Canning Mills School History

The very first school in the district was started at Canning Sawmills in 1891, setup and provided by the Canning Jarrah Timber Company for the children of its workers. Later it used the Methodist Church building on the south east corner of Canning Road and Canning Mills Road, that was rented out to the Education Department. After the mill closed the school continued until diminishing numbers finally caused it close in 1930.

When the mill closed many of the workers started orchards on the land that had been cleared of the heavy timber by the mill. As the orchards got established a more central position was needed for a school so a site was established near the front gate of Illawarra Orchard in 1913. Miss Maggie Ferguson was the first teacher at this Karragullen School with 12 children attending. Mr. Price deliberately advertised and employed a family at Illawarra Orchard that had a large family of children to help boost the numbers for the school.

Because development went more towards to south-east, it was decided that in 1919 to move the Karragullen School to what is now Brookton Highway near the “Rock Inne”. The loft at Hanbury’s two storey barn was initially used while the school building was moved. As numbers increased a second schoolroom was added in 1952.

In the next few years a need for another school at Canning Mills was recommended as the numbers of children of families near the old Saw Mill site, had increased enough to justify it. In early 1936 the Under-Secretary for Lands received a request from the Director of Education, Mr. J. A. Klein, for an area of land at Canning Mills be set aside for the purpose of a school site, The Lands Department agreed to grant a site at Canning Mills in Perth water supply reserve No. 1774. The new schoolroom was erected across the road from the Methodist Church school, which had now been demolished, on the south west corner of the junction of Canning Road and Canning Mills Road. Mr. Bert Forrest was appointed the first teacher for the new Canning Mills School. The school building was late in completion so a large room at Mrs. McKay’s house, which was the old mill managers house, was used temporary. This Canning Mills School continued until 1956 when it finally closed. In the meanwhile it was decided to transfer the Karragullen School into a more central position by moving it right into the townsite itself, where it remained until it finally closed in 1999 due to falling numbers and most of the children transferred to Pickering Brook Primary School.

Year	Teacher	Date	Total Enrolled
1891	Mrs. E. Grundy	from 1st October	Enrolled were 19 boys and 11 girls.

Below is an article sent in by a correspondent to “THE WEST AUSTRALIAN” and published on WEDNESDAY 29th JULY 1891

The last rail of Mr. E. Keane’s Canning line of railway running up to Messers L. White & Co.’s timber mills was laid on Saturday 25th July, and immediately afterwards two trucks were loaded with timber and depatched to Guildford. This line, including the zigzag, measure 19 miles, and is now completed except a short distance requiring ballasting. It is however available for trains. It has been constructed with that rigidity consistent with good workmanship characteristic of everything Mr. Keane takes in hand, only eleven months having been occupied in the work. Messers. White & Co.’s mill is very busy executing the orders entrusted to them, which are both numerous and likely to extend over a considerable time, amongst them being orders for the Midland Railway, and a huge order from the South Australian Government. At the present time they have 70,000 sleepers ready for despatch, besides other timber, and the 70 hands at the mill are consequently kept busily employed. In fact, in order to overtake the work, it will be necessary to put on more hands. A want much felt at the station is a school. There are between thirty and forty children there, and it is to be hoped , that in order to provide them with schooling, the Central Board of Education will see their way to accepting the liberal offer which has been made by Mr. White. He has offered to erect not only a school, but also a four-roomed cottage for the teacher, if the Government will provide the latter and also the school furniture. Another want is a mail delivering. Indeed, if it could be found possible to establish a post office there, and appoint some person to discharge the duties of postmaster and schoolteacher combined, it would I think, cover the requirements. I need hardly say that such an appointment would be no new thing, as there are instances at the present time of one person holding two such appointments.

Year	Teacher	Date	Total Enrolled
1892	Mrs. E. Grundy	-	-
1893	Mrs. E. Grundy Mr. J. B. H. Hewitt	till 11th April April - December	Enrolled were 22 boys and 18 girls.
1894	Mr. D. O. Edawrd Temp. Teacher Mr. Aaron Harvey Mr. Thomas Aitken	Appointed 20th January Resigned February Appointed in February Appointed October	Enrolled were 29 boys and 22 girls
1895	Temp. Teacher Mr. Arron Harvey Mr. Thomas Aitken Mr. Henry Harms Monitor Ethel McLarty	Transferred to Northam Public School in December 1895 Transferred to Northam Public School in December 1895 Appointed in March Appointed 17th June	Enrolled were 33 boys and 19 girls.
1896	Leonard J. W. Butler Sewing Mistress Mrs. Sara Harms	- Appointed 22nd May	-

TEACHER LEONARD J. BUTLER

Below is part of an article published in the “WEST AUSTRALIAN” on Friday 13th November 1896. It is about the Annual Synod of the Wesleyan Methodist Church and deals with the building of the Methodist Church building at Canning Mills which was opened by Rev. G. E. Rowe on Sunday 16th August 1896. This building was later hired by the Education Department to use as the school.

