School Records Guide

1788-1848

The earliest government assisted schools in the colony were established to provide literacy skills, religious instruction and domestic or industrial training for destitute children and those whose parents could not afford to provide them with a basic education.

Orphan Schools

The Female Orphan School was established in Sydney in 1801 under Governor King and the Male Orphan School in 1819 under Governor Macquarie.

Church Schools

Government involvement in education was primarily concerned with the provision of funding for church schools. The establishment of the Clergy and Schools Lands Corporation in 1826 reinforced this link between government and church. Salaries of schoolmasters were drawn from the proceeds of land controlled by this corporation.

Records covering 1788-1848

Colonial Secretary

Series	Title	Dates
NRS 1286 [Fiche 446-613]	Colonial Secretary: Returns of the Colony  Listed under Education, the returns cover both Sydney and country schools. See the item list »	1828-1857
	Index to Colonial Secretary's Papers *ARK Surviving correspondence concerning schools is to be found under the headings: Schools andEducation. This index is also available in the reading room.	1788-1825

Surveyor General

Series	Title	Dates
NRS 13859	Crown Plans Many plans for the sites of early schools c.1831-1853 are listed under the headings Church Lands and Church and School Estate. The Select List and Supplement of the Crown plans are also available in the reading room. Search the online index »	1792-1886

Clergy and School Lands Corporation

Series	Title	Dates
NRS 773	Letters received from clergymen, catechists and schoolmasters This series of correspondence covers a broad variety of subjects concerning the day to day running of the early government assisted church administered schools.	1825-1833

1848-1866

Between 1848-1866, education in New South Wales came under the joint control of the Board of National Education and the Denominational School Board.

The Board of National Education was responsible for:

• the establishment of the public school system
• appointing teachers
• teacher training and classification, and
• the setting up of model schools

The Denominational School Board was responsible for the distribution of government subsidies to church schools.

Records covering 1848-186

Board of National Education

Series	Title	Dates
NRS 613 (Reels 4001-4038)	Miscellaneous Letters Received  This series includes correspondence concerning the establishment of government schools, the provision of teachers etc.	1848-1866
NRS 619	Letters and Blank cover Memoranda received by the Secretary from the Chief Inspector These letters and memoranda are arranged chronologically with indexes at the front of the volumes.	1862-1863
NRS 620	Blank cover memoranda received by the Secretary from District Inspectors These memoranda are largely concerned with inspectors' reports as to the suitability of land for school sites.	1862-1866
NRS 637	Fair Minute Books,1848-58, 1863-66 Indexes to these minute books are available at NRS 638.	1848-1858, 1863-1866

Denominational School Board

Series	Title	Dates
NRS 3710	Inspectors' Reports These reports are of inspections of Roman Catholic primary and high schools and Church of England primary schools.	1856-1866
NRS 3711	Minute Books These minute books contain minutes of weekly and special meetings of the Denominational School Board.	1856-1866

1866-1880

The Council of Education was established under An Act to make better provision for Public Education, 1866 (30 Victoria, Act No. 22) to assume responsibility for the centralised administration of government schools in New South Wales. Both provisional schools and half-time schools were created under the Council of Education. School sites, buildings and furniture for these schools were provided by the parents of enrolled pupils.

The Council of Education controlled:

• expenditure and government grants
• the establishment and maintenance of public schools
• the appointment, training and examination of teachers. 

Teacher training was conducted at the Model School, Fort Street and a grading system for the certification of teachers was introduced.

Records covering 1866-1880

Council of Education

Series	Title	Dates
NRS 2621	Miscellaneous letters received This correspondence is arranged alphabetically by name of school. Reels 1784-1796, 1798, 1802-1803, 1844-1850 See the item list »	1867-1875
NRS 2639	Copies of letters sent These are arranged chronologically and include letters and memoranda sent to teachers. See the item list »	1868-1880
NRS 2628	Letters and memoranda received from Inspectors The arrangement of this series is alphabetical by district and then chronological. Reels 1798-1799	1867-1874
NRS 2638	Abstracts of quarterly and annual returns of public and denominational schools These returns are arranged alphabetically by school district and then chronologically.	1867

Government Architect

Series	Title	Dates
NRS 4338	Plans and Specifications of Schools and School Residences The listing gives location of school, description of plan and date. Arrangement is alphabetical by school.	1861-1910

Surveyor General

Series	Title	Dates
NRS 13875	Catalogue of plans of land for national and public schools, 1849-87 This catalogue is in rough chronological order.	1849-1887

​1880+

In 1880 the Minister for Public Instruction assumed responsibility for education in New South Wales. The Public Instruction Act, 1880 (43 Vic. No. 23, 1880) which repealed the Public Schools Act of 1866 provided for:

• the establishment of Public Schools, Superior Public Schools, Evening Public Schools, Provisional Schools
• separate high schools for boys and girls, and
• a system of teacher training

The Department of Public Instruction was responsible for both the introduction of compulsory education and the withdrawal of government funding from denominational schools.

Department name changes

• 1915: the Department of Public Instruction changed its name to the Department of Education
• 1989: the name changed to the Department of School Education
• 1997: the Department of School Education was amalgamated with the Department of Education and Training Coordination to form the Department of Education and Training.
• The Department is now known as the Department of Education and Communities.

Records covering 1880-c.1979

Department of Education

Series	Title	Dates
NRS 3830	Subject files These include information on individual teachers concerning promotions, resignations and retirements. See the item list »	1875-1948
NRS 3829	School files These files are arranged by name of school. They contain information concerning teacher appointments, leave, examinations and occasionally details of complaints about teachers by parents and inspectors. The files after c. 1950 do not contain detailed information about teachers. The publication Government Schools of New South Wales is a useful companion to these files. The schools are listed in the online index »	c.1876-1979
NRS 3850	Copies of letters sent These letters cover administrative areas such as the establishment of new schools, buildings and their upkeep and general financial matters.	1880-1915
NRS 3851	Copies of letters sent concerning the administration of public schools This series contains correspondence concerning general administrative matters such as applications from teachers and promotion and classification of teachers, as well as admission of children into the orphan schools.	1880-1896
NRS 3852	Copies of letters sent by the Chief Inspector	1880-1896

School sites

The following selection of records may provide useful information for those researching particulars of school sites.

Series	Title	Dates
NRS 3965 [11/15313-15316]	Registers of deeds of school sites  These registers are arranged by name of school. They give a description of the site, a sketch plan and date of deed. A good site plan normally accompanies the entry.	1850-1896
NRS 3969 [11/15322-15326]	Register of school sites  This register gives name of school, location of site, area and portion, date of acquisition and how obtained.	1900-1968
NRS 3968	Card catalogue of leased properties This catalogue provides the name of school, type of building, area of site, name and address of lessor, term of lease, expiry date and annual rental.	1923-1949
NRS 3988	Site register cards These cards record details of school sites purchased and disposed of after 1880. Some give details of buildings constructed and generally include a site plan.	1930+

Types of records

School files (NRS 3829) include: 

Note post-1939 records are strictly administrative. 

Related records (post-1900) include:

Only a small percentage of admission registers, punishment books and examination books have survived. In some instances the school may still hold the registers.

Photographs (NRS 15051)

See examples at top of page. The History Unit of the Department of School Education collected these photographs when preparing school histories, research for public relations, or giving presentations. The collection consists mainly of photographic prints showing school buildings, pupils, teachers, or educational activities. Most include an identifying caption and date.

This is an ongoing series digitisation project and you can browse what has been digitised in the Collection Search » 

Further reading

More historical information on Education can be found in our catalogue under:

• Agency 88: Department of Public Instruction / Education / School Education
• Agency 401: Trustees of the Clergy and School Lands
• Administration of Education under Two Boards, 1848-66 (PDF, 18.5mb)
• Council of Education, 1866-1880 (PDF, 10mb)
• Government schools of New South Wales, 1848-1998: 150 Years, Open Training and Education (OTEN) - Distance Education, New South Wales Department of Education and Training, Sydney, 1998.

Downloads

• Administration of Education under Two Boards, 1848-66 (PDF, 18.5mb)
• Council of Education, 1866-1880 (PDF, 10mb)