Articles for RHSV Bendigo Branch Newsletter October 1973. 1. ''Bachelor's Brotherhood'' from Bendigo Advertiser 29th Dec 1855 re club rooms of this order of brethren (next door to Mr Burrow's leather warehouse, Pall Mall; mention of J D Bouran; B Parjeon; 2. ''Bells in and around Bendigo - No 7 the 'Esperanza' Bell at Spring Gully State School'' - re sinking of the Esperanz 1868, Newcastle. ''made its way to Spring Gully State School''; 3. ''The Central Napoleon Mine'' (Sparrowhawk Gully) Mention O Three Toms Mine, Friedman & Co., Friedman's Reef, Mr A Mooney, 4. ''Miners' Phthisis''. Mention of Dr Walter Summons (1906-07) reports of the disease and causes .by, W Abraham, Inspector of Mines; W Abraham (Bendigo Inspector of Mines) re ventilation; improvements at the Suffolk United mine (spray of water and compressed air); 5. One handwritten page relating to an article published in Nov & Dec 1973 issues of the Newsletter - author Philip Herdman re the Diamond Hill Company (late Melbourne Hope). [Refer to these Newsletters for full article].cottage, miners

REPORT OF THE INSPECTOR OF EXPLOSIVES 1892 working of the explosives act during the year 1892/Vic. Govt.gold mining, miners' safety cage, explosives, gold, gold mining, explosives

Yields information about the view of The Courier, and locals about the mooted closure of the tramway system and reporting on the proposal, an AETA visit and lunch hour services.Foolscap sheet of plain paper, with rounded corners, with 7 newspaper cuttings, concerning the mooted closure of the Ballarat Tram system April and May 1962. All from The Courier, unless noted otherwise. 1 - "Tramway renewals would cost 2.5m" - 18-4-62 - quote from Leader in the Legislative Council the previous day, Mr. Chandler, to upgrade tracks and trams in both Ballarat and Bendigo. 2 - "Old Trams" - The Age - 13/4/62 - about the proposed replacement of trams and their services 3 - "Coming Events" - 19-4-62 - reporting on item 1, six month delay as the motion has not been tabled - use them or loose them attitude. 4 - "Their Hobby is Electric Traction" - 23-4-62 - about the visit of about 84 members of the AETA to Ballarat, visiting Ballarat and Bendigo, 2nd hand trams, met by Mr. Denmead 5 - "Tram Services" - letter 4-5-62 - trams not departing on time at Lunch hour and other issues 6 - "Tram Times" - 5-562 - by R. Courtney local Secretary of the Union, about the lunch hour services - delayed by inspectors to assist the public 7 - "Tram Times" - 8-5-62 - concerning the lunch hour one minute delay and has not be late back to work. closure, letter to the editor, editorial, sec, lunch hour, aeta

Part 1 - Ballarat Horse Trams - notes that much of the details was supplied by the late Inspector James. Part 2 - Electric Trams - gives dates for the withdrawal of the ESCo cars, routes, SEC and extensions, including the Forest City signals. 11 pages of a typed article or research report on foolscap paper titled "History of Ballarat Tramways - 1887 - 1953", written by Wal Jack, Gestetner printed. With the file is a set of A3 size laminated photocopies, provided by the donor. See also Reg Item 6419 for another copy.trams, tramways, sec, esco, ballarat, sec, horse trams, tramcars

Yields information about the form used in Ballarat and Bendigo, perhaps Geelong used by the SEC to report on the operational behaviour of the crews in terms of rules broken or other mistakes. Would have formed a record of the employee.Printed form used by the SEC Provincial Tramways, printed on heavy paper or light card, titled "Service Record". Has the space for the tram branch, employee's name and the date of report, nature of the report, rule violated and who reported it. Was continue on the rear of the sheet. No form number. Two copies held.trams, tramways, secv, ballarat, bendigo, forms, inspectors, geelong, crews, rules

