Page 86 - J Delaney - City of Cessnock Education and Schools

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CE S S N0 C K SCH0 0 L

The grant was allowed and the plants sent. The school inspector later
congratulated the teacher in a report which read: - "Mr. Mansfield
has turned a dreary looking piece of land into a delightful garden,
for which he deserves great praise".

On 5th Apri~ 1886, in an explanation for variations in attendance,
the teacher reported:-

"The principal industry of the locality is wine-growing,
which necessitates the detention of the children at
certain seasons of the year. Only about twenty-seven (27)
of the fifty-four (54) children reside within two (2)
miles of the school 11.

In November 1886 Mr. George Brown, the Chairman of the Local
School Board, reported that the weather~hed was falling down - built
in 1881 from 'spotted gum', which was now rotten. The new we~thershed
was built from 'iron bark' by Mr. William Brown for £23.10.0 ($47.00)
during March 1887. The weathershed was positioned on a more convenient
site in the playground.

A new Convent School was opened near the Public School in
April 1887. This led to a big drop in enrol~ent numbers from sixty-
three (63) in 1886 to thirty-eight (38) in 1888. Even by 1903, the
number of pupils enrolled had only risen to forty-eight (48).

In May 1891 Mr. Thomas Farnhilln built a brick.chimney for
the kitchen of the residence at a cost of £16.15.0 ($33.50). The
specifications laid down that - "a round bar of iron of not less than
an inch in thickness is to be built into the walls of the fireplace
and a chain eighteen (18) inches long fastened to the bar with a strong
pot hook attached to it".

Meanwhile, a further attempt had been made to secure about
an acre of land on the northern side of the school. Again, the Lands