August 6, 2014
by Lois Thurecht
A reunion for former students and staff of Elgin Vale school will be held at the Elgin Vale CWA Rooms (ie the old school) from 9:30am to around 2:30pm on Saturday, October 18.
The reunion will feature a free morning tea, and lunch will be available for sale, but guests are welcome to bring their own picnic hamper if they prefer. There’ll also be camping available for guests who’d like to stay overnight.
Students and staff from other schools in the area – such as Manumbar Settlement, Manumbar Mill, Johnstown and Gallangowan are also very welcome to attend, along with anyone who has a connection to the former Elgin Vale Sawmill.
And for those unfamiliar with this part of the South Burnett, here’s a quick history of the area:
* * *
Elgin Vale has had three schools in its history.
The first school was opened on May 1, 1899, on land donated by James Porter. Its first teacher was Miss Elizabeth Sheriden, 18.
There were 14 enrolments from the Porter, Hunt, Banks, Barnes and Downer families on opening day, but the school closed six years later in 1905 due to low attendance numbers.
The building was later sold to Mrs Mary Barnes, who moved it to Barrett’s – a property which is owned today by Bruce and Kim Ryan.
The second school was the Elgin Vale Provincial School, which opened 22 years later on January 24, 1927, in a building which had been moved from Sefton in the Booubyjan area.
Kathleen Courtney was the school’s teacher. The Elgin Vale Provincial School operated for two decades until it was closed in 1947.
The third school – the present school building now used by the Elgin Vale QCWA – was moved from Oakdale (Manumbar Mill) and opened on January 27, 1948, on a camping and water reserve owned by Wilson Hart.
This school closed in 1978 when the Elgin Vale mill’s downsizing led to dwindling attendance numbers.
* * *
The Elgin Vale QCWA purchased the school building for their rooms in 1982.
The branch is still going strong today, with 15 members and 17 associate members including Aileen Smith, a foundation member who joined in 1982.
Members regularly do catering at the Nanango races, birthday parties, weddings and other celebrations.
And each year they enjoy an International day, birthday commemorations, Melbourne Cup and Christmas celebrations, inviting other ladies from the district to join them.
Footnote: Elizabeth Sheriden, the first Elgin Vale school teacher, married James Connor in 1904. They were the parents of Bernice Lane, who was a member of the QCWA from opening day.
* * *
Elgin Vale owes much of its existence to – and is probably best known for – the sawmill.
The first Elgin Vale Sawmill was built on the eastern side of Moonda Waamba Creek in 1908 by a Mr William Ross, Fred Thurecht and George Whelan.
The mill was relocated to Goomeri in 1914 to cut timber to build houses for the town.
William Ross died in 1940, but the mill continued to operate until it was closed in 1958.
A descendant of Fred Thurecht – Julia Ashcroft and her husband Tom – still own a property at Johnstown.
The Elgin Vale Mill that we know today was built in 1926 by T.H. Spencer, using timber that was trucked to Goomeri and later railed all over the State after processing.
Some Elgin Vale mill timber was also made into butter boxes for the Maryborough Butter Factory.
The area grew with 25 houses, a boarding house for 12 single men, an office, a shop and a cook house being built.
The mill burnt down in 1943, but was rebuilt in 1945.
In 1946, T.H. Spencer sold the mill to Wilson Hart of Maryborough.
Managers over the years were R. Veritz, G. Rick, R. Davies, R. Collard and R. Mercer, and Frank Coleman carted the timber to Goomeri.
The mill ceased operation in 1987.
It is now Heritage-listed and a tourist attraction.
* * *
There were a number of other schools in the area … at Johnstown, Manumbar Mill, Manumbar Settlement and Gallangowan.
Johnstown State School taught the children of the McCallum and Porter families, along with the Hunts, Keatings and Knights. Sid, Sandy and Jean Porter rode from Gallangowan but the rest lived locally.
When the school closed, the children went to Elgin Vale.
The Johnstown school was later moved, and is now part of the house on ‘Salty’ owned by B.J. Gentry.
* * *
The Manumbar Settlement School opened in July 1924 across the road from the showgrounds, and it was followed in April 1925 by the Manumbar Mill School, which was sited at a location five miles from the Manumbar Crossroad.
The Settlement school closed in 1947 and the children went to the Manumbar Mill School until its closure in 1968.
Families attending over the years included Smith, Franz, Graham, Schultz, Ross, Dickens and Dillon.
* * *
Norm Franz drove the bus to take the children to Gallangowan School, which was opened in 1940 with 13 children attending from the Burke, Franz, Beutel, Collard, Seib, Tebb, Wallance and Walker families.
Eventually, though, the Gallangowan forestry scaled down and the school closed in 1996.
One of the school buildings was moved to the A Flat Environmental Station.
* * *
On October 18, the Elgin Vale QCWA will welcome all the families and teachers who return for the reunion day.
For more information on the reunion, contact Lois on (07) 4162-3824 or email her.
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