Demonstrates aspects of the SEC governance system in issuing By-laws for the travelling public, as part of their Act. Yields information about fares charged for tram services in Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong. Issued to crews.Small book with 32 pages, 27 printed on, with green cloth hard covers, sewn into cover. On front cover, printed in white ink is SECV name, logo, words, "Provincial Tramways", "Instructions for Tramway Traffic Inspectors", "Issued 1951", and a note that the book remains the property of the SEC. Inside cover as above with location for name and date to whom book was issued to. Indexed. Contents gives rules for behaviour, ticket checking procedures, reports, traffic supervision, safety and accidents. Copies 2 and 3 on display in cabinet in 39 since 1992 until 10/04. Copies 4, 5 and 6 - each have BTPS Catalogue Number written in on title page. (revised 12/8/05) Copy 7 - added 17/1/2007 - issued to Dave Kellett. Copy 9 - added 6/12/15 - issued to Tramway Superintendent - Les Denmead - 25/7/1952. Full pdf scan added 28/5/2019. See Reg Item 7887 for a typed sheet that formed part of the book.Copies 4, 5 and 6, on title page, each have "Ballarat Tramway Preservation Society Catalogue No. 304" written in black ink on the top of the page. Copy 7 has "D.C. Kellett, 11-7-66" in ink on the first page.trams, tramways, rules, instructions, tramways, operations, management

Newspaper clipping contained within Reg. Item 2488, page 25 and 27, from The Courier, Sat. 19 June 1937, titled "Story of Ballarat's Horse Trams", 1887 to 1913. Report of a paper presented to the Ballarat Historical Society by Inspector H. P. James the previous Tuesday night. Comprises four columns of text, pasted into the book titled "Of Other Days". General image of page 25 - see image btm2489i1.jpg. For page 27, see image btm2489i3.jpg - shows positioning of Reg. Items 2490, 91 and 92. Notes details of the genesis of the system, personalities involved with the construction, details of the works, depot, Duncan and Fraser car builders, early workers, formal opening, services, extension to Sebastopol, the horses, drivers, uniforms, (and on page 27) collection of fares, housing for the staff, horse feed (chart), passenger loads, conductors, rail and track cleaning and general operational notes. Has photo of a horse tram, with two drivers and conductors and handwritten note, remarking about the Conductor's "Receivers" in the photograph. See image btm2489i2.jpg Two hand written notes in ink, give details of Mr. Bob Haines and Matthew Buckley. Note Item Not formally Numbered.Numerous on page, mainly in ink.horse trams, sebastopol, crews, depot

Newspaper clipping contained within Reg. Item 2488, page 29, from The Courier, Fri. 24 June 1937 1937, titled "Story of Ballarat's Horse Trams", 1887 to 1913. Report of a paper presented to the Ballarat Historical Society by Inspector H. P. James at the Annual meeting of the Society. Comprises four columns of text, pasted into the book titled "Of Other Days". General image of page 27 - see image btm2493i.jpg. Provides introductory remarks, seating accommodation, brakes, weather shields (windscreens), fare boxes, services, Sebastopol trams, operations, fares, wages and conditions, industrial problems and events of interest. Has hand written notes in ink or pencil on the operation of tram 24 (the first air-braked car), bands, showgrounds and the use of conductors from Bendigo at the start of the operations. Note Item Not formally Numbered.Numerous on page, mainly in ink.esco, sebastopol, operations, tramcars

Yields information about the instructions that Ballarat Tramways traffic inspectors received in carrying out their duties and how to monitor the work of the tram crews etc.Twenty duplicated quarto pages or folios titled "General Instructions - Tramway Traffic Inspectors", bound within a manila folder. Dated March 1951 and has Manual No. 1 on each sheet. On bottom edge has "GOS6-55", indicating that it may have been printed in June 1955. Two steel clips used to bind sheets into folder. Details instructions for tramway traffic inspectors including behaviour, approach, appearance, general duties, knowledge of instructions and bylaws, supervision of employees, ticket checking, sickness, intoxicants, offences, traffic supervision, derailments, failures, safety, accidents, investigations, injuries and reports.Has "State Electricity Commission of Victoria, Electricity Supply Department" stamped on front cover.trams, tramways, instructions, inspectors, sec, employees

