Schools on the goldfields

From 1851 to 1862 education in Victoria was provided by two separate bodies. The Denominational School Board oversaw state-funded religious schools, while the National School Board (later the Board of Education) provided secular instruction. On the eve of the gold rush there were around 70 denominational schools and just six national schools operating across the colony.

In 1851 when gold was discovered in Victoria many quit their jobs to try their luck on the goldfields. Among those were teachers. In some cases, there were no men left in the schools, and their complete control devolved upon the female teachers. Classes had to be amalgamated and placed under the remaining teachers, who declared that their salaries were most inadequate. In response the salaries of teachers were raised first twenty-five, and later fifty, per cent

In the early days of the goldrush, many children did not attend school regularly. It is estimated that less than a quarter of Victoria’s school-aged children actually attended regular classes in 1851. Education was not compulsory, and children were part of a transient population: they moved with their parents from one gold rush to the next. 

There was no time to build traditional school buildings so both school systems turned to a practical, if imperfect, solution: tent schools. 

Schools under canvas

By 1852, the National Schools Board had begun commissioning portable school buildings. Its first inspector, William Miller, ordered six tents from a supplier in Richmond. Three were large structures, measuring thirty by twenty feet and capable of accommodating up to one hundred children, each allotted about six square feet per pupil. There was also an order for  smaller tents, fourteen by twelve feet, intended as living quarters for teachers.

The tents were made from the “best navy canvas” and fully lined. They were clearly marked on each side with the words “National School”.

The first National School Board tent school was at Forest Creek (now Castlemaine). By September, 1854, there were national schools also at Fryer’s Creek, Campbell’s Creek, View Point, Milkman’s Flat, White Hills, Eureka, Red Hill, Creswick Creek, and Heathcote. 

The Denominational School Board followed a similar path. Their tent schools often doubled as places of worship, reflecting the dual role of religion and education in these communities. By 1856, they had established around 50 such schools on the goldfields, with a total attendance of 3,326 pupils, only a fraction of the children who might have attended under more stable conditions.

Orlebar’s inspection

Mr. A. B. Orlebar, M.A.  was appointed Chief Inspector of the National Schools Board on 9 June 1854. Shortly after his appointment he visited the gold-mining areas and spent five weeks there, examining schools and establishing new ones. 

Orlebar was keen to understand not just the state of education, but the shape of life on the fields more broadly. He estimated the population across the districts he visited at around 88,000, of these, roughly 13,000 were women and some 6,000 were children of school age. 

He found that the adult population was almost entirely consumed by the pursuit of gold. The diggers, he observed, poured all their physical and mental energy into the search for fortune. With luck playing such a central role, many became fixated on the next promising strike. In that atmosphere, everyday responsibilities, family life, social ties, even religious observance, were often pushed aside. For Orlebar, one of the greatest difficulties lay not simply in building schools, but in persuading men to remember their obligations beyond the gold rush itself and educate their children.

A correspondent for The Argus, writing from Sandhurst (now Bendigo), echoed these concerns in August 1854. Despite a population of some 30,000, only about 238 children were attending school. Even allowing for the transient nature of the population, this was, he wrote, “ridiculously small.”

The limits of tent schools

Although tent schools offered a quick solution, their shortcomings soon became obvious. Inside, even basic order was difficult to maintain. Books and slates had no proper storage, and teaching materials were at the mercy of the weather. In strong winds, maps flapped or tore loose; in rain, the ground turned wet and uncomfortable. Light was poor, draughts were constant, and the noise of the canvas made lessons difficult to conduct.

Parents were understandably reluctant to send their children into such conditions. For teachers, the challenges were just as severe.

Orlebar quickly concluded that tent schools were no long-term answer. More substantial buildings, he argued, would not only provide a better learning environment but prove more economical over time. He pointed to early examples already in use—a slab-built school at Eureka and another at Creswick Creek—as evidence that more permanent solutions were both possible and necessary.

He recommended the establishment of fixed schools at key centres, including Heathcote, Bendigo, Castlemaine, Carisbrook, Avoca, Daisy Hill, Creswick, and Ballarat.

Avoca

The experience of Avoca reflects many of these broader patterns. By 1855, the town had two schools, one Methodist, the other Church of England. In 1856 a teacher named George Cook built a school house at his own expense of wood and canvas with a slab front. It was 20 feet by 12 feet by 10 feet. That school was requested to be moved to another goldfield because of the departure of diggers to Dunolly and Mt Ararat goldfields.

More permanent provision followed. In 1857 a school building  of 35 feet by 20 feet under the National Board of Education was completed. Over £90 had been collected locally towards the total cost of just over £360. There were 33 children enrolled in 1857. A decade later, attendance had risen to 125, and the building was described as overcrowded, with summer conditions “pestiferous and unwholesome.”

The original building was eventually sold to the Church of England for use as a parish hall, and a new school was completed in 1878, by which time enrolments had reached 250 pupils. That building remains in use today.

Reform and Results

By the early 1860s, it was clear that Victoria’s divided system of education needed reform. In 1862, the National and Denominational boards were merged to form a single Board of Education, and their schools became known as Common Schools.

A decade later, the landmark Education Act of 1872 transformed schooling in the colony, making education free, secular, and compulsory for children aged 6 to 15. Victoria became the first Australian colony to legislate such sweeping reforms.

The impact was profound. Census data shows a steady rise in literacy among children aged 5 to 15. In 1861, fewer than half could read and write. By 1901, that figure had climbed to 85 per cent, while the proportion unable to read had fallen dramatically.

The following table shows Education of children (ages 5-15) percent at census periods in Victoria:

	1861	1871	1881	1891	1901
read & write	49%	64%	79%	82%	85%
read only	29%	21%	12%	6%	5%
cannot read	22%	15%	10%	11%	10%

Further reading

• Sweetman, E., Long, C. R., & Smyth, J. (1922). A history of state education in Victoria / with an introduction by Sir Alexander J. Peacock. Melbourne: C. Parker for the Education Depart. of Victoria. Can be read online through the State Library of Victoria.
• Blake, L. J., & Victoria. Education Department. (1973). Vision and realisation : a centenary history of state education in Victoria / general editor: L.J. Blake. Melbourne: Education Dept. of Victoria.
  • The section on Avoca can be found in volume 2, page 611
• Australian Bureau of Statistics Year Book Australia, No. 1, 1908, pages 748-750

This post was first published at https://anneyoungau.wordpress.com/2026/04/22/s-is-for-schools-on-the-goldfields/

Wikitree:

• Arthur Bedford Orlebar (1810-1866)
• George Cook (1824-1877)