Pittwater Online News

The Newport School: 1888 To 2018

SKETCH: PICTURESQUE NEW SOUTH WALES — MANLY TO PITTWATER. See Page 1368.] 1. D Y Lagoon. 2. The Coast looking from hill above Narrabeen. 3. Pittwater Basin. 4. Public School,  Newport. 5. Long Reef and Collaroy Beach. 6. At Newport. PICTURESQUE NEW SOUTH WALES—MANLY TO PITTWATER.-. (1890, June 21). The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), p. 1374. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article162074462 

Newport School is Pittwater's oldest continually run school, celebrating 125 years of having a schoolhouse in 2016 and 128 years of exisiitng. 

Although relatively close to 'Sydney Town' compared to some rural areas were teachers were sent after the introduction in 1880 of the 'Public Instruction Act', there were apparently not enough children to warrant a teacher being provided.

A Provisional School could be established in areas where at least 15 children, but fewer than the 25 required for a Public School, could be expected to attend. Parents provided the building and furniture, while the Council of Education or later the Department of Education paid the teacher and supplied books and equipment. During the 1880s the minimum number of children required was reduced to 12; from 1898 the minimum was 10, and from 1945 it was nine. After 1882 there were provisions for the Department to provide all or part of the cost of buildings, but well into the twentieth century parents often met most of the cost. The schools were generally staffed by untrained teachers or by teachers of the lowest classification. Archives In Brief 26 - Schools, 1788-c1979 - State Records of NSW

THE NEW EDUCATION ACT.

The ‘Public Instruction Act' of 1880, comes into operation on 1st May, 1880. Following are its principal provisions .— The Public Schools Act of 1866, under which bur present system of public schools were established is repealed, and the Council of Education abolished. All votes are to be expended by the Minister, and all officers to be appointed and removed by the Governor. Five classes of schools are to be established and maintained, namely (1) public schools as now carried on, (2) superior public schools, (4) high schools for boys, to prepare students for tho University, and (5) high schools for girls. Teaching shall be non-sectarian, but the words 'secular instruction' shall beheld to include general religious teaching as distinguished from dogmatical and polemical theology, and lessons in the history of England and in the history of Australia shall form part of the course of secular instruction.

Evening schools may be established at the request of at least ten persons. Fees— 3d per child per week up to four of one family ; 1s. per family of four or over; to be paid to the teacher or other authorised receiver, and may be recovered summarilly. Fees are not to be enforced where parents and guardians are unable to pay. Free railway passes will be granted to school children.

Four hours per day are set apart tor secular instruction, and not more than one hour for religious instructions by clergymen or other religious teachers, but no pupil shall be required to receive any general or special religious instruction if : the parents or guardians object. After the expiration of three months from the passing of the act it will be obligatory upon parents to send children between six and fourteen years of age to school for a period of not less than seventy days in each half year, unless the children are being instructed regularly and efficiently in some other manner, or unless there is no school within two miles. Penalty for non-compliance with this section. — 5s for the first offence, and 20s for every succeeding offence, the alternative being imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven days. 

Provisional schools may be established in certain cases, and itinerant teachers may be appointed. Aid to denominational schools is to cease after December 31st, 1882, and such schools may then be replaced by public schools. Children attending public schools will be entitled, when educated up to the standard required by the act, to receive a certificate to that effect, signed by an inspector.THE NEW EDUCATION ACT. (1880, April 24). The Riverine Grazier (Hay, NSW : 1873 - 1954), , p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article141036190

The Department of Public Instruction head office in Bridge Street, Sydney - image courtesy State Records of NSW

A request for a school in Newport in 1887 was denied, as, at Barrenjoey a new school had been opened where we now have a park beside Palm Beach kindergarten and children were expected to attend this, The Barrenjoey School, which began in 1872 in the dunes below the lighthouse and had an official schoolhouse built, two schoolhouses later, that opened on January 25th, 1886. Some records state that even when Newport was established it was on what was termed 'a half day basis' and that students also studied at the Barrenjoey School.

In 1887 though, the Bulfin family, became part of the resident number at Newport, and they had several children. They joined the Boulton children, who had been in Pittwater (Mona Vale Verge of Newport) from 1872 and then at Newport, where Boulton's Farm was established at what is now the corner of Barrenjoey Road and Beaconsfield street.

Apart from running the coaches and mails to Pittwater, farming leased and then owned land, and then taking over the licence and eventually ownership of the Newport Hotel, William Boulton seems to have spent a fair amount of time on the coast as well, travelling to and from where the maize etc. was sold, and found 'things' along his route. These small snippets of information give us an insight into what Newport was like prior to the advent of photography of the area through some descriptions, Notices and sketches:

FOUND, a DINGY, at the Long Reef. The owner can have it on paying expenses. WILLIAM BOULTON, Mona Vale, Pittwater. Advertising (1874, September 19). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 1. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13340056

The tenancy of Mona Vale farm became William Boulton's in 1872. He was at Mona Vale until January 1882, when he took out a publican’s licence for the Newport Hotel and then bought the hotel which was not sold until 22 years after he passed away in 1919. Illustration from the Pittwater and Hawkesbury Lakes Album. 1880, Courtesy the Mitchell Library

FOR many years a teak beam-one of the relics of the ill-fated Dunbar-has been jammed between the rocks at Narrabeen. It was recently extricated and taken to Bolton's farmhouse, where it may be seen bleached like deal on the outside, but retaining its natural colour internally. NEWS OF THE DAY. (1880, August 27). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 5. Retrieved fromhttp://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13467015

Publicans' licenses were granted to … William Boulton, Newport. POLICE. CENTRAL POLICE COURT. (1882, February 1). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 3. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13504198 

Renewals of licences were granted to the following –W Boulton Newport Hotel, POLICE. (1883, January 31). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 5. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13526591 

NEWPORT HOTEL.-WILLIAM BOULTON begs to inform the public that, having taken the above, he is prepared to offer the best accommodation to pleasure - seekers and others. Choicest Assortment of LIQUORS kept. Coaches run from Manly MONDAYS, WEDNESDAYS, THURSDAYS, and FRIDAYS, at 8 a.m., for Newport and Gosford ; FRIDAYS for the Hawkesbury River, at 3.30 p.m.Advertising (1882, April 17). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 12. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13509543

A Meeting of the residents of Pittwater was held on Saturday evening at the Bolton Hotel, for the purpose of urging the Government to make the road from the Lagoon to Newport. Mr. Crawford, who was voted to the chair, explained the object of the meeting, and drew attention to the state of the road, which in some parts was almost impassable. He stated that he was convinced it was only necessary to bring the matter under the notice of the Minister for Works to get the work done. After several speeches had been made, the following gentlemen were appointed to form a deputation to wait upon the Minister:-Messrs. Mc Koowa, Dr. Tibbitta, J. Riley, B. James, and F. Smith. NEWS OF THE DAY. (1883, March 28). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 7. Retrieved fromhttp://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13531240

Mattamolla, Joining National Park £660-Mr Jeannerett, lot 19, Lawson Estate, .....Mr Street, lots 28 to 30, sec L, Newport Estate, Pittwater, £15-Mr Turner, lots 81 and 32, sec. V, £10-Mr. Boulton, lot 81, sec K Newport, £6-Mr. West, ...Total amount of sales for week, £13 071 PROPERTY SALES. (1884, September 20). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 15. Retrieved fromhttp://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13562505

Picture of Newport hotel above is dated 10.7.1884 by Robert Hunt and courtesy Pittwater Local stduies - Historical Images, Mona Vale Library, Park Street, Mona Vale.

