"Wando Vale" once owned by W. ROBERTSON, was the first estate to be sub-divided for closer settlement in Victoria. Its 10,000 acres of grassy rolling hills and fertile flats were broken into more than 60 farms of varying sizes in 1900. Twenty-six of the successful applicants had a total of 120 children. The first attempt to cope with these was a school of 70, conducted by Misses TWEEDALE and MILBURN in the men's hut of the the "Wando Vale" homestead. One year later the school was set up in the newly erected Wando Vale Community Hall. In 1906 a school building was provided on the Casterton-Edenhope Rd approximately 8 miles NE of Casterton in the Parish of Wando Vale. This building, still used, is a one-room weatherboard structure with tiered rows of desks from the front platform. HT BEAR, assisted by C. DOUGHNEY, first taught in the new building, enrolling 94 pupils in 1907. Messrs. J. STORIE (Chairman) and T. EGERTON (Secretary) were the members of the initial Committee which met for the first time in June 1912. To ease over-crowding a new room was added in 1956.
Source: "Vision & Realisation", Vol 2, Education Department of Victoria.
The Head Teacher, Robert H Bear, applied for Conveyance Allowance (Pony Allowance) for the following children 18.7.1916.
Robert Bear writes that he had no hesitation in recommending the above family for the allowance as there are 10 in the family, the father is a struggling settler and without it it would be hardly possible for the children to attend school. The same is true for the Foster family, he writes, and both families are compelled to keep horses in order to attend.
In further correspondence he applies for
The Munro and Mullane children also come to school on horseback.
(PROV VPRS795/P Unit 2760 School 3397)