After the proposed railway construction between Hawkesbury River and Gosford was announced it became clear to authorities that amenities needed to be established to cater for the growing population of Mullet Creek. The Woy Woy tunnel and associated works were expected to take six years to complete. This was substantially longer than most railway projects, most lasting months not years. The life of a railway worker and his family was largely itinerant and as such this may have been welcome news for families who were able to settle down in one location for an extended period. The area, however, was isolated and undeveloped with no amenities close by and as such all services needed to be established onsite.
Most children of railway workers attended the local school if there was one close by. If workers and their families were required to move from location to location along the railway a temporary travelling school was provided. On the rare occasion a more permanent building was established in isolated areas such as Mullet Creek.
Before the establishment of a school the children of Mullet Creek had every opportunity to explore their surroundings and they were let loose with limited boundaries or protection. Reports of complaints by local residents at a nearby campsite at Peats Ferry in 1884 describe children at the camp as such:
… our children, who can be counted by scores, are running wild. There is no Sunday school, not even a day school … Our children with no lessons to learn, or nothing to occupy them are playing around and cannot help coming in contact with sights and sounds of the most degrading character.[1]
Contractor George Blunt and the parents of Mullet Creek petitioned the Department of Public Instruction for a school to be set up at Mullet Creek which was approved in September 1884. By 1885 a building was constructed at the top of the Mullet Creek escarpment in between the tunnel camp and the main camp. Initially the Education Department gave approval for a tent to be set up. However, parents were not happy and complained to the department arguing that school numbers will increase and a tent was not adequate. This was agreed upon and by 1885 a building was constructed at the top of the Mullet Creek escarpment in between the tunnel camp and the main camp.(2)
The proposed site for the school was in between the main camp and the tunnel camp. While the site was a scarce piece of flat land, it did not have road access. The school inspector stated that ‘this will literally be a school in the wilderness’. Emily Jones a young student teacher applied for the role as school mistress, she had been ‘keeping a school here for the children for some time’. She was recommended by Blunt, however, ‘the nature of the locality and the character of the population, a female teacher would not be suitable’.
Subsequently, Arthur Seaton applied and was appointed as teacher on 13 January 1885. As stated in the Teachers Rolls, he was thirty-one years old, not married and lived at the settlement during his employment. Although there were obvious difficulties in finding a teacher who was willing to work in such unique conditions, authorities did not offer incentives for working in these areas. Arthur set up a two roomed tent and lived among the residents at Mullet Creek for six months.(3) His dwelling consisted of:
… a calico tent and fly, and I have also erected a tent, on a wooden frame, made of striped canvas, covered with a good calico fly adjoining the first tent. … there is a fireplace and chimney to the tent and there is a strong table and two strong bunks.
The following students were the first to enroll in Mullet Creek School:
Annie Beattie
John Beattie
William Beattie
Robert Beattie
John William Dugdale
Mary Ellen Dugdale
Isabella Fleming
Eva Hodge
Mary Hodge
Elizabeth Kelly
Bridget Kelly
Margaret Kelly
Ellen Kelly
Agnes M McBeth
Jane E McBeth
John B McBeth
Georgina Morley
Amelia Mullard
Lucy Mullard
Elizabeth Murphy
Mary Jane Murphy
William John Pulham
Mary Ann Snape
William James Snape
Maud Evelyn Snape
Gertrude May Snape
Arthur Charles Snape
John Sutcliffe
Frank Sutcliffe
George Sutcliffe
Anne Sutcliffe
Mary Thompson
Clearly, Mullet Creek did not suit Arthur as he resigned from this position due to ill health and was quickly replaced by James Thompson. Thompson had a wife and children and did not live at Mullet Creek but commuted from Gosford to the school by steamer each day. Thompson relocated to Boolong Public School after three years and Frank Neal replaced him in January 1889.(4)
Ernest Chave was the last teacher to be appointed at Mullet Creek. Enrolment numbers dramatically decreased after the completion of the railway tunnel. The residents at the tunnel camp moved elsewhere and it became dangerous for the remaining children to travel to school due to the only path to school was along the railway track. The remaining parents requested the school be moved to the head of Mullet Creek, closer to where the families lived. A suitable piece of land was found further along Mullet Creek where it took approximately two weeks to dismantle the building and set it up in the new location.
Two families resided at Mullet Creek in 1890. It was noted that the school at Brooklyn could easily cater for the remaining school students at Mullet Creek and the school officially closed in September 1890.(5)
Teachers at Mullet Creek School
Arthur Seaton
13th Jan 1885 – 30th June 1885
James Thompson
8th July 1885 – 10th July 1888
Frank Neal
14th Jan 1889 – 26th July 1889
Ernest Chave
16th Oct 1889 – 27th Sept 1890
References
- Daily Telegraph, 17 January 1884, p. 6.
- L Lindsay, Mullet Creek Railway Construction Camp 1883-1889, Australian Railway History, Vol. 71, No. 987, 2020, pp. 9-17.
- Mullet Creek School File, State Records NSW.
- NSW Teachers Roll, 1869-1908, State Records NSW.
- NSW Department of Education database https://nswgovschoolhistory.cese.nsw.gov.au/schoolHistory?schoolId+5654