Grange Primary School, South Australia - old school

Above: Grange Primary School - Jetty St., looking West.

Above: Grange Primary School - Fisher St. (lane), looking East.

Above: Grange Primary School - The original 'old' school buildings, looking Easterly.

A sad day. Tearing down the 'old' school. Grange Primary School, Jetty St. Grange.

Houses were built here afterwards.

What was the oval, opposite side of Jetty Street, became the 'new' school.

This is possibly within the years 1969-1972 but could have been in the early1980s, I think the car in the last photo (3) was mine. Unfortunately I didn't date my photos - all 3 were all taken the same day. 

The old wooden buildings were not air conditioned in summer. Winter there was an iron stove by the classroom door. So many schools at that time had identical buildings, even same paint colour.

PHOTO 1: Jetty St., Grange : In this first photo the side shown was the class room side (with big windows). The opposite side was a lean-to porch where we hung our coats, and bags (Photo 2) - louver windows. Stainless steel trough with taps outside to drink water from (burning hot on hot days - the trough, as it was metal, and that made no sense to me, you need to drink water, only to get burnt).
There were about 8 or 9 of these double buildings. Half along the lane side (Fisher St.), parallel to the road, the others along the road (Jetty Street), parallel to there.
The Jetty Street side, it also had the staff room, school offices, and, in particular that of the headmaster - in the same style, and placed on the western end of these. The main HALL, is shown in the background. The classes in this photo (on Jetty St side) were for grades 6 and 7. 7 being the last primary school grade before going on to higher education. 
The building on the truck was possibly grade 6, and those still on the ground, grade 7, or reverse of this. I can't remember exactly.

GRANGE SCHOOL FIRE: In approximately 1958? I think I was in grade 5. I think we must have been alerted by sirens - standing in our elevated back yard home at 536 Seaview Rd., Grange (620 at the time), we could see what was the school, burning. We went to the school when it wasn't easily doused. I can always remember a school chum - Eve Witcher - crying, along with others. It was a big occasion for us all.

Later we heard some of the story as we all wondered why it burnt down.
Our janitor was a nice person, and I heard the story as it being an accident - he had to remove the coals from the stoves that burned to keep us warm, and with a very full bucket full, some coals which must have been still burning inside, fell out onto the wood floors unnoticed. It sounds possible, but I don't know. I still remember his name.

We had to have classes in the school hall. It was cold and draughty. I hated it. The hall was 'new' compared to the class rooms. I think, also that, I spent at least a little time in either the Grange Institute or St Agnes Hall, I have some vague memories that relate to doing that I think one concert was held at least, in St Agnes, as it had a raised stage with curtains - I was a member of this church - a 'Church of England' at the time. Other school grades/classes were there much longer than our class, as they stayed in these locations, rather than moving into the school hall.

This block of classrooms housed years 3-5 if I remember rightly, again. 

THE MAIN SCHOOL YARD: To the west of the transportable classrooms for grades 3-7, there was a large asphalt area - some marked off as basketball courts. We would also have 'fitness' classes there with beanbags, hula hoops, and more. Some assemblies on fine days (and some on not-so-fine-days, too!). There were 2 outdoor toilet blocks side by side along Fisher St. side of the yard area. I remember them as being corrugated tin. Pitched roofs, built of red bricks, with about 5 cubicles with wooden doors. There was a corrugated 'yard' to the south, leading out from one end of on of the cubicles which faced south about the same distance out from the doors as the cubicles took up, behind them. But at one end the fence came out about an extra yard, and attached at right angles was another sheet of the iron, ran parallel to the cubicles side wall - making it an enclosed walkway in to access the cubicles. There was no roof covering this fenced area, so it was not good on cold, wet days. I think the boys' block had a trough urinal butted up against the southern fence. I don't know exactly the height of them, but do know or heard rumours at least of a certain contest that boys would have re that wall - many avoided walking in the yard in front of that fence.

This asphalted yard was where school fetes were held, and I think even processions along the streets of Grange commenced from here. I remember being dressed in an elf costume when very young (borrowed from a neighbour), and I didn't like it as it had 'boy germs', as the neighbourhood child was a boy. (I'm sure a lot of school goers still remember either avoiding 'boy germs' or 'girl germs'?)

PHOTO 2: Fisher St., Grange :  The buildings along the lane (Fisher St) are the ones that burnt down - (they looked the same as these replacements), they were 'standard classrooms' at that time, many, if not all schoolrooms were the same. We just knew the street as 'the laneway', and not its name. 

On a personal note, we all had to fill out insurance claim forms after the fire. I had lost all my treasured drawings. It actually affected me a lot. I didn't draw as much again after that. I was very prolific before. On my insurance form I listed about 12 rulers, and over 120 coloured pencils as I had only counted them the day before. It was questioned by the agents. However my school mates agreed that I had quite a collection of art materials. Again ... I never again accumulated so many again during my childhood and young adult years (adult years, yes!!).

PHOTO 3: This was commonly known as the 'infant school' of GPS. 
The big stone part of the building (left, set back from the street) was my room for Grade 1. My teacher was Mrs Watson.  And I believe the headmaster, staff rooms, and other school offices were in the same building - the red brick part. We were separated from the higher grades (4-7).

There was a small yard for playing in, to the north of this, where there was a transportable of about 3 classrooms. Maybe another grade 1, and 2x grade 2. Together this whole complex was often referred to as the 'infant' school. 

By the red brick building, to the east, just inside the school gate, was a big weeping willow. Somehow I remember a time capsule being placed there??????
I'd be interested in knowing if anyone has any details.
I also learnt to HATE drinking milk, as small bottles of milk were left there in metal crates for us when we came out for morning recess and we were pretty much MADE to drink the small bottles of milk. On hot days, there would be thick hot cream on top, which was impossible to 'drink', and sometimes it was 'lumpy'. It is also in this same area that we would have our fancy dress parades, and more. 

To the north of the old stone building were several (2-3) of the wooden classrooms. They were for Grade 2.

In writing this, I hope I got my directions right I was never good at left and right, etc.. 

THE FIRE:
PS: I found an old anniversary book for Grange Primary School. The fire was 58 or 57. There is a discrepancy:

Page 41 says: "6/6/58 Five classrooms were totally destroyed and one severely damaged by fire. Mr R. Johansen gave the alarm. The assembly hall was saved, although the northern wall was badly damaged and will have to be rebuilt."
Page 73 says:
"School Fire - 1957. took off at 5.45 (pm). the Bell family rang the Clodes (a teacher) who arrived to see the blazing inferno. It only took a matter of minutes for 2 classrooms to be utterly gutted. Mal (Clode) watched his room burn. The radiant heat destroyed one wall of the School Hall. There were no spare classrooms so Malcolm occupied the supper room at St. Agnes (Church of England - Military Rd) and Doris Renfrey moved into the Institute Supper Room. The buildings were eventually replaced with more portables."

Grange is a western suburb of Adelaide, capital city of the state of South Australia.