Carmel (Heidelberg) Primary School

School days commenced when I was 5 years and 4 months old and the distance to the school was approximately 2 1/2 miles on a bush track. I was often bare footed, due mainly to the fact that my boots had to be laced half-way up my legs and were hard to get on – time ran out and they were left behind quite often. There are painful memories of the sharp stones cutting my feet on cold frosty mornings. My sister and two brothers were able to walk so much faster and I was always in the rear.
In winter, the bushes on either side of the narrow track would be festooned with spider’s webs covered in dew drops, glistening like diamonds. Sometimes kangaroos would dash away and a herd of brumbies would take fright and gallop off – manes and tails flying. A goanna or lizard would be seen lying on a rock trying to get warm. Birds of many kinds would be calling, and our favourite, the cheeky wily-wagtail would fly above our heads, teasing us. In summer, leaves brown and dry would crackle under foot and the sweet smell of eucalyptus permeate the air. It was always a great relief when the school came into view and small figures could be seen, we knew we were not late which was a terrific offence!
In wet weather we carried our shoes and socks and as plastic raincoat were not invented, our woollen coats were often soaked and had to be dried out by the fire. Sometimes sacks would be made into hoods and placed over our heads and shoulders.
The school, a wooden building with three long windows, high pitched roof of corrugated iron, a porch at the entrance containing a cupboard, wash basins and hooks in rows where we hung our hats and bags. Outside two rainwater tanks provided water, and wattle and pine trees provided shade. In hot weather a large canvas water bag with a wooden tap, hung from a tree in the yard. There were two teachers, Mr. A. E. Jackson, Head Master, and a monitor to assist. The monitor was a student intending to take up teaching as a profession and spent two years in Primary Schools before entering Teacher’s Training College at Claremont. Mr. R. Gilchrist, Miss R. Turner, Miss G. Elson, Miss L. Roberts, Miss P. Muggeridge were names I recall.
Religious instruction was given to the pupils by Mr. Myerson and the Misses Rudeforth, who paid regular visits and saw that we signed the pledge. The students, averaging about fifty, were divided – the seniors facing one way and the juniors facing the other wall, which consisted mainly of blackboards. Mr. Jackson was highly respected by both children and parents and instilled in his pupils a respect for law and order, punctuality, politeness, especially to adults, and a love of sport.
Our day commenced with an inspection of hands and fingernails, sometimes physical exercises, weather permitting, then we marched quietly into school. The first lesson was always Mental Arithmetic, which was a series of oral questions on tables, addition. subtraction etc. then written work in our pads.. This was followed by spelling and composition. We were taught to write letters to friends, business letters etc. also to make up accounts and add up costs. In the afternoon, history lessons, reading, geography, drawing and on selected days, sewing and manual training, depending on the timetable.
The children educated in the schools in the early days did not have access to libraries and their reading books were very important. Sixty years later I still recall the stories and poems so eagerly read – The Wooden Spoon of Olga The Washerwoman made an impression because even to this day, in our house, a wooden spoon is always called “Olga”, and anyone not knowing the story is quite mystified. Then the exciting story of “Oh-I-Am The Wizard” and his friends “One-Eye-The-Potato Wife” and “Wry-Face The Gnome”. The sad story of “Farmer Dobbin’s Goat, White Coat” who was so disobedient, and would not stay home and ran up the mountains, was finally eaten by a wolf, with all the gory details. “Pippa’s Holiday” – the mill girl who had but one holiday a year and how she spent it and the song she sang.
“The year’s at the spring, And day’s at the morn,
Morning’s at seven, The hillside’s dew pearled,
The lark’s on the wing, The snail’s on the thorn,
God’s in his heaven, All’s right in the world.”

The excitement of Saturday Morning Early
“On Saturday morning at half-past eight,
I mustn’t be half a second late,
I’m going out at the garden gate,
When the dew is glittery pearly,
I’m going, I’m going, I don’t know where,
But I think I shall find some others there,
On Saturday next, if the sun shines fair,
On Saturday morning early.”
How could one forget the picture of the little girl with the sun bonnet, waiting at the gate?
There was such a variety of stories, all with a moral,and we learned the flowing phrases and descriptive words with great enjoyment. The Oxford Reader for Grades 1 and 2 and the Temple Reader for Grades 4, 5 and 6, were used mainly. Stories like Robinson Crusoe, The Pied Piper of Hamlin, Feats of the Fiord, A Christmas Carol, The last of the Mohicans were included, classics of the day, and improved our vocabulary and spelling skills. The School Paper was a publication put out by the Education Department and sent out monthly to the schools. It was well liked and the stories and poems had an Australian content which was a change from the European literature presented in the reading books. The infant classes used to be taught to read by the sound method “pat the fat cat”, “the cat is on the mat”, and learnt to write by making pages of pot hooks and spent a lot of time folding squares of coloured paper. It was a well ordered existence with few distractions, and we learnt the basics thoroughly. One book hated by all in Grade 6 was “Tillage, Trade and Invention”, a most boring account of agricultural systems and land management in early Britian. While we were studying this, if there was any fooling around to be done, notes written, this was the time! We were not perfect all the time.
