In the first years of Doncaster, several people had run small schools in their own homes. There was Miss Finch in High Street, Mary Anne and Robina Wilson who conducted school in a log cabin at their home in Wilsons Road and Walther in Blackburn at East Doncaster. All these closed when Max Schramm built his Common School at Doncaster.
In 1864, he built Common School 197 on a site where the Doncaster fountain now stands (????). It was a solid brick building with school rooms on the ground floor and two bedrooms upstairs in the garret.
Schramm taught the senior children in the room on the left. Kate, his young wife, taught the infant class in a smaller room with a gallery. Kate's mother, Mrs. Pickering, was the sewing teacher. Children paid one shilling and sixpence a week which included music classes.
There was a problem with schools in farming areas. Many families needed their children to help in the home or farm and during fruit picking time so many children were away that sometimes classes were held in the evening. In 1870, Schramm reported that Ida Whittig, age 13, had been absent for 18 months; Mary Anne Pentland, age 15, had been absent for 4 years; and Henry Crouch, age 16, had been away for 6 months.
Max Schramm was a classical scholar having studied Greek and Latin in Germany. He also studied navigation to become a ship's officer but it was said that in his school he had to look at the answers at the back of the mathematical books to correct his pupil's results. Schramm passed the exanimation for the certificate of competency although he failed in one subject, "timetable". Schramm was a fair teacher always ready to give a boy the benefit of the doubt but when the boy continued to ëplay up' then the boy felt the full force of Schramm's temper.
The Education Act of 1872 changed education in Victoria. The Act made education compulsory; therefore it had to be free, and secular. The next year, the Dept made Doncaster a State School. Religion had always been a large part in Schramm's teaching and he could not in conscience remain head teacher of the State School. In 1875, he built a Stone house with a school room, and sold his old school building to the education department. Schramm opened another Lutheran School in his new schoolroom.
Nine years later, Schramm, now a Lutheran Pastor, closed his school. His pupils then enrolled in the Doncaster State School. The school was too small to take the extra children so the department rented Schramm's School Room till a new building was built.
In the 1970's, Schramm's cottage was moved to its present location on the old Lutheran Church land. Schramm's school room was then placed on the same spot where Max Schramm had started to teach in Doncaster.
Doncaster State School in the old building built by Max Schramm. Head Teacher Oswald Thiele behind his pupils. Source: 1991 12 DTHS Newsletter
The old building was used till 1886. A.O. Thiele, the Head Teacher, and his wife lived in the garret for a few years. They found the quarters cramped and the steep steps leading up to the garret from the infant room unsatisfactory.
Thiele eventually persuaded the Education Department to build a four-roomed house, between the school and Schramm's Cottage, as a residence for the school. The weatherboard house was used till the end of the century when Mr. Goodson came to Doncaster as Head Teacher.
Oswald Thiele's fame as a teacher was wide spread, and young men from different puts of the colony were sent to him to finish their education. Living with Thiele, in his home, they were constantly under his care. Even on Sundays they accompanied him to Church and Sunday School.
The Department made a deal with Richard Serpell to exchange the old school and its one acre of land for Serpell's four acre block alongside, also on Doncaster Road.
The new school had solid dark brick walls with a high jerkin-head slate roof and wrought iron finials. The class rooms high ceilings and galleries which were later removed.
The school bell was sold with the old building, but soon the lack of a school bell was felt, not by the children, but from people in the district. They were accustomed to rely on the bell to know the time of the day. Clocks and watches were rare and men working in the orchards only knew when to light a fire to boil the billy for lunch by hearing the lunch time bell.
In the new building, Thiele held wild flower shows with the children. They would collect wildflowers then they arranged them in the inkwell holes in the desks.
Doncaster School - Interior of front two rooms opened up to form a large multi-purpose room. The line across the floor marks the position of the former concertina division between the two rooms. The door at the far end of the room leads to the cloak room. There is an Honor Board mounted on the wall in a corner. The photograph was taken during 1986, the building's centenary year. DP0083
Doncaster Primary School - interior of the girls' cloakroom in 1987 - DP0084
William Goodson came to the school in 1899. He lived at Fitzroy, riding to school each day on a white horse. The children called him the Knight of the White Horse. During the day, he left his pony in Mrs Serpell's stable. Here he met Annie Serpell, a romance developed and he and Annie were married. William Goodson then lived in the Serpell house near the corner of Williamsons Road.