William Boulton, licensee of the Newport Hotel, Newport, applied, under the 11th section of the Amending Licensing Act, to have the license fee with respect, to his premises reduced from £30 to £16. In the application it was stated that the applicant’s premises are actually required for the accommodation of travellers, and are not accessible by any practicable roadway to any licensed premises, situated within 10 miles of the aforesaid premises. The police reported favourably with respect to the- application. Inspector Lenthall stated that there was no licensed house within 14 miles of that kept by Boulton. That there were no people about there to support a house, and it was required exclusively for the accommodation of persons travelling from Manly to Broken Bay and other places in that district, that recently he had to visit on duty the neighbourhood of the licensed house. The steamer which conveyed him thither broke down, and if it had not been for the existence of Boulton's house he would have had to appeal to some of the settlers to find him accommodation. Mr. Addison said that the applicant was in accordance with the law thoroughly entitled to a reduction, and the Bench considered that on other grounds the adoption of such a course was desirable. The license fee would therefore be reduced to £15. POLICE. (1885, January 30). The Sydney Morning Herald(NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 5. Retrieved fromhttp://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13583696

An example of one of the many steamers (ferries) that brought thousands of people to Pittwater each holiday as 'excursionists', which became stuck, due to tide it would seem, in this instance:

Wiseman's Ferry. March 10.

Considerable disappointment was experienced here when it became known on Saturday forenoon that the mail steamer Hawkesbury had got aground at Newport, and would not be up till 11 o'clock that night. Many waited till midnight, and even 1 o'clock, and yet no steamer came, and she did not turn up till Sunday evening, fully 24 hours behind her usual time. It appears she was taking in machinery, &c., used for boring for coal, from a punt alongside, when she was blown broadside on to the sandbank and got fast, as the tide was falling. The evening tide did not rise high enough ; consequently they did not get off till Sunday morning. The Sydney passengers booked to be conveyed by her from Brooklyn (Peat's Ferry ) to Sackville Reach had to return the same way they came, as there was no other boat to take them on. Wiseman's Ferry. (1889, March 23). The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), , p. 617. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article161933549 

William Boulton to Carl A. Schaffer, Newport Hotel, Newport LICENSING COURT. (1885, October 9). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 7. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13599703

From William Boulton, of the Newport Hotel, Newport, to James Aylward. LICENSING COURT. (1886, May 21). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 5. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13644041

ONLY HOTEL IN DISTRICT. For SALE, at NEWPORT. Pittwater, WATERSIDE HOTEL and 3 Acres Land, 300 feet deep-water frontage, terminus for steamers and coaches. First-class investment.  BLUNSUM and CO, Montagu-chambers, corner of Hunter and Elizabeth streets. Advertising (1886, November 12). Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), , p. 1. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107315582 

William Boulton to William Bulfin, Newport Hotel, Newport. LICENSING COURT. (1887, April 1). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28349476

William Bulfin and his wife Alice were not the licencees for very long, although longer than others. An article which appears in 1889 eludes to an incident and this is also a year in which Mr. Bulfin was involved in an accident:

William Bulfin, licensee of the Newport Hotel, Newport, was summoned by Leon Houreux, licensee of the Rocklily Hotel, Pittwater, for stealing eight fencing rails, the property of the complainant. A number of witnesses were heard for tho prosecution. The evidence for the defence was in effect that the rails were floating about in the water, and were gathered by a man named Brooks; Bulfin swore he was not guilty of the offence. Mr. Le said he was not satisfied as to the innocence of Bulfin. It was evident that a number of untruths had been told by some of the witnesses. The defendant was ordered to pay the value of the rails, 4s.,and fined 40s., or in default two months to gaol.
POLICE. (1889, June 5). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 11. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13733869

BULFIN V. HARPER. Mr. Gordon, instructed by Mr. W. T. A. Shorter, appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. J. L. Campbell, instructed by Messrs. Want, Johnson, and Co., for the defendant. This was an action brought by William Bulfin, of Newport, against William A. Harper, the elder, of Manly Beach, to recover compensation for personal injuries sustained by him and also damage to his buggy and harness, owing to the negligence of the defendant's servant. The case, as stated by plaintiff, was that on the afternoon of the 1stOctober last he was driving a horse attached to a buggy along the road to Newport. His wife accompanied him, and when about four miles away from Manly, and  opposite the Redman Estate, he suddenly came upon a van standing at right angles to the road, with the shafts about 2ft. over the metal of the road-way. There was no one in charge of the van, nor was a horse attached to it, and the vehicle was partly hidden by the scrub on the side of the road. Plaintiff's horse, upon coming up to tho van, "propped," and jumping to the other side of the road, brought the buggy into collision with a culvert post. The force was such that plaintiff and Mrs. Bulfin were thrown violently out and severely bruised; the harness was also broken and the buggy damaged. The injuries to the male plaintiff were of such a nature that he had since been unable to get about without using a walking-stick, but those sustained by Mrs. Bulfin were less serious. Evidence was also given that the van was the property of the defendant, and that the aligned road was 66ft. and the metalling in the locality 15ft. wide. It was further stated that the scrub grew up to the edge of the metalling, and therefore over a portion of the aligned road, on each side.
The defence set up was that the van was hired to a man named Martin in connection with certain surveying operations, and if negligence was proved he was liable, and not defendant. Evidence was also given that the shafts of the van did not project over the metalling of the roadway. The case was not concluded when the Court adjourned. METROPOLITAN DISTRICT COURT. (1890, February 14). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 3. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13759374

Transfers of Publicans Licenses were granted as follows: - From William Bulfin to Thomas H. Hodges, for the Newport Hotel, Newport - LICENSING MEETING. (1889, July 5). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 4. Retrieved fromhttp://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13731956

This may not be the advertisement run to attract a teacher for Newport as the 'pupils' tally doesn't correspond with how many children were now in the valley of Newport, but it does give us an insight into what was required:

To TEACHERS.-Wanted, a SCHOOLMASTER for a Provisional School on the coast. He must be respectable, unmarried, and qualified to teach all the prescribed subjects in the standard of proficiency of the Department of Education. Salary £5 per head, with board and lodging; nine pupils guaranteed. Apply by letter. T. T. P.. 11, Bligh-street, Sydney. Advertising (1888, January 24). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 18. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13677852 

Elizabeth Giles is recorded as 'Lizzie Noble Giles' who commenced her teaching career in 1881 at age 20. Miss Giles was appointed to Newport on the 25th of April 1888. Newport is called 'Mona Vale' even though the school was on the edge of Mona Vale and in Newport:

APPOINTMENT OF TEACHERS -The following teachers have been appointed to the positions and schools specified in connection with their respective names

Miss Elizabeth Giles, teacher, Provisional school, Mona Vale; GOVERNMENT GAZETTE. (1888, May 19). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 10. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13686918 

Names of pupils enrolled/admitted 1st day – Monday 30th of April 1888: Please note that some children were enrolled at a very young age!

1. Leighton Scott 9 years,  George A Baker 9.10, Walter J Baker 3 6 months, 1. Minnie Scott 13.4, Elizabeth Baker 8, Violet Baker 5

Enrolled and admitted May 1st, 1888

William Bulfin 12, John C. Bulfin 11, Edmond Bulfin 9.6, Richard Boulton 14.1, Edward Boulton 10, Lucy Bulfin 14, Annie Bulfin 14 – twins, Alice Bulfin 13, Blanche Bulfin 8.6, Maude Bulfin 6.6, Violet Bulfin 4.6, Lillie E Bulfin 2.6  - 18 students!

Two acres of land were resumed from William Boulton, who had purchased a block in 1884. He was paid  £380, for the original Queens Parade site for the school.

Some of these early students continued their education – the Bulfin boys would drive a sulky to Manly to study science. Muriel Bulfin, daughter of John Bulfin, left home to take a Commercial course, travelling by bus. Considered a beautiful girl

Newport Telegraph Office.