Yields information about the people involved in the retirement of a particular tram driver in 1954, gives names of people in positions at the time, music providers, the style of retirements at the time and a brief history of Ballarat Tramways.Typed copy with handwritten corrections of a report on the retirement ceremony of Mr Herb Preston November 1954, written by T.E. Carter - dated 21/11/1954. Herb Preston retired after 42 years service as a Motorman. Other people noted are: Mr. Roy Courtney - President of the Tramway Social Club Les Denmead - Superintendent Mr. Geo Hall of the Tramways Employees Association Alf Ellis - Motorman Arthur Hugo - Senior Traffic Inspector Don McLachlan Mr. M.H. Pinkard, President of the Employees Association Mr. O.Dwyer Mr. T. Brittian Mr. G. Allen 2nd page dated 28/6/1954 written by T.E. Carter - short one page history of Ballarat Tramways. Written for a publication - SEC magazine or local newspaper? Various corrections in ink.trams, tramways, crews, sec, ballarat, retirements

Significant in being a form used by the SEC inspectors on the tramcars as part of their duties to monitor the performance of the trams and their crews. Could be used for recording results of ticket inspections as well.Printed form titled "Daily Report of Cars Inspected", head "State Electricity Commission of Victoria". Has space for Inspectors name, time on , time off, date, traffic, weather and Inspector's Signature. Form has table with 9 columns, up to 26 trams to be inspected, recording route, motorman or conductors name, car number, time, inspected between, number of passengers, passes and remarks. Printed on off white paper. Has form number 583-60. Ten additional copies added 9/1/2007. trams, tramways, tickets, accounting, revenue journal, conductors

Demonstrates aspects of the Ballarat Tramways crewing arrangements, when standby's were available to cover crews who did not report in or left early or unavailable or running late. Allowed the inspectors to know when crews were available to cover late running etc. Produced for the Sept. 1966 rosterLarge format carbon copy typed sheet - titled "Stand by" dated 29th August 1966. Gives Run and time along the top heading and then broken up into each run for Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays showing in a line chart form the standby times for each run, including conductors. Shows starting and finishing time of each standby shift.In the top right hand corner " BTPS 812" in black ink.trams, tramways, rosters, crews, stand by, ballarat, timetables

Photocopies of documents from the Public Records Office files, Ballarat of letters concerning the construction of the horse tramway vehicles in Ballarat. Provided by Colin Homes. .1 - dated 1/2/1889 to G. Perry Town Clerk Ballarat, from Constable Hanigan, reporting on a conversation with Mr. Moore, confirmed by Constable Hickey about the capacity of the tramcars and the need for licenses for them and the drivers and conductors. Moore replied that the roads belonged to him? and that he could tell Perry to go to hell. .2 - Letter or note, advising Mr. Perry, from Hanigan as cab inspector, that 15 of the cars would accommodate 40 people, 18 inside, 20 outside + 2 conductors and that two would accommodate 46 adults, 20 inside, 24 on top and 2 conductors. Has notes from Perry and Hanigan on the side. Images of document added 27-08-12.trams, tramways, horse trams, city of ballaarat

One page foolscap typed (carbon copy) instruction sheet titled "Notice to Inspectors.", Dated 24/6/1952. Published by the SEC Ballarat Tramways, Traffic Office and signed by Les Denmead as Branch Tramways Superintendent. Notes the importance of Inspectors as supervisors and observers, recent complaints, working hours, theatre finishing times, accidents, reports and keeping the trams moving.In black ink across top of instruction "BTPS 319." trams, tramways, sec, instructions, traffic staff, inspectors, accidents

Copy of teaching reports ( 2 A3 pages laminated ) on Mary Elizabeth Sampson, later Oxnam ) who taught at Laurel Street Primary School from 1905 - 1910. The report describes the various schools she worked at and the Inspectors' comments on her teaching ability. The comments date from 1878 through to 1906.education, primary, golden square laurel st p.s.

Yields information about the form used in Ballarat and Bendigo by the SEC to reporting on ticket checking by Inspectors on the trams.Printed form used by Tramway inspectors as a record of inspections of tramcars, crews etc. Set up to inspect up to 26 trams, gives route, crew name, car no., time, where, no of passengers, passes and remarks. Single side, form No. 583-60. Titled "Daily Report of Cars Inspected". Record revised and imaged added 31/10/2013. Two copies from the donation of Gavin Young added 14/8/2017.trams, tramways, secv, ballarat, bendigo, forms, inspectors

