Mollyulah Primary School (School No. 2130; previously known as Ryan’s Creek State School 1879 – 1916; Mollyulah State School 1916 – c. 1970)

Full description

Mollyulah Primary School (School No. 2130) (VA 4495) was a co-educational rural primary school in the Benalla region of North-East Victoria. It first opened in 1879 as Ryan’s Creek State School. Ryan’s Creek referred to the district named after Charles Ryan, who lived in the area with his family from the 1670s.

Ryan’s Creek State School was originally run out of a leased hut known as the ‘Sheep Wash Hut’, consisting of two rooms and a lean-to. While there was an average attendance of 14 students, the lease on the hut was cancelled and the school was closed after just six months of operation. 

Following petitions for another school, Ryan’s Creek State School was re-opened in 1882 in a different leased building and was worked half-time with Emu Bridge State School (School No. 2446).  In 1883 a portable school building was erected on a new site, then known as the ‘Old Saw Pits’, and the school was worked full-time there from 1884.

In 1888 the school was again worked half-time, this time with Upper Fifteen Mile Creek (School No. 2868) and then with Tatong State School (School No. 3006) from 1893. Ryan’s Creek operated full-time from 1896, with an enrolment of 45 students.

In 1916, the school name was changed to Mollyulah State School, to more accurately reflect the name of the township in which the school was situated.

In 1970, there was a statewide decision to change the use of the term ‘State School’ to refer to all primary, secondary and technical schools instead of just primary schools, and for all primary schools to use ‘Primary School’ in the name. Accordingly, the school name was changed to Mollyulah Primary School. 

Mollyulah Primary School became unstaffed from 1982, with local children bussed to Tatong Primary School (School No. 3006) and Greta South Primary School (School No. 2452) instead. It was officially closed on 17th January 1985.