The Chairman stated that the Canning Jarrah Timber Company had given free of cost the whole of the jarrah timber for the new church which has been erected on the mills. The generosity of the company was appreciated by the synod.

Year	Teacher	Date	Salary
1897	Leonard J. W. Butler Monitor William Ralph Dewar	- Appointed 20th November	-
1898	Leonard J. W. Butler Henry Harms	-	- 125 Pounds
1899	Leonard J. W. Butler Henry Harms Assistant Teacher Flora Heine	-	- 125 Pounds 80 Pounds

Medals for Complete Attendance were awarded to:
Francis J. Purser, Emma Purser and Maud Dewar

Children known to have attended: MAUD DEWAR, EMMA PURSER, FRANCIS PURSER

Year	Teacher	Date	Salary
1900	Leonard J. W. Butler Adolph Schneider Edward Kishaw Monitor Alice Howe Sewing Mistress Agnes Schneider	Transferred to Bridgetown April 1900 - Appointed 24th July Appointed 13th November -	- 140 pounds + 15 pounds - 110 pounds + 10 pounds 52 pounds
1901	Adolph Schneider Teacher (Relieving) Hugh Young Carrington F. Cooper Monitor on Probation Alice Mary Houghton	- September September October	140 pounds + 15 pounds 180 pounds + 15 pounds - -

In the Subscription List for the presentation to Duke and Dichess of York, the 31 children at Canning Mills gave seven shillings and eight pence.

Year	Teacher	Date	Salary
1902	Hugh Young Monitor on Probation Alice Mary Houghton	-	180 pounds + 15 pounds 25 pounds
1903	Hugh Young Monitor on Probation Alice Mary Houghton	-	180 pounds + 15 pounds 20 pounds
1904	Richard C. G. Brown Junior Monitor Bertha Houghton	-	160 pounds + 15 pounds 20 pounds
1905	R C. G. Brown John Winter	-	- 180 pounds + 12 pounds
1906	John Winter	-	-
1907	Frank Crooke	-	-
1908	Frank Crooke Monitor Frederick Charles Albrecht	- March - November	-
1909	Frank Crooke	-	-
1910	Frank Crooke Edward Walsh	-	-
1911	-	-	-

Children known to have attended: LILY WITTON, HANZ WINTER

Year	Teacher
1912	-
1913	-
1914	Letley Miss O'Flaherty William White

Year	Teacher	Salary
1915	Miss Annie O'Flaherty William White	-
1916	Miss Annie O'Flaherty Beatrice Hanbury	- 130 pounds + 12 pounds
1917	Miss Annie O'Flaherty	110 pounds + 12 pounds

1914?

CANNING MILLS SCHOOOL GROUP MISS ANNIE O'FLAHERTY TEACHER #1

DAVID ABBOTT, EDNA ABBOTT, ALBY SAUNDERS, BILL SAUNDERS, JOE NICHOLLS, HILDA NICHOLLS, DORIS DAVIES, ALICE DAVIES, JACK SMAILES, MARJORIE SMAILES, LORNA SMAILES, FRED WIZEMAN, FRANK WIZEMAN. (Reference: David Abbott 1988}

Year	Teacher	Salary
1918	Miss O'Flaherty	120 pounds + 12 pounds
1919	Miss Ida Armstrong Miss Betharis	130 pounds + 12 pounds -
1920	Miss Ida Armstrong Mr. A. J. Chate	Salary 144 pounds + 12 pounds -

22 Children

The schoolroom was actually the Methodist Church, which had been used when the mill was operating and later rented out to the Education Department as a school. It was well built of dressed jarrah timber and consisted of the main room, some 30feet by 20feet with a small porch and entrance at the southern end and a room about 10 or 12feet by 20feet with a side door at the northern end.

The side walls had a number of tall windows in them. The desks held four or five pupils in a row. The desk top sloped slightly and had a low ledge to stop pencils rolling off. The set was attached to the cast iron framework and had no back to it. No blackboards were attached to the walls, so the teacher had to make do with blackboards on easels. A few charts and pictures could be hung between the windows and there was a large cupboard or two for storage of pads, chalk, pencils etc. Winter heating came from an old time pot-bellied cast iron stove standing on a large sheet of flat iron tacked to the wooden floor. Water was reticulated to some wash basins in the porch and there were two “little houses” to the south. The pans from these were cleared once weekly by a contractor, who also serviced the Inn and the houses. A small garden was fenced off along the eastern wall of the school and for playground, the children were free to go anywhere about the immediate vicinity. The was no definite playground and it was hard to find a level patch as the land thereabout sloped down to the railway line and beyond it to the creek. Article written by Teacher Mr. A. J. Chate

Year	Teacher	Salary
1921	Mr. Robert Elliott	207 pounds
1922 - 1925	Laura Betheras	180 pounds
1926	Laura Betheras Mary Prendergast	180 pounds -
1927	Mary Prendergast	180 pounds
1928 - 1930	Laura Betheras	180 pounds

Due to falling numbers the school was finally closed down on 28th February.

