A Right to Heritage
Pat Hatherley writes of a visit to Lysterfield Primary School in Wellington Road in 1996.
The chime of bellbirds echoed in the grey morning. In air as sharp and fresh as spring water, two horses in yellow coats grazed on the other side of a wire fence. Muted sounds of voices came from classrooms as another school day began.
Inside the library of the Lysterfield Primary School, I joined mothers to hear local identity, Heather Ronald speak. We sat on small chairs which made us less intrusive. Behind us, children in groups took turns to exchange library books. They were happy children, at ease with their surroundings and the fact that their library had been invaded by a lot of adults. Occasionally, one or two would leave their group and come over to give his or her mother a quick kiss or brief hug.
Heather spoke with authority and wit about the history of local landmarks, of which Lysterfield Primary School, first opened in 1877, is one.
Afterwards, the topic of the school's re-location to the Lakesfield Estate in 1997 was raised. There was talk about the fate of the old school building built in 1920.
It can no longer remain on the present site as the land is to be sold with what seems to be indecent haste.
That it will be saved from destruction is certain, but where it will go is not.
Some $10,000 needs to be raised to locate this historic building onto Council land which adjoins the new school. Here, it can be used as classrooms during the day and hired for community activities at night. This will ensure the pupils' heritage remains preserved.
The alternative is re-location to Rowville Secondary College, where the only tangible evidence of Lysterfield Primary School's past history to remain will be absorbed into another institution
Talked with a mother over coffee. "I sent my child here because this school is unique. It's one with advantages those closer to our home just don't have," she said. "In what other school can you see kookaburras and rabbits in their natural state unless you're right in the country? Where else can you have a playground that consists of grass and not see concrete everywhere?"
She told me about a foal that was born to one of the yellow-coated horses just two hours before the children came to school one morning. When they arrived they saw it trying to stand on wobbly legs
'Every morning now, the first thing the kids do is rush to the fence to see how the foal is progressing.'
Fine rain fell outside and misted the hills behind the school. The grass was lush and a vibrant green dotted with wooden benches, a cubby house, huge trees and one that wept and provided a wonderful place to hide.
When Eve Greenland moved into the new school building as a pupil in 1920 she 'thought it was paradise'. I recalled those words that morning and reflected how true they still were.
All children have a right to tomorrow's memories. We can help by preserving their history. Let them visit Lysterfield Primary School in the future and say, "I went to school in this building. I remember I looked through the window and saw a kookaburra laugh. I remember the playground that was grass and the cubbyhouse." Some of them will remember a new-born foal. And always the chime of bellbirds.
Pat Hatherley
First published in the August 1996 edition of the Rowville-Lysterfield Community News.