Snapshot of the past

A photograph of children attending Longwarry South School in 1921.

In part three of the "Education in Longwarry" series, we continue to reflect on schooling in the Longwarry district.

Victorian Government Acts determined the development of education in the Longwarry district. The first were the various land Acts of 1860s which saw the break up of large pastoral leases to the north of Longwarry - the Buneep Run, and to the south of Longwarry - the Longwarry Run.

This meant smaller leases of up to 320 acres or 130 hectares were made available for farming. Once the land was cleared, farms for beef, sheep and, particularly, dairying came into production.

The development of small farming communities scattered throughout the district meant the second Government Act of 1872 became an issue. It required all children of a certain age to attend school.

Complying was not easy, as roads were few and far between and almost impassable in winter. The only transport was either by foot or horse.

As a consequence, small schools grew up around these farming communities.

There were two schools with Longwarry in the title - Longwarry 2129 from 1879 to 1907 when it became known as Longwarry South, and Longwarry Township 2505 from 1882 until now.

There is little evidence that the word township was ever used locally. Any confusion was resolved when Longwarry school 2129 school became known as Longwarry South and later Ripplebrook in 1932.

Just to add to the confusion, a school opened at Athlone in 1909 and was also called Longwarry South or, at times, Longwarry South East.

Fortunately, the school at Longwarry North, which was built in 1926 on land donated by the Gardner family, has kept out of the confusion. It was always proudly called Longwarry North until its closure in 1993.

Photograph and information courtesy of Longwarry and District History Group who acknowledge the work of John Wells in his book "More Colourful Tales of Old Gippsland".

The history group focuses on history in the 3816 postcode, including Longwarry, Labertouche and Modella.

For further information, visit longwarryhistory.org.au.