Year	Teacher	Salary
1931 - 1932	CLOSED	CLOSED
1933	School re-opened 10th July.	School re-opened 10th July.
1934 - 1935	Lilian Roberts	221 pounds 17 shillings
1936 - 1938	Mr. Bert Forrest	-

The Hills Inter-school Sports were held at Walliston on November 22nd, with Barton’s Mill, Canning Mills, Carmel, Pickering Brook and Maida Vale Schools competing for the R. S. Sampson Centenary Shield. It was Won by Barton’s Mill, with 162 points, Maida Vale being the runners-up and winning the “J. Watson Cup” with 104 points. The champion athlete of the day was Frank Gibbs, of Barton’s Mill, who gained 50 points for his school.

Mr. BERT FORREST

As there was no school building Mrs. McKay who lived in the former Mill Managers House, offered the Department the use of a rather large room on the north west corner of her house as a temporary school room. Her house was at the north end of Canning Mills where there was a small grove of pine trees north west of the siding.

A new School room was built on the south-west corner of the junction of Canning Road and Canning Mills Road. The school building consisted of a schoolroom with a verandah on the north side. Besides the verandah and parallel to it, was an access ramp, running from the downhill side up to the far end of the verandah. The school ground sloped and there was a fall of about a metre from one end of the school to the other.

Back Row:
WALLY SHARPE
ROY BOVANI
MAITLAND HANBURY
STAN URSICH
JACK URSICH
PHILLIP SLEIGHT

Middle Row:
BARBARA SLEIGHT
LYNN SLEIGHT
ANGELINA URSICH
ANNE URSICH

Front Row:
SILIO DIMARCO
BLAGZ URSICH
REGIE URSICH
LUCY SHARPE
SLEIGHT

Sitting:
BILLY SLEIGHT
BERT URSICH

1936c #6

Standing in Front; Last on right SILIO DI MARCO

Year	Teacher	Salary
1939	Mr. Bert Forrest Sewing Mistress Phyllis Sleight	329 pounds 20 pounds

1939

Back Row: WALLY SHARPE, ROY BOVANI,
MAITLAND HANBURY, STAN URSICH,
JACK URSICH, PHILLIP SLEIGHT.

Middle Row: BARBARA SLEIGHT, SLEIGHT,
LYNN SLEIGHT, ANGELINA URSICH,
ANNE URSICH.

Front Row: SILIO DIMARCO, BLAGZ URSICH,
REGIE URSICH, LUCY SHARPE,
SLEIGHT.

Sitting: BILLY SLEIGHT, BERT URSICH

Year	Teacher	Salary
1940	Mr. Bert Forrest Lilian Morison	329 pounds -
1941	Mr. Bert Forrest Sewing Mistress Phyllis Sleight	329 pounds 20 pounds
1942	Mr. Bert Forrest Lilian Morison Mrs. Parker Sewing Mistress Phyllis Sleight	329 pounds - - -
1943	Mr. Bert Forrest Mrs. Parker Elizabeth Kenworthy	329 pounds + 63 pounds - - -
1944	-	-
1945 1946	Gordon Croxton	416 pounds + 71 pounds 445 pounds
1947 - 1948	-	-

1949

Back Row (L-R): ARTHUR LITTLEY, DAVID LITTLEY, VILMA TONUSSO, VIANNA BOVANI, ELSA TONUSSO, CEASER PERPOLI, BRUNO POLETTI.
Front Row (L-R): ANNETTE LANTZKE, ESDRA TONUSSO, VICTOR NICOLI, HUGH LANTZKE

1950 - 1952

Children known to have attended: ANNETTE LANTZKE, HUGH LANTZKE, BRUNO POLLETTI, ESDRA TONUSSO

1953

Back Row L - R: JOE NICHOLLS, MICHAEL NICHOLLS, BRUNO POLLETTI, MALCOLM LITTLELY, ARTHUR LITTLELY. Middle Row L - R: HUGH LANTZKE, ROSS LANTZKE, FAYE HUGHES, KEN HUGHES, TERRY HUGHES. Front Row L - R: MARIO POLLETTI, ANNETTE LANTZKE, ESDRA TONUSSO, ANGELINA FRIGO, ANTONIO FRIGO. #4

1953

Back Row L – R: JOE NICHOLLS, MICHAEL NICHOLLS, BRUNO POLLETTI, MALCOLM LITTLELY, ARTHUR LITTLELY.
Middle Row L – R: HUGH LANTZKE, ROSS LANTZKE, FAYE HUGHES, KEN HUGHES, TERRY HUGHES.
Front Row L – R: MARIO POLLETTI, ANNETTE LANTZKE, ESDRA TONUSSO, ANGELINA FRIGO, ANTONIO FRIGO. #4

MALCOLM LITTLELY #5

1954

Teacher Mr. Cable

1955 - 1956

–

Articles: A. J. Chate
Bert Forrest
Pickering Brook Heritage Group
Additional Teacher Appointment & Salary Info Helen Skehan

Images: 1 Tom Price
2 Silio DiMarco
4, 5 Malcolm Littlely
6 Gretchen Forrest