Category: Avoca

The formal opening of Avoca’s new State School No. 4 on 16 August 1878 was, in the words of the Avoca Mail, “an event of no little importance to the town, the district, and to the rising generation.” The newspaper believed that the building would “bear favourable comparison with any that have been erected in other up-country towns,” and nearly 150 years later it remains one of the district’s most recognisable landmarks.

Yet the new school was more than a handsome public building. It formed part of the educational transformation that followed the Education Act 1872, which established free, compulsory, and secular schooling throughout Victoria.

Henry Robert Bastow and a New Vision for Schools

The architect responsible for Avoca’s new school was Henry Robert Bastow (1839–1920), Chief Architect and Surveyor to the Victorian Education Department.

Born in Bridport, Dorset, Bastow trained as an architect in the Dorchester district at the same time that the future novelist Thomas Hardy was serving his own apprenticeship. The two men later maintained a correspondence on religious and personal matters after Bastow settled in Australia.

The scale of the task confronting Bastow was enormous. New schools were needed in established towns, goldfields communities, and remote rural settlements, often with limited budgets and difficult transport links. Materials could take months to arrive by bullock wagon or horse and cart, while communication relied largely upon the telegraph. During the first years of the new system more than 600 schools were erected, and over the course of his career Bastow’s influence extended to more than 900 school buildings across Victoria.

Rather than designing every school individually, Bastow developed a series of adaptable plans that could be modified to suit local conditions, enrolments, and community expectations. He also responded to practical experience, incorporating suggestions from teachers and residents as ideas about school design evolved. This flexibility allowed the Education Department to expand rapidly without sacrificing architectural quality.

Although deeply influenced by the Gothic Revival, Bastow’s buildings were never purely ornamental. Larger schools were intended to serve as civic landmarks, while even modest rural schools incorporated thoughtful detailing and a sense of permanence. His work reflected a belief that public education was central to the colony’s future and deserved buildings that expressed both dignity and public purpose.

Avoca State School No. 4 exemplifies this philosophy. Designed to accommodate more than 300 pupils, it featured broad encircling verandahs, prominent ventilators, lofty windows, and a distinctive rood profile. These elements were practical responses to Australian conditions, providing shade, shelter, and improved air circulation, while also creating one of the most distinctive school buildings erected in nineteenth-century Victoria.

Architectural historian Lawrence Burchell later identified Avoca as one of the most significant examples of Bastow’s work. In Victorian Schools: A Study in Colonial Government Architecture, 1837–1900 (1980), he described Avoca as a near-duplicate of the pioneering Horsham school and argued that, because subsequent additions altered the original Horsham design, “it is necessary to study the duplicate, Avoca (1877), to see Horsham as it was intended.”

Burchell regarded the Horsham–Avoca model as a genuinely innovative form of school architecture, achieving a distinctive nineteenth-century character without relying upon historical imitation. The school on the hill at Avoca thus occupies an important place in Victoria’s architectural and educational history.

Calling for Tenders

On 4 October 1877 the Education Department called for tenders for the erection of a brick building for State School No. 4 at Avoca. Contractors could inspect the plans through Henry Hall at the Shire Offices, while forms of tender were also available at Castlemaine State School No. 119.

The following week the Avoca Mail informed its readers:

“The building, which will be a very handsome one, will be of brick, with white facings, and will have a verandah all round, this being only the third school of the kind built in the colony.”

The newspaper anticipated that the Minister of Education would perform the opening ceremony and noted that alternative prices were being sought for either slate or iron roofing.

By February 1878, The Argus reported:

“A handsome building, costing £2,243, has just been commenced at Avoca.”

The final cost ultimately reached £2,363, including £120 for outbuildings and fencing.

A School Designed for the Australian Climate

Avoca Primary School is of architectural significance as one of the first Victorian school buildings to incorporate a continuous encircling verandah as an integral part of its design. The feature reflected a growing sensitivity to Australian conditions and an acknowledgement that European models were not always suited to colonial summers.

Like many gold-rush centres, Avoca’s population had expanded steadily during the 1860s and 1870s. The new State School No. 4 was designed to accommodate approximately 320 pupils, making it one of the largest educational buildings in western Victoria. Yet size alone was not its distinguishing feature.

