Key information
- Address:
- 34-44 Eldon Street, Bridgewater On Loddon 3516
- Opened:
- 19 June 1871
- School type:
- Primary
- School number:
- 1097
- Other names:
- Bridgewater Common School, Bridgewater State School
- Email:
- bridgewater.ps@education.vic.gov.au
- Phone:
- 03 5437 3081
How to find enrolment and other school records
If the school is open: contact the school directly to access your records.
If the school has closed: contact the Archives and Records branch via email archives.records@education.vic.gov.au or 1800 359 140 and they will assist you.
The history of Bridgewater Primary School
1871
Bridgewater opened as a common school in 1871.
The first head teacher was John Faulkner. Ellen Matthewson was work mistress.
The schoolhouse was made from bricks and was big enough to fit 60 students.
1873
The school became a state school in 1873.
1877
By 1877 the schoolhouse had been enlarged to fit 84 students. There were 163 students enrolled at the school in 1877 and the average number of students going to the school was 77.
1888
There was an average of 95 students going to the school in 1888. The schoolhouse had been enlarged again.
1904
There was no house for the teacher at the school and teachers travelled from nearby towns. In 1904 the head teacher, D. Jones was an hour late because he had ridden his bike 38 km from Bendigo in a head wind.
1927
A new brick school was built in 1927. It had 2 rooms.
1939
A nearby school called Memsie State School (No. 1611) closed and its students moved to Bridgewater.
1946
Older students in grades 7 and 8 moved to Inglewood Higher Elementary School.
1950
Three more nearby schools closed and their students moved to Bridgewater.
1963
By 1963, another 2 timber classrooms had been added to the school.
1965
The number of students travelling to the school by bus from nearby areas was increasing.
1968
The school had leased some surrounding land and was raising lambs to make money for the school.
1970
The school was renamed Bridgewater Primary School.
2022
Bridgewater Primary School is still in operation.
Find more information about this school
The Public Records Office (PROV) is the archive of Victoria's State and local government. They look after some of our oldest school records, and we can use these records to help us understand what school life used to be like.
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