A History of Marrar and District, 1979. Researched and Compiled by Mr Alby Armstrong 13. Education - Other Country Schools Includes the Rockview, Winchendon Vale, Soumara, Murrulebale, Marrar Vale, Kinilibah and Redlands (subsidised).
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Rockview School
When the Woodville school closed in 1929, many of the pupils stayed at home on correspondence' or travelled under difficulty to Marrar or Junee.  However by 1930, many new families had either moved into the district or had children of school age.  A site was chosen on the northern side of the railway line on part of 'Rockview' station (site is on land at present owned by Mr. and Mrs. G. Robertson, Turners Lane).

As the old Woodville school was still in good condition it was moved about 5 miles to this site, renovated and a verandah was added.  The school opened as a provisional school in February 1931, with Mr. Roy Wilson as teacher-in-charge.  Mr. Wilson lives in Tumut today.  He taught there for 11 years.  Gordon Tinckam was teacher-in-charge when, because of falling numbers, the school closed in March, 1947.  Families attending the school included several Turner Families, Curran, Cupples, Thompson, Wooden, Ridgeway.

Winchendon Vale
In 1889 the original Wihchendon Vale School opened about 4km west of the present 'Winchy' Hall.  The school consisted of two buildings one the schoolroom which most local residents will remember in its new location, and another, an old unpainted building of fairly large size roofed though with gaps in walls. (One of the pupils, Doug Pratt occasionally balanced on his head on the ridge capping - no hands).  White cedar trees can still be seen around this site.  The first teacher was Charles Ledwidge.  Some of the families of the 1900-1930 era were Browns, Thompsons, Pratts, Steve Leary (later became a garage proprietor at Peak Hill), Walshes, Lawreys, Devlins, Stevensons, McCormacks, Armstrong, Bredins, O'Dwyers, Carroll, Quinn, Logan, Mulley, Hancock, Waddington Pattison.  It appears that the average attendance was around the 25-30 mark.

Annual school picnics were held, and they were held in the school ground with the usual athletics events, prize giving (books etc.), the old fashioned lollies scramble, stepping the distance, nail driving etc.  Unfortunately, as children have the habit of growing up, in April 1935 it was decided that numbers did not warrant the keeping of the teacher, William Carr, who was transferred and the school closed its doors for the last time.

Soumara
The Soumara School site is on a hill beside the Wagga Road about 4 miles south of Marrar on Lionel Dennis' property.  The school opened in August 1901 and catered for children of neighbouring farms, the first teacher being Miss Ethel Williamson.  Soumara also had its annual school picnic, which seem to have been a feature of all of these little schools around Marrar.  All the pupils collected for the picnics, riding around on horseback.  The Foley Bros. who had no children at the school regularly gave a pound note - quite a tidy sum in those days.  Competitions were held between Soumara and Marrar schools in Football, Cricket, Tennis and Athletics.  Les Jobbins, a pupil at Marrar, was too good for Soumara and Marrar usually carried off the points.

The school was a small building and the average attendance was never more than low twenties.  Some family names, Field, Harnilton, O'Keefe, Harding, Schultz, Breasley, Roberts, MeEwin, McJim, Wooden, Roediger.  Most of these walked to school, few rode ponies.  The Soumara School closed in October 1916, Miss Annie Duddle, being the teacher-in-charge at the time.

Murrulebale
Murrulebale school opened as a provisional school in January, 1888, Miss Minnie Hazlett being the teacher in charge.  The school was situated on Murrulebale Station about 12 miles from Marrar.  The site is clearly visible because of the pepper trees on Henry Turner's property on Coffin Rock Lane, near the Ramp Road - so named because of the many ramps (now filled in) which had to be crossed.  This school catered mainly for the children of farm workers and a few other families who had their own properties.  In 1889, the pupil numbers increased and the school was classified as a public school.  When numbers dropped again in 1906 the school closed but re-opened the following year.  It also closed between 1912 and 1924.  It finally closed for the last time in 1942, with Mrs. Alice White, who as Alice Webster had taught previously at the school in 1929-33, being the last teacher.

