We are lucky in Queensland in so far as so many of our public school students admission register have been deposited at the state archives. Over the years TDDFHS has purchased many of the registers and made them available to members and visitors. These include many small schools which no longer exist and many well outside our area.
We have an ongoing indexing project to ensure their easy accessibility.
The information on the registers has varied throughout the years but will include a date of enrollment ( and usually leaving), date of birth or estimate of age, religion, guardian or parent's occupation, (name in later rolls) and importantly their residence. Other children enrolled gives a snapshot of families in the district.
Link to .pdf file of
a listing of what is available at TDDFHS.
In the above register information included a note about the school closure due to the 1919 Influenza Epidemic. ( the Spanish Flu) A note against one child also indicates that he sat and passed the state scholarship examination to proceed to secondary school.
We also know that the younger boys in Class one were educated in the Girls and Infants part of the school, so it is worth checking information in those registers the year before.
Checking school registers can reveal so much about families!
