Mount Eckersley State School (School No. 1720)

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Mount Eckersley State School (School No. 1720) (VA 5402) was a co-educational primary school in the Glenelg region of south-west Victoria. It first opened on 1st April 1876 under the Head Teacher Alexander McLeod. It operated until its closure in 1951 as part of the government's consolidation policy for rural schools which saw the closure and consolidation of a number of primary schools in the region.

In 1875, a petition and subsequent official application was raised for a new school in the Parish of Drumborg. It stated that there were about 31 potential students in the area, with an anticipated average attendance of 20. As there was already a school called Drumborg, and an application already raised for another new school to be called Myamyn, the name Mount Eckersley was proposed to be distinctive. When the school opened, it operated out of a leased building until a portable classroom could be provided.

In the 1880s, suggestions were made to work Mount Eckersley State School half-time with another school in the district, such as Homerton State School (School No. 1400) (VA 5438) or Myamyn State School (School No. 1692) (VA 5403). It is unclear if that occurred, but it does seem likely that it was at one point worked part-time with Condah South State School (School No. 3055), upon its opening in 1890. 

On 4th May 1926, the school building at Mount Eckersley burnt down, with lessons held temporarily in the church buildings, and then a private leased building nearby. Later that year a new building was built, and teaching commenced there from December. 

Discussions about merging state schools in the area began from 1944, when it was represented by parents to the Minister of Public Instruction that students would benefit from communal facilities such as libraries, art rooms, cafeterias, and sports facilities, that would otherwise not be available at small, often single-teacher, rural schools. This discussion included existing schools at Heywood, Heathmere, Myamyn, Drumborg and Homerton.

In 1951, the official process of consolidation began, with schools progressively closing and students moving to the Heywood State School (School No. 297) site to join the newly established Heywood Consolidated School (School No. 5226) (VA 5369). As well as Mount Eckersley, these schools included Condah State School (School No. 1019), Drumborg State School (School No. 1240), Hotspur State School (School No. 1260) (VA 5440) and Myamyn State School (School No. 1692) (VA 5403). 

Mount Eckersley State School was officially closed on 19th February 1951 and the Mount Eckersley school building was moved to form part of the new school site.