FEATURE - The Old Witta School Yard

They rode horses bareback or walked to school in bare feet. They only had cornsacks for raincoats, and they piled into the back of a ute to travel to sports days. These are some of the memories of five former students at the Old Witta School

by Judy Fredricksen

With the Old Witta School building turning 100 this June, former pupils: Margaret Thompson (nee Cooke); Daphne Hawkins (nee Hillier); Vince Carbery; Val Graham (nee Porter); and Lynda Burgess (nee Penney) reminisced with Judy Fredriksen about their old school days.

When the idea of establishing a school at Witta was first conceived in 1891, a couple of enthusiastic chaps began to construct a building – without proper approval! Legislation at the time demanded a minimum of 15 students, one more than the Witta residents could produce.

Never mind, Fred and Lotte Warne, great-grandparents of Lynda Burgess came to the rescue. They fostered some children to make up the numbers.

“They fostered a lot of children because there were so many things happening in the world in those days, there was a lot of hardship and there were a lot of orphans. Most of these kids came out of Brisbane and those surrounding areas,” explains Lynda.

The school finally opened in 1892. The original building lasted until 1925 when it was replaced by the current building on the current site.

Attending the school from 1948–1955, Daphne Hawkins still has all her report cards which show that twice a year, she was assessed on: English, mathematics, geography and history.

Margaret Thompson was always running late for school because she had to feed the calves and do other chores around the farm first. When she was finished, she would jump on her old brumby and gallop to school. Once Margaret got to school, she would dart over to a grinding wheel to sharpen her slate pencil before dashing upstairs.

Vince Carbery remembers the air-raid shelter, built by parents, and being sent into it for a security check. “I thought, crikey, I don’t know what’s going to happen if I get down there and there is something in it!”

Then there was the day Val Graham got the cane – unfairly of course!

“I got the cane for playing with boys. I honestly hadn’t done anything that I couldn’t tell my mother about.”

Leaping to Val’s defence, Daphne chimes in, “But we had to play with boys to make up the numbers!”

Horses were a key feature of school life back then with up to five kids sometimes riding the one horse to school. Vince ended up leaving his brumby elsewhere instead of in the school’s horse paddock after it upset the teacher’s wife. She thought it was disruptive.

The horses were always quite tame, and canny. Val remembers how Olive Kelly’s horse would pick up kids along the school route, just like a modern bus. But when there were too many kids on its back, “She’d gently lower her neck, tip one off. Then she got smarter. (She’d) tip her back, bottom down, and get rid of another one,” says Val.

Of course, there was always some mischief, like the time one of the boys let all the horses out. With a natural homing instinct, the horses bolted, leaving the kids to walk home that day.

Tuckshop was unheard of until the late 1950s – early 1960s, when Lynda was at school.

Then it was only twice a year, and it was a real treat to have fresh sandwiches, home-made sausage rolls, Mrs Muller’s fairy cakes and Mrs Brooker’s gem scones.

The students all looked forward to sports days – Witta always won the march past.

However, they all agree that the real highlight of the year was the school breakup day.

The parents would come and bring a picnic lunch. Ice-cream, preserved in dry ice, would be served in a cone; there were toffee apples, three-legged races and relays and … they all received a book from Santa!

Santa would arrive with his sack, standing on the back of a slide pulled by a horse.

The locals would contribute what little money they had, whether they had kids at the school or not, so the school could purchase good quality books.

Vince was delighted with one of his. “I was very interested in cricket from an early age, and I got Don Bradman’s book!” Daphne remembers getting Little Women and the others

all agree that the books were one of the highlights of their education.

While their education may seem simple by today’s standards, it was very practical. They learnt how to care for animals in their calf club, and how to manage vegetation in their forestry club. The girls learnt how to knit, sew and cook while the boys learnt woodwork.

Later they had a teacher who wrote plays for the kids to perform, and he would also play the piano for them to dance to.

For a small school, Margaret believes they punched well above their weight. She says the school has produced some highly successful people in the fields of sport, politics and business.

To hear more about the Old Witta School days, former students, staff and the local community are invited to join in the centenary celebrations. There will be historical displays, music, entertainment and refreshments.

When: 8 June 2025 Time: 11-3 pm Location: Old Witta School, 316 Witta Road, Witta.