Kalamunda History Village: The School
We have driven past the Kalamunda History Village a few times, each time promising to visit it, but after 5
The Entrance to the Kalamunda History Village
years of marriage, we finally did. So glad we went! It was a special treat, and I could have spent the whole day there were it not for hunger, we stayed way past lunch time!
Kalamunda is situated approximately 25km inland from Perth, Western Australia in the Darling Ranges. The district evolved from the timber and orchard industries and became a popular holiday venue for the people of Perth and Fremantle. The name derives from the Aboriginal ‘Cala’, meaning bush, and ‘Munnda’, meaning hearth.
1901
Townsite of Calla Munda proclaimed. The name was from Bishop Salvado’s Aboriginal vocabulary. The Surveyor General changed the ‘C’ to ‘K’.
The History Village is on the site of the old Upper Darling Range Railway Station built in the 1890s to service the Zig Zag line which transported timber from Canning Mills to the main line at Midland Junction. It is the largest folk museum in Western Australia depicting the unique hills life and industries that developed in the area.
The entrance was very welcoming and set the mood for the rest of the day.
Our first stop in the village, was the schoolhouse. First government school, called Govt Provisional School, Gooseberry Hill opened. The headmaster was Mr Swindells.
This was the first state school (1905 – 1970), and was originally situation on the corner of School and Stirk Streets. It was moved to Heath Road in 1925 where it continued to be used as a school until 1970, when it was relocated to the History Village.
Before we went in, I couldn’t help and admire the hop-scotch. I played hours of this game growing up.
Inside was precious. Once in, I was transported to 1905. We stayed here a long time, taking in the history.
What fun to see the homework assignments, this one a composition about Africa from 1905. Love the way they used to write!
Totally appreciated these pressed orchids and the information collected about them.
I couldn’t resist a look inside one of the desks…
Found a story by Oliver Goldsmith called The Deserted Village
One thing that caught my eye was the strong language used to call those pesky words that are often easy to misspell.
Fun to see an example set of lessons on the chalk board.
We couldn’t find a year on this world map, but it looks rather different than today.
Of course, the old time calculator.
This place stirred my Little House on the Prairie Watching, Homeschooling Mom, history loving self so much. It was hard to leave this room. Wished so much that Miranda and the children could be here!
The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
