The Rutherglen Common School Museum has celebrated its 150th anniversary this week marking a significant milestone in the history of education in the area.
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The original Rutherglen Common School building opened in January of 1873 with an initial enrolment of 84 children and was led by Head Teacher Mr. Allan Knox Buckley and his wife Agnes Binsted, who served as the teaching assistant.
The Common School served multiple purposes over the years, alongside the newer Rutherglen State School of 1909. In the early 1960s, it was used to support secondary education as a home economics and woodwork room. However, in 1963 it fell into disuse. The Rutherglen Historical Society took the initiative to restore the building and repair its dilapidated state, through much dedication and hard work.
In October of 1985, the Rutherglen Common School re-opened its doors as a museum, providing great insight into the history of Rutherglen, including the earliest settlement, pioneers, First Nations People, vignerons, wine history and the gold rush days of Rutherglen. The museum is an iconic Rutherglen landmark and continues to attract visitors from all over the region.
An official ceremony was held by the Rutherglen Historical Society on Saturday, January 21 with over 80 people attending the special occasion including Indigo Shire Mayor Sophie Price, and Cr Roberta Horne.
Rutherglen Historical Society President Julie Taylor welcomed members and guests to the celebrations acknowledging those who have fought to protect the building and its collection.
“We are delighted to be celebrating this momentous occasion with the community of Rutherglen. To be celebrating 150 years of continuous education in Rutherglen is incredibly fitting,” Ms Taylor said.
“I would like to acknowledge three very special members of the Rutherglen Historical Society. Without them and their cohort, this building would not be standing here today and the collection that it houses would not be inside it. “Ian Stones and Graham Lee are foundation members and Judy Harrison, a member since 1991, who along with Ian, is a Life Member.
“Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be able to see, touch, feel and learn from the artifacts and knowledge of Rutherglen’s past so that we can learn from it and work towards a better future.
“I would like to acknowledge the following individuals and organisations for their guidance, advice, and work over the past few months. Rosemary Cameron and the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, Cameron Auty and his team from the Burke Museum, John Downes and Tina Reese from DWELP now known as DECCA, Bruce Bloomfield, who has repaired our building where needed to have it in the beautiful condition that you see it in today.
“Without your assistance, we would not be having this celebration today.”
Ms Taylor also thanked the team of helpers who assisted with the construction of the new ‘Agnes Binstead Buckle’ garden, named after the first female teacher appointed to this school.
“Thank you to you all Mr Gerald Terrill for the sheep manure gathered, delivered and humbly gifted, Ms Karryn Williams, Principal of the Rutherglen State School and her enthusiastic band of gardening students, who quickly spread two large bails of straw over the cardboard to commence the garden beds, Rutherglen IGA for quickly supplying a package of cardboard to help us keep ahead of the students, David Cracknell for sourcing, supplying and spreading the gravel, The Men’s Shed under the guidance of Ted Shanks, whose members restored and returned and raised the flagpole to its position in the garden, Lee Hennessy from Hennessy Homeware and Garden Centre for the generous donation of the bird bath which now stands so beautifully in Agnes’ garden.”
The 150th anniversary celebration was also attended by Kerry Dick, the descendant of the original Head Teacher Allan Knox Buckley and teaching assistant Agnes Binsted, making it a truly special and nostalgic occasion.
Also in attendance was Mrs Aylean Baker, a former student, who at 104 years of age, was very excited to be part of the special occasion.
Mrs Baker told the Free Press she very pleased to be part of the momentous occasion, having grown up and lived in Rutherglen her whole life.
“It’s wonderful to be here today celebrating the school’s history,” Mrs Baker said.
“My mother attended the common school and so did I.
“I still remember lining up in front of the flag to sing God Save Our Gracious King. I have such wonderful memories of attending school. I still remember the science room was up the back and the cooking room was near the front of the building. We also had sport on Wednesdays. I attended the school until grade 8 which was normal for women at the time.
“I haven’t been out much over the last few years with the pandemic so it’s lovely to see people out and about enjoying the school once again.”
In her first engagement as Mayor of Indigo Shire, Sophie Price congratulated the historical society for their tremendous work in pulling the event together.
“I’m so pleased to have been invited by the Rutherglen Historical Society to this event. I have the deepest admiration for the work they do. They are the custodians of Rutherglen’s rich history,” Mayor Price said.
Research and collections committee member Nyree Wiggins said the future of the Common School Museum was in good hands.
“It’s remarkable that we are here 150 years later,” she said.
“We’ve overcome many challenges to get here but we are so committed to moving forward and preserving this memory for our town.
“We owe a debt to the hardworking historians who were here in the 1980’s. They didn’t have the fingertip access that we do. Their research was dogmatic.
“I’m amazed at how welcoming this community has been to me. I am really excited to be working alongside some wonderful people, including First Nations people.
“We have 32 people in the society currently, many of whom have brought their professional skills to the table. These are high level skills including museums, genealogy and archival.
“Julie (Taylor) has also provided such strong leadership to the team. Her ability to entrust people to go forward and do what they are good at is pretty incredible. She has really empowered our members and we are very excited to continue to grow and share the fabulous history of our town.”
This week, a number of events have been held to celebrate the 150th anniversary.
As part of the celebrations, the Rutherglen Library will hold an introduction in family history research session from 11:30am. On Thursday (Australia Day) the Museum will be open to the public. A Rutherglen Wine Bottle Tour will take place at 10am at Tower Hill on Friday January 27. On Saturday guests are invited to take part in the Carlyle Cemetery Walk on Distillery Road from 7am-8am.
To find out more visit the Rutherglen Historical Society and the Common School Museum Facebook Page.