodelled to provide

an additional classroom.

The, Town Clerk of Katoomba wrote to the Department in

September 1921 informing them that owing to the growth of Katoomba

the Town Hall was becoming inadeQuate and the Council was consid­

ering building a new one on another site., He asked whether, in

view of the fact that the existing Hall adjoined the school

property, the Department would be interested in buying it.

Inspector Noble had a look at the hall and reported: "The walls

of the main portion of the building are of brick, and the roof of

iron. A large hall ex'~ends back from the main building and is

constructed of iron and lined with fibro. The buildings were

erected in pre-war times at a cost 'of over £6,000. 11 He recommended

that when money was available for additional school buildings it

would be better to build new classrooms. The Town Clerk Was in-

formed accordi:r:Jgly that the Degartment did not wish to buy the

building.

In November 1921 Mr. ~:i. Gallaher wrote to the Department

stating that he had been taking violin classes at Katoomba

Intermedi~te High School for some months passed, and that the

classes would be able to sit for the examination of the A.M.E.B.

- .,

- 30 -

in grade six at the end of the yea:r. The Jna'tter was referred

to the Registrar of the Conservatorium, who replied that '

~fu? Verbrugghen was at present in Melbourne, but in any case

the A • .M.E.B. did not :i.ssue certificates for class instruction.

l'llr. Gallaher had already entered some of his private students

for the examination, and there was nothing to stop his high ,:

,'~chool pupils entering as individual students, but no reductions

in fees could be made.

During 1923 additions were made to the school building.

The work was done by T.N. Grimsley for £3,500. Unfortunately

-t;here is a gap in the records at this point and no more informa-

tion about this work is available.

Information is again available in 1927. In September

of that year the Secretary of the Katoomba Agricultural,

Roc"liicultural and Industrial Society wrote to the Department

offering to allow the school to use the showground for sport,

The Inspector reported that there was no ground available for

recreation for the girls a'l; the school. The public park was

used by the boys but Was too small for both boys and girls at

the one time~ It was consequently decided to accept the

society's offer, and the showground was used for the girls'

sport on one afternoon a week a-t 8. rental of 10/- an afternoon.

An application was received from the Headmaster~

Mr. George Eorter t at the beginning of 1928 asking for the in­

s-talla-I;ion of electric ,light in the residence. He reported:

"At present gas is being used with unsatisfactory results. Not

one of the burners is serviceable and ~he cost of installing new

gas fittines would be about £12. In the meantime a hurriCane

lam.p and candles are being used." The installation of the

electric light was approved, and in May eleven lights and one

power point were installed by J.A. Gray for £14.6.0.

In May 1928 Mr. Porter applied for permission to have a

tuck shop built against the eastern wall of the school. The

:earents and Ci'l;izens' AssociELtion and the Sports Union were

-.' .' ," . .: ....... ..:.

- 31 -

prepared to share the cost. A tender fo~ £16 had been submitted.

After en(:l.uiry by the Department mr. Porter :3ta'ted, "Sales of

sweets, etc. take place daily at this school, and this custom, (

has been followed,for years. In addition to providing funds

for purchasing' a rotary duplicator and a 'typewr~terf the custom

is beneficial in that pupils need not leave the grounds when .f

,<they desire to spend money. It However, the Depar'cment refused

permission to build the shop.

Extensive renovations to the buildings were carried out

at the begim1ing of 1929. They included repairs to the roof and

painting. The work was done by the Department's Painti~g and

Repair staff, at a cost ot £445. It had been.intended to build

an infants weathershed, but this was not done because the play­

ground did not have room for it. Later in the year repairs were

carried out to the roof of the residence and of the Infants

An ap:plicatiol1 for a public school at North Katoomb~

was received 'by the Department in September 1929. It was suppor'ted

by 'che local branch of the Blue Mountains Agricultural Bureau.

The Inspector pOinted out that the proposed school would be only

three-quarters of a mile from Katoomba school, which had

accommodation for 100 additional children as it was. He stated

that it Was many years since the enrolment had been so small.

The application for a new school was refUsed.

The local branch of the Australian Labour Party applied

to the Depart,ment for permission to use the sohool building for

meetings once a month, at the beginning of 1931. The Minister,

Mr. Davies, had directed that all political par'ties should be

allowed to hold meetings in sc~ool buildings on the condition

that the users should be responsible for any damage, and that

light ~nd cleaning services should be paid for, so the applica­

tion was grante~.

In March 1931 the Headmaster. Mr. Bentley, reported that

there were'nine classes at the school and only seven classrooms,

plus a science room and a smail room used for Latin classes.

