 Head Teacher: Miss Constance A. Chauncy 1910-1915 Photo taken outside of the Clyde Methodist Church The school was conducted in this building until the classroom was built in 1917 on Oroya Grove, Clyde. Photo- courtesy of Ridgway family member |
| Back Row | Unknown boy 1, Dave RIDGWAY, Ray LIGHTON, Unknown Boy 2 , Lily CROMB |
| Third Row | Eva RIDGWAY, Edith LIGHTON, Elsie RIDGWAY, Florrie NEUMANN, Iris STICK, Grace CROMB |
| SecondRow |
Ada RIDGWAY, Stella RIDGWAY, Thelma DEANSHAW, Unknown Boy 3 , Winifred or Edith WEST? Keith BRUNT, Les RIDGWAY, Lena HAYNES, Ruby DEANSHAW, Annie PETERSON |
| Front Row |
boy (1) McFEETERS, boy (2) McFEETERS, Clyde CROSKELL, Alex CROMB, Henry PETERSON, Andy STEWART, Wilbur CROSKELL,Unknown Boy, 4 Arthur DEANSHAW, Gilbert DEANSHAW |
| Holding the Flag | Alice HAYNES, Lila FORREST, Jessie FORREST, Sarah HAYNES |
School History connected with this photo
From 1910 to 1 April 1915 the school only catered for grades Prep to 3. Pupils who moved up to grade 4 attended other schools eg Cranbourne or Clyde North. Following a push from the Clyde town community, Miss Chauncy became the Principal and all grades were taught. The Pupil Register was reworked for both Clyde North School 118 and Clyde School 3664.
| Keith Clarence BRUNT | Arthur Harold DEANSHAW | Arthur Wilson McFEETER | Stella May RIDGWAY |
| Ruby Myrtle CHAPMAN | Lila Euphemia FORREST | boy or girl (1) McFEETER | Ada Florence RIDGWAY |
| Sylvie May CHAPMAN | Gladys Victoria GRESCHKE | boy or girl (2) McFEETER | Ruth Rawson RYLAND |
| Grace Grey CROMB | Frances Lena HAYNES | Lachlan William McDONALD | Nellie Victoria STEWART |
| Lily Margaret CROMB | Sarah Matilda HAYNES | Florence Eva NEUMANN | Andrew John STEWART |
| Alex Stewart CROMB | Alice Mary HAYNES | Harry OWEN | Florence Mavina STICK |
| Lucy Isabella CROMB | Edward JOHNSON | Annie Seymour PETERSON | Norman Livingstone RYLAND |
| Wilbur Ernest CROSSKELL | Annie Pearl H. JOHNSON | Henry Norman PETERSON | Lillian Ethel WEST |
| Albert John CUTLER | Alice J Mabel JOHNSON | Elsie May RIDGWAY | Winifred WEST |
| Ella DAWSON | Louisa Constance Ruby KENNETT | David RIDGWAY | |
| Ruby C. DEANSHAW | Edward KENNETT | Leslie John RIDGWAY | |
| Thelma Olive DEANSHAW | Raymond M. LIGHTON | Evelyn Jane RIDGWAY |
About the times/events the children experienced
The nation was at war and the defeat at Gallipoli, April 25 1915, would have been heard of by most people.
Miss Constance Augusta Chauncy (23 yrs) was officially appointed as a temporary assistant to the Clyde North School in Sept 1913 with the expectation of being in charge of the junior school in Clyde. (It is possible that she was there before then teaching before the placement was officially recorded) She was hardworking, earnest, diligent, and intelligent who did work of good value with a pleasant manner. In her life she overcame her lack of personal confidence to become a good teacher with good blackboard presentation and a good knowledge of teaching method. The school inspector credited Mr Thomas Twyford with having a good influence on her teaching and results when she was at Clyde.