At that time, his staff consisted of a female assistant and a junior teacher. In the 1920's, when the war was over, life had returned to normal, prosperity was returning and the population was growing. A red brick extension was made to the east side of the school, housing a cloak room and a wash room.
William Goodson stayed as head Teacher for twenty five years, gaining a reputation as a good teacher. Swimming contests had become popular among the local schools. Swimming Races took place in orchard dams or in the Yarra. Goodson used to put on his neck to knee bathing togs and take his boys to Serpell's large dam to give them swimming practice. The enthusiasm for swimming continued. In 1937, the parents and school children built a swimming pool in spare land alongside Council Street. Unfortunately, this was not Education Department land and the Dept had not authorised the pool, so, in later years, the Department would not pay for repairs or improvements.
The population of Doncaster began to grow in the 1950's. The school could only hold 120 but there were 181 on the roll. After applications in 1954, the first of many new school rooms were built. Over the next two decades, Doncaster became the fastest growing suburb. Many changes took place, new classrooms were built, a septic tank was installed, the rooms were improved, new equipment provided and extra land purchased alongside Council Street. An entirely new school was formed behind the old school building.
In 1901, land at rear of the school had been taken over as a reserve and recreation ground. To celebrate the federation of Australia, the trustees named the reserve ìFederation Parkî. The school had been given the right to use the ground but with the larger school population there was more need for school sport so Federation Park was returned to the school. The ground was levelled and became the school's sports ground.
During 1979, an extensive fire destroyed seven classrooms, the well-stocked library, the administration block and other facilities. Due to falling enrolments the replacement included only four of the classrooms, two of which were later removed as the school population decreased.
Many schools had been built in Doncaster but, in the 1980's, the number of young children was decreasing and there were fewer enrolments at Doncaster School. The old brick building had become unsatisfactory for classes. Doncaster Road had been widened to take the increasing traffic using the road. With the increased traffic noise, the classrooms could no longer be used for teaching.
The front rooms were used as a gymnasium until a new large sports centre was built at the rear then the old building was taken over by the council and convened to a small theatre, "The Doncaster Playhouse".
Schramm's School started with 23 pupils in 1861. The new school with three rooms was constructed to hold 158 children but, during the 1930 depression, the enrolments fell to 85 and again to a low of 74 in 1947. In the post war years, enrolments steadily grew to over one thousand in the late 1970's but, in the 1980's, the number of children fell considerably to 220,
Doncaster Primary School is a far cry from Schramm's small school, with its primitive facilities. It is now a successful small school, well equipped with modem facilities.
Photo caption: School room in the Doncaster School building. The display was set up in 1986. At this time tables and chairs were used instead of desks.
Source: Irvine Green writing in 1991 12 DTHS Newsletter. Reprinted in 1991 12 DTHS Newsletter
Education In Doncaster Templestowe Part 2
Reading, writing, and 'rithmetic is the popular idea of teaching in the early years of schools in Victoria. This often applied to small private schools where there was no control of teachers skills or the school's curriculum. Those schools, with government funding, a wide range of subjects were taught. Funding came from two sources, the Denominational School's Board and the National Board. The Denominational Board controlled the Bulleen Church of England School.In 1854, the pupils were examined for a range of subjects. Reading, Writing, Arithmetic,' Grammar, Geography, Mathematics, Singing, Drawing, Sewing, and Ornamental Work. The National School Board required a similar curriculum but included Dictation, Composition, Book-keeping and for country schools gardening.
School Strap, Victoria Collections
The strap or a cane were a part of school life. Many teachers used physical punishment as an aid to teaching. The punishment book at the Bulleen school includes, "six cuts for being imperfect in spelling and one cut for blotted copy or attempting to justify himself by frivolous excuses."
