Mallala School

Template:Building May 1877 saw the completion of the first public school and residence in Mallala. 

The cost of £936 was partly contributed by the residents and the first teacher appointed was Mr Jas Phillips and the first name on the school register was Annie Eliza Harris. 

At this time the Central Board of Education was in operation and its inspectors were authorised to keep a tight rein on teachers and pupils alike. 

On two dreaded occasions per year schools were visited and standards were checked, children were examined, and the percentages of passes would affect the teacher's salary. 

In those days fees of 4 pence to 6 pence a week were collected, with exception being made for the very poor.

During the term Mr David H. Adams was headmaster, the Dublin Board of Advice came into being, comprising Messrs John Forbes, William Temby, George Marshman and Samuel Gray. 

However, according to a letter to the Minister of Education dated 31 January 1883 the chairman and only one other member appeared to be attending meetings and inspecting schools regularly.

The system of using young monitors seemed very popular in the early days with some being paid by the department, some by the head teacher, while some worked just for the honour. 

By 1892 the Mallala school district was gazetted and this incorporated surrounding schools.

Mr T. Nevin, an obviously progressive headmaster, gained a holiday for his pupils on 29 July 1908 to celebrate the opening of the People's Park. 

This project and many other innovations about the town are credited to his enterprise. 

He is remembered for his donation of the turret and spire on the Methodist church and, oddly, for his seemingly unending supply of white peppermints. 

The attendances greatly increased during the time the RAAF station was in operation and classes were seriously overcrowded.

In 1966 the Education Department began closing small schools and the first students to be transported by bus to Mallala were from Korunye and Reeves Plains schools.  

Then followed the closures of Grace Plains, Windsor, Dublin and finally Long Plains. 

With more enrolments and a substantial Commonwealth grant, many amenities were added, including more classrooms, a turfed oval, and a greatly upgraded library.

 

Principals:
1878-1879	Mr Jas Phillips	1965-1966	Thomas Corry
1880-1883	David H. Adams	1967-1972	G. A. Loffler
1884-1892	John H. Snell	1972-1974	Graham Tilbrook
1893-1898	John T. Johnson	1975-Dec.1997	David S. Arthur
1899-1911	Thos Nevin	22/1/1998-30/9/1998	Ian Muster
1912-1928	George Morphett	12/10/1998-30/4/2006	Di Jamieson (Jones)
1929-1938 1939-1958 1959-1964	Alfred V. Gent Leslie A. Williams Arthur O. Wright	1/5/2006 -	Carmine Carfasso

References

• Mallala Museum research notes - schools folders

• Life around the Light: A history of the Mallala District Council area, compiled by Two Wells, Mallala and District History Book Committee, Community Development Board of the Council District of Mallala, [Mallala, S. Aust.], 1985. 

Memories of Mallala School

While I, Margaret Field, was teaching a classroom was added and it extended the lone transportable building to two classrooms with an enclosed porch on the north side. It was luxury now as in particular the doors to the rooms and the racks of children's belongings were not exposed to the elements. Ena Rander and myself used the building to teach the years one,two and classes.Mr Arthur and Mrs Mavis Wright taught in the stone building.It seemed that just as we relished this space the RAAF personnel were transferred and 40 children from the RAAF Base were not in attendance.The Education Department decded to reduce the staff to three teachers and remove the newly installed transportable.For me it seemed I was always on a building site competing with all the associated noises and keeping children safe from all the activity of the tradesmen. The years I taught at Mallala were 1958,1959 and 1960 and these three years fulfilled the bond obligation of country service.

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