We were not subjected to lurid headlines in the paper and lived in a safe environment. In fact we were not allowed to read the paper until over 15 years old. There were occasional quarrels and family feuds, but these were mild in comparison to today. The children all walked to school and wended their way home in family groups, sometimes warfare would break out. A favourite pastime was to lie in wait and ambush them with blackboy rushes.
One aspect of our education was a thorough grounding in Arithmetic and English and very few students failed in these subjects. Test days were on Fridays and a poor result earned a cut with the cane for every wrong answer. The annual visit of the Inspector always caused a stir and we were always on our best behaviour. A health nurse visited and checked for head lice, eye and hearing defects. On one occasion there was an outbreak of diphtheria with one death. Can you imagine the anguish of a little Mother who carried her baby boy along the railway line from Walliston to the doctor in Kalamunda at night, only to find the child had died in her arms on the way? There were the usual outbreaks of measles, mumps, whooping cough and chicken pox, but on the whole we were a hardy breed, immunisation unknown, except for small pox. During the dry summers, water had to be carted to fill the water tanks and we had some queer tasting drinks, worse still, when a mouse committed suicide!
Pens and ink were used and every morning one of the senior boys would mix ink powder with water to make the ink, then fill the ink wells and place them in holes on top of the desks. Each child had to be equipped with a pen-wiper, round pieces of material sewn together with a button. This was used to keep the nibs clean and free of rust. Nothing was wasted, every scrap used. Writing was taught by copy and transcription books and we painstakingly copied the letters, trying to keep the books free of blots. Pens had to be held in the right way or the ruler across the knuckles would be felt.
The girls were taught sewing-hemming, top-sewing, gathering, button-holes all laboriously by hand, even sewing “garments” to fit, such as petticoats, blouses and worst of all, knee length bloomers made of white calico.
The Member of Parliment for the district was Mr. R. S. Sampson and occasionally he would invite senior students to Parliament House and there was great excitement. We caught the train at the nearest station, about 7 a.m. dressed in our best clothes and ready for anything. On arriving at Perth Station we would form into pairs and march up Hay Street to Parliament House where we were shown meeting rooms, the Speaker’s Chair and allowed to sit in it! Later served afternoon tea. Next day we had to write an essay on what we learned. Mr. Sampson presented a citizenship book award yearly.
Sometimes a trip to the Zoo was arranged and Colonel Le Souf, who was in charge of the zoo would give us a lecture about animals and even let us sit on the giant tortoises. He drove a 4 wheel buggy pulled by 6 tiny Shetland ponies which we adored. He was a very big man and loved children and animals. In those days we could have rides on elephants and camels. Once a boy stole an egg from one of the yards and put it in his pocket. During the lecture, he accidentally sat on it and broke it. It was soon apparent that the egg, a fairly large one was very ancient as he was left sitting by himself, in the centre of the circle and that lecture was not a success.
A school concert was held every year, usually in the Church adjacent, which had a stage. (This building is not at Walliston.) There we sang, acted in plays, recited and entertained our parents and friends with great gusto.
We played games in season, marbles, top spinning, fly, cricket, hockey made from bush sticks, red rover all over, hide and seek, hop scotch and later a gravel tennis court was made.
Toilet facilities consisted of two small out-houses, away in the corner of the school yard,surrounded by a wooden screen, one for boys, one for girls. A “nightman” called weekly in a horse and cart and emptied the pans, which smelled strongly of tar.
The school catered for Infants to Grade 7 and Secondary Education could be had at Perth Boys’ and Perth Girls’, Perth Terrace and Perth Modern School. This entailed catching a train at approximately 7 a. m., and we arrived home at 7 p. m., usually tired out. Diligent students were able to study in the carriage, that is, if they were not running from one zig-zag up the next one, and generally carrying on and getting into mischief.
On Sundays, when we had run out of excuses not to go, we were sent to Sunday School to the little Church next to the school. In good weather it was bearable, but in wet or hot weather we protested loudly. We found it boring to walk on that track 6 days out of 7, but once we were there we enjoyed singing hymns, accompanied by Mr. Oliver Owen on the organ, and reciting the little texts on the cards that we had to memorise. The best part was the Harvest Festival when the best produce from the orchards was presented to the church in thanksgiving. We ate some if we could, but most was given to charity. Sometimes a lantern slide evening was held and we viewed smokey slides of noble missionaries and dark people getting the message in the jungle. The child of today would look in wonder at these simple pleasures in comparison to the hair raising programmes viewed on T.V.
There were many fine students educated at this small school and are now highly respected citizens of this community. We were taught to be obedient, respectful, proud of our school and work, vandalism unknown and though not over-indulged in heated swimming pools, libraries and playing fields and so forth, our school days were happy and interesting. This small school opened in July 1904, named Heidelberg and changed to Carmel in 1916, has seen many changes in the district but those who received their early education there, remember it with great affection and pride.