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He suggested that the basement, which wa.s norma.lly used as a

shelter, could be converted into the two classrooms. The

Parents and Citizens' Association strongly objected to what

they called tithe ~nf'amous basement proposition,tI and asked the

Department to obtain additional accommodation outside the school.

The Inspector asked the Association if they knew of any suitable J

,<€>utside accommodation but they do no-!; seem to have replied.

However, Th~. Bentley tound that by a rearrangement of classes,

and the use of the kindergarten room by higher classes, the

necessity to use M the basement could be avoided.

On 15th November 1931 a heavy th1.mders'!;orm took place

during which a brick retaining wall, between the school and the

Council's offices at the rear of the Town Hall, collapsed and

fell into the Council1s property, damaging some of the outbuild­

ings. The Town Clerk informed the Department that the collapse

Was caused by lack of proper weep holes in the brickwork with the

result that the rain water was unable to get through the wall,

which could not stand up to the pressure of water behind it.

The Publi,c Works Department inspected the damage and estimated

the cost of rebuilding the wall at £148. The DeI)artment con­

sidered thi,s estimate very high, and asked the foreman of the

Painting and Bepair s'liaff for an estimate, and he estima'!;ed £88.

Meanwhile. the Oouncil wrote saying that they thought rebuilding

could bE! done for £55. Since the Council's estimate Was so much

lower than the others the Department decided to ask the Council

to rebuild the wall, and to pay them for the work, since the wall

h9:d been built by the Department in the first pl;;)'ce, and the

water. came from the Department's property. It was subsequently

agreed to pay the Council an additional sum of £9 for arranging

for drainage of rain water to the street. The work was carried

out in September at a total cost of £64.

The Inf~~ts Mistress reported on 25th July, 1932 that

the Mothers' Club were supplying hot milk to all pupils in the

Il~ants Department free of charge during July and August at

11 a.m. daily. The Department replied that this action by the

- 33 -

Glub was commenda,ble and much appreciated.

On 3rd October 1933 the Ka.toomba Health Inspector

reported that a number of repairs were necessary~ In particular

he pointed out th~ need for new incinerators, the existing ones

being useless,' the need for better drainage arrangem.ents for

surface wa'lier from the pla.yground, whlch Was erod:Ll1g the £oot-,I

,~ath ~n the street, and for repairs to the gutters. The

Inspector agreed with this report and the foreman of the Pa.inting

a.nd Repair staff, after inspection, estimated the GOErG of

nec~ssary work at £213. The matter wa.s held over owing to lack

of moneYt but in April 1934 an Une~loyment Relief Grant was

made to the Department, and money from this Was made available

for the work. It was completed in November.

The damage ca~sed by surface water running off the play­

ground across the footpath into the street h~d been a subject for

complaint by the Katoomba Council for some time. As early as·

April 1932 they had asked for something to be done. On this

occasion an otfic-er from the Publie Works Department reported

that a surface drain along the street boundary of the school,

and two lines of pipe under the :footpath would be sufficient.. <" .. i'

The work Was authorized at a cost of £12. App~rently this work

did not prove sufficient because early in 1933 the Council ~~ain

comp1i3:ined, and this time the Government Architect recommended

the construction of an absorption pit and drain. This Was done

at a cost of £27 .• 10.0. A yefU' later the Council aga:I,n complained

tha'[; the drainage system wa,s not working properly because it had

become choked by pine needles from the pine trees in the school

grounds. The headmast.er reported: liThe pine needles are numerous

and choke the drains after every shower. It would appear to be

a 1uestion of whether the ornamental value of the trees (their

shade value in this climate is nil) is greater than the nuisance

created by the needles". Two months later, in August 1934, the

Council asked for the pine trees to be removed. The Department

replied: "This Department is of opinion that the trees in

question have an aesthetic value and should not be removed unless

- 34 -

such' a courEfe is wholly necessary. It They suggested 'lihat

asphalting the path in front of the school would remedy the

trouble.

'At the beginning of 1935 the question was .s.gain raised

and the Government Architect was asked to report. He said:

"If the proposal to asphalt the path adjoining to the trees was

'@ffective no further trouble would arise. It would appear as :'

if the local Council does not wish to be put to the expense of

asphalting the footpath. It He recommended the trees should not

be removed or lopped, that the headmaster should be asked to see

that the drains 'were kept as clear as possible, and that the

Council be advised to asphalt the footpath.

Difficulty was again being experienced through over­

crowding and in March 1933 the Parents and Citizens' Association

complained that classes were being conducted in a converted

weathershed which had been condemned by the Health Inspector.

