Bulls Museum celebrates 150 years of local primary school

Bulls Museum Staff (from Left) Treasurer Tony Simm, Secretary Helen Cooper and longtime volunteer Jenny Meads.

Bulls Museum secretary Helen Cooper admits she is very proud of all the help that has come in from the community to feature the 150 Anniversary of Bulls Primary School.

The small and compact museum is a treasure trove of Bulls memorabilia and the new exhibition will keep you reading and studying the old photographs for an hour or more,she said.

As soon as the exhibition was planned locals were in with envelopes full of old school photographs, newspaper art articles, old text books and even an old school roll from1896 in superb condition featuring the distinctive copperplate writing from those days.

Helen said it's just wonderful the number of people who visit the museum daily and the school exhibition was bringing groups from everywhere, she said.

"Many are former pupils, there are a few teachers and they come in and study the class pictures remembering the old days when they were at school. Some of the conversations have been great."

The days from 1880 school region features pictures of the First XV, little girls wearing smock pinnies,stern looking headmasters and non-nonsense teachers.

There are fragile old yellowed school journals, a few Janet and John books, special school recipe books, a small wooden desk with an inkwell, old uniforms giving the exhibition of the sense of long reigning wonderful local families.

There were stories and pictures about the school milk scheme that ran from 1937 -1969.
Museum Treasurer Tony Simms said he clearly remembers the days of the wooden shelters by the school gates where the milkman loaded the crates of the small milk bottles and the designated monitors were sent to the gates each day to carry the crates in.

"It's a shame all that had to stop. The milk was good for our children.''

The exhibition goes to 2000.

"We didn't think we needed to go later than that,'' Helen said.

Former pupil Jenny Meads was very proud as she pointed out herself as small earnest 6-year-old in one class picture.

"I don't know why I'm frowning though because I liked going to school.''

During the 1940s and 50s many of the children headed home for lunch because their mums were home, unlike now when most mums are working, Tony said.

Huge events like when the school burned to the ground in 1914 and the small pox scare in 1913 where all children were vaccinated are all documented.

The old school memories have well been revived, said Helen.

And it's created a lot of interest. Things from the past are always magical though aren't they,'' she said.