Teachers throughout the colony had long complained about excessive heat in classrooms. Henry Robert Bastow sought to address this problem by completely surrounding the school with broad verandahs that sheltered children before school and during recess while shading the brick walls from the summer sun. The great tent-like form of the roof rose above these lower verandahs, creating a striking architectural composition unlike anything previously seen in Victorian state schools.

Ventilation gables and high supplementary windows formed part of the same solution. Tall windows extended above the verandah line, allowing additional light into the classrooms, while the prominent roof ventilators improved air circulation. When Minister of Public Instruction W. C. Smith inspected the building at its opening in August 1878, he specifically inquired into the lighting, ventilation, and the effect of the verandahs, expressing himself well pleased with the results.

Architectural historian Lawrence Burchell later argued that the design represented a revolutionary departure from earlier school buildings. The roof, “a great tent-like form,” became the dominant feature of the composition and achieved what he described as “a uniquely nineteenth-century style without recourse to borrowing from the past.”

The experiment was not wholly successful. Some classrooms remained difficult to light adequately, and later schools introduced modifications to improve interior conditions. Nevertheless, the Avoca design demonstrated a new approach—one consciously adapted to Australian weather rather than inherited British precedents.

The resulting architectural form has since become known as the Horsham-Avoca model. Approximately twenty-five Victorian schools adopted variations of the design, ranging from modest country schools to buildings accommodating more than 500 pupils. Because later alterations changed the original Horsham school, Avoca is now regarded as the most intact expression of Bastow’s original concept and one of the most important surviving examples of nineteenth-century educational architecture in Victoria.

Community Effort and Local Advocacy

Although Bastow provided the architectural vision, local residents played an important role in securing the new school.

The Avoca Mail credited the Board of Advice with obtaining the building and singled out Henry Hall for particular praise. Hall had taken a leading part in the campaign and had succeeded in securing several alterations to the plans.

George Powell, chairman of the Board, declared that no more zealous advocate could be found:

“No one connected with the Government could fail to know the vast quantity of letters which Mr Hall wrote to the different departments on local matters.”

The school thus represented a partnership between the Education Department and a determined local community committed to providing the best possible opportunities for its children.

Opening Day

When the new school was formally opened on Friday, 16 August 1878, nearly 400 children assembled in the building. The Avoca Mail observed that they looked “happy and healthy,” dressed in holiday attire and drawn up in orderly lines by their teachers.

Minister of Public Instruction W. C. Smith, accompanied by local member B. G. Davies, inspected the school with head teacher Mr Macadam. He made inquiries about the ventilation, lighting, and the effect of the verandahs and expressed himself well pleased with both the building and the workmanship.

The children burst into the first verse of the National Anthem as the school was declared open, and afterwards enjoyed a substantial treat provided by the Board of Advice. The contractor, Joseph Jarris, was warmly praised for the care and conscientiousness with which he had completed the work, selecting only sound materials and rejecting imperfect pieces.

The celebrations continued with a public dinner at the Avoca Hotel, where numerous speeches reflected both civic pride and confidence in the future.

A Monument to Educational Ambition

The Avoca Mail’s editorial at the time of the school opening captured the broader significance of the occasion:

“The people of this community … have shown the most lively interest in obtaining a thoroughly sound system of education.”

For the residents of Avoca, the new school symbolised far more than bricks and mortar. It represented faith in the future, confidence in public education, and a belief that country children deserved facilities equal to those available anywhere in the colony.

Nearly a century and a half later, Avoca State School No. 4 still stands as testimony to that vision, a reminder of a period when communities, educators, and government alike believed that the education of children deserved the finest buildings they could provide.

Further reading and related posts

• Avoca State School Number 4 history
• Schools on the goldfields

• Advertising (1877, October 9). The Avoca Mail, p. 3. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article201447386 : TENDERS are invited for the erection of a BRICK BUILDING for State School No. 4 Avoca [dated 4 October]
• [Editorial discussing the tender announcement] (1877, October 9). The Avoca Mail, p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article201447379
• [Editorial discussing the opening of the new school] (1878, August 13). The Avoca Mail, p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article201449088
• [Editorial on the day of the opening]  (1878, August 16). The Avoca Mail, p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article201450196
• OPENING OF THE NEW STATE SCHOOL. (1878, August 20). The Avoca Mail, p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article201448558

