Hope Valley School - site

Statement of Significance

Historic Value: The place is associated with both the Postans and Mortimer
families, early settlers in the Hope Valley area who made
significant contributions, individually and collectively, to the
development of the district, including the construction of the Hope Valley School.
The place is associated with the establishment and development of the Hope Valley region.

Social value: The place is valued by the community as the site of the original Hope Valley School, as evidenced by the placement of a commemorative plaque honouring the achievements of the early pioneers who established the school.

Level of significance: Historic site .

Physical Description

A granite monolith is all that remains to mark the former site of the Hope Valley School. The rock is approximately 1 metre high and is set back approximately 4 metres from the roads edge, immediately adjacent to a tuart tree growing in the road reserve. The rock is clearly visible from the Hope Valley Road and is fixed with a plaque that reads ‘Hope Valley School Site – The school building was constructed about 1894 by George Postans (approximately 20 years after the Hope Valley Townsite was first settled), on land donated by John Mortimer.
The first teacher employed at the school was E. Kershaw. The building was demolished by the State Energy Commission of W.A. in the 1950s’. A time capsule was placed under a memorial stone at the edge of the site by students of a later Hope Valley Primary School to mark the closure of their school in 2003.

History

In 1884, John and Emma Mortimer acquired Cockburn Sound Location 305, comprising 40 acres of land on the southern end of Long Swamp. Once settled at Hope Valley, John and Emma began the task of clearing their land for a market garden, supporting themselves and their nineteen children (two of whom died young) by cutting jarrah ‘knees’ for shipbuilders and splitting sheoak shingles. In 1886, the Mortimers purchased an additional 100 acres of land (Lot 7/1525) on the northern and eastern boundaries of his Lot 305.
With such a large family, the Mortimer’s were undoubtedly concerned with the provision of education in the Hope Valley area and in 1894, John Mortimer donated two acres of Lot 305 as a site for a school. The school was built that same year by John Mortimer and George Postans and was attended by their children, as well as the de San Miguel children.
The first teacher listed at the school was E. Kershaw, then the following year, 1895, J. Thompson was shown as teacher, although the school was listed as ‘Provisional’. In Education Department records, the school is not listed at all in the next two years, however in 1898 both Walter and Hannah Burns were listed as teachers. In the eight years from 1902, there were eight different teachers at Hope Valley School.
In 1911, Margaret O’Connell came to Hope Valley as a teacher, and by 1913 was married to James Mortimer, the third of John and Emma’s children. Margaret Mortimer taught at the school continuously until 1924. The Hope Valley School continued to operate until the end of 1927, and a new Hope Valley school was opened on a different site in 1934.
In the early 1950s, the land on which the original Hope Valley School was situated was resumed by the State Electricity Commission, with another parcel of land on Armstrong Road provided in exchange. The original school building on the site was demolished for the construction of an electrical sub-station.
It is understood Hope Valley Primary School, which documentary sources suggest was known for a time as the Naval Base Primary School, moved to the Armstrong Road-McLaren Avenue site in the early 1960s. Timber framed classroom blocks may have been relocated to this new site as the re-use of facilities was a common practice at the time.
In the early 2000s, the redevelopment of Hope Valley and Wattleup for mixed industrial and commercial uses and the relocation of residences away from the area by the State Government, contributed to declining school enrolments and the closure of the Hope Valley Primary School at the end of 2003. Some of the school buildings were relocated out to the Magenup Community Centre at Wandi and re-opened in November 2006.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: Low
Authenticity: Low

Condition

Site Only

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.