General News
22 October, 2024
Tarnagulla Primary School celebrates 150 years
Tarnagulla Primary School marked its 150th anniversary on Saturday, as former staff and students were invited to commemorate the school’s legacy.
The historic day was memoria-lised with displays of old class photos, past student work and workbooks dating back to the early 1900s, commemorative glasses, vintage games and a past and present student and staff photo.
Event organiser and classroom teacher Brianna Gleisner said seeing all the historical artefacts allowed her to appreciate the occasion fully.
“What a privilege to be part of the school, especially during the 150th anniversary this year and being a part of all of the organising,” she said.
“Collecting our history and anything that we have been able to find within the school has been an amazing journey of learning about the history of the school.
“I said to our principal, Leigh Mellberg, I just want to take the week off work so I can read through all the historical collections that we have.”
Tarnagulla State School No. 1023 was officially opened on Monday, June 1, 1874, with head teacher William Harper and assistant teachers Mary Parker and Robert Rigg in charge of 236 pupils.
The Tarnagulla and Llanelly Courier reported an official opening with students marching through Tarnagulla on Monday, followed by “a mid-day procession through the town” with tea, baked goods and lollies on Friday.
The newspaper also wrote the new “first-class” school building was “constructed with every attention to comfort and convenience” with the government inspector stating he “never before passed work that was so well finished”.
Ms Gleisner said the highlight of the festivities was seeing genera-tions connect through their shared memories and experiences of the school.
“Being able to talk to people and hear their experiences and stories of their time when they were here has been my favourite part,” she said.
“We had an ex-student who’s 97 years old who came along — just hearing the things that people talk about and try to tap into the vibes that they had while they were here as well and what the school was like in that point in time.”
While reflecting on the milestone, Ms Gleisner said the community support and positive environment make her proud to be part of the school.
“We have a lot of support from the community and our families involved with the school,” she said.
“The school community here is like a small family we have only got 21 students now.
“It’s such a beautiful school, we strive towards effort before achievement so all the students understand that as long as they are putting in their best effort, everyone’s going to be extremely proud of whatever comes of that effort.”