We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the place now called Victoria, and all First Peoples living and working on this land.
We celebrate the history and contemporary creativity of the world’s oldest living culture and pay respect to Elders — past, present and future.
Please be aware that this website may contain culturally sensitive material — images, voices and information provided by now deceased persons.
Content also may include images and film of places that may cause sorrow.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this website may contain culturally sensitive material — images, voices and information provided by now deceased persons. Content also may include images and film of places that may cause sorrow.
Some material may contain terms that reflect authors’ views, or those of the period in which the item was written
or recorded but may not be considered appropriate today. These views are not necessarily the views of Victorian Collections.
Users of this site should be aware that in many areas of Australia, reproduction of the names and photographs of deceased people is restricted during a period of mourning. The length of this time varies and is determined by the community.
Reuse of any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander material on this site may require cultural clearances. Users are advised to contact the source organisation to discuss appropriate reuse.
This media item is listed as being within the public domain. As such, this item may be used by anyone for any purpose.
Attribution
Please acknowledge the item’s source, creator and title (where known)
Teaching in the Bush
The Education Department had difficulty maintaining teaching numbers in rural communities. Teachers’ salaries were tied to attendance figures, so this might have deterred applicants, but above all else, the remoteness of these communities was the most common complaint from teachers.
Document - Letter, 1921, Public Records Office Victoria
Reuse this media
Can you reuse this media without permission?Yes
Conditions of use
Public domain
This media item is listed as being within the public domain. As such, this item may be used by anyone for any purpose.
Attribution
Please acknowledge the item’s source, creator and title (where known)
Image courtesy of the Public Records Office Victoria
Rural schools were a thorn in the side of the Education Department: expensive and hard to staff. One-teacher schools were the mainstay of government-funded education for children in the bush. Part-time schools and itinerant teachers were common in remote areas.
Clement Baker was one of these itinerant teachers. In 1910, he taught at three schools: Genoa, Wangrabelle and Mallacoota. Each school operated for two-and-a-half days a fortnight, with lessons left for the children to finish under their parents’ supervision. It was a busy working life. Baker rowed a boat 24 kilometres to Genoa, then rode a horse 16 kilometres along a forest track to Wangrabelle. His living arrangements were basic; he and his wife lived in a tent in Genoa.
Document - Letter, 1912, Public Records Office Victoria
Reuse this media
Can you reuse this media without permission?Yes
Conditions of use
Public domain
This media item is listed as being within the public domain. As such, this item may be used by anyone for any purpose.
Attribution
Please acknowledge the item’s source, creator and title (where known)
Image courtesy of the Public Records Office Victoria
Unsurprisingly, schools such as the one at Otway Saw Mills attracted less-experienced teachers. This did not benefit the students.
For example, seven-year-old William Wilkinson was locked in the schoolroom, after school-hours, by his teacher, Edward Prendergast. Concern over the boy’s safety arose; he finally appeared, injured, having escaped through a window. Prendergast was admonished by the Education Department for ‘gross carelessness’.
Victorian Collections acknowledges the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples as the first inhabitants of the nation and the traditional custodians of the lands
where we live, learn and work.