The Inspector reported that another classroom Was needed, but it

was difficult to know where to put it owing to the lack of play­

ground space. He thought the best plan would be to add two more

brick classrooms to the main building. In Ma.,y 1934 it wa.s

decided after repe,ated representations by both the Association

and individual pa:t'e:nts to move a portable classroom from

Chaiiswood Intermediate High School. Shortly afterwards the

Ministe~9 IvTr. Drummond f visited the school and approved of this

BS well as various other repairs. A total of £567 Was authorized

for work at the school, being drawn from the Unemployment Relief

Funds.

More acconmlodation was still needed and in July Inspector

Cantello recommended that a weatherboard classroom at the school

should be demolished and two brick rooms built. This was

approved, but the matter was delayed through lack of money. In

October the Mothers' Club suggested that the room built should

be a kindergarten and infants classroom, and that the two rooms

now used by '~he infants should go to the primary school. The

Inspector opposed this, as it would have meant splitting the

}' ,I

- 35 -

infants department into two units. Plans for two new primary

rooms were drawn up by the Architect, but the matter was held

over -through lack of money.

Mr. H. Gaggie, a private music teacher, wrote to the

Department in July 1935 to ask if children could be released

from school to attend music lessons with him during school

-hours. The Director of Education, W~. Thomas, replied:

liThe Departmentts attitude is that private music lessons should not be permH-lied to interfere wi tb the children r s attenda.nce at school during the prescribed hours. The Depa.rtment, however, l'ecognizes that music is a cultural subject and its acquisition by children is to be commended. I ,cannot give a general ruling on the question; each case must be considered on its merits. The paren-~s of each child are reCluired to join in any application for permission for the children to be absent during school hours for the purpose of receiving music lessons."

On 1st October 1935 the Secretary of Katoomba Cricket

Club asked for permission to construct a practice wicket in the

corner of the high schOOl grounds previously used as a tennis

court. He pointed out that it would be available for use by the

boys at all times when not wanted by club members. The latter

would want to use it two or three evenings a week after 5 p.m.

The Inspector recommended that the offer should be accepted,

sta.tin,?, tiThe headmaster a.ssures me that the wicket will be netted,

and that should any breakages occur they will be made good. He

considers the proposition a good one and does not expect any

complications." The Department however r.efused permission. It

was pointed out: ItThis proposal abounds with difficulties. If

the Club is as enthusiastic as this request indicates they should

surely have no difficulty in securing the use of a local sports

ground, the proper place for their ,practice."

The next proposal for relieving the overcrowding was a

suggEstion by the Town Council 'that the Department should buy

the Town Hall buildings 'adjoining the school. The proposal was

made in April 1935 and again in October ~936. The Department

obtained information that the buildings had a V.G. val~~tion of

£4,500 but the matter was not gone on with. In December 1936

the Infantst Mistress suggested that some adjoining land should

7

, .

- 36

be bought for a new infants school bm.ldlng. In April 1937 a

report was drawn U"J on the various different proposals th0.t had

been mnde in which it WaS ;Join'ted out

( 1) tha,t tl.e town he.ll would cost £4·,000 plus a lar.o'e sum , <:>

for remodelling.

(2) that the cost of a new infants buildinrr would be too

,of" great ..

0) that two new classrooms costing about £1,500 would

meet accommode.tion needs.

It was consequently recommended that the first plan be

abandoned, the :3econd be deferred for further consideration, and

that the third should be proceeded with. In October the Parents

and Citizens' Association wrote to the Premier. Sir Bertram

Stevens, protestil"..g th'3.t the clg,ssTooms were overcrowded and cold,

and; askil"..g for a definite answer as to whether extension.."3 would

be carried out. The Premier ~lsked the Minister for Education

for advice on the mat'~er and Mr. l)rummond replied explaining that

the delay in providill,g increased a.ccommodation W3.S not the fault

of tt.e De:'lar.'Gmsmti, but was a.us almost entirely to the conflicting

proposals put forward by various different people from time to

time. It was now decided to erect an additional two rooms and

in February 1938 a tender by L. Pither was accepted. The work

was carried out at once, but i:n June it was deoided not to

dem.olish 1i11.e weatherboard classroom as had been originally

intended, bu'~ to move it to a n.ew position,. This was necessary

because it was interfering,with the lighting of other classrooms.

