The following information gives you glimpses about Subiaco Primary School in the early days.

At the opening of the Subiaco School in 1897, a representative of the District Board of Education had remarked upon the swiftness of Subiaco’s transformation, pointing out that it had only recently been notable more for wildflowers than people, but that there was now a need to cultivate the ‘much more precious flowers’ of its youth.

Subiaco School had, by the turn of the century, itself been divided into a ‘Senior School’ and an ‘Infants School’, with the latter housed in a new building adjacent to the perpetually crowded older school in Bagot Road. It soon also became necessary to establish an ‘Intermediate School’, situated on the Hamersley Road side of the central block.

The Subiaco Infants School was for several years one of only two such schools in the metropolitan area.

From letters on attendance it is obvious that the School was quickly overcrowded. The 1904 letter shows that some of the children had moved to Thomas Street School which was opened that year. Education Department files show that in 1912 the Senior School role was 603 and the Infants 423. Pending additions to the Senior School, a room was rented from the Church of Christ.

Excerpts from Spillman K, 1985, Identity Prized A History of Subiaco; 1979, Seeds of Subiaco; Subiaco WA, University of Western Australia Press, City of Subiaco, Subiaco.

The school’s kazoo band played the national anthem before the delegation of VIPs was served food cooked by students from the domestic science centre.

They were also shown the approximately 50,000 metal bottle tops, two tonnes of scrap rubber – including truck tyres and babies dummies – and clothes that were collected to help clothe Londoners.

The children had made camouflage nets, sand mats and ropes and knitted hot water bottle covers.

The school also put on first aid demonstrations and had more than 800 war savings certificates.

“Sir James Mitchell expressed himself as being highly gratified with all that he had seen,” The West Australian Reported on July 9, 1942. ” On leaving, Sir James said that the pupils’ efforts were an example to be emulated by all in the community”.