Warracknabeal Primary School (School No. 1334; previously known as Warracknabeal State School – 1966; Yarriambiack Creek Rural School No. 95 1973 – 1974)

Full description

Warracknabeal Primary School (School No. 1334; previously known as Warracknabeal State School – 1966; Yarriambiack Creek Rural School No. 95 1973 – 1974) (VA 4635) is a co-educational school in the north-Wimmera region of Victoria. 

The school began on 20th January 1873 as a private school on a site in Devereaux Street, operating out of a 16ft x 16ft log hut with a bark roof, donated by Robert Scott. It consisted of a classroom and two small rooms for teacher’s quarters. A 5-acre reserve for a school bounded by Devereaux, Phillips and Scott Street was gazetted on 29th August 1873, and on 4th March 1874, the school officially became Warracknabeal State School. 

In May 1875, the wooden partition between the teacher’s quarters and the classroom was removed to extend the classroom and provide more accommodation for students. At some point that year, part of an old boundary riders’ hut was added to the building to extend it to 40ft x 15.6ft, and the log partition dividing the classroom and teacher’s quarters was removed to make a larger classroom.

In 1878, the original 5 acres reserved for the school was revoked, and a new 3 acres of land on the corner of Woolcock and Scott Streets was purchased and reserved for the school. The purchase included a wooden house on the land that was to be used for a teacher’s residence, in which the Head Teacher took up residence from 3rd July of that year. In 1879, the Education Department (VA 714) erected a new wooden 30ft x 18ft classroom on the new site. Schooling began in this building on 19th June 1879. The old log school building was subsequently sold for £7. 

In May 1887, part of the land was transferred for postal purposes to the Postmaster General’s Department (VA 2872) under the condition that they would contribute £200 to the cost of erecting a teacher’s residence. In August 1888, a 30ft x 18ft five room detached wooden teacher’s residence was erected on the site.

In December 1891 two brick buildings, 30ft x 20ft and 20ft by 20ft, were added to the site to provide accommodation for 100 additional students. 

By 1897, student enrolments reached over 300 students. To assist in accommodating the students, in 1898, one of the teacher’s residences was made into a classroom. By November 1906, after much campaigning by parents and the school committee, the Department funded additions and alterations to attach all brick buildings, which was completed in September the following year.

In June 1911, when net enrolments were 340, the Officer of Health reported that the altered teacher’s residence being used as a classroom was “unfit for human habitation” and condemned it under Section 98 of the Health Act 1890. As a result, the Education Department requisitioned £2235 to remodel the school’s brick buildings to provide accommodation for a total of 360 students. 

In January 1912, a building from Kellalac Central State School (School No. 2926) was removed and refitted to create a Sloyd and Cookery centre on the Warracknabeal site. Later that year, the Warracknabeal Higher Elementary School (School No. 8430) was established and both schools operated on the same site. At the same time, major renovations of the buildings were undertaken. 

The school experienced many periods of temporary closure due to both urgent repairs and overcrowding. Overcrowding was a recurring issue, such as in 1890, when there was accommodation for only 100 students in the existing building, despite an enrollment of 290.

During most closures, and when student numbers exceeded capacity, affected classes were partly taught usually from the Wesleyan (also known as the Methodist) Sunday School for lengthy periods of time, and occasionally from the Anglican Sunday School.

In 1918, the Department purchased an 8-room wooden teacher’s residence on 45 Jamouneau Street, which was to be occupied by the Head Teacher. 

By September 1919, enrolments reached 367 and the following year brick extensions were added to accommodate the increase in children. 

July 1948, the Department purchased 2 more sites for £200 for further teacher’s residence along Jamouneau and Scott Street, situated behind one another. 

In May 1950, the Head Teacher had listed 7 buildings of varying sizes being used for classes: 
•    52ft x 20ft, brick;
•    27ft x 24ft;
•    26.5ft x 20ft;
•    Three buildings being 26.5ft x 24ft; and
•    A 30ft x 20ft. 
Further research is required to determine when all these buildings were added to the site. 

The Education Department purchased nine acres of land on the corner of Werrigar and Anderson Streets for £1150 to house the State School and High School in 1951. However, the site continued to be leased to the tenant already occupying the site, and schooling still wholly operated out of the old site. 
In 1954, with enrolments reaching 364, the head teacher converted their office into another classroom and made a temporary office in the corridors of the school. The School Committee suggested dealing with the overcrowding of students with two stages of construction. The first would be to erect a 6-classroom infant school on the old site, and the second would be to erect another 6-classroom building on the new site. Stage 1 was approved by the Department in January 1955. 

By 1956, the Head Teacher indicated that another 50ft x 20ft building was on the old site, and it is assumed that this is the new 6-classroom building requested by the Committee.

A new 13 classroom concrete veneer timber-framed building was erected on the new nine-acre site purchased in 1951, and officially opened 19th August 1960.

In 1953, two new wooden 5-room pre-fabricated teacher’s residence were erected on 14 Thomas Street and the property adjoining it, at 80 Lyle Street. The old residence at 14 Thomas Street was sold and removed from the site.

At some stage, the school’s name changed from state to primary. This likely occurred in 1970, as 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. Whilst there was no formal announcement regarding the name change, Victoria Government Gazette notices from around this time reflect the change with both names being used interchangeably for some time. 

In 1981, the school received two portable classrooms. The school underwent a major refurbishment from 1990 - 1994, including a new Art Room and student toilets, and student enrolments averaged 290 pupils. 

In 2017, construction started on the Warracknabeal Education Precinct. This precinct would centralise the Warracknabeal Primary School, Warracknabeal Secondary College (School No. 8430; previously known as Warracknabeal High School; Warracknabeal Higher Elementary School), and Warracknabeal Special Developmental School (School No. 5291) onto the one site, whilst retaining their individual school names and numbers. However, delays due to the lack of funding for Stage 2 of the project meant that it was not until April of 2023 that all three schools were able to start from the new converged site.

The Warracknabeal Primary School is operational as of 2024.