150 years: Eldorado Primary School

Learn about the history of Eldorado Primary School, one of Victoria’s oldest public schools.

Key information

Address:
Main Street, Eldorado, 3746
Opened:
16 December 1861
Closed:
31 December 1993
School type:
Primary
School number:
246
Other names:
Eldorado School, Eldorado Common School, Eldorado State School

Search for more school profiles

The history of Eldorado Primary School

  • 1861

    Eldorado was opened by the Church of England in 1861. It was located east of Wangaratta.

    The first head teacher was John H. Roberts.

    The original wooden school building had slab walls, lined with calico, a wooden floor and a bark roof.

    There were 32 students who sat at two double desks, approximately 2.5 meters long.

  • 1863

    In 1863 there were 40 students enrolled and a new head teacher started, Thomas Trembath.

    Miss Rowe was the assistant teacher.

     

  • 1863

    A new school was built in 1869 as enrolment numbers increased. 

  • 1875

    By 1875 the town of Eldorado was in the middle of gold mining boom.

    Its population had grown to between 3000 and 4000. Around 450 students attended the school and there were 9 teachers. 

  • 1890s

    After the goldrush, a lot of people left town.

    In the 1890s, half of the school was converted into a teacher's house.

  • 1920s

    The classrooms were remodelled in 1921 and 1922.

  • 1960s

    In 1966 plans were underway to build a new school building.

    The Eldorado community worked to save the building. They were worried that the old building would be demolished.

    The Education Department agreed to handover the building to the Eldorado Museum Trust.

    In 1967 a new weatherboard school building was complete. It was opened by the Assistant Minister of Education, the Hon J. Rossiter.

  • 1970

    The name of the school changed to Eldorado Primary School in 1970.

  • 1971

    The old brick school building opened as the Eldorado Museum in 1971. It is still in operation. 

  • 1990s

    Eldorado school was combined with Tarrawingee Primary School (No. 1116) to form Tarrawingee Area Primary School (No. 5400). 

    Eldorado school was closed in 1993. 

    Head teachers at the school included:

    • John H. Roberts (1861 to 1863)
    • Thomas H. Teembath (1863 to 1883)
    • William C. D'Arcy (1883 to 1886)
    • Charles Jenkin ( 1886 to 1888 )
    • George W. G. Smith (1889 to 1897)
    • George Ranson (1898 to 1903)
    • Mathew Carmody (1904 to 1907)
    • Henry G. Francis (1907 to 1923)
    • Charles H. Butler (1924 to 1927)
    • Bert J. Keddie (1927 to 1931)
    • Ernest W. Sault (1931 to 1936)
    • George P. Hartnett (1937 to 1944)
    • Victor A. Davey (1944 to 1949)
    • Ivor Hess (1949 to 1952)
    • Walter Stewart (1952 to 1956)
    • Norman N. Buckley (1956 to 1959)
    • Ronald Bourke (1959 to 1960)
    • Adrian F. Williams (1968 to 1969)

Find more interesting facts about this school

The Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) is the archive of Victoria's State and local government. They look after some of our oldest school records, and we can use these records to help us understand what school life used to be like.

Now it's your turn to do some detective work. PROV currently only have paper records for this school. Take a look to see what info they have on this school.

Find all the records PROV holds for this school(opens in a new window)

Updated

Back to top