This is the school. Mat Diver has put together a very complete history of the school.
In the1980s the Education Department closed the school because of falling enrolments. The Education Department sold the school and the teacher’s residence by tender. Kate Hodgkinson and Toby Dupree bought the property.
The family moved into the teacher’s house with their children, Tom, Hannah, Ella and Miles in 1990.
After evicting the white ants and repairing the extensive damage caused by them in the teacher’s house and the school the family moved into the school building and leased the teacher’s house to long term Bay residents.
When the school was purchased in 1990 The School buildings had not been used for 7 years except by kids or campers (and white ants). There was graffiti and fires. Campers had burnt the floor in several places. The water pumps, fencing, guttering, switches etc had been stolen. The buildings were infested with huge white ant nests. Many believed that the buildings were beyond repair.
Apart from the Norfolk Pines, Radiata Pines and Lantana there was no vegetation and most of the playground was raw clay or sand.
Toby and Kate tried to restore back to the original as much as possible and only made simple partitioning in the classrooms. The Staffroom (verandah) has become the bathroom. The kindergarten, (last schoolroom used) is now kitchen/living room with the blackboard retained.
The grounds have been revegetated and landscaped, sadly lightning strikes have damaged the biggest Norfolk Pines.
Around 2009 the school was sold, the new owners set about restoring the building. The kindergarten classroom is used as the kitchen and the classrooms are now the dining and living areas. The classroom closest to the road is the master bedroom and a partition has been put in for the dressing room. The former library is an office, the bag and hat area is now another office. The toilet block has become a bedroom and living area and the Wet Weather shed is now a bedroom and living area.
This excellent adaptive reuse has been made possible because the former owners kept the school in its original state. The grounds have been designed by renowned gardener Linny Ross.