Last Saturday the new telegraphic office at Newport was formally opened by Mr. Cracknell, the chief superintendent, in the presence of a large assemblage of residents and visitors. Mr. Cracknel delivered a short address, and formally declared the office opened and communication established with the rest of the world. He asked the visitors to join with him in thanking Messrs. Shorter and Boulton for the efforts they had made in bringing about this desirable result. A large number of ladies and gentlemen then adjourned to Bulfin's Newport Hotel, where dinner was provided for those who had taken a prominent part in the proceedings. This opportunity was taken to present the Christmas prizes at the Newport public school, which has been open for about nine months, and is under the supervision of Miss Giles. Various prominent residents had contributed to the prizes, amongst which was a watch, donated by Mr. Aitken to the most efficient pupil. After the prizes had been distributed, an address, signed by the Misses Bulfin and Miss M. Scott, on behalf of their fellow pupils, was presented to Miss Giles. The address was accompanied by a gold-bracelet and a smelling-bottle. The presentation was suitably acknowledged by Miss Giles, after which, the proceedings terminated. Newport Telegraph Office. (1888, December 27). Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), p. 8. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article108111373

This 'school' was in a tent, an illustration of which is below from a reporter visiting around the same time a politician was  launching his election campaign. In 1889 the District Inspector visited the school in a tent, a day it, fortunately, rained. It was deemed advisable to provide the Newport children with an actual schoolhouse.

TENDERS FOR WORKS IN CONNECTION WITH PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

TENDERS will be received at this office for the Works specified in the schedule hereunder up to 12 o'clock noon on the various dates set forth in the second column. Tenders are to be addressed to the Under-Secretary, Department of Public Instruction, Sydney, and endorsed, "Tender for [... insert the name of school and tho work to which the tender relates]." , J. H. CARRUTHERS.

MONA VALE. Newport-New Buildings. Where Plans and specifications may be seen and Forms of Tender obtained - Department of Public Instruction and Public School, Mona Vale - Date up until which Tender will be accepted - March 17, 1890.Advertising (1890, February 25). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13760824

The speech made on day foundation stone was laid – written in longhand by William Boulton and found inside the original foundation stone when this was being cut to add to the new Infants Block completed in 1969:

Suburban Railway Agitation.

SKETCH: PICTURESQUE NEW SOUTH WALES — MANLY TO PITTWATER.

See Page 1368.]

1. D Y Lagoon. 2. The Coast looking from hill above Narrabeen. 3. Pittwater Basin. 4. Public School,  Newport. 5. Long Reef and Collaroy Beach. 6. At Newport. PICTURESQUE NEW SOUTH WALES—MANLY TO PITTWATER.-. (1890, June 21). The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), p. 1374. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article162074462 

1890 - Newport Hotel and wharf sketch from above and below pictures and article

THE SKETCHER.

Picturesque New South Wales. Manly to Newport.

After the usual pleasant trip across the harbour from Sydney to Manly, and landing at the wharf. at the latter place on a clear winter's morning, giving promise of a delightful drive to come after, one is surprised at the accommodation in the form of coaches of all descriptions that are ready to convey intending passengers to Newport, a quiet, unassuming locality about 14 miles distant. Since the trip has become more popular, owing in ...the affairs in regard to the coach have been carried on in a more businesslike manner, coach proprietors seeing the necessity of putting on extra vehicles and competing with each other in every way. This, however, if rough on the horses, does not militate against the pleasure of one of the most enjoyable drives near Sydney, where one can see all kinds of scenery on the way, the variety of which conducing to lively conversation, an item not common on the usual up-country coach journey. Leaving the wharf at a smart pace the coach (if it carries the mails) first makes a short stay at the post-office, and then ' all aboard,' and away she goes on a very good stretch of flat road for about three miles, passing en route over the Manly Lagoon Bridge, from which on the right hand can be seen the breakers over the ridge of sand separating at low tide the lagoon from the sea, while on the left high hills loom up above the low marsh and scrub laud which runs at our feet. Further on we pass some pretty residences of country –loving people who when the bustle of business is over, retire to the quiet freshness of this salubrious retreat. As the road winds in and out fresh peeps of scenery open up to our view, and glimpses of the sea are to be seen beneath the trees until we mount a stiff little hill, from which we get the subject of our first sketch, a very well-known view of the D. Y. Lagoon. Called so from its likeness to those letters of the alphabet. Here the ti-tree scrub forms a foreshore with the lagoon; then comes the fine stretch of rose-tinted sand, backed up by tall cliffs running right away to the North Head, while on the sea inward and outward bound steamers and sailing craft of all kinds help to make up a beautiful scene. We have plenty of time to see the foregoing while the horses have a rest. Starting away again with a ' gee ' and a crack of the whip, we rattle along on our way to Narrabeen, passing on our right Long Reef and Collaroy Beach, before reaching the halfway-house, the Narrabeen Hotel. Long Reef is well known to sailing men in Sydney as the turning point in many of the sailing matches for the larger craft, while the beach takes its name after the s.s. Collaroy, which was wrecked there some few years ago. The journey can be broken for a short stay at Narrabeen, where the view in sketch 2 is obtained from the top of the hill to the left and in front of the hotel. The tourist will be amply repaid the trouble of climbing the hill from the summit of which the view is obtained, the various headlands running away into the distance, showing the entrance to Brisbane Water and the Hawkesbury River, Barrenjoey Head and lighthouse being above the two headlands just above the lagoon ;and, passing along at the foot of the hills on the left, will be seen the road to Newport, which at last disappears over the bald hill over the lagoon. Good fishing and occasionally shooting are to be obtained in this locality ; but, as we propose going further, we will mount the coach and away. On from here we pass a few of the earliest settlements locked up, unfortunately, for a time, by the people of little progress, and pass on the way the Rock Lily Hotel and a few houses and stores. From this point a few very stiff hills are encountered, necessitating at times (when there is a heavy load on the coach),on the part of the male passengers, a walk. The stretch, however, does one good, besides relieving the horses. At length we arrive at the top of the cliffs, -where we make a detour round Bushranger's hill, on a very picturesque road, and leave at right angles the main Barranjoey-road, to a short run to our destination.

At Newport there are two accommodation places — an hotel and a large boarding-house — so that everyone can be suited as to their particular ways of living. 

A very interesting sight here for townspeople is the Public school, as sketched, a kind of building which is rarely seen except upcountry. Here, under canvas, the Public schoolteacher instructs the young hopefuls in the mysteries of arithmetic, elementary physiology, &c,&c. A reading lesson on the latter subject was being conducted at the time of our visit, and, very appropriate too. From the hotel verandah a very fine view is obtained of Pittwater basin, while on the opposite shore orchards and houses are numerous. Newport has of late years been visited by large steamers at holiday time, by which many hundreds of people have availed themselves of visiting this charming locality, where fishing and other harmless sports may be indulged in to the heart's content. The proposed railway, for which the Manly and North Shore people are agitating, would open up and populate this, one of the finest fresh air resorts near Sydney, and would be used especially at holiday times by many people who fear the miseries of seasickness. The visitors are now so numerous on holidays that there is insufficient accommodation on the coaches. We believe the Government possesses large tracts of land that could be made available for township and revenue purposes between Manly and Pittwater, and this fact will probably influence our Government and our Railway Commissioners in the answer they will give to the request of the residents for a railway. No part of the coast is more beautiful or picturesque, or . could afford such magnificent sites for homesteads. We may take one portion as an example, that round about Narrabeen, which has been so well described by Mr. F. Myers, whose words we will quote for the benefit and instruction of our readers: — 

