150 years: Waterloo Flat State School

Waterloo Flat opened in the goldmining centre of Waterloo.

The original school building had three rooms.

The miners and their families left the area over a few decades.

This caused the number of students enrolled at the school to fall.

This caused a district inspector to report in 1918 that 'The township is a decadent mining centre', reflecting that it was in decline after the heyday of its gold mining boom.  

During the First World War the students contributed money and goods to the war relief fund.

A Young Farmers' Club was formed and the first trees were planted in the school's timber plantation.

The head teacher, T. Ryan, and his students built a tennis court in the school grounds. As the school was built on a slope, this became the only level ground on the site.

Two rooms that were no longer used as classrooms were turned into a handcraft room and a puppet theatre.

During the Second World War students continued supporting the war relief fund.

The school won the Australian Natives Prize. These were annual prizes awarded for the best kept school grounds. 

The school only had six students. 

The school closed in 1955.

Students travelled by bus to Beaufort Higher Elementary School (No. 60).

The school building and teacher house was sold.