'Early ACT schools' - project inception meeting

As reported earlier, our Heritage grant application for a 'Centenary' exhibition on Canberra's earliest schools and teachers was successful. An informal 'round table' gathering is planned for Thursday 8th November to get the project under way. The meeting will be from 12 noon - 2.00 pm and lunch will be provided. Anyone with an interest in this project is welcome to attend.

By the terms of our grant agreement we will "hold a public exhibition of images, maps and information, telling the stories of Canberra's schools and teachers 'inherited' when the FCT boundary was drawn. The exhibition will create as full a record as possible of the public schools of Canberra a century ago, based on research, site visits, family record, mapping information and other sources". We have also undertaken to produce a digital version of the material as a curriculum resource.

It is proposed that the exhibition be opened on UN World Teacher's Day - to be celebrated in Canberra in the last week of October 2013, and that particular attention be given to the teachers in these early schools.

Major elements of the exhibition will be:

(i) A large scale mounted 'orientation' map of the FCT to show precise locations of the all the schools
(ii) School 'story boards'. We propose at least one storyboard for each of the fourteen schools, carrying mapping and survey data, photographs, a brief history, and selected stories.
(iii) Teacher profiles. We propose up to ten display boards detailing the lives and teaching careers of selected teachers.
(iv) A short historical overview of schooling in the district before and after the establishment of the FCT.
(v) A digital version of all of the above, to be mounted for the exhibition and to be made available as a curriculum resource to ACT schools.

The project has been canvassed quite widely, and has already gained some very important recognition and support. This includes:

(i) Centenary of Canberra. The project has the official support of the Centenary of Canberra: "The ....project has the ability to provide the community with context for the celebration of the centenary by painting a picture of life in district prior to the establishment of Canberra. The exhibition will provide a timely reflection on the heritage of the region".

(ii) ACT Education and Training Directorate. Through the good offices of Minister Chris Bourke the project has been discussed with the Directorate and our grant application supported by a letter from the Director General. The Directorate is particularly interested in the creation by the project of digital curriculum materials pertinent to local history.

(iii) Surveyor General of the ACT. The Surveyor-General Bill Hirst has written welcoming the "opportunity to assist in such an important community project as part of Canberra's Centenary celebrations" and has provided office scope and access to records for a retired surveyor, Allan Eeles, to locate and collate mapping and survey data for the former school sites.

(iv) Australian Education Union (ACT). The Union represents teachers in the ACT public education system, and is interested in the recognition of those who taught in the original Canberra schools. They have contacts with large numbers of retired, as well as current teachers, who may be interested in contributing to the project. We propose to launch the exhibition in conjunction with the AEU on World Teachers Day 2013.

(v) Australian National Museum of Education. Director Dr Malcolm Beazley commented in supporting our grant application: ".....the research you have undertaken already needs to be developed to include further information on those bush schools and on all known early government schools in the region. This will provide a valuable resource for the community, as well as documenting the history of early education in the region...." .

(vi) Tuggeranong Schoolhouse. The project also has the support of Elizabeth Burness, Curator of the Tuggeranong Schoolhouse Museum. Tuggeranong is one of the early Canberra schools that will be featured in the exhibition.