'Shortly after leaving Manly a pretty stiff hill has to be ascended. Then up through narrow crevices between great grey crags, up over broad oak -covered spaces upon the mountain breast, up through the forest and along the ridge, till a plateau is readied, central in which stands a 'Trig' station. It would be well if you could be taken up to that stone cairn blindfolded and then suddenly restored to sight. It is high above all the world around, and how broad, how bright, how beautiful is that world. All to eastward the seaboard and the sea, all the capes and beaches from South Head to Barrenjoey, here the leaping breakers, there the rolling surf, miles of foam and leagues on leagues of blue, beneath and beyond you. Ships coming and going to the great seaport, boats fishing, yachts cruising, over all the blue. And a little to the north of east the houses of the city are seen, the Lighthouse tower bold and prominent, and all the heights of Waverley and North Shore, -with their white walled houses gleaming. Look first to the south, and sweep the horizon, thence till facing right north something more beautiful than you had conceived of appears. The hills seem to open there, as to disclose some treasure-house of nature. What is it? You see a lake, that reaches away in magnificent perspective to a distant northern shore. What is it? What is that island mountain stretching so boldly across its breast r Not so vast as the surrounding hills, but peculiar m shape, a bold head that must look to the sea, a Iions body, as of a beast crouching, like, like, what is it like? Suddenly recognition comes, you have seen it before, it is the lion that guards the seaward approach to the Hawkesbury. It is Elliot Island; yes, Elliot Island, and that dear blue lake is a patch of Broken Bay. But turn still around, look over all the high Hawkesbury mountains, the crowns of the giants who guard the glories of the Basin, and Brerowra, and. Cowan Creek, and Jerusalem Creek, and Peat's and Wiseman's Ferry, and stop, for you will not be disposed to look any farther, at the sheet of blue immediately beneath. That is Narrabeen. There, enfolded by the hills, secure from every rude wind, are the upper waters of Lake Narrabeen, upon which we shall sail by and by. Not yet, we will not descend just yet, though the beach is but half-a-mile distant. We will gallop a round the flat crown of Mount Ramsay, a plateau of 200 acres, and on its seaward edge will ride carefully in places lest we crush the wildflower-beds, which here seem set out as by most skilful gardeners' art, all colours delicately blended, and fringed by grey rock or dark green moss. We shall get down the precipice face easy enough, and, descending, we shall find that it is not the rude, bold, inaccessible bastion it appears, but a beautifully broken hillside, clothed with fig, and pittosporum, and oak, and innumerable ferns, with a dozen bowery gullies, down which trickle little streams, to waste themselves upon the broad green plain. Every morning the rising sun lights up those dainty bowers, and some day, surely, and in no dim future, other faces than those of the shining leaves, the smiling flowers, and the dew beaded, drooping, delicate v tinted ferns will lookout thence to that ever-changing, expansive sea. For the railway must come here soon, and with the railway the people of the city. The railway should bring the Narrabeen country within an hour of the city, and then — let us make the most of now and never heed then, nor linger or ponder too long about any single hill. If the tide be low, get down to the beach at the foot of the mountain, down where a year ago the Collaroy lay stranded, and there you may ride as you please for three miles upon the hard white sand. The breakers will thunder to your feet, and their roar will be echoed from the hills. You will see nothing but the gleaming white and rolling blue, and the headland of the lake always wearing.’ 

We have not space to follow the description further, and speak of the luxurious vegetation and floral beauties of the place. We hope we have said sufficient to indicate the beauty of scenes .which lie, with so many others, so close to Sydney as to be within a short ride. THE SKETCHER. (1890, June 21). The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), p. 1367. Retrieved fromhttp://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article162074665 

The new public school at, Newport was opened on Saturday. A grand entertainment was given on the occasion.  Advertising (1891, February 23 - Monday). Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), , p. 5. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article114310657

No description could be found of the 'grand entertainment' but it may have been similar to one which occurred later that year. Sir Henry Parkes, 'the Father of Federation' and then Premier of N.S.W. visited during an election year and promised;

SIR HENRY PARKES AT NEWPORT

The electoral campaign so far as the Ministry are Concerned was opened yesterday, when Sir Henry Parkes addressed a small meeting at Hodge's Newport Hotel in the afternoon. Mr. W. Bulfin occupied the chair. 

Sir HENRY PARKES,who met with a hearty reception said he had come out to Newport that morning with some pleasurable anticipations. He remembered addressing a small meeting in that immediate neighbourhood some time ago, and he met with so much cordiality and altogether so much enjoyed his visit that he felt certain that he should have a repetition of that kind of enjoyment. 

Also he had to tell them that the Government was considering better requirements for the Public school there, for the accommodation and shelter of the children attending. ST. LEONARDS. (1891, June 9). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 5. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13827407

According to one of his opposite numbers, Mr. G. R. Dibbs, and although the meeting and speech given was at the Newport Hotel on a Tuesday morning and those school children possibly should have been in...school;

'Sir Henry Parkes had slandered him at every conceivable opportunity, but had not the courage to meet him in the heart of the city, and so had to sneak in by the back door and open the campaign for his party in some outlandish place called Newport, where his audience consisted of six electors, as many school children, together with a few policemen and reporters. In order to get these few miserable votes in support of his St. Leonards candidature, Sir Henry Parkes did not stop at the grossest corruption; for he promised Newport two jetties if it returned him, and the Manly tramway as well, well knowing that the latter had been condemned by the present Parkes Government. The General Election. DIBBS IN SOUTH SYDNEY. (1891, June 12). Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : 1888 - 1954), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44068479

The Premier went on to Manly to speak in the evening, when people may not be at work fishing and in their farm fields or at home doing umpteen loads of washing by hand. According to the SMH:

SIR HENRY PARKES AT MANLY.

Sir Henry Parkes addressed a very large number of the residents of Manly at the Aquarium Hall last evening. The audience included a goodly number of ladies. The chair was occupied by Mr J. Cameron (Mayor of Manly) Sir Henry Parkes, who was well received, said it was right that he should call their minds to a short speech which he made on the occasion on which Mr. Barton spoke in that hall on the question of Federation. At that time, with no immediate prospect of dissolution of Parliament before him, he told them it was his intention to come to Manly as one of their representatives before many days to address them, and he would have taken that course had not the course of things taken the turn it had since that time. He was there then, however, under quite different circumstances. The Parliament of this country had now undergone the process of dissolution-that was the Legislative Assembly, the only body that was capable of dissolution, had boon dis-solved. As he was Premier, and responsible for offering that advice to his Excellency the Governor, it seemed to him, speaking to that large meeting of his constituents, his first duty was to justify the advice ho and his colleagues gave...SIR HENRY PARKES AT MANLY. (1891, June 9). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 5. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13827405

George Dibbs won that election after arranging support from the Labour party (then known as the Labour Electoral League of New South Wales), who took a significant number of votes and seats from both of the previous two major parties in the Assembly, giving Labour the balance of power in their first ever N.S.W. state election. How many residents of the 'outlandish Newport' voted for him is hard to tell. The school children present would have been the offspring of the publican; what parent would deny their child a chance to meet a real live Premier?

