At the archives, July 10, 2015

His determination was officially recognised when he was invited to open the new school in 1880.

Mr Storey had arranged for classes to be held rent free in the Wesleyan Church building, with the first teacher being Harry D Balmain.

There was a total enrolment of 39 pupils, 20 boys and 19 girls; the required number of pupils for a school building, under the NSW Public Instruction Act, was 20.

Throughout its time, the school played an important role in the social interactions of the small community with fundraising functions such as dances, concerts and picnics.

Pauline Marlin (nee Turner), has very fond memories of Old Junee School in the 1940s and remembers enjoying her formative years when Mr Mulrooney was the teacher:

“… Old Junee Public School was a one teacher school with an enrolment of about thirty … we seemed to be in one large classroom, I remember being in a class with Tommy Morris, Maisie and Allan Mills and maybe Sheila Longmore.

“I have a vivid memory of Sheila and I, in preparation for a concert, being taught to sing ‘Danny Boy’ and ‘Christopher Robin’ by Mrs Mulrooney …

“Other students I remember well but am not sure whether any of them were in my class.

“There was Noel Lehmann, Barbara Thompson, Pauline Hart who rode a pony to school, Ian Harbrow, Jean Lewin, Jimmy and maybe Peter Oehm, Harold Bond and Nita Turner …

“My mother was the secretary of the Parents and Citizen’s Association and would organize picnics and I remember that, in the school weather shed, we played the game of putting the tail on the pig. There were lime and raspberry drinks and many races …”

Charles Sturt University Regional Archives is the designated regional repository of State Records NSW in the Riverina and Murray areas? 

This role permits it to collect, house and make available the archives of state government agencies in this region.