Darriman State School (School No. 3013)

Full description

Darriman State School (School No. 3013) was a co-educational primary school in the Giffard area of West Gippsland, south of Sale. During its years of operations, the school was closed and re-opened multiple times, and on several occasions was worked part-time with nearby schools, reflecting the changing population of the rural area.

Applications for a new school at Darriman were first made from 1889; later that year Darriman State School opened, utilising the Giffard Public Hall. In 1892, however, enrolments had reduced to the point that the school was closed. 

Darriman State School re-opened in 1896, at which time it was worked part-time with the nearby Darriman West State School (School No. 3070) (VA 4455). 

Darriman State School was closed from 1907 to 1911. It re-opened to work part-time with Darriman West from 1911 to 1918 and then with the newly re-opened Giffard West State School (School No. 2979) (VA 3258) from 1918 to early 1921. At that time, Darriman State School was closed under the conveyance system due to low enrolments, however it seems the school was re-opened part-time with Darriman West State School just a few months later in the year. 

In 1925, it seems that Darriman State School and Darriman West State School were both made full-time schools again. Darriman continued as a full-time school until 1940, when it was closed once again.

From 1950, Darriman State School was re-opened on a part-time basis with Giffard West. When the enrolments in the area dropped once more with the removal of a family at the end of Term 1 from Giffard West to Sale, Giffard West State School closed while Darriman State School continued as a full-time time school.

From 1954, there were calls within the community to have a dedicated school building erected for Darriman State School, which had until this time been worked variously out of the Giffard Public Hall, Darriman Hall and the local Mechanic’s Institute Hall. A school building was subsequently erected and occupied in 1956, with a shelter pavilion and woodshed added to the site in 1958.

While enrolments appear to have remained relatively steady over this time, Darriman State School became unstaffed for a period in 1967, and then again from 1971. The school permanently closed in 1972.