Streets and drains were the basic infrastructure problems for Kew in the 1880s. Decent streets and drains were fundamental to the quality of life of the residents. Without drainage, streets became muddy, boggy and sometimes impassable. Pools and puddles of stagnant water became smelly. The run off water, mixed with human and animal wastes, because there was no sewerage, became a health hazard. Streets and drains then became what were known as 'a nuisance'. Kew suffered from bouts of typhoid fever during the 1880s. Derrick Street was a private street on the margin of the business district of Kew and a well-used thoroughfare. We hear first about Derrick Street when the ratepayers applied to Council to have the street 'taken over' in January 1881. The Council agreed, after much debate, but ratepayers had to pay half the costs. The argument of the majority of the Council was that there was an established policy that ratepayers of private streets either had to hand over the street fully-formed or pay half the costs if Council did the work. It was felt that to make an exception for Derrick Street would create a precedent for ratepayers of other private streets. On the other hand the ratepayers, and a minority of Council, believed that there were extenuating circumstances in the case of Derrick Street. They believed that the costing by the Borough Surveyor was excessive. They felt the Council was partly responsible for the state of the street due to a channel on Bulleen Road, which deposited sand in the street. The Council had also put in some kerbing at the entrance to the street. Finally, the ratepayers believed that the street had become an important and convenient thoroughfare in Kew, and thus should be an exception to the policy on private streets. In the end a decision was delayed to allow the ratepayers to drain and form the street themselves. And there the matter stood till September 1882, when Miss Reilly complained about rubbish on a block of land in Derrick Street. So, in October 1882 the Council agreed to take over and form the street with the ratepayers paying half the costs. The ratepayers did not want to pay, so the argument continued in Council into 1883. There was a standoff for a further 18 months, until the problem could no longer be ignored. In October 1884 the Inspector of Nuisances and the Health Officer reported that Derrick Street was a health hazard as there was no drainage outlet for waste water. These reports changed the status of the problem of Derrick Street. It became an issue of public health, and thus the Council, acting as the Local Board of Health, had power to prepare plans and order the ratepayers to drain the street and pay all the costs, or let the Council do the work and charge ratepayers half the costs of the works. By April 1885, the time for ratepayers to complete the works themselves had expired, so the Council proceeded with the work and required ratepayers to pay for their share of the costs. All ratepayers had paid by the end of April except Mr Whiddycombe, who refused to pay. Mr Whiddycombe was warned to pay in October 1885. Legal action was taken against him in November. The Council lost the case on technical grounds. The Council, acting as the Local Board of Health, relaunched the legal action and won. The last we hear of Derrick Street is that seven day’s notice was given to Derrick Street ratepayers to pay for the drainage works in May 1887. We presume that Mr Whiddycombe paid. (Research: Andrew Frost)Rare and historic publication issued by the Board of Health in the Borough of Kew in 1885 to residents of Derrick street regarding the need for proper drainage for the purpose of improving public health.Printed formal notice sent by the Board of Health of the Borough of Kew to landowners in Derrick Street, Kew. The notice advised the owners that they were required to form and drain the street according to the levels and specifications approved by the Board. The letter was sent on January 23rd 1885, and signed by the Inspector of Nuisances.borough of kew -- greater melbourne (vic.), council notices -- public health, derrick street -- kew (vic.)

