Defining Moments –  Free Education Introduced

https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/free-education-introduced

This website, created by the National Museum of Australia, provides a concise overview of the formation of the state education system in Victoria. It looks at the Victorian education climate before the emergence of the state system, providing insight into why a state system was needed, and it explores the laws put into place to create the system. This is a great introductory resource.

 

Victorian Collections – School Days: Education in Victoria  

https://victoriancollections.net.au/stories/school-days-education-in-victoria

This online exhibition – hosted by Museums Victoria, Creative Victoria and Australian Museums and Galleries Association Victoria (AMaGA) – is based on the physical exhibition that was originally displayed at the Old Treasury Building in Melbourne. It provides a helpful overview of early schooling in Victoria drawing attention to crucial areas, such as aboriginal schooling, migrant education and the role of religion in early Victorian schools, that are commonly overlooked in overviews of the social factors leading to the formation of the state school system.

 

Public Record Office Victoria: Education Department

https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/VA714

The Public Record Office’s detailed history of Victoria’s Education Department provides a legislative perspective of the formation of Victoria’s state school system. It also provides a useful overview of how the 1872 Act responsible for the formation of the system was challenged by subsequent administrative changes, thus demonstrating the social tensions that characterised the period.

 

Documenting a Democracy: Education Act 1872 (Vic)

https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/scan-sid-790.html

The Museum of Australian Democracy provides a copy of the original six pages of the 1872 Education Act enacted in Victoria for users to peruse online at their own convenience. Alongside a detailed description of the physical document, the website also provides a brief explanation of the significance and history of the document.

 

State Library of Victoria Research Guide: School and Education History in Victoria

https://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/education

The State Library of Victoria’s Research Guide has information on the history of the state, private and independent systems of education in Victoria. It provides an overview of relevant materials available within the State Library’s own catalogue and collections.  Of particular interest to researchers of the state system in Victoria is the overview on the ‘Get Started’ page,  the list of texts – particularly early twentieth century texts – on the ‘Histories’ page and the Department of Education records and publications on the ‘Education Department’ page.