Newport New Hall

On Saturday night the hall at Newport lately erected for social and intellectual entertainments was opened by a concert given by Mr. Graham and the Euphonic Orchestra: The hall is picturesquely situated amid bush surroundings and gum trees, and was rendered gay with bunting festooned from the trees. Boat loads of people came from Bayview and the surrounding districts, and after the concert an impromptu dance closed the evening. The interior of the hall is nicely decorated with paintings and half life-sized figures of classical and literary heroes. A small stage, with proscenium and footlights, enables dramatic performances to be given there. Newport New Hall. (1891, November 9).Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), , p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article111992659 

Mona Vale, Pitt Water [cartographic material] / Mills & Pile, auctioneers, 130 Pitt Street ; J.M. Cantle draftsman, 129 Pitt St - Author:Mills & Pile from National Library of Australia digitised item Scale Scale [ca. 1:4,875] (E 151°19'/S 33°37').  John Sands, lith., [1891] .  Notes: Sales plan for land in the suburbs of Newport and Bilgola in Sydney, N.S.W., bounded by Bulgola Road, Queens Parade, Pitt Water Road, Beaconsfield Street and Crescent Road. At head of title: Third subdivision. "Sale in the rooms, Thursday, 19th Dec." "A.W. Stephen, licensed surveyor under R.P.A, 50 Castlereagh Street." Also available online http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-230421196

The Boulton's home on the corner of Beaconsfield Streets and Barrenjoey road - this was also the location of a well according to some sources where the coach horses would be stopped for watering(a drink!). The house is said to have been a two story brick residence. - sourced from 'Early Times of Newport Public School and District' compiled by Pat Schuhmacher, published 1971. Worth noting: 

Sinking of well etc.  at Newport, nine, tenders, Mr. Wm. Boulton, £44, lowest. TENDERS RECEIVED. (1904, September 20). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 3. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14624853

On February 21st 1900 Newport school officially became 'Newport Public School', meaning there were more children in attendance. Local records indicate there were over 100 people living in Newport by now and 20 homes.

Newport Public School 1900 - showing the school bell - courtesy Pittwater Local studies - Historical Images, Mona Vale Library.

Concerts held at Newport Hall where the schoolchildren sang the then current songs and their 'tutor' is named - this also informs us that what was taught at the Newport school had gone beyond writing, reading and maths and that children as young as 3 were attending:

A concert was held on Saturday last at the Newport Hall, Pittwater, in aid of the N.S.W. Patriotic Fund. The hall was crowded, and the entertainment a thorough success. The pupils of the Newport Public School opened the concert with a children's chorus, 'Little Gleaners,' the stage being set as a harvest scene, and later they sang, with Miss Black's assistance, 'Hush, the Bogie Man.' Little Mymie Bramley (aged 3) was heartily applauded for her contribution of 'Children of the Empire,' with a well-rendered chorus. 'Those who gained encores for their contributions wore Miss E. Black ('Absent-Minded Beggar'). Miss Black ('Goodbye'), Mr. A. Wetherall ('The Don' and 'The Grass Widower'), Mr. J. Pearson ('Henry V: Before Harfleur' and 'The Light Brigade'), l&r. C. ; M. Burney ('That's How I Saved My Life' and 'Fosi-: poned. Rather'), and Mr. H. Phillips ('Sleeping : Camp' and 'All Coons Look Alike to Me'), Miss W. Stratton sang 'The Gift of Rest,' and played a couple of piano solos; and Mrs. Brownlow 'The Sleeping Camp'. Other items were rendered by Mr. T. Dudgeon, Mr. A. Simpson, Mrs. Stuart Greig, Mr. W. Eaines, and Mr. Geo. Solomon. The accompanists were Misses E. Black and Winifred Stratton. The entertainment was promoted by Mrs. and the Misses Black, and was ably assisted by Mrs. Norris and Mr. Stuart Greig (treasurer). The children in their choruses reflected credit on Miss Black's careful tuition, their contributions being especially well rendered. The sum netted by Miss Ettie Black for her singing of 'The A.M.B.,' amounted to £1 4s 11d. The result of the concert will be the handing over to the fund of a sum of over £7. SOCIAL ITEMS. (1900, May 25). Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), , p. 8. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113718246 

Another, also to raise funds for those elsewhere:

BAZAAR AT NEWPORT. A bazaar in aid of Indian Famine Fund has been held in the Newport Hall. On the opening day there was a large gathering of ladies and gentlemen, among those present being Mr. Dugald Thomson, M.L.A. Mrs. Norris, teacher of the Public school, acted as secretary, and Mr. E. J. Higgins as treasurer. BAZAAR AT NEWPORT. (1900, November 12). The Sydney Morning Herald(NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 5. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14343635 

  

Same road, March 2016

1 A glimpse of coast scenery from Newport-road. 2. Bay View from Newport Wharf. 3. Bush scene near Newport. 4. View near Terminus at Pittwater. 5. Broken Bay. VIEWS NEAR TERMINUS OF MANLY-PITTWATER CYCLE PATHS. Manly to Pittwater Cycle Path. (1901, August 24). The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), p. 478. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article165234800

Postcard Courtesy of National Museum of Australia

A new teacher for Newport Public School was appointed in time for Spring:

Department of Public Instruction,

Sydney, 10th September, 1902.

THE Public Service Board have approved of the transfers of the following Teachers to the schools and positions specified in connection with their respective names.

JOHN PERRY.

Mr. Robt. Harper, from Sherbrooke to Newport Public, as Teacher. Government Gazette Appointments and Employment (1902, September 12). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001), , p. 6548. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article222046201

Robert Harper, born 1857, began his career as a teacher in 1872 at Surry Hills school and served at Newport, with a relieving teacher filling a gap for a while in 1903, until 1917. He had a problem when he first arrived, soon seen to by those who lived here. In November 1902 Stewart Grieg, then proprietor of the Newport Hotel, and the Newport Progress Association, wrote to the Chief Inspector, stating

"...draw your attention to the fact that the present schoolmaster (a married man with children) has no house that he can rent. Every home in Newport being either let or occupied by owners. Mr. R. Harper, the present teacher, has had to move out twice during the short time he has been located here, and finally  has had to go into lodgings at much expense and inconvenience to himself. The Committee, in bringing this matter before you, urgently hope that you will seriously look into and consider this matter and we sincerely hope to receive a favourable reply...."

Mr. Harper had been with the Boultons in their home to begin with then 'lodging' at Scott's Boarding House - or 'Bay View House' as it was then sometimes called, in Crystal Bay, Newport.

The Newport Progress Association was formed from some of the first students at Newport. Their aim, alike their parents, had been to ensure that the community of Newport had what it needed in basic services. Today such a capacity in the community would be met be the Newport Residents Association. - an example and some of those who were members :

NEWPORT PROGRESS ASSOCIATION. 

The annual meeting of the Newport Progress Association took place on Saturday night at Greig's New-port Hotel. Mr T Waterhouse, the president, occupied the chair. The annual report showed that improvements had been made in the district during the year-dangerous parts of the roads had been fenced and culverts built. In reply to a letter sent to the Works Department asking among other things that the culvert in Gladstone-street should be made wider, the department said the improvements were small, and might well be carried out by those interested. The sub-committee brought up its report upon the establishment of a polling booth at Newport, and it was decided that a petition be presented to Sir John See asking that this might be done. Mr Hanslow gave notice of his intention to propose a motion dealingwith a water supply for Newport. The election of officers resulted as follows: -President, Mr Joseph Waterhouse ; vice-president, Mr William Bulfin; hon. secretary and treasurer, Mr. Stuart Greig; council, Messrs H. Bolton, J Baker, F Hanslow, W Bolton. A vote of thanks was passed to the retiring officers and special mention was made of the services rendered by Mr Greig, who had been hon. secretary to the association for the last eight years. NEWPORT PROGRESS ASSOCIATION. (1904, February 10). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 5. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14598711

Approval to build a new Teachers Residence was granted and tenders called for:

Department of Public Instruction, Sydney, 27th January, 1903.

TENDERS FOR WORKS IN CONNECTION WITH PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

TENDERS will be received at this Office for the Works specified in the Schedule hereunder, up to 12 o'clock noon, on the various dates set forth in the second column.

Tenders are to be addressed to the Under Secretary, Department of Public Instruction, Sydney, and endorsed " Tender for [insert the name of School, and the work to which the Tender relates]."