Marrar Vale School
By P.K. Gaynor
The Marrar Vale School was opened Easter 1930, it was built on the property of Mr. Mick O'Dwyer.  Jack Gaynor offered the Education Department Land to erect the school on, but as it was a more suitable site the Department chose 2 acres of land on Mr. O'Dwyer's property, mainly because it was nicely sheltered with pine timber.

The chief organizers to build the Marrar Vale School were, C. Muller, E. Muller, Nick Muller, J. Gaynor, T. Gaynor, P. Maloney, D. Collins, G. Harper, Mr. Kimpton.

When the school was eventually built out of Weatherboard and nicely painted white, Mr. Vic Haberecht was selected as the teacher, and with a roll of about 15 students attending it soon became common knowledge what a good teacher this man was, and naturally other families started to drift to the Marrar Vale school, W. Roberts, H. Roberts, C. Roberts, M. Buchanan's, Bill Millers, were just some of the families to remember.  With this roll starting to increase to something like 45 to 50 students, naturally the small weatherboard building became inadequate.  The department realising something had to be done to accommodate all these pupils, decided to shift the original Marrar Vale School to Bidgary, and bring the Gobbagumblin school to the original Marrar Vale site as it was a larger building.  The Gobbagumblin school originally was on the property of Mr. Merv Tokley 'Coolamon'.

Both these schools were cut into sections for shifting, and a Marrar man Mr. Wally Jones (Tony Jones' Uncle) had the contract of shifting both with wagons and horse teams.

After some years as the headmaster, Vic Haberecht was transferred to Wagga, Cyril Ceely then became Marrar Vale's teacher.

With World War 2 and probably the effects of the depression, numbers started to diminish in the school, so in 1946 the department decided to close the school, and with this happening the school had wheels put under it and was shifted again to the Coolarnon Central School where it was used as a wood-work room.

Kinilibah School
By Ivy Lawrence
Education was an early problem for the district.  There was no school.  The Education Department declined to consider building a new school - it couldn't afford it.  Obviously some sort of compromise was arrived at, whereby the old Kindra school was moved to a corner on Henry White's property (now Pat Kennedy's) and re-named Kinilibah.

The school was an old weatherboard building with two small windows facing east, and a fireplace that was never used because it smoked everybody out of the room.  There was a small porch with a bench crown one end to accommodate the wash basins and towels etc.  An iron tank provided icy cold water in the Winter and warm water in the summer.  We didn't even have a water bag.

A few gum trees around the playground afforded shade for the children and shelter for the birds that lived in them.  Not a very glamorous set-up, compared with the 'palace like' schools of today, but the kids loved it and it served them well.  Twice a year the Department sent a huge box of supplies to the school, including a straw broom and a drum of disinfectant.  Slates gradually became obsolete.

The first teacher appointed to Kinilibah School was a man named O'Donnel.  According to an old record this would have occurred in 1904/5.  Mr. O'Donnel was very strict, with a penchant for using the cane.  The children grew to dislike him so much, those who could, left, and others transferred elsewhere.  None of these children ever returned to Kinilibah school.  Mr. O.Donnel lasted three and half years.  Then the School closed.

It re-opened two years later on a half time basis.  The teacher from Berry Jerry, Mr. Alex McDonald, commuted to Kinihbah three days, one week and two days the next week.  When the roads were very boggy or it was a rainy day, no one worried about going to school because likely as not the teacher wouldn't be there.  Mr. McDonald's transport was a powerful black horse and sulky.  The horse objected to splashing through mud and slush and would rear and go round in a circle, before it began to 'back' completely out of control.  We had some near misses among the trees and stumps.  I was sent to school at seven and left at fourteen.  I will always remember my first day at school, the Kennedy sisters, Annie (late Mrs. Harry Curran, Marrar) and Dot (Mrs Eric Bartholomew, Coolamon) were there.  They were sorting our books and papers and throwing what they didn't want into the garbage tin and stacking the rest on the desk.  Later they took the remaining books and a couple of pencil cases and went away.  The School had closed again.

