Historical information

This building is the earliest building remaining on site today. It was built in 1875 and was the second school building replacing the original 1856 building of stone walls with wooden shingles on the roof. That building needed to be replaced after the stone walls collapsed outwards.

In August 1912 the school issued a requisition for remodelling of the school concerned with replacement of the existing windows with larger and wider windows to allow additional light into the school rooms and the erection of a wooden partition in the centre of the room. An extension to the building at rear and skylights in the roof were added in 1921. Only two low wooden stairs were originally provided to enter the porch. These were rebuilt by 1928. A steel mud grate was introduced 1930s/1940s and an infant shelter shed circa 1945.

Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme.

Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p49

Eltham Primary School at Dalton Street, bustling with hundreds of students, has changed dramatically since it began in July 1855.1
A reminder of its early days is the building in local sandstone with a slate roof.
First head teacher was David G Clark who was officially in charge from June 1856 until 1889.2
This school was not the settlement’s first. That was the Church of England Little Eltham School, west of Diamond Creek in 1853 and closed in 1872.
In 1855 David Clark and his sister Catherine, opened what was to become the present school, with eight students. The school operated elsewhere in a temporary slab building, also used for worship by the Wesleyans,3 which allowed the wind and rain easy access.
As well as having to endure such Spartan conditions, the students paid one penny a week for the privilege.
But in June 1856 the patrons objected to the conditions, and they and the Clarks wrote to the National Schools Board, asking for a suitable school. They asked for a grant to buy land for a school, and to appoint the Clarks.
As a result, inspector Mr A B Orlebar visited the school. He found 33 children aged from four to 13 and noted, among other things: ‘There is no attempt at classification, and this is owing chiefly to the want of books, every child bringing with it any spelling or reading book he or she may find at home,4 and partly to the master and mistress having little idea of anything but individual instruction.’
Of Mr Clark, Mr Orlebar said: ‘I cannot pass him as coming up to the full standard of a probationer. He promises however to pursue a course….if the commissioners take him into their service.’ Of Catherine: ‘She makes a promise similar to that of her brother. Pupils were orderly and the school seemed well conducted. I cannot therefore hesitate to recommend them both personally as probationers.’
Later at a public meeting, Mr Orlebar pledged the commissioners would give £150 for a school, if this was matched by local residents. The meeting decided the commissioners would acquire two acres (0.8ha) for the school site.
The building, constructed with local sandstone, was completed in December 1857, measuring 40 feet x 16 feet (12mx5m) and 10 feet (3m) high. It was divided into two rooms – one for the school and the other for teacher accommodation. So the Eltham school was born, in an area regarded as ‘one of the poorest in the colony’.
Excerpts from inspectors’ reports in the following years, show that in some ways school has not changed that much since then: ‘Discipline only moderate. Too much chattering!’ (1873); ‘Several slates were cleaned with saliva applied by the hand! Damp rags would be much nicer.’(1891).5
In 1863 the Board of Education took over the school giving it its current name and number, Eltham Primary School No 209.
Overcrowding has dogged the school over much of its history. In 1875 overcrowding spilled part of the school into the local courthouse. But that year the sandstone building, which is still standing, was built for 100 children, costing £553 and replacing the National School building. Now, this section, even following renovations, still bears part of its original graciousness, with lofty timber ceilings, tall vertical windows and original floors.

Significance

This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past.

Physical description

Born digital image file