Melton South "The establishment of a settlement of Melton South was induced by the opening of the railway in 1884. This subsequently prompted a number of industries, initially sawmills, and in the early twentieth century, chaff mills. This development coincided with the Exford ‘Closer Settlement’ estate at the beginning of the new century, boosting local population and produce, and the development of the chaff industry which employed many people in the Melton area. (Around 1912 the government had brought out English migrants to settle the Exford estate.) By c.1912 the small Melton Railway Station settlement had a boarding house (probably for chaff or sawmill employees), store, a small church and a hall. The Melton Valley Golf Club originated near the railway station in 1927 (in 1931 it moved to the present Melton links). In 1910 the community had built the large timber ‘Victoria Hall’, which became the focus of community life for several generations. In August of that same year AR Robertson MP and D McDonald applied for the establishment of a school on land set aside for that purpose by the Closer Settlement Board, near the Melton Railway Station settlement. District Inspector McRae recommended that a school for classes up to Grade 3 be established as an adjunct to the Melton State School. And so SS3717, ‘Melton Railway School’, was established in the leased Victoria Hall on 1st December 1911. Thomas Lang, head master at Melton since 1896, was in charge of both schools. As a ‘prep’ school only, it was necessary that the older Melton Railway Station settlement students travel to Melton SS430 at Unitt Street. Since 1912 local residents had been petitioning for the establishment of a separate school at Melton Railway Station on the grounds that it would be better if all children from the one home could attend the same school, and that the Victoria Hall was unsuitable as a school building. As a result an area of 2 acres - Allotment 8, Parish of Djerriwarrh, Exford Estate - was reserved for a State School on 4th March 1914. However the Department wrote that a school would not be established there in the near future, as ‘there is no likelihood in sight that the Railway Station settlement will increase in importance’. Parents persisted with their petitions to the Education Department, claiming that the Victoria Hall was too large, had no fireplace, that teachers were unable to use the wall for teaching aids, and that, being less than 20 metres away from a chaff mill employing 30 men, was too noisy. The turning point came when in 1920 the Hall Committee decided to increase its rent for the hall. In 1920 Head Teacher Lang advised the Education Department to discontinue SS3717 as an adjunct. The District Inspector supported this recommendation, and the schools separated in 1923. In April of that year 41 children, comprising Grades 1-8, moved into an almost completed brick building on the present site. On the 6th July 1923 the official opening of the school took place; after a ceremonial journey from the Hall to the school, speeches were given by the Hon AR Robertson and the Chief Inspector of Education. Everyone then journeyed back to Victoria Hall for a ‘bountiful repast’. (These dates are at odds with the date of 5th March 1925 given in Blake as the date the children occupied the new SS3717 brick school building. ) A teacher’s residence had been purchased for ₤500 in 1923, and the school’s name was changed to ‘Melton South’ in the same year. Even though the older Melton South pupils would no longer have to travel to the Unitt Street school, an additional brick room was still required at the Melton SS430 in that same year. In 1961 a new room was added to the school. In 1972, at the beginning of Melton’s boom as a satellite town, the number of enrolments was 224. The school has since shared in the exponential growth of the town of Melton, and at the time of its jubilee celebration (1983), 524 pupils were enrolled. Victoria Hall, neglected and vandalised, was demolished in 1992. It had been handed back to the Council on condition that it be replaced by a new hall, with the same name, and was commemorated by a plaque. Apart from the 1923 brick school building, and the railway station, none of the principal early Melton South public sites survive. Few early residential sites remain. (Further research will establish whether the house on the corner of Station Street and the railway line was the original teacher’s residence.)" Melton State School "On 17th May 1858 a State subsidised, combined Denominational School was opened by HT Stokes, with an attendance of about 30 children. This school was conducted in the wooden Melton Combined Protestant Church, situated on ‘a creek flat’ thought to be on the north side of Sherwin Street between Pyke and Byran Streets. It is likely that the Church had been established by 1855 and that the first minister was the Rev. Hampshire, who lived in Cambridge House on the Exford Estate. Ministers of the Protestant denominations were invited to hold services there. As there was only one resident Minister in the town (Presbyterian Mr J Lambie), laymen of the various denominations often spoke on Sundays. In 1863 this building was declared a Common School with the number 430. One of its first and most prominent headmasters was John Corr, who served from 1860 to 1864. Most of Mr Corr’s children also became teachers, including Joseph Corr, at the Rockbank school, and J Reford Corr and WS Corr, headmasters and teachers at numerous prestigious private secondary schools around Australia. John Corr purchased land alongside the school and elsewhere in and near Melton, became secretary and treasurer of the new Cemetery Trust, and by July 1861 was deputy registrar of births, deaths and marriages. He walked three miles every Sunday to teach at the Weslyan Sunday School he had established. Despite good reports from the Education Department Inspector, and burgeoning enrolments, the local school committee recommended the dismissal of, firstly, his wife (from the work mistress position), and then him from the headmaster position. Corr saw his dismissal as an attempt to redirect state aid for education from the Combined Protestant school to the support of the Free Presbyterian Minister Rev James Lambie (by one account the owner of the land on which the Common School was erected), whose son-in-law James Scott subsequently assumed responsibility for the school. Rev Lambie failed in his efforts to keep the existing school, which the Education Department Inspector and the majority of Melton citizens regarded as badly situated and badly built. Following a conditional promise of state aid, local contributors in 1868-69 raised ₤72.10.6 towards the cost of an iron-roofed bluestone rubble building 43 ft x 12 ft. This was erected on a new site of 1.5 acres (the present site). The State contributed ₤120 to the new school, which opened in 1870. A very early (c.1874) photograph of the school shows its headmaster and work mistress / assistant teacher (probably James Scott and his wife Jessie) and its (very young) scholars. Similar photos show pupils in front of the school in c.1903, and 1933. In 1877 a second bluestone room costing ₤297 was added and further land acquired from the Agricultural Society (who only needed it two days a year) to enlarge the schoolground to 3 acres. In the early 1880s an underground tank augmented the school water supply and in 1919 a five-roomed wooden residence was added. During this period the school correspondents often compained that the walls of the bluestone buildings were damp, affecting the plaster. In 1923 a brick room 26 ft 6 in by 24 ft with a fireplace and four rooms facing south, was added, and a corridor built to link the three buildings. This served adequately for the next 40 years. The school bell probably dates to 1883. The school also has a memorial gate (1951) to World War One ex-students, and an honour board to the 64 ex-students who served in the First World War. The school roll fell to 42 in the early post war-years, but was boosted by an influx of migrants, mainly from the UK, from the late 1960s. This presaged the boom in Melton’s development, and the corresponding growth of the school, with timber and temporary classrooms added to the previous masonry ones. An endowment pine plantation established in 1930 augmented the school’s fundraising activities when it was harvested in 1968. Part of the site was planted with eucalyptus trees in 1959. Famous ex-students of the early twentieth century included Hector Fraser (internationally successful shooter) and cyclist Sir Hubert Opperman". The Express Telegraph articles about the history of Melton South and Melton State Schoolseducation

