School and education history in Victoria

Research Victoria's primary and secondary schools, text books and readers, past exams and results, curricula

School records

When researching schools it is important to note that there are a number of places where records could be, including but not limited to State Library Victoria:

State Library Victoria

Search the online catalogue by the school's name.

for example Grassmere State School no. 1817 records 1877-1985 [microform]/ Grassmere School Council.

Some examples of items we hold:

Victorian education records [microform]
- Includes: Expenditure on education, Port Phillip 1845, Lists of teachers employed/examined (assistants, monitors, etc.) 1848-1864, Inspectors' reports, Victorian schools 1863, Common School Committees, Classified role [i.e. roll?] of teachers, 1885-1886, Victoria. Roll of state schools and teachers, 1887-1900.

Also see

Researching Australian school records : a guide for family historians and local history enthusiasts.

Public Record Office Victoria (PROV)

Public Record Office Victoria
(PROV) is the main custodian for Victorian state government records. This includes school records.

Their website states that:

'School records created by Government schools that are still operating today are most likely still with those schools. Generally speaking, PROV holds school records for Government schools that have been closed.

Unfortunately records for many schools that operated and closed during the 19th and early 20th Centuries do not appear to have survived.'

See PROV's website for details of their extensive education and school records.

Also see PROV's research guide - Private lives, public records: Navigating through Victorian government archives for family research - which features a section on researching school and education records.

Records still held by the school

As PROV's website notes, schools still operating will most likely still have historical records.

for example Melbourne Melbourne Grammar School Archives

Local libraries or organisations

Records from a school that no longer exists may have also found their way into the local library, historical society or family history/genealogy group, sometimes even the local council.

for example Shepparton Family History Group holds school records from a range of localities including Ballarat, Echuca, Shepparton and many others.

Margaret in school uniform, ca. 1920-ca. 1960 H2009.143/251

State Library Victoria

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