• Burchell, Lawrence, 1929- & Victoria. Education Department. (1980). Victorian schools : a study in colonial government architecture, 1837-1900 / Lawrence Burchell. Melbourne : Melbourne University Press in association with the Victorian Education Dept
• Avoca Primary School, “About Us,” Avoca Primary School website, accessed 28 June 2026, https://www.avocaps.vic.edu.au/about-us/
• Geraldine Chua, “VIC Chapter Announces Named Award for Educational Architecture,” Architecture & Design, 28 April 2015, https://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/editorial/industry-news/vic-chapter-announces-named-award-for-educational
• Monument Australia, “Henry Bastow,” interpretive text accompanying the Henry Bastow sculpture at the Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership, North Melbourne https://www.monumentaustralia.org/themes/people/architecture/display/99461-henry-bastow

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)

Life Is Happy At Avoca

Girls who competed in the Red Cross Tennis Tournament.

This sort of thing helps to keep the boys of the State School fit.

Up for lunch, miners of Hogg’s Reef “show” leave the shaft.

Mr Theo Leanord, manager of Hogg’s Reef mine, weighs gold in his office.

A bit of bending by the State School girls.

Present at this monthly meeting of the Girls’ Patriotic Guild are (left to right), Misses Grace Saw (secretary), Mary Chapman (President), Belle Dwyer, Betty Mitchell, Stella Wade, Isla Chapman, Viccie McDonald, Jean McDonald, Helen Storrar and Rene Davies.

At the Bush Nursing Hospital we meet (left to right). Dr. M. C. Davies, Sister J. Fraser and Miss Joyce Yates

Miss Edna Wardlaw watches her brother George shear one of his father’s Corriedale lambs at “Braeside,” Avoca.

Below: Mrs J. J. McDonald (centre left) makes a presentation to the President (Mrs Lew Summers) after her three years of office in the Avoca Golf Club.

Wikitree profiles of some of those mentioned:

• Theophilus Leonard (1875-1968)
• Grace Mary Saw (1918-2001)
• Isla Constance Chapman (1912-1992)
• Maurice Charles Davies (1883-1942)
• Joyce Marjorie (Yates) Miller (1920-1995)
• Edna May (Wardlaw) Neil (1920-1987)
• Lindsay George Wardlaw (1925-1999)
• Clara May (Vining) Summers (1893-1967) : Mrs Lew Summers

Three letters from Avoca school girls provide a snapshot of life in Avoca in 1901–1902.

Lilian Thomas (aged 13)

Lilian Thomas was thirteen years old and in the upper sixth class. She wrote warmly of the new head teacher, probably Mr Adams, who had established a library for the senior pupils. She had attempted the merit certificate examination but was unable to complete it because she attended her aunt’s wedding. Lilian came from a large family, with sisters Ruby, Vera, Eva, Winnie and Greta, and a brother Howard. She reflected on the recent assassination of U.S. President William McKinley, noting that it was a great tragedy. She also described Avoca in springtime, with wildflowers in bloom and the golden wattles recently finished flowering.

Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic.), Saturday 12 October 1901, page 13 

The Death of Present September 23, M'Kinley.-1901. Dear Aunt Connie,-- Some of the other children have written to you, so I am glad I have the opportunity to write you too. I like our new school teacher very much. He takes such an interest in children. He has started a library for the upper classes in school. I went up for my merit certificate a little while ago, but I did not finish the examination, because I stayed ??? to see see my my aunt get married. I have five sisters. Their names are Ruby, Vera, Eva, Winnie and Greta, and one brother, name is Howard. President M'Kinley's death was very sad. It must be a great blow to the people of the United States. This is the third President these anarchists have shot. Avoca is not a very large place, but it is prettily situated amongst the hills. I am thirteen years old. and in the upper sixth class. There are such a lot of pretty wild flowers out now. The golden wattles have just finished flowering. I remain, your new niece, Lilian Thomas, aged 13 years.

Elsie Classen (aged 12)

Elsie Classen‘s household included a dog named Toby, a cat called Bismarck, and a pigeon named Dickie, while her sister Gracie kept a canary. The family owned seventy fowls but collected only twenty-eight eggs a day. Elsie was in the upper fifth class and mentioned that influenza had been widespread (the cemetery register includes two infants who died in Avoca in August 1901 from influenza). She lamented the many school holidays during the year because they had slowed progress with sewing lessons; she was making a pair of stockings for her father. She noted that the headmaster, Mr Butt, was ill and temporarily replaced.

