Baringhup Primary School was an important community hub until its doors closed in 2017, following an exodus of students. What has happened at the school since then?
The answer is: not a lot.
The school’s original bluestone building, which is over 150 years old, has withstood the test of time, but the same can’t be said for the detached weatherboard classrooms. Windows have been boarded up following damage by vandals, and there are signs warning of the presence of asbestos.
Following the closure, the Education Department informed the local Baringhup community that the school would be de-staffed, with funds put aside in the event of the possibility that it might be reopened.
The Baringhup Community Committee President Dale Jennings told the [Tarrangower] Times that there had been no communication from the Education Department about whether the school was now permanently closed, rather than de-staffed. He did say that – despite the asbestos signs – trucks had been seen recently on the site emptying the buildings of desks and other furniture.
“There are over 20 primary school-age children in the area,” Dale said, “but those students are attending Maldon, Carisbrook and Dunolly primary schools.”
Baringhup Community Committee Secretary David Anderson said that the Education Department requirement was for 11 children to trigger the opening of a primary school. “But they can’t all be in Grade 5 or Grade 6,” he said. “There has to be a range of ages.”
David said that on behalf of the Baringhup Community Committee, he had written to the Education Department requesting permission to remove a bird sculpture from the front of the school, as well as some bricks that had been made by children of local families. “The bird is a wonderful sculpture, and we could easily relocate it,” David said. “I’ve actually got its head at home for safekeeping; it was pulled off by vandals.” To date, there has been no response to David’s request.
According to David, the buildings are a mess. “The office ceiling has fallen in and it’s bunny heaven,” he said. “They’re living under the school.”
The [Tarrangower] Times contacted Bendigo West Member Maree Edwards for her comment; she has yet to hear back from the Education Department.
This article appeared in the Tarrangower Times, 27 October 2023.