"On 17th May 1858 a State subsidised, combined Denominational School was opened by HT Stokes, with an attendance of about 30 children. This school was conducted in the wooden Melton Combined Protestant Church, situated on ‘a creek flat’ thought to be on the north side of Sherwin Street between Pyke and Byran Streets. It is likely that the Church had been established by 1855 and that the first minister was the Rev. Hampshire, who lived in Cambridge House on the Exford Estate. Ministers of the Protestant denominations were invited to hold services there. As there was only one resident Minister in the town (Presbyterian Mr J Lambie), laymen of the various denominations often spoke on Sundays. In 1863 this building was declared a Common School with the number 430. One of its first and most prominent headmasters was John Corr, who served from 1860 to 1864. Most of Mr Corr’s children also became teachers, including Joseph Corr, at the Rockbank school, and J Reford Corr and WS Corr, headmasters and teachers at numerous prestigious private secondary schools around Australia. John Corr purchased land alongside the school and elsewhere in and near Melton, became secretary and treasurer of the new Cemetery Trust, and by July 1861 was deputy registrar of births, deaths and marriages. He walked three miles every Sunday to teach at the Weslyan Sunday School he had established. Despite good reports from the Education Department Inspector, and burgeoning enrolments, the local school committee recommended the dismissal of, firstly, his wife (from the work mistress position), and then him from the headmaster position. Corr saw his dismissal as an attempt to redirect state aid for education from the Combined Protestant school to the support of the Free Presbyterian Minister Rev James Lambie (by one account the owner of the land on which the Common School was erected), whose son-in-law James Scott subsequently assumed responsibility for the school. Rev Lambie failed in his efforts to keep the existing school, which the Education Department Inspector and the majority of Melton citizens regarded as badly situated and badly built. Following a conditional promise of state aid, local contributors in 1868-69 raised ₤72.10.6 towards the cost of an iron-roofed bluestone rubble building 43 ft x 12 ft. This was erected on a new site of 1.5 acres (the present site). The State contributed ₤120 to the new school, which opened in 1870. A very early (c.1874) photograph of the school shows its headmaster and work mistress / assistant teacher (probably James Scott and his wife Jessie) and its (very young) scholars. Similar photos show pupils in front of the school in c.1903, and 1933. In 1877 a second bluestone room costing ₤297 was added and further land acquired from the Agricultural Society (who only needed it two days a year) to enlarge the schoolground to 3 acres. In the early 1880s an underground tank augmented the school water supply and in 1919 a five-roomed wooden residence was added. During this period the school correspondents often compained that the walls of the bluestone buildings were damp, affecting the plaster. In 1923 a brick room 26 ft 6 in by 24 ft with a fireplace and four rooms facing south, was added, and a corridor built to link the three buildings. This served adequately for the next 40 years. The school bell probably dates to 1883. The school also has a memorial gate (1951) to World War One ex-students, and an honour board to the 64 ex-students who served in the First World War. The school roll fell to 42 in the early post war-years, but was boosted by an influx of migrants, mainly from the UK, from the late 1960s. This presaged the boom in Melton’s development, and the corresponding growth of the school, with timber and temporary classrooms added to the previous masonry ones. An endowment pine plantation established in 1930 augmented the school’s fundraising activities when it was harvested in 1968. Part of the site was planted with eucalyptus trees in 1959. Famous ex-students of the early twentieth century included Hector Fraser (internationally successful shooter) and cyclist Sir Hubert Opperman". Photo of Edna and Margaret Barrie with Miles Baunders taken for the Telegrapheducation, local identities