Weekly Times, Saturday 26 October 1901, page 13 

Such a Lot of Holidays--Avoca, September 24th, 1901.--Dear Aunt Connie--We have a dog called "Toby, and a cat called "Bismarck." I have a pigeon and we call it "Dickie." Gracie my sister, has a canary. We have 70 fowls, but only get 28 eggs a day. I went to a tea meeting on Wednesday, and enjoyed myself very much. This is a splendid spring for the crops. My two sisters and I go into the paddocks on Saturday to gather wild flowers. My sister Vera is very fond of the wild flowers. I go to school every day, and I am in the upper fifth class. My sister Gracie is in the second class. The influenza has been very bad up here. This year there has been such a lot of holidays, so that we are not very far on with our sewing. I am making a pair of stockings at school for my father. Avoca is a very small but pretty place. The Avoca river separates Gladstone from Kara Kara. We live just behind the park. Mr Butt, the head master, lives just by us, but he is sick now. We have another head master I remain, your little friend, Elsie Classen. Aged 12 years

Ivy L. Wilkins (aged 10)

Ivy Wilkins was only ten years old but already in sixth class. She proudly reported that she had attended school continuously for nearly six years without missing a single day and had received both a standard certificate and an attendance certificate. Her siblings were Daisy, Lily, Henry, Tabitha and John. She mentioned a recent school party given by the former teacher, Mr Adams, for sixty children before he left. Ivy also referred to the sudden death of a parent of one of her classmates, preventing the child from attending. Her happiest holiday memories were visits to her grandfather’s farm.

Weekly Times, Saturday 1 March 1902, page 8

Nearly Six Years Without Missing.-Avoca, Feb. 17, 1902. -Dear Aunt Connie, I am now writing to you for the first time, and I hope you will accept me as one of your many nieces. We have begun school again, after four weeks' holiday, which passed pleasantly.We have at present a relieving teacher, Mr Adams. Before breaking up he gave a party to sixty children. I am sorry to say one little girl was unable to come through the sad and sudden death of one of her parents. I have three sisters and two brothers. Their names are Daisy, Lily, Henry, Tabitha, and John. I am ten years old, and in the sixth class. I have attended six years on the 24th of next April, and have not missed one day. I got my standard certificate when I was nine, and have also received my certificate for attendance. We have two pets, a darling wee baby boy, and a little black kitten. We have been taking "The Weekly Times" for nearly 12 months, and I like reading the "Young Folks" page very much. We are to receive our Church of England Sunday school prizes next Friday evening. I ended my holidays at grandfather's farm. It is our greatest delight to go there. I will now conclude with love to all wishing you a prosperous New Year. I remain, your would-be niece — Ivy L. Wilkins. 

Wikitree:

Letter writers:

• Lilian Laura Richards (Thomas) Beavis (1888-1977)
• Elsie Bennet (Classen) James (1889-1946)
• Ivy Lillian (Wilkins) Mann (1891-1980)

Teachers mentioned: 

• James Butt (1844-1907)
• Alfred Ernest Adams (1865-1928) : temporary teacher at Avoca State School number 4 from 29 July 1901 to 9 April 1902

Related posts

Letters from Ruby Gledhill from Avoca: raising money for sick children

The Weekly Times “Young Folks” column was not merely a children’s page. Under the guidance of Uncle Ben and Aunt Connie, young readers across Victoria raised money for Melbourne’s Children’s Hospital. Their efforts were so successful that they endowed not one but two hospital cots. The first, “Uncle Ben’s Cot,” was established in 1893 when the children’s subscriptions reached £30. A second cot, “Aunt Connie’s Cot,” was endowed early the following year. Through collecting cards, small donations and regular fundraising, generations of readers helped support sick children in hospital while learning the value of charitable service.

The newspaper regularly reported on the cot and the children it helped. In June 1896 The Weekly Times had a feature article on The Children’s Hospital. The article mentioned the cot, supported by “the subscriptions of gentle-hearted, sympathetic little folks among the readers of this paper,” occupied a corner of the Elizabeth Ward and was continually in use. The article described eight-year-old Alfred Curtis, photographed in the Aunt Connie cot while receiving treatment for severe hip disease. 