Near the corner of the present Serpells and Williamson Roads Mr and Mrs Ferguson conducted one of the two common schools in Templestowe. Mrs Ferguson taught the little ones, but after they graduated to Mr Fergusons class they ran to Mrs Ferguson for protection whenever threatened with punishment. She used to spread out her skirt for them to hide behind. Once they reached this sanctuary they were safe. Mr Ferguson would give up threatening what he would do to them next time.
Children were expected to be able to walk two miles to school. When the Education Department was planning the position of Doncaster Templestowe schools in 1874, it drew up a two mile circle on a map around each school. As only a few children lived outside the circle the board considered the plan was adequate.
Some fortunate children rode ponies; hitching rings were attached on the school walls, or a few had the luxury of being driven to school in a dog cart. Several children attending Schramm's School used to take a short cut by crossing Koonung Creek over a log, this was great fun but when the creek was in flood the log was slippery.
At Miss Faulkiner's School at the East Doncaster Methodist Church, the only toilet facility was the surrounding bush.
Teachers were paid by children's tuition fees (usually six pence a week), out of which they had to pay their assistant teachers, plus a government grant that was not available until they had proved that their average attendance had been over twenty for a period of six months. Many a teacher had an anxious wait for his salary such as Max Schramm when he started his school at the Waldau Church. He applied for his salary in November 1860 and it was not till May 1861, eleven months after he had started the school, that an Inspector arrived to make a report on the claim.
Our early schools were either private or Church schools, some were well endowed, others were poor, some disappeared while others became State Schools now in existence. All of them, however, played an important part in the development of this district.
1992 03 DTHS Newsletter
When Schramm's Cottage was being dismantled, school charts from the 1860's were found in the ceiling. These had been prepared by the Commissioners of National Education in Ireland. Education in Australia at this time was largely based on the Irish National System.
Eric Collyer writing in 1973 05 DTHS Newsletter
In 1862, the National and Denominational Schools Boards were replaced by the Board of Education and all schools became "Common Schools".
School numbering dates from this time. Schools were listed in alphabetical order then numbered. Doncaster was 197.
Max Schramm built a new building on Doncaster Road to meet the requirements of the Board.
During 1873, the Education Department sent an inspector to report on schools in our district. It was considered that children could walk two miles to school. At Doncaster, the inspector recommended that the Department either purchase Schramm's School or build a new school opposite the hotel in Doncaster Road, which would be two miles from Koonung Creek.
Extract from 1973 08 DTHS Newsletter
Doncaster Play House
Doncaster Playhouse is a welcoming, comfortable and relaxed small studio theatre. The historic building was constructed in 1863 as the area's first primary school before being refurbished as a community theatre in 1988. |
| Google Street View Sep2016 |
197 DONCASTER SCHOOL
Doncaster, originally a denominational school (1860-63) and later Common School No.197 (1864-74) was constituted a State School on the 1st of January,1875. The Lutheran controlled school opened on Waldau Hill (Victoria Street, Doncaster) under the superintendence of Pastor Mathias Goethe; the first HT, Max Schramm, later became the Lutheran Pastor.On the 1st October, 1860, the school had an enrolment of 23 pupils. In 1864, the school was moved to Main Road, (now Doncaster Road.) occupying a brick building erected at Schramm's expense. Known as Common School No.197, this stood on portion of the land purchased by Max Schramm on 20th April, 1864. After its change of status to SS197, it remained on this site until 1886 when the land was exchanged for an adjoining block owned by Richard Serpell. The existing school has operated on this land since November 1886, but the area has been enlarged by the addition of land in 1954 from the Council Recreation Reserve. When the new brick building with accomodation for 158 pupils was being erected in 1886, HT A.0. Thiele (1876-96) asked the Department to transfer the bell from the old building to the new school. Habits die hard: "The residents of Doncaster have from their childhood been accustomed to the ringing of the bell on the old building... The bell served a practical purpose, for the people of Doncaster had no such thing as a post office, or railway clock in their district, and were consequently, dependent on the school bell for the regulation of their time-pieces.
Source: Trinity Lutheran Church - Past - Waldau - and into the future. Delma Haack Year??
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