The Mothers' Club wrote to the Department 'on 3rd June

1938:

tl The Mothers t Club start their hot milk distribu­ti,ons from 9th June and finish on 20th August. Will you please advise if we can hold a novelty pet show in the school grounds? We have devised this plan as it is no use running dances as m01;!t all boarding eS'{;ablisbment,s have their own ballrooms, and there have been five bazaars al-ready this year. 11 '

The pet shnw was approved~

At the beginnir~ of winter the secretary of the Katoomba

7

"

37 -

Rotary Club asked permission to trure approximately 20 boys

from high sohool classes on a trip to the Hawkesbury Agricultural

College. H~ wrote: "The club has this year decided that the

major activity of the club will be the endeavour to work for

the welfare of the boys and girls of our community. A phase

of this work would be the organization of educational visits to

,<'industrial and manufacturing undertakings." The Directqr o:f

EdUcation recommended that such excursions be approved provided

'that they had a sound educational purpose and that they did not

mean a waste of time. In June the Rotary Olub asked that their

responsibili ty should be defined in case 'chere Was an accident .

during one of the trips. They were informed that the Department

would accept no responsibility whatever in connection with the

trips arranged by the Club. A second trip Was arranged for boys

later in the winter, and in December a party of girls were taken

to Jenolan Caves.

In May 1938 the Parents and Citizens' Association again

asked that the school should be made a full High School.

Mr. Drummond pointed out that for conversion to high school status

there must be a minimum attendance of 200 with at least 25 in

post-Intermediate Certificate classes. Katoomba had an average

attendance of 296.5 but only 18.3 in 4th and 5th year classes so

the matter was deferred. The ASSOCiation, however, complained

"The word 'intermediate' is a derogative' word, especially when used in connection with a high school such as we have in Katoomba, where scholars are coached to the Leaving Certifica'te standard. This town, which is one of the most important in the Commonwealth, should have its high school. 11

In October 1938 Mr. Bentley, t~e headmaster, asked that

tables and chairs should be supplied so that the picture gallery

could be used as a reference library. The request WaS warmly

supported by Inspector Keller. liThe staff, last year, out of

school funds and by voluntary labour papered the gallery, had

linoleum and matting provided, and set up some well chosen prints.

I do hope it will be found practicable to forward the furniture."

The Mothers' Club wrote to the Department in April 1939

7 I

- 38 -:-

asking for permission to have seats provided for the infants'

use while having lunch. The sea·ts were to be made by some of

the fathers under the supervision of a carpenter. Some which

had alI,'eady been p1ade were reported to be very satisfactory

and of excellent workmanship, so the Department agreed to

provide the cost of the timber, £4.10.0.

,of" The need was being felt for extensive renovations at ,

the school. On 7th November 1938 a foreman builder of the

Building Branch, Mr. Bryant, reported that the school buildings

were dingy and badly in need of painting and that other repairs

were needed. The Parents and Citizenst Association supported

this report and asked for renovations. Inspector Keller

recommended that the wo.rk be approved and carried out as soon as

possible, but the Department was unable to proceed owing to lack

of funds. The Inspector also complained· about the colours used

in painting the recent additions: "The shade.s are altogether so

bright that they will prove unserviceable? ~nd approach the

garish." To this lV'lI'. Bryant replied:

"An experimental colour scheme was adopted for the new rooms at this school, white being chosen for the ceil­ings, cream for the walls above the dadoes, and sun tan for the dadoes and joinery. The dadoes have a red line. t of an inch in width, and the doors are finished with blue finger plates. The appearance is considered quite pleasing and far superior to the origi~l standard colour­ing, being C].uite appropriate for school buildings."

In May 1939 £860 Was approved for·repairs and painting,

additional funds having just become available, and the work

was done from July to September of that.year. At the same time

. £40 was authorised to close in the side verandah of the residence

and ·to do some alterations to the interior. Mr. Bentley had

already renovated some of the rooms at his own expense.

Katoomba was raised to the status of a full High School

in January 1943.

List of Headmasters

Name

George Young John Douglass Wright Smith Frank Neal

*The school was opened

Date ApPOinted

December February August .March

in January 1882.

1881* 1882 1897 1904

- 39 -

~ .,' ~ Date AE120inted

morgan Dunne October 1908 Thomas Adamson January 1914 Alfred Reynolds, JanUary 1919 GeoI'ge Redshaw January 1921 George Port'sI' January 1928 Ernest Bentley January 1931 Robert Dixon January 1943 Willi$ll Emery January 1944 Leslie SchafeI' February 1948

<' James Heap June 1953 Thomas Dun February 1960·

Hi~h School

John FoI'ster January 1943 lflilfI'ed Porter January 1946 Gregory Bondietti January 1950 Errol Johnstone January 1952 William Magill January 1959