On 17th May 1858 a State subsidised, combined Denominational School was opened by HT Stokes, with an attendance of about 30 children. This school was conducted in the wooden Melton Combined Protestant Church, situated on ‘a creek flat’ thought to be on the north side of Sherwin Street between Pyke and Byran Streets. It is likely that the Church had been established by 1855 and that the first minister was the Rev. Hampshire, who lived in Cambridge House on the Exford Estate. Ministers of the Protestant denominations were invited to hold services there. As there was only one resident Minister in the town (Presbyterian Mr J Lambie), laymen of the various denominations often spoke on Sundays. In 1863 this building was declared a Common School with the number 430. One of its first and most prominent headmasters was John Corr, who served from 1860 to 1864. Most of Mr Corr’s children also became teachers, including Joseph Corr, at the Rockbank school, and J Reford Corr and WS Corr, headmasters and teachers at numerous prestigious private secondary schools around Australia. John Corr purchased land alongside the school and elsewhere in and near Melton, became secretary and treasurer of the new Cemetery Trust, and by July 1861 was deputy registrar of births, deaths and marriages. He walked three miles every Sunday to teach at the Weslyan Sunday School he had established. Despite good reports from the Education Department Inspector, and burgeoning enrolments, the local school committee recommended the dismissal of, firstly, his wife (from the work mistress position), and then him from the headmaster position. Corr saw his dismissal as an attempt to redirect state aid for education from the Combined Protestant school to the support of the Free Presbyterian Minister Rev James Lambie (by one account the owner of the land on which the Common School was erected), whose son-in-law James Scott subsequently assumed responsibility for the school. Rev Lambie failed in his efforts to keep the existing school, which the Education Department Inspector and the majority of Melton citizens regarded as badly situated and badly built. Following a conditional promise of state aid, local contributors in 1868-69 raised ₤72.10.6 towards the cost of an iron-roofed bluestone rubble building 43 ft x 12 ft. This was erected on a new site of 1.5 acres (the present site). The State contributed ₤120 to the new school, which opened in 1870. A very early (c.1874) photograph of the school shows its headmaster and work mistress / assistant teacher (probably James Scott and his wife Jessie) and its (very young) scholars. Similar photos show pupils in front of the school in c.1903, and 1933. In 1877 a second bluestone room costing ₤297 was added and further land acquired from the Agricultural Society (who only needed it two days a year) to enlarge the schoolground to 3 acres. In the early 1880s an underground tank augmented the school water supply and in 1919 a five-roomed wooden residence was added. During this period the school correspondents often compained that the walls of the bluestone buildings were damp, affecting the plaster. In 1923 a brick room 26 ft 6 in by 24 ft with a fireplace and four rooms facing south, was added, and a corridor built to link the three buildings. This served adequately for the next 40 years. The school bell probably dates to 1883. The school also has a memorial gate (1951) to World War One ex-students, and an honour board to the 64 ex-students who served in the First World War. The school roll fell to 42 in the early post war-years, but was boosted by an influx of migrants, mainly from the UK, from the late 1960s. This presaged the boom in Melton’s development, and the corresponding growth of the school, with timber and temporary classrooms added to the previous masonry ones. An endowment pine plantation established in 1930 augmented the school’s fundraising activities when it was harvested in 1968. Part of the site was planted with eucalyptus trees in 1959. Famous ex-students of the early twentieth century included Hector Fraser (internationally successful shooter) and cyclist Sir Hubert Opperman. Pen, flag and flyer from the Melton State School Centenary celebrationseducation, local significant events