In 1898 Uncle Ben’s cot was renamed the Young Victoria cot. Aunt Connie’s cot was permanently endowed, over £500 having been raised over the previous 5 years.

Children who collected substantial amounts could receive certificates and other recognition. One of the highest honours was admission to the “Legion of Honor,” awarded to particularly successful collectors. The following letters from Ruby May Gledhill (1890-1947)l of Avoca show her enthusiasm for the scheme. Between 1899 and 1900 she raised more than £2 for the Cot, qualifying for a Legion of Honor certificate. 

Ruby’s letters also provide glimpses of everyday life in Avoca, including celebrations following the capture of General Cronje during the South African War, family events, school life and Sunday school picnics.

Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic.), Saturday 9 December 1899, page 13

Another Good Collection.-Avoca, 16th November, 1899.-Dear Aunt Connie, -I hope I have not kept my card too long, for I wanted to get it full. I am sending it back with the amount collected, L1 7s 2d. I hope in a short time to be able to collect a little more for the Cot, as mama says it is a good thing to do. Please publish the list of names. Dad is paying for the postal note. With love to Cousins Connie and Florrie, Uncle Ben and yourself, I remain your affectionate niece,-Ruby May Gledhill.

Weekly Times, Saturday 7 April 1900, page 14

Great Rejoicings. Faraday street, Avoca, 13th March, 1900, Dear Aunt Connie,-- it is a long time since I wrote to you. I was going to write when you and Uncle Ben went away for a holiday, and you said in "The Weekly Times" not to write till after a certain date. I now take great pleasure in writing, and thanking you and the secretary of the Hospital for the nice certificate I received at Christmas. We had a half-holiday at our school the day a wire came to Avoca stating that General Cronje had surrendered. We had such fun. There were flags flying all over Avoca, and we had a Union Jack. too. Is not the war terrible? I wish it were ended. Such a lot of brave men are getting killed; it is very sad. I had an uncle married last Thursday. I was at the wedding, and enjoyed myself very much, and now uncle and aunty have gone to Western Australia for two or three years. He had been away four years over there, and he came home at Christmas to see grandma and granddad, and has been with us ever since then, and now we miss him very much. Dear Aunt Connie,-- Would you send me another collecting card, that I can keep for a little while and collect with it in my spare time. Everything is so dry in this district. Rain is wanted badly. I passed when the inspector came to our school at Christmas, and now I am in the third class. With love to Cousins Connie, Florrie, and Uncle Ben, not forgetting yourself. I remain, your loving niece, Ruby May Gledhill.

Weekly Times, Saturday 15 December 1900, page 10

The Legion of Honor. Faraday street, Avoca. -Dear Aunt Connie, I am sending back my collecting card, with post office order for the amount, 16s. They are all little amounts, but ever so small I am sure it will be a help for the poor little children. We had our Sunday school picnic on the 9th of November. I won a wire skipping rope and my sister won a Star tea set. I am going to give my cousins a riddle:-

There is a grey goose
She is of a large size,
And those who would buy her
They need to be wise.
She has feet in her body
And walks upon none,
Goes far for her living.
And seldom comes home.

Am I entitled to a Legion of Honor Certificate? With love to Cousins Connie and Florrie, I remain your loving niece, Ruby May Gledhill. I am sending 6d in stamps for the Christmas Tree.
(As you collected L1 7s 2d on your former card, dear, you are, I am glad to say, entitled to a Legion of Honor card. Aunt Connie.]

Related posts

• Letters from Maurice Leyden Percydale in 1900: Maurice was also collecting for the “poor little children. He raised 15s 6d.

Wikitree: Ruby May Gledhill (1890-1947)

Note: I had to search for the answer to the riddle, it is a ship.

From Vision and Realisation, A Centenary History of State Education in Victoria, Education Department of Victoria 1973, Vol 2: 4 Avoca (page 611) 

At least two schools privately conducted one by Methodists and one by the Church of England-functioned in Avoca as early as 1855. Records vaguely show that a school with some sort of connection with the Government existed in 1856 with George Cook as HT. The first schoolhouse, 20ftx12ftx10ft, was built by Cook at his own expense, of wood and canvas with a slab front, and heated by a stove in winter. In July 1856, a letter to Government bodies requested removal of this school to another goldfield because of the departure of diggers to Dunolly and Mt Ararat fields, and because those who remained 'are drowned out of their holes with water and as a natural consequence those who would send children to school have not the means and will to send them'. On 22nd of December 1854, the sum of £90 17s, collected in the Avoca area, was forwarded to the Secretary of the National Board of Education, towards the establishment of a Government school in Avoca. In 1856 the tender of Johnstone and Steele for the erection of a school building 35ftx20ft, with porch, was accepted, and by 27th of February 1857 the Avoca National School was completed at a cost of £363 8s. The school remained unused until the first teacher, J.L. Willox, arrived from Forest Creek about 15th of June 1857. A total of 33 children (18 boys, 15 girls) were on the roll at 31st of October 1857. By 1867 up to 125 children at times crowded the schoolroom and a letter requesting increased accommodation stated that on hot days 'the atmosphere in the school-room is in the highest degree pestiferous and unwholesome'. This building was eventually sold to the Church of England for use as a parish hall for the nominal price of £5 for the building and £51 for the land, and in 1969 a class of children again used one of the rooms of this building as a temporary classroom. It is now being used as a pre-school centre.

However it was not till 1878 that the present school building was completed, the initial enrolment being approximately 250 pupils. Apart from subdivision of two large rooms in 1910, and the addition of porches, a veranda and other minor alterations, it has remained in its original imposing form to this day, to serve the educational needs of the community. Additional land has recently been acquired to extend the play areas and an enthusiastic and hardworking Committee and a small group of parents have provided extensive grassed play areas and sealed sections in an attractive setting of trees, shrubs and garden beds that would equal those of any school of comparable size in the State, this work was recognised by the awarding of the ANA Prize for 1969. Enrolment in 1970 was 160 pupils. Staffing was C.J. Tepper, Principal, assistants Mrs P. Murrell, Miss G. Mcllroy, C. Fisher, Mrs B. Duncan and Mrs A. Cheeseman.

Back to Avoca, December 1950. (1950). The Avoca Town Improvement Fund Committee. Pages 10-11

PROGRESS OF STATE EDUCATION IN AVOCA

By Miss A. M. SCHMIDT

January, 1878, marked the commencement of the free State education in Avoca, the initial enrolment being about 250. The present brick building, No. 4, with its slate roof and stately gables, pays silent tribute to the masterly workmanship of the early pioneers.

Other than the subdivision, in 1910, of two large class rooms and the addition of a cloakroom and verandah, together with lighting improvements, this imposing structure remains in its original form, and no doubt will serve many generations to come, so solid is its make up.

It's No. 4 But Not the Fourth School

No. 4! Yes, but we must not be misled. It was not the fourth school to be built in Victoria. To begin with, schools were not numbered. When the schools began to increase to about 100 odd, the authorities arranged the names alphabetically. Thus Alberton is No. 1. (No. 2 ceases to exist.) No. 3 Allansford, No. 4 Avoca, etc. The A's. went to about 20, then the B's. continued into the sixties and so on. Nevertheless Avoca can claim to be within the first 100 schools.

About 1924, Higher Elementary classes were formed and continued to function till 1927. When Avoca wished to build a Higher Elementary School, the nearness to Maryborough with its added facilities for Secondary and Technical Education proved detrimental to our cause and in 1927 the Secondary Classes were terminated.

It was then brought home to the Avoca people the necessity of higher education. How were they to obtain it? This led to deputations to Government representatives and consequently, in 1927, the Government subsidised a bus to Maryborough. This service began with 16 children, costing 13/ per head-parents paid 6/6 and the Education Department paid 6/6 subsidy. Mr. E. Taylor conducted this service for 12 years-at that time only 12 children travelled daily. In 1939 Mr. H. Powers, the present proprietor, took over the contract.

In 1944 the Government went a step further and free buses were instituted and the numbers went up to 34. This service still continues and is available to all children after they complete a satisfactory course up to Grade 6 standard. So popular is this service that today there are two buses-one commencing at Amphitheatre-conveying 68 children to Maryborough -32 children to Technical School, 31 to High School and five to Convent School.

Now that the Department has acquired 13 acres of land to build a Consolidated School, we hope that the time is not far distant when children from the outlying districts may be able to partake of a fuller education, for the present boys and girls are the future men and women of Australia. Advance Australia Fair!