North Nippering School

Statement of Significance

The North Nippering School has aesthetic, historic, representative, social and rarity cultural heritage significance. The school has a number of features that are quite unusual for a small school built by community members. The school is a substantial stone structure, where usually buildings for such small student populations were constructed in timber. Also despite its age, the school is still standing and is in quite good condition except for one major crack in the north-west wall. The school represents the development in the Nippering area, which was quite prosperous up until the decision was made to make Dumbleyung the centre of the district. The building is a good example of a small school servicing outlying rural areas.

Physical Description

Some of the notable features of this place include:
• Setting next to farms surrounded by mature gum trees
• Simple rectangular design
• Walls roughly hewn stone blocks with red brick quoins
• Gabled corrugated iron roof
• Water source for the school corrugated iron water tank
• Verandah under broken backed roof.
Some obvious modifications include:
• Corrugated iron used to enclose parts of the verandah

History

A small band of parents who wanted education for their children in the North Nippering area was made up of the Bairstow, Cronin, Pearce and Bathern families. After forming a Parents and Citizens Association, they contacted the Education Department requesting a school. Owing to the small student numbers the Education Department said they would only be eligible for a non assisted Government School, which meant the government would supply the teachers salary and furniture but the community would have to build the school and provide living quarters for the teacher.

Following negotiations, preparation to begin the project commenced. The site had been chosen on land owned by Bob and Jack Bairstow with a lease agreement for the sum of only a few shillings. Following WWI building materials were very scarce especially timber and iron. Therefore, the North Nippering School was built by the farmers of the area mostly from materials obtained second hand from the goldfields, transported by rail. The walls were built with stone from a quarry on Will Bairstow's property. Dimensions of the school were fifteen feet long by thirteen feet wide. Within this area were three windows and an entrance door — also a corner fireplace. Four vents were incorporated in the inside walls.

The school was officially opened on March 14th, 1921. The school was the first country school to have a telephone. The phone was frequently used to confirm safe arrival of pupils to school, also in case of sickness. One of the students at the school was Norm Cronin, who arrived in 1929. He remembers being taken to the back paddock of his parents farm which was quite close to school and then walking across neighbours land holdings to get to the school. He also tells of sandalwood being placed on the fire that gave the schoolroom an aroma nice to some but hated by others, particularly a teacher, Miss Newland. The wood for the open fire was collected by the students (and during Miss Newlands time an odd bit of sandalwood was added to the pile). The fire was very welcome in winter especially when the teacher warmed up their milk ration on the fire.

The school was closed in 1932, owing to the declining number of pupils. Two clay (crushed ant hills) tennis courts were used at this site after the closing of the school, with the school building used as a clubhouse (until World War II). In 1988, a plaque was erected to signify the significance of this site. The plaque was installed during a Back to North Nippering Day.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High Degree

Condition

Poor

Uses

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

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.