Community
17 August, 2022
School born of grit and determination
BEFORE BELLENDEN KER State School was finally established in 1922, there was (for a short time) a provisional school at nearby Junction Creek.
The Hon. Victor Hood was Secretary, Treasurer and Chairman of the Bellenden-Ker Provisional School and he was determined in his fundraising efforts for the school.
A variety of entertainment was organised in the Divisional Hall at Cairns on February 17, 1898. The evening included singing, skirt dancing, and a comedy skit by the renowned Cairns Amateur Theatrical Society (C.A.T.S.). The event raised more than £30.
On April 21, 1898, it was reported the Education Department still hadn’t appointed a teacher for the provisional school. To attract candidates, local residents agreed to supplement the annual salary of £80 by an extra £20 to compensate for the lack of students.
Eventually, William Curnow Ginn arrived but he only stayed at the school for one year. The school wouldn’t last long either, it was abandoned in 1902 and local families would have to wait another 20 years for a permanent school to be established.
A notice in the local newspaper on May 28, 1920, read: “WANTED PARENTS of Bellenden Ker District to attend a MEETING on SUNDAY, May 30th, at 3 p.m., at Harvey Creek Station, to consider establishment of a school. C. Smith.”
Following the meeting a formal application with the names of 19 prospective students was sent to the Department of Education on August 5, 1920.
A two-acre plot was finally approved for the establishment of a building 21ft x 14ft with two verandahs. On February 6, 1922. it was reported that work had started on constructing the school at Harvey’s Creek at a cost of £821. It was completed in May 1922, but the school didn’t open until Monday the 14th of August 1922 because of delays, once again, in appointing a teacher.
The first principal was Henrietta Gertrude McElligott, aged 25, who remained at the school from August 14, 1922, to January 1, 1925.
A total of 25 students were enrolled in the first year including the Burnell boys: William, Alfred, George, and Thomas; the Neilson girls: Mary, Sigrid, and Vilna; the Simpson girls: Lily, Violet, and Margaret; Phyllis and Douglas Tolcher; and four members of the Peterson family: Ethel, Doris, Ivy, and Peter.
After Miss McElligott there were a series of headmistresses until the arrival of Kathleen Cran Lennon on February 13, 1929. She left teaching to marry local dentist, Lyll Sydney McKern. The wedding notice in the Townsville Daily Bulletin on August 15, 1933, said the couple would settle in their future home at Babinda after a honeymoon on Magnetic Island.
Many of the school’s principals only stayed one year or less possibly because of the remote location and tropical climate. Some, like Thomas John Lynch, stayed for many years. He was principal from April 1, 1936, to July 1, 1946.
To commemorate the centenary on Saturday, August 13, 2022, a time capsule which was sealed during the Diamond Jubilee Celebration in 1982 will be revealed. There will also be tours of the school, and a jumping castle for the children. For further information contact the school on (07) 4067 5292.
Sources: TROVE, Bellenden Ker State School archives.
