On Monday 31st May 1875 a large group of Greenmount District locals gathered for the opening of the new Emu Creek State School and waited patiently for the official opening by well known politician Mr W. H. Groom. The opening of the school was not without some controversy and Mr Groom made the point in his opening speech that he hoped the differences of opinion would now be forgotten. The names of forty young children had been placed on the register as the school’s first intake of students.

It is very doubtful if Mr Groom, the first Head Teacher, Cornelius O’Brien or anyone gathered there that day, would have guessed that one of the forty students enrolled would go on to be one of Australia’s most loved writers. A young boy, Arthur Hoey Davis, was as nervous as any other student that day but what was to set him apart was his ability later in life to put pen to paper about the lives of his fellow students and the outstanding characters of the local area with whom he came into contact in his youth.

Writing as Steele Rudd in later years, his stories became famous and totalled 24 books, 5 stage plays and even films. Emu Creek School may have produced its most famous student in its very first enrolment. Arthur had enrolled with his brothers and sister on this first day, as had a young girl named Christina Brodie who Arthur would later marry in Greenmount in 1894. Arthur left school at age 12 years and began work at Pilton Station but unlike with his brothers, Arthur’s mother must have realised there was something special about him and encouraged him to move to Brisbane and take up a position as a clerk in the civil service at age 16 years.

At 22 years of age, Arthur began writing and his ‘On Our Selection‘ series about the hilarious stories of life on the farm with characters “Dad and Dave” being much loved and this very publication has adopted his ‘On Our Selection‘ title to honour this remarkable Emu Creek student, cataloguing the goings-on at his alma mater.

Rules of school

Noel Lipp was an Emu Creek student from 1949-1955 and recited this poem as part of his upper school exam. The head teacher Mr Thompson liked it so much he had the whole school recite the poem on morning parade. 

I should come early every day,
And all my teacher’s rules obey,
Be there before the school begins
And silent when the signal rings.

My clothes and person should be neat,
I should not mark my desk or seat,
My books I should not soil or tear,
Nor aught about the room impair.

I should not quarrel, swear or lie,
Tell tales, deceive nor angry be,
Nor do that to others the things that I
Should hate to have them do to me.

This article appeared in On Our Selection News, 22 May 2025.