All Tenders for works above £25, and up to £100, must be accompanied by a deposit calculated at the rate of 5% on the amount of the Tender; and for works above £100, according to the following scale, viz £5 for amounts between £100 and £500; and £1 for every additional £100 or part thereof. The deposit must be in the form of a bank draft, a money order, or a marked cheque op a Sydney bank, drawn in favour of the Under Secretary of Public Instruction.

No person or persons tendering will be allowed to withdraw his or their Tender, and the deposit forwarded therewith will be retained until the Tender is either accepted or rejected. The deposits made by persons whose Tenders are rejected will be returned as soon as possible after the Tenders have been opened. If the' person or persons whose Tender has been accepted shall make default in signing the necessary agreement or bond, upon being required by notice in writing to execute same, the amount deposited shall at once be forfeited, and may be paid to the credit of the Consolidated Revenue, without any further notice to the person or persons tendering, or any further action by the Department of Public -Instruction. The deposit of the successful Tenderer will be returned to him when an Officer of this Department has recommended payment of the first instalment on account of the Contract. Any Tender received without such deposit shall, unless otherwise directed by the Minister, be deemed informal and rejected.

The Minister does not bind himself to accept the lowest or any Tender. JOHN PERRY. 

Newport— Erection of a teacher's Residence  TENDERS FOR WORKS IN CONNECTION WITH PUBLIC SCHOOLS. (1903, January 27). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001), , p. 764. Retrieved from  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article220259791 

The winner of the Tender gave four months to build the new home as his time frame - during this time a Relief Teacher was installed at Newport:

Department of Public Instruction,

Sydney, 27th February, 1903.

The undermentioned Tenders in connection with Public Schools have been accepted by the Government, viz.:

Newport, New Residence—Stoney & Co., Manly, £560. Government Gazette Tenders and Contracts (1903, March 3). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001), , p. 1882. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article220932740

Mr. John Ahern, from Waverley to Newport Public, as Relieving Teacher. Government Gazette Appointments and Employment (1903, February 27). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001), , p. 1794. Retrieved fromhttp://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article220262254

Mr. J. Ahern, from Newport to Austral Public, as Teacher. Government Gazette Appointments and Employment (1903, September 11).Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001), , p. 6755. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article220995414

Department of Public Instruction,

Sydney, 16th January, 1905.

THE undermentioned Tenders in connection with the Public Schools have been accepted by the Government, viz.: Newport, Erection of Weathershed—R. C. Perry, £12. Government Gazette Tenders and Contracts (1905, January 20). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001), , p. 392. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article220953711 

Mr. Hodges - still praising Newport, is trying to get people to visit and camp during Summer and describes what's available:

IN PRAISE OF NEWPORT.

Newport is one of the best possible picnic spots; it is only twelve miles from Manly, with coach communication twice daily, yet it is 'far from the madding crowd. Situated on a peninsula, there is on the one hand the bay of Pittwater with its innumerable and oyster rocks ; and, on the other, within ten minutes' walk, there is the ever-restless sea, with its magnificent coast line of headlands, .and beaches, its surf and lagoon bathing, its schnapper fishing., from the rocks, and its grand exploration tours. There is Barrenjoey and its glorious ocean scenery seven miles distant, and there is the mysterious cave near the 'Hole in the Wall,' three miles' walk from Newport, said to have been used in the 'good old days' by the smugglers and escapees. On the way to the cave is the residence of the late W. B. Dalley, in its picturesque demesne, a sight worth seeing, and an ideal picnic spot. Within half-a-mile of the township stands Bushrangers' Hill (noted for its flannel flowers), from the top of which a matchless panorama of land and sea can be obtained. To get to Newport, catch- the 9 a.m. or 3 p.m. steamer from Sydney, and you will find the coach waiting at the wharf. The most enjoyable drive takes you over Curl Curl and Dee Why lagoons, through the village of Narrabeen, over Sheep-station Hill, changing coach at Rock Lily Hotel, and then five miles more to Newport. The morning coach lands you there at noon, the afternoon at 6 p.m. Avoid camping under trees for fear of falling wood or the drip after rain or heavy dew. Select an open spot on a rise, yet sheltered by timber. Manly butchers and bakers visit Newport twice weekly, and there is a well-stocked local store, so that you may 'fly light' if you choose. You want rugs or blankets, billycans, plates, pannikins, candle lantern, fishing tackle, and oyster knives. Make bag bunks, two bags to a bunk ; they are the cheapest and best. They keep you clear of damp, ants, &c. A boat can be hired by the week; this is better and cheaper than hiring by the day or hour. Be sure and pull up M'Garr's Creek for one day, and try for whiting on the sandy flats. Land also on the fine reserve, Kuring-gai Chase, and spend a pleasant time amongst the tree ferns in the beautiful shady gullies. Also walk up the mountain track to the top, where a glorious view may be obtained. For black bream a good ground is on the western side of Scotland Island, close In shore, and with an in-coming tide. Good sport is generally to be obtained here with the 'darkies.' Some five miles from the head, of the bay are the noted flathead grounds, but it would be advisable to obtain the services of a local youngster as pilot, as you might miss the right spot. If you are fond of fish, and catch them, you can reduce your butcher's account. If you stay at Newport for weeks you can picnic and explore fresh places each day, on the beautiful bay, or along the wild, rugged ocean shore. For variety of pleasure (boating, fishing, shooting, bathing, &c), lovely scenery, beautiful climate, and a real good all-round holiday resort, to be reached and enjoyed at a minimum of expense, I say try Newport— THOS. H. HODGES. IN PRAISE OF NEWPORT. (1905, January 1). Sunday Times (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1930), , p. 7 (The Sunday Times Magazine Section.). Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article125871481 

Greig's Hotel circa 1905, image a106123h, courtesy State Library of NSW from Sydney & Ashfield : Broadhurst Post Card 'Scenes of Newport' Album.

Students  both pictures dated 1905: you can see the old schoolhouse and fence in the background

In 1907 the first ever Pittwater Regatta occurred with patron Norman H. Murray, a RPAYC Commodore, and land owner at Bayview, involved. Part of the funds raised were put into the school.

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS.

TENDERS ACCEPTED.

Tenders have been accepted for the following public  works for the week ended 27th ultimo – Repairs, clearing site and painting at Public school and Teachers Residence, Newport, Geo Donaldson, Surry Hills, £77. GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS. (1909, March 2). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15039877 

Other early attendees of Newport school were the Porter children. Mr. Robert Porter Snr. came to Newport from Manly – he was a maintenance man on the roads, appearing in a Warringah Shire Council minute of meeting as early as their 12th Meeting in 1906 , 'attesting to the accuracy of his worksheet'. Accounts passed for payment at this Meeting were: '£9 - 2 - 10' - Robert Porter. 

Mr. Porter's work stretched from the 9 mile peg to Barranjoey as well as to Bayview and Church Point. He also ensured Newport Public school had adequate firewood during the colder months for years when this was the means for keeping pupils warm.

The first Honour Board at Newport from World War I was the result of collaboration between William Fairley, principal of Newport Public School and Carl Porter, after whom Porter’s Reserve in Newport is named. Carl and four his brothers served in WWI, only two of themk returning.

The family’s home, in the Avenue, Newport, is on early cartographic sales maps dated 1900, and was called simply “Home” during a prolonged era when people gave names to their homes. 

 Section from: Sales plan for land in Mona Vale, New South Wales. "A.W. Stephen, licensed surveyor RPA, 47 Castlereagh Street". Sales plan of Mona Vale estate, Pittwater. Mona Vale [cartographic material]. Mona Vale estate, Pittwater [cartographic material] 1900 - 1909. MAP Folder 103, LFSP 1554. Courtesy National Library of Australia.

The children of Robert and Ann Porter, and year of birth: from NSW Births, Deaths, Marriage Records.

