Glencoe School Site

Statement of Significance

The site is closely associated with the provision of schooling in the district.

Physical Description

Situated on the Church Site on the ESE corner of the Shire boundary 4kms south of Oxley Road.
A plaque was erected here on 29 October 1983 by the Katanning CWA. The reserve is bushland
with four large sugar gums marking the comers of the school site

History

As early as 1899 approaches had been made regarding the establishment of a school in the
Glencoe area. When the original Cartmeticup school was build in 1901, it supplied most of the
immediate needs of the area. However, by 1905 there were fresh demands for the establishment
of a 'Provisional School' at or near Glencoe. The application by Michael Cronin, Albert Bain and
AE Elliot suggested the name for the school to be either Glencoe or Glen Urquhurt. It was also
said that Mrs Kelly would board a teacher for 15 shillings per week. At this time the four White
children went to the Cartmeticup School some five miles from Glencoe. They seldom got more
than half a day's schooling because of the distance to be travelled by horse and cart. The new
proposed site would only be two miles distant. Nothing happened until the application by John
Kelly with 17 potential students was approved in October 1907. The school on Kelly's Road was
built by Mr Hull at a cost of 143 pounds and was completed in early April the following year. In
May 1908, the teacher, M Ross, commenced lessons. Miss Ross lived with the E Cronin family
but resigned only four months later and another teacher (Eva Sheridan) was not appointed until
the following year. The coldness of the unlined building may have been the reason for the
resignation of Miss Ross. On 5 August when Miss Ross arrived at school, she found the ink was
frozen in the ink wells.

Over the next two years the numbers at Glencoe school fell below the eight required to keep it
open on a full time basis. So in 1911, Martin Fox was appointed to conduct schools at Glencoe
and Woolkabin on alternate weeks. Woolkabin's numbers dropped when the Kenward family left
and so was closed in September 1916. Glencoe now reverted back to a full time basis and the
new status justified replacing the roof of the school in 1917. The school was temporarily closed
in April 1927 by the withdrawal of the two Harris children. The eldest who was only six used to
drive her young brother (4) to school. (The 4 year old was only sent to keep the school open).
One day the horse bolted, throwing the two children out. Mrs Harris was prepared to have the
teacher board with her if she drove her children to school as Dorothy Lavis had done previously.
Although numbers of children at Glencoe remained a problem, the slutting of the Cartmeticup
School some five miles north of the original site in 1926 helped keep Glencoe open until the end
of 1944.

After the closure of the school, the Baptist Church hired the building to hold fortnightly church
services. The building had been inspected with the view of moving it to another site but it was
found to be too old and weak to move. The gazetted area was then changed from a school site to
a church site with a lease for 999 years. The building remained at Glencoe where it was used for
monthly Baptist services until December 1968. A year or so later, the corrugated iron building
was removed and rebuilt as a holiday cottage at the Baptist holiday camp, Camp Kennedy
(Torbay) where it is still known as 'Glencoe'.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

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This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.