Hartley Street School

Hartley Street School in Alice Springs (formerly Stuart), Northern Territory, Australia, was the first purpose-built school in the town. Its oldest buildings were constructed in 1929, and it opened in 1930 to cater for the growing population in the town following the completion of the railway line from Adelaide to Alice Springs.

Background

The official opening of the Hartley Street School was on 26 February 1930 by the government resident of the day, Victor Carrington, and Pearl Burton was the first teacher appointed. ^[1]

In 1945 a new kindergarten, in a unique octagonal shape, was built, ^[2] designed by B.C.G. Burnett.

Its students included those living at St. Mary's Hostel, a Stolen Generations institution, who were bussed in each day. ^{[3] [4]} After World War II it also schooled the mostly 'European' students living at Griffiths House which was then next door. ^{[5] [6]}

The School of the Air started teaching its first students from here on 20 September 1950, when the first broadcast was made. ^[7] The first teacher employed from the School of the Air, while at Hartley Street School, was Molly Ferguson, later Mary Myrtle Healy who worked there until 1956 when she married and was forced to resign. ^{[8] [9] [10]} The broadcast from the school was monitored from the Royal Flying Doctor Service base in Alice Springs, and they assisted in relaying the transmission. The lessons were broadcast from the verandah of the school and, later, a section of the staff room was enclosed to create a studio. Neither of these locations were ideal as acoustics were poor and background noise from the active classroom could be heard. ^[11]

The school closed in 1965, and in 1988 it became a museum, which is operated by the National Trust (Northern Territory). ^[12]

Heritage protection

The school buildings are listed on the Northern Territory Heritage Register with a permanent declaration being made on 19 August 1998. ^[13]

It was previously included on the now defunct Register of the National Estate having being listed there on 1 November 1983. ^[14]

Notable people

The following notable people were associated with the school, each of these people attended the school via St. Mary's Hostel:

• Freda Glynn; a former pupil and co-founder of the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association. ^[15]
• Rona Glynn; a former pupil and head prefect who was later appointed as a teacher; she was one of the first Aboriginal Australian school teachers in Australia. ^{[16] [17]}
• Tony Liddle; a former pupil and truck driver/tour guide. ^[18]

References

1. Strong, Bruce (1998). A History of Hartley Street School : compiled from official records and newspaper reports. Alice Springs: National Trust (Northern Territory).
2. "Old Hartley St School | Heritage Alice Springs". heritagealicesprings.com.au. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
3. Petrick, José (23 July 2016). The Robert Czakó Mural, St Mary's family services & beyond. Jeffries, Brian, Canon,, Anglican Church of the Ascension (Alice Springs, N.T.) (3rd revised ed.). Alice Springs, NT. ISBN   9780646959191. OCLC   957733928.
4. "St Mary's Hostel". Find and Connect. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
5. "Griffiths House". Find & Connect. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
6. Lamont, John (31 August 2018). The right amount of crazy : St Philip's College & Griffiths House, Alice Springs - 75 years. Lamont, Alison. ISBN   9781925467024. OCLC   1091024911.
7. "Hartley Street School Museum". National Trust. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
8. "Children know her by voice". News . Vol. 63, no. 9, 739. South Australia. 28 October 1954. p. 27. Retrieved 25 February 2025– via National Library of Australia.
9. "Their school is 400 miles away". The Herald . No. 23, 761. Victoria, Australia. 22 July 1953. p. 13. Retrieved 25 February 2025– via National Library of Australia.
10. Allen, Rae (7 June 1991). "Molly Ferguson, teacher, School of the Air". RaeAllen.net. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
11. National Trust of Australia (Northern Territory) (2013), The School of the AIr : where it all began, Hartley Street School - Alice Springs, National Trust of Australia (Northern Territory), retrieved 25 February 2025
12. Bergen, Penelope (21 March 2014). "Hartley Street School". www.alicesprings.nt.gov.au. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
13. "Old Hartley Street School". NT Heritage Register. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
14. "Hartley Street School (former), 37-43 Hartley St, Alice Springs, NT, Australia". Australian Heritage database. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
15. Bell, Wendy. (2008). A remote possibility : the battle for Imparja Television. Alice Springs, N.T.: IAD Press. ISBN   9781864650976. OCLC   213844634.
16. Smith, John P. McD (25 February 2025). "The Florence Nightingale from the bush". Alice Springs News. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
17. Strong, Bruce W; National Trust of Australia (Northern Territory); Heritage Advisory Council (1998), A history of Hartley Street School 1929 - 1965 : Heritage Assessment Report, Heritage Advisory Council, retrieved 25 February 2025
18. "Desert Tracks: Tony Liddle on station life, his education and travelling all over the Northern Territory". ABC listen. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2025.

23°42′00″S133°52′53″E / 23.6999°S 133.8814°E / -23.6999; 133.8814