20261/1894  PORTER CARL H ROBERT        ANN      MANLY

4582/1899  PORTER LUCY M ROBERT        ANN      MANLY

12236/1885  PORTER FRANCES M ROBERT ANN     MANLY

13099/1886  PORTER ROBERT D ROBERT ANN     MANLY

20940/1890  PORTER WILLIAM J ROBERT ANNIE  MANLY

14196/1901  PORTER SEPTIMUS E ROBERT ANN     MANLY

32040/1896  PORTER WALTER S ROBERT ANNIE MANLY

32041/1896  PORTER ALBERT E ROBERT ANNIE MANLY

21623/1892  PORTER SYDNEY G ROBERT ANNIE MANLY

FIVE SOLDIER BROTHERS.

PRIVATE BERT PORTER, . 10. PRIVATE CARL PORTER, PRIVATE SIDNEY' PORTER, 23. PRIVATE ROBERT D. PORTER, 20. SONS OF MR. ROBERT PORTER, OF NEWPORT, MANLY. PRIVATE WILLIAM JAMES PORTER, 25 (wounded).

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Porter, of Newport, have reason to be proud of their sons, five of whom have enlisted and are at, or on their way to the front. 

The first of the sons to get into khaki was William, aged 23. He went away from Sydney with one of the first contingents, and going through the famous landing at Gabe Tepe on April 25 scatheless, he was in the trenches for nearly four months before he was wounded. His parents were officially advised of his casualty at the time, but since then no news has reached them as to his condition, notwithstanding the fact that a number of inquiries have been made. 

Robert, the eldest son, aged 29, was the next one to see his path of duty. The other three sons, Sydney, aged 23, Carl, 21, and Bert, 19, left recently with one of the contingents from Sydney for the front. FIVE SOLDIER BROTHERS. (1916, January 22). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 10. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15638624 

At Mona Vale the children were addressed by Councillor Quirk Mr W Road and Mrs 

Anderson and then the Christmas prizes that are generally held over until Empire Day 

were distributed.

At the Newport school Councillor Powell addressed the scholars and he also addressed 

the children at Narrabeen. THE SCHOOLS. (1910, May 26). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 6. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15139563

In late 1909 or early 1910 the schoolchildren of Newport corresponded with Newport, on the Isle of Wight. A record of them receiving a flag in return for one they sent makes the papers! There is no description of what flag the children here sent but there is one of what came back - a Union Jack with Newport's 'ARMS'. This is also interesting as the words 'Newport Arms' later became the name of the Newport Hotel and there was a Newport Arms Hotel on the Isle of Wight until 1908. The Island's motto is All this beauty is of God ,  the arms or crest depicts a horse and seahorse symbolising agriculture and the maritime which have supported and conditioned Island life in so many ways. Royal associations are represented by a castle on a shield, and the insular nature of the Island is suggested by waves of the sea lapping the base of the arms. 

The arms were officially granted on October 17, 1938. At the centre of the shield is Carrisbrooke Castle. The blue field and gold anchors around this show that the County is an island.The crest is a gold mural crown, which will be seen over the arms of several County Councils. In the case of the Isle of Wight, three blue anchors have been added. The horse supporter stands for farming, the seahorse for seafaring. They are coloured white recalling the links with the ancient Kingdom of Kent.

 

The arms as used on a JaJa postcard +/- 1905: The cards were issued by Stoddart & Co, Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. The company was established in 1905, but had ceased publishing postcards by 1917. Their specialty was heraldic postcards using the trade mark Ja-Ja. They issued both plain heraldic postcards as in the series mentioned here, as well as city views with a small coat of arms, of which one example is shown here.

 :

SCHOOL FLAG UNFURLED.

Mr. Hogue, Minister for Education, and Mrs. Hogue visited the Newport Public School on Saturday afternoon, and Mrs. Hogue unfurled the flag which the school has received from Newport, In the Isle of Wight, in exchange for one sent there some months ago. The flag, which is a Union Jack of large dimensions, is beautifully worked in silk, and bears the Newport arms in its centre. There was a large gathering of residents from the surrounding districts, and the children from the Newport, Narrabeen, and Mona Vale attended. 

Mrs. Hogue broke the flag. As she did so the Kuringai Shire Band, which was in Attendance, struck up the National Anthem, and then three cheers were given for the flag. The children sang a number of patriotic songs, and appropriate speeches were made by Mr. Hogue and several other others. SCHOOL FLAG UNFURLED. (1910, June 20). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 10. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15160093 

In 1892 the Barrenjoey School was closed. The school at Bayview was closed too and the size of classes at Newport increased as children were transferred to this school. Prior to this was started what continues as one unique aspect of Newport School - children who had been rowing to school from Barrenjoey, what was to become Avalon and Clareville, and places on Pittwater's  Western Shores, were provided with a boat to get them there.

The schoolchildren and teachers during Mr, Harper's residency - he had so many children one of his daughters came to school to help

Current students would have no memory of roads in Pittwater being mostly dirt and a bit of loose gravel but even into the 1980's some parts of Pittwater were unpaved and the roads untarred - a lot like the country roads - very pretty but hard to get around. For children living in places like Scotland Island and Church Point, it was far easier to row or be rowed across the Pittwater estuary then get to Mona Vale - a condition that remains. It's also a lot nicer to go by boat, if it's not pouring down and cold!

The children who didn't have access to a school due to distance and poor condition of roads still were required to be educated. The problem of getting them to school, either at Church Point at one stage (Bayview) or to Newport required a solution:

School launch to Newport;

Bayview School Launch.

(See Illustration on this page.)

The Patonga is a motor launch, engaged, morning and evening, of every school day, to convoy children residing at Barrenjoey, Careel Bay, and the adjoining district, to the Bayview(Central) School. Pittwater, although one of the most beautiful, interesting, and picturesque of Nature's gems, is by tho very reason of its loveliness, a difficult place to provide with schools. Until quite recently the only way those children could get-to either Bayview or Newport Public Schools, was by rowing boat, the distance in some cases being nearly eight miles. It will be seen that only in very fine weather was it possible to attend school, and the result, unfortunately, was that the people, by the peculiarity of their location, were practically debarred the advantage of our Public Instruction Act. 

Numerous requests were made to have more convenient school  accommodation for these children (29 in number), but there was this difficulty--That to give all these families anything like equal opportunities, would have necessitated two or three small schools. Early in the present year, the Hon John Perry, then Minister for Education, Instructed Mr. Senior Inspector Lobban to take the matter in- hand, and ascertain the best way in which the request could be treated. After exhaustive inquiries had been made by that able officer; assisted by Mr. S. Morrison, teacher Bayview Public School, it was proposed to gather together all the children, and take them by launch to Bayview Public School. This idea commended itself to Mr. Perry, and arrangements were made with Mr. William Sykes,- the owner of the Patonga, to give the scheme a fair trial. The service was inaugurated in April, and has been running nearly four months. As this was one of the last administrative acts of Mr.Perry, he may feel proud of the result, which is described in departmental reports as "an .unqualified success". This, launch, is the first and only school launch in Australia. The boat is a distinct departure from the style usually adopted for motor launches. She is 30ftlong and 8ft beam, the motive power being supplied by a 5 h.p. Hercules engine. She was built specially strong to withstand the rough sea sometimes experienced in the bay, and it is a source of gratification to the department that all through :the recent heavy weather the timetable has been carried out. She is in charge of her owner, and presents an interesting appearance as she comes each morning, with 20 to 30 children, to Church Point Wharf. The Bayview (Pittwater) Public School Launch. Bayview School Launch. (1904, August 3). Australian Town and Country Journal (NSW : 1870 - 1907), p. 37. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71512651

Pittwater School ferry – the Patonga Launch was built by E. Fisk at Penrith in 1903.; 

A NEW MODEL LAUNCH

This reminds us of the model oil launch referred to in the heading, and which we were invited to inspect. There is nothing so calculated to push a country forward as private enterprize (although our present Government is not of that opinion), and did we but have more of it, things would soon hum in Australasia as loud as in America. A step or two up the ladder of private enterprize has just been taken in Penrith in connection with water traffic and the result—a splendid launch, built on perfectly modern scientific principles, with all latest contrivances for speed, convenience and comfort. The enterprising proprietor is Mr William Sykes, architect, and the builder Mr E Fisk, well known as a thoroughly efficient and -reliable ship-builder, having served his apprenticeship in Sydney.