Story behind this photograph
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| Thursday 27 May 1915 Pakenham. The various school committees through out the Pakenham district have endeavored to concentrate the attention of the scholars on passing events. Empire Day has been used as a special means to this end, whether it was the Union Jack or the Australian flag that floated over them. The salute of the flag. never meant so much to either scholar, teacher or comittee, as it did on this occasion. Throughout the shires of Dandenong, Berwick and Cranbourne Empire Day was celebrated at the various centres, where the school children were regaled with sweets, patriotic speeches, and programmes of songs and recitations suitable to the occasion, and the day passed off in a way that reflected credit upon all concerned. Demonstrations appropriate to the occasion were held at Carrum, Chelsea and Aspendale, and the school children were given a half holiday. - At the Mordialloc state school function Cr Groves was amongst those who addressed the scholars. At Clyde Mr Forest, on behalf of Mr T. Ridgway, one of the oldest residents in the district, presented a flag to the local State school. A programme of a patriotic nature was given, also recitations and essays by the children, followed by patriotic addresses. On Tuesday, at Dandenong, quite a number of young ladies were busily en gaged in the interests of the Belgian Relief Fund, and kept on disposing of Belgian Buttons until the sum of £27 5/4 had been realised. |
Thursday 3 June 1915 Empire Day at Clyde A correspondent sends along the following:-Enthusiastic celebrations were carried out in connection with Empire Day at the Clyde School, it being a memorable day for Clyde, not only because of it being Empire Day, but was memorable also to the Clyde parents, because it was the first Empire Day since they have had a school at the station, with the full number of grades, although they have been working for it for years. Prior to the celebrations, Mr Forrest, on behalf of Mr T. Ridgway, presented a Union Jack to the school, which was accepted on behalf of the school committee by its chairman (Mr. C. Croskell) who requested the head teacher (Miss Chauncey) to "break" the flag. The moment the flag was "'broken," all present joined in singing the National Anthem, after which the flag was saluted. A programme of songs, recitations, and essays was then given by the scholars, which reflected great credit on their teacher. Patriotic addresses were given by the chairman, the Rev. E. C. Thompson and Mr.Forrest. At an interval in the programme, refreshments were partaken of by all present, besides which each child received a bag of lollies. At the conclusion of the programme, the chairman thanked all those who had helped to make the gathering such a success, especially the Rev. E. C. Thompson for his eloquent and instructive address, also Miss Chauncey for the manner in which the children had carried out their part, and the ladies for providing refreshments. The gathering was brought to a c!ose by the singing of God Save the King and cheers for King and Empire. |
School Enrolments
By the time Miss Chauncy had left Clyde in September 1915 there were 48 children enrolled. A further 5 children enrolled before the end of the year bringing the numbers up to 53 children on the list.
What happened to the children after they left Clyde 3664?
The school register provides the following information:-
Of all the children enrolled in 1915, thirty-two left the district to finish their primary school education - in other words 6 families moved to other towns. The remaining 21 pupils finished their education and went on to work in the following ways:-
home duties (13), farm hand (1), Grocer's shop (4), factory hand (1) and one unknown.
Another pupil, Wilbur Crosskell became the first Clyde student to continue his education at Dandenong High School in 1922.
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Certificates awarded to children who enrolled in 1915.
| Pupils who obtained Merit Certificates | Pupils who obtained Qualifying Certificates |
| Lily Cromb | Nov 1919 | Gladys Scott | Nov 1916 | |
| Lucy Cromb | June 1923 | Arthur Deanshaw | 1918 | |
| Albert Cutler | June 1923 | Alex Cromb | Nov 1919 | |
| Wilbur Crosskell | Nov 1921 | Keith Brunt | Nov 1916 | |
| Ella Dawson | 1917 |
Parents' Occupations
Bootmaker 1 |
Carpenters 2 |
Home Duties 1 |
Mail Contractor 1 |
Railway Employees 2 |
Butcher 1 |
Farmers 12 |
Labourer 1 |
Market Gardener 1 |
Storekeeper 1 |
Family Details
Grandchildren and Cousins
- Ridgways – 8 grandchildren of Anthony Ridgway
- The children of Mrs Ethel Forrest (Mrs Ridgway and nee Pruden) were cousins to the Stick family
Children of the Johnson, Ryland, Kennett, McDonald, and West families needed to travel 3-4 miles to get to school.
The remainder of the children lived rather close with distances ranging between ¼ to 1 mile.
More Information- click on the following links
Sources
1. Pupil Register
2. Teachers' Reports - PROV
3. Ridgway Family Historian