The Spa subsidised school

A curious index card unlocks information about a unique subsidised school, whose history has been preserved within the State Archives Collection.

The series

The Miscellaneous files [Correspondence Branch] are a series of records spanning the 1930s to the 1960s. The records relate to the general administration and maintenance of various NSW educational institutions and capture information about a diverse group of institutions that do not fit within the typical classification of a government school. From technical colleges to correspondence schools, welfare farms to teachers’ colleges, the Miscellaneous files offer great insights into the changing nature of education as a public service and capture extraordinary evidence about the social history of NSW including a period of war, hardship and social change.

The index

The Miscellaneous files were managed by the Department of Education using a series of index cards arranged by reference number. Each reference number represents a unique subject or topic. For example, readers interested in the Technological Museum, later known as the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences and now the Powerhouse Museum, can read index card reference number 774 to find a list of related correspondence. Recently, a team of archivists were tasked with identifying each reference number to help facilitate access to these 781 boxes of records.

Subsidised schools in NSW (1903–89)

Subsidised schools were designed for localities where the minimum attendance of pupils required for a government school could not be obtained. The Department of Education supplied a subsidy for each pupil, but the responsibility of providing the facilities and teacher rested with the parents. Subsidised schools were not technically considered government schools and so they are not included within the Department of Education school history database, making records more difficult to locate.¹ In 1903, subsidised schools were introduced in NSW; the system continued until 1989, when the final remaining subsidised school, Hatfield, was converted into a government school.²

The Spa subsidised school

Opened in 1941, The Spa subsidised school – or The Spa, as it was affectionately known – was located outside the rural community of Windellama on Gundungurra, Dharawal, Dhurga, Ngunawal and Yuin Country, almost 50 kilometres south-east of Goulburn. The school was situated just off The Spa Road on remote wild bushland. Regional School Inspector J P Austin campaigned for the school’s continuation and the local children’s right to education, stating: ‘these children, because of their isolation, and the financial position of their parents, are entitled to every consideration, and some provision for their schooling should be made’.³

The Spa was instigated by local mother of seven Beatrice Hush. In 1995, as part of an interview for the Mulwaree Shire Council Oral History Project, Mrs Hush talks about her struggles in raising and educating her children during World War II. With her husband away for the best part of the year shearing sheep, Mrs Hush raised her children mostly on her own. She recounts saving precious battery life for the radio that she used to teach her children correspondence lessons.⁴

Records held in the Miscellaneous file include an application for a provisional school that contains details such as the prospective pupils’ names and ages.⁵ These records provide readers with a high level of detail not always available in other school records. Enrolment numbers for The Spa are also recorded in the Returns and enrolments for subsidised schools (NRS-4014) series for the years 1941 and 1942, which provide information about NSW subsidised school pupil population numbers.

The Spa without water

The Spa’s inaugural teacher was Miss Lewis, a local resident from the Goulburn area who taught the children of Windellama from 1941 to 1942. On 31 January 1942, Miss Lewis wrote a letter to the Chief Inspector at the Department of Education seeking permission to suspend the commencement of school. The reason: a shortage of water at The Spa.⁶ Mrs Hush also wrote a letter to the Chief Inspector confirming this information.⁷ In the summer of 1941–42, NSW experienced what the Bureau of Meteorology refers to as ‘the World War II drought’, a period of intense dryness across the eastern seaboard of Australia.⁸ While the school was closed, Miss Lewis temporarily taught at Bourke Street Infants School in Goulburn, pending instruction. In February 1942, Windellama experienced decent rainfall, enabling the reopening of the subsidised school.

However, Miss Lewis’s career at The Spa was short-lived. Growing numbers at the school prompted Mrs Hush to write a critical letter to the Department of Education, stating: ‘Miss Lewis is a good teacher for a few children, about six, but my friend and assistant promotor Mrs. Hockey and I don’t think Miss Lewis can manage as many children’.⁹ Shortly thereafter Miss Lewis was replaced with a new teacher and the subsidised school continued.¹⁰

A time of war and hardship

In April 1942, attendance numbers at The Spa grew to 15 with the arrival of new pupils – three child evacuees from Sydney.¹¹ The entry of Japan into World War II following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 brought the threat of foreign attack closer to home for Australians. Voluntary evacuees relocated away from the coast and what they perceived as ‘the danger area’¹² towards more remote inland communities, creating one of the largest population upheavals in Australia since white colonial settlement.¹³ The threat of attack became a reality in May 1942, when three Japanese midget submarines entered Sydney Harbour.

By July 1942, the evacuees from Sydney had returned home, causing a quick decline in enrolments. This proved fatal for The Spa, as the minimum attendance of pupils could no longer be maintained. Despite her best efforts and multiple applications, Mrs Hush was unable to convince the Department of Education to convert The Spa subsidised school into a provisional school. It closed soon after, marking the end of an era.

View these records in person

You can view the records highlighted in this article as part of the following record series:

• Card index to correspondence (RNCG-5719)
• Photographic collection (NRS-15051)
• Miscellaneous files [Correspondence Branch] (NRS-3831)
• Returns and enrolments for subsidised schools (NRS-4014)
• World War II History Files [National Emergency Service] NRS-20008

View the records listed above in our Western Sydney Reading Room. For information about visiting the Reading Room please see our Reading Room guide. Here you will find information about applying for a reader’s ticket and preordering records in advance of your visit. Some item lists are not available online. Please contact us via the Ask an Archivist form for assistance.