Local Government
Kulin
Region
Wheatbelt
Jitarning
north boundary of the townsite Jitarning
Geetarning State School
Kulin
Wheatbelt
Constructed from 1913
| Type | Status | Date | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| (no listings) |
| Type | Status | Date | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHP - Does not warrant assessment | Current | 31 Jan 2020 |
| Type | Status | Date | Grading/Management | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | ||||
| Municipal Inventory | Adopted | 19 Mar 1997 | Category 5 | |
The site represents the beginnings of community development in Jitarning before the town and railway. It demonstrates a way of life no longer practiced, and associations with education. It demonstrates associations with the pioneer settlers of the Jitarning area.
Michael Brown, a former pastoralist, encouraged and assisted new settlers in the Jitarning area, and by 1912 there was a Progress Association. That year the Geetarning Progress Association lobbied the Education Department for a full time school to be located at Jitarning. Geetarning State School was subsequently constructed on land adjoining the Jitarning townsite, donated by Peter Spurr of "Comadyne". The Geetarning State School opened on 8 September 1913, and the address was 86 gate via Wickepin. The school then remained idle for three months while accommodation was found for the teacher and her family. All the Spurr family children attended the school and they boarded the teachers until the hostel was built. The families who applied for the school could now send their children to school; Connors(3), Prices(2), Quinns(2), Dungeys(3), Spurrs(4), Leggett(1) and the Scotts(3). Between 1917 and 1921 the school was known as Geetarning and Jitarning. On the 17 December 1920 the school close due to lack of students. Government school were required to sustain a minimum of eight students to retain teacher services. However by 7 April 1921 it re-opened as Jitarning State School. By the late 1930s the economy was on the improve. The Jitarning branch of the CWA applied to erect a shelter at the school in 1937, and the school was extended in 1938 to cater for the increasing number of students, and the hall was used as a temporary facility during construction works. With the introduction of a school bus service from Jitarning to Kulin, and with subsequent deceasing numbers, the Jitarning School was finally closed in 1950, when the student numbers fell below eight. The school building was removed from its site and re-located on the Bill Cook's farm in 1979. The school site has been recognised with a plaque, during a re-union in Jitarning on 29 September 1991. There is a possibility of re-locating the school in its original location.
Site
| Ref ID No | Ref Name | Ref Source | Ref Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| WE Greble; "A Bold Yeomanry Social Change in a Wheatbelt District Kulin 1848-1970". | Shire of Kulin | 1979 | |
| "Kulin Chronicle". Vol 1 Issue1 | Kulin Chronicle | 17/11/1979 | |
| LACEYS compiler; "Jitarning School 1913-1950". | 1991 |
Historic Site
| Epoch | General | Specific |
|---|---|---|
| Present Use | EDUCATIONAL | Combined School |
| Original Use | EDUCATIONAL | Combined School |
| General | Specific |
|---|---|
| SOCIAL & CIVIC ACTIVITIES | Education & science |
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