Unfortunately for the district this handsome modern launch is not being perfected and expensively finished to float on and grace our deserted waters, but is intended by the owner for service on the Hawkesbury River. Whether this is through the unwillingness of the public to patronise and encourage such undertakings, or whether the proprietor has in view a much more profitable scheme in the locality chosen, is not in our province to say. Anyway, it is clear at-the present time our river has no attraction for its owners, and tho cause remains a knotty problem to solve. The new launch is being built at the rear of Mr Sykes residence in High-street, and is 30ft in length—the beam being 8ft- has a depth of 4ft 6in. and a draught of about 2ft. She is being built especially strong, having 3 lots of frames, and for greater protection is double-planked all over. The engine-house, which is placed centrally, is very neatly constructed and well lighted, the upper part, which is glazed with very thick glass, standing about 2ft above the deck. The motive power will be supplied by a powerful oil engine of latest design. The boat is beautifully fitted up for the accommodation of 16 people, sleeping arrangements being made for 8. For the safety of passengers the floor of the cock-pit and all seats are constituted so as to float in case of necessity, and so be the means of saving life. All this is being done in compliance with the Navigation Department's regulations. The fore cabin is also conveniently arranged and fitted up, and there is a hat oh way on the deck above for the storage of the anchor, &o. The lower parts of the launch are securely covered with copper sheeting, to water mark, the whole of the work being splendidly executed. The boat will have a single sorew. Above deck she will be fitted with awnings which may be made entirely water and wind proof when necessary. The launch, when finished, will be a handsome structure, fit to face either a rough sea or smoother waters, The proprietor informs us the boat will be run by his son. A Model New Launch. (1903, May 23). Nepean Times (Penrith, NSW : 1882 - 1962), p. 6. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article100916017 

Transfers and Appointments.— Teachers: - Mr. S. Morrison, from Newport to Mona Vale; "SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL TEACHERS."The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912) 5 September 1906: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article163682045

What it was like to catch this early 'ferry' of Pittwater:

WITH THE CHILDREN. HOMEWARD BOUND.

Some few years ago in and around Pittwater were found many children who could neither write nor spell their own names. The nearest school was miles away, and quite inaccessible to the children living at the mouth of the bay. Directly the attention of the department was called to this matter it set itself to remedy so great an evil. A trim little-oil launch was requisitioned, subsidised by the Government, and now the visitor to Newport, Bayview, Clareville, or Kurring-gai Chase, may see the unique spectacle of a launch full of children  going to or from the public school at Church Point.

It starts on its way at 7,15 a.m., and gathers the children from the many little bays and inlets that make beautiful that fine stretch of water to the left of Barrenjoey. At 9.30 the pupils are all seated at their desks.

Afternoon is the best time for the visitor to take a trip with the launchman, and see how the State caters for the children.

The launch leaves Newport on the home-ward journey about 3.15 p.m. It heads straight for the point, where the children, some 25 or 30 of them, having left the pretty schoolhouse half a mile distant, have assembled themselves on the jetty. A pretty picture they make, too, as they stand on the steps, white-pinafored, dark coated, rosy-checked, with bag in hand or slung over shoulder. The launch draws alongside. The bigger boys and girls step in, carefully watched by the assistant, who lifts the smaller ones and sets them quickly but gently on the deck of the boat. Another moment and-away she goes with her cargo of little souls. A quick steam along the right shore, and a stop is made at one of the pretty bays for which Pittwater is renowned. A curly-headed little girl, some 6 years old, and her bigger brother are landed. They shout a merry "Good-bye" to tho other youngsters, and off they go to the big house, whore their parents are. Another stop, and three others are landed, along with sundry loaves of bread, and what looks uncommonly like a leg of mutton. Further on a halt is made to deliver the day's paper, a tin of biscuits, three loaves of bread, and two more children.

The launch is slowing down. This landing is not so easy as the last. There is no wharf here. The fisherman pulls out in his boat, draws alongside, and the children step in. A few loaves of broad, a letter, and sundry parcels accompany them.

Many stoppages are made before Barrenjoey is reached. The largest number of children are delivered to here, along with a larger, supply of provisions.

It is said that boys and girls of 17 living in this lonely, out-of-the-way place had no means of education until, the department provided this means of conveyance, and carried them free of charge to the school at the head of the bay. The launch turns homeward, but it is a long run before the four remaining children are landed.

It grows colder; They huddle closer together. The launchman suggests a song. Their willingness to comply proves it to be the usual way they pass the time down the bay after losing their companions. Four shrill little voices pipe "When the Empire Calls," "Three' Blind Mice," and "The Canadian Boat Song." "God, Save the King" gives the visitors timely warning that they are nearing home, though there is no sight or sound of habitation. They are landed at last. Their day is a long one. They are the first passengers and the last. They must make an early start, for their home lies three-quarters of a mile from the water. Away they go, each carrying a loaf of broad and their schoolbags. They are a wee bit timid of the walk just yet. An evening or two previous they were in sight of home when two native cats jumped down on the narrow bush track. With one accord they dropped everything, turned themselves round, and never stopped running till they reached the water where 15 minutes previously they had been landed.

A quick run of half an hour with one or two stoppages for the delivery of provisions to the lonely fisherman or selector brings the launch back to its moorings.

Truly we live in wondrous times when the education of the children of the solitary fisherman, the lighthouse keeper, or the caretaker is thought of so much importance that means are found to bring them to the in to whom that education can be obtained.-"Herald." ZAVA.

WITH THE CHILDREN. (1906, December 25). Clarence and Richmond Examiner (Grafton, NSW : 1889 - 1915), p. 2. Retrieved fromhttp://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61461790

PITTWATER SCHOOL CHILDREN.

DEPUTATION TO MR. HOGUE.

1 The Minister for Education, Mr. Hogue, was yesterday waited upon by a deputation who asked that the department should grant a subsidy of £3 10s a week to enable children living at Barranjoey, and other parts of Broken Bay to be conveyed by motor-launch to

the Newport Public school.

There had formerly been a school at Church Point, at the head of Pittwater, which had been abandoned on the understanding that a safe motor service to Newport would be supplied. Towards this service the department had allowed £2 10s' per week. But at that rate to maintain a service had been found impossible, and since Christmas 17 children had been without schooling. The service would cost at least £5 per week; but it the department gave £3 \10s the parents would guarantee the rest, and undertake all responsibility. But they asked to be allowed to choose their man. Thirty-two miles had to be covered, and a good sea-boat was needed, and a, man well accustomed to motors. If the school at Church Point were established a conveyance would still be needed for the light-house-keeper's children.

Messrs. F. W. J. Donovan, J. Williams, jun., and E. J. Miles spoke to the above effect.

Mr. Hogue said the case was exceptional, and entitled to consideration. The Increased allowance they asked would moan a very considerable addition to the expense undertaken. But It was hard that those the deputation represented should be deprived of the benefits of schooling for their children. He would look Into the matter, and see what could be done. PITTWATER SCHOOL CHILDREN. (1909, April 1). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 11. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15047452 

BAYVIEW-NEWPORT.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD.

Sir,-This pleasant pleasure resort is drawing many rest-seekers to its beautiful surroundings of mountain and waterside attractions. