Snapshot of the past
A photograph capturing three school buses outside the Shire Hall in Queen St, Warragul c.1926.
Note the first bus in line is crammed with at least 21 students.
After failed attempts to establish a hostel and daily rail service to ensure every child in the district had the opportunity to attend Warragul High School, road and motor transport improvements opened a new pathway – bus services.
The “West Gippsland Gazette” reported the school had an increase of scholars at the start of 1926, made possible by the enterprise of bus proprietors who transported children from as far as Trafalgar in the east, Strzelecki, Ellinbank and Lardner in the south, and Bunyip in the west.
In this year, 75 of the 185 pupils enrolled were conveyed by bus which was somewhat of an endurance test.
“School on the Hill” detailed a couple of favoured or perhaps troublesome children would sit with the driver in the front, whilst the rest were accommodated on long seats running the length of the vehicle.
The seats were hard, the only back rest was a board with a thin layer of padding and canvas blinds were let down at the sides to shut out the rain and cold winds - but didn’t do their job very successfully.
Photograph courtesy of the Warragul and District Historical Society.
The society’s museum at the Old Shire Hall in Warragul displays a range of historical photographs. It is now closed for summer and will re-open in February.
If you have any additional information about this photograph, contact The Gazette on 5623 5666 or editorial@warragulgazette.com.au.