Latest News
Museum's Latest Project hits the Front Page
'Voices of Early Hall' is the latest project to be undertaken by the 'Friends of Hall School Museum'. A federal community heritage grant will fund the project which will record the memories of the descendants... more »
Launch of Public Education Week
Allen Mawer and myself were invited to give a brief talk at the launch of Public Education Week by the ACT Education Minister Joy Burch. My talk focussed on the unique and valuable collection of early... more »
Visit by Covenant Care Day Centre
The Museum hosted a number of the Centre's clients together with their carers on 29 April. A sumptuous morning tea with scones, jam and cream with fresh coffee and tea was served when the group arrived.... more »
Welcome!
Here you can learn about the origins and development of the Museum, find out about the 'Friends of Hall School Museum' and how to join, and see the latest news and photographs about Museum activities. You will also find a selection of links to other sites that may be of interest to you, and a 'document register' from where you can download various items concerning the Museum, such as the Inventory, and our Acquisition Policy. You can return to the main Hall community website at any time by selecting the 'Hall Website' icon.
The latest addition is an on-line database - 'Early Canberra Schools' - of twenty-eight early schools of the ACT and the 250 or so teachers who taught at them. Click school icons on the google map to find the stories and pictures of these early schools - and let us know if you have information that we can add.
We gratefully acknowledge the ACT Heritage grant which enabled us to develop this web presence.
Hall School Museum - A brief history....
The idea of a ‘school museum’ was born at the Diamond Jubilee of the School in 1961, when the original school building was set up with old furniture and memorabilia. This was much enjoyed, and many visitors felt the display should be maintained. The use of the building as a Museum was officially approved in 1980 and support from the ACT Schools Authority followed in 1984.
By this time a considerable amount of material had been collected by the Honorary Curator, Laurie Copping, who had retired in 1981 after twenty years as Principal. The Official Opening, by His Excellency the Governor-General, Sir Ninian Stephen, took place on 19th April 1986, and is marked by a brass plaque on the building. In 2004 Governor-General Michael Jeffery dedicated the Museum to Laurie Copping as the 'Laurie Copping Heritage Centre'.
Following the closure of the School in 2006, the Village of Hall and District Progress Association, in cooperation with Elizabeth Burness, has acted to protect and to promote the Museum. In 2007 the ACT government commissioned the Australian National Museum of Education to undertake a full inventory, and in 2009 the Progress Association secured a Heritage Grant to fund production of a Conservation Assessment and Management Plan. A further grant in 2010 was used to develop a 'Volunteer Guides Handbook'.
A decision was taken in 2011 to present the Museum as closely as possible as a small school of the Inter-War period - the 1920's and 1930's. The decision was made possible by gaining access to additional storage and conservation workshop space in the adjacent school building.
It has now also been decided that the Hall School Museum will also be a repository for information about the other one-teacher bush schools of the Hall district. These bush schools were the focus of an Exhibition during the 2012 ACT Heritage Festival.