Overview of education in New South Wales 1788-c.1979 plus a list of the main record series
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
[Fiche 446-613] |
Colonial Secretary: Returns of the Colony Listed under Education, the returns cover both Sydney and country schools. |
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. |
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 1848-1866
Board of National Education
| Series | Title | Dates |
|---|---|---|
|
(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 |
1867-1875 |
| NRS 2639 |
Copies of letters sent These are arranged chronologically and include letters and memoranda sent to teachers. |
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. |
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. |
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
[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 |
|
[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.
Applications for the establishment of schools
Application forms contain details of prospective pupils, together with information relating to the proposed site and building. Letters from promoters of schools concern the site, building, teacher and a variety of other matters. Inspectors' reports deal with the prospects of the district and the viability of the proposed school, and contain recommendations relating to the site, the permanent building and if necessary the temporary building, teachers, etc.
The schools progress and its physical provision
Letters and memoranda deal with changes in school status, closures and re-openings, and the adequacy of the site and buildings (ranging from routine repairs to new buildings). Valuable information on the progress of the district and on conditions in the school is often included.
Teachers
Amongst the maters dealt with are appointments, transfers and promotions, examinations, leave, complaints by parents and inspection reports. There were no teachers' personal files as such prior to 1940 and papers relating to individual teachers were filed amongst the records of the school at which the teacher was currently employed.
Miscellaneous
Relatively little correspondence deals with pupils or courses of study. Much can be gleaned, however, from letters dealing with a variety of aspects of the schools operations
Sketches / Plans
Some school files may contain hand drawn sketches through to professionally drawn architects plans of schools, classrooms and teachers' residences showing buildings, improvements and additions.
The plans are listed in the online index and you can also find a listing in the Maps and Plans Index in the reading room.
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.
Admission registers contain some of the most useful details concerning pupils. They usually record pupil's name, age, name of parents / guardian, address, occupation, date of admission, year and class grade, date of leaving last school and sometimes reason for leaving or next school to be attended.
Examination books The contents of examination books vary. Some record pupils' personal details, examination results for each subject, total marks and place in grade. While others contain samples of examination questions.
Observation books consist of inspectors' general observations on the operations of the school. They do not generally contain mention of individual pupils.
Programme and lesson registers list of the lessons and curriculum which were followed by various classes in a school. They cover the whole range of subjects taught to a particular class.
Punishment books consist of details of punishments meted out to pupils and include: name; age; nature of offence; amount of punishment; instrument of punishment; and by whom inflicted. These records are Closed to Public Access (CPA) for 50 years.
The punishment books are listed in the catalogue under the name of the school e.g. Punishment Book [Ardglen Public School].
Visitors' books record the names of any visitors and any remarks made by the visitor such as 'incidental visit', 'ordinary inspection', or 'very pleasant afternoon'.
Proposed school files most of the material in this series consists of unsuccessful applications for schools, as well as applications which were granted but did not come to fruition. There are also acquisitions and disposals of unused sites, and letters and reports relating to private schools subsidised by the department. The Proposed Schools Files also contain application for schools in areas close to existing schools and declined for that reason, and these often throw light on schools which did operates.
Most records which can be linked to schools that actually operated have been placed in the School Files, NRS 3829 (above). An example of this would be an unsuccessful application - predating even by many years - a successful application.
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)
ARCHIVES IN BRIEF
Content in this Guide first appeared in Archives in Brief 19 - Teachers and Archives in Brief 26 - Schools
What's happened with Archives in Brief »