It was two years before it re-opened.  The new appointee was Miss Olive Wheatley of Goulburn.  Unfortunately Miss Wheatley could not acclimatise to our scorching hot summers nor could she cope with the 2 1/2 miles walk to and from school each day.  At the end of two years she suffered a severe breakdown in health and had to resign.  Kinilibah School was closed again.

A year went by.  Negotiations with the department continued but it was another year before a new teacher was appointed.  The Education Department, it seemed, was very short of teachers.

The new teacher Miss May Gregory hailed from Tumut.  She was a cheery, unassuming young lady, with an inborn determination to get things done.  It was soon obvious to the pupils that they had a lot of 'catching up' to do and it wasn't going to be their new teacher's fault if they didn't succeed in their task.

At Miss Gregory's request a P & C Association was formed and the first picnic ever was mooted.  It was a great success and a terrific day for the Kinilibah children.  They had never had a school picnic.  The Kennedy kids and Nell and Norah Withers accounted for most of the prizes - they could all run like deer.  The picnic was rounded off with a dance at night at the Steve Kennedy's home.  The place was crowded out, and they had musicians laid on.  I remember accordions predominated and were played by E. Kennedy, A. King, A. Lawrence, Cecil Butler, Vie MeCrea and Jim Bartholomew.  Fred Deihm had his violin and Mr. Steve Kennedy played a concertina, I recall Alice Kennedy Sang 'Mother McCrea' and Mr. Jack Armstrong recited 'The Stringybark Cockatoo'.  It was a good night.

I think - I hope anyway, the old school has left a print or two somewhere in the sands of time - prints that would compare with the purpose and integrity of its early associates - the pioneers.

The school continued to serve Kinilibah people for many years, but time leaves scars, and as each year went by the old building became more and more dilapidated until the Department was forced to do something about it (after all it was the first school built in the Coolarnon district).  An extensive and costly repairs programme was carried out and for the first time in it's life the school looked presentable.  But the 'face lift' had come too late.

Within two years, a bus service was instituted and despite fierce opposition, the old school, having weathered the vexations and vicitudes of nearly fifty years, closed its door for the LAST TIME.

The last teacher at Kinilibah was Mr. Jack Brewster, who transferred to Ganmain when the school closed.  The closing of the school wrote finis to social life in the district.

Redlands (Subsidised) School
By Mrs. Lena Chamberlain
Following the cessation of hostilities in the 1920's, a large portion of Marrar Station to the Coolamon Shire Boundary was taken over by the Government of the day for the resettlement of men returning from War Service.  It soon grew to a group of young families, who by 1934, were of school age but no school nearer than Coolamon or Marrar.

A Committee was formed comprising Messrs K. & E. Palmer, J. Jones, O. Dixon and M. Chamberlain and they decided to make a request to the Government for a subsidised teacher.  This was granted - the Department was to pay and supply a teacher and school equipment, and the parents were to be responsible for the school and its upkeep and for e board and well-being of the teacher.

The small school was built by the parents and was situated at a corner of a paddock on Mr. Frank Palmer's property adjoining the corner of the property of all interested parties and the small building still stands on Mr. McKelvie's property on Marrar Road.  It was called 'Redlands' because of the red loamy soil in the area.  And so by 1935, Redlands school opened with Miss Eleanor McNabb as teacher.

Being a trained teacher, she most capably organised the school of 11 pupils and from then on it was continued in the same manner by a different teacher each two years.  Miss Audrey Manwaring, followed then by Miss Smerdon, Miss Glisson, Miss Rita Williams of Leeton, Miss Rita Murphy and Miss White.

I'm afraid I’ve not followed their status or addresses but they were all most popular and because of their competent teaching, the children were able to compete with children of larger schools.

At a later stage as old pupils left for higher schools, the Kiss and McCauley families came to reside in the area and their children attended and kept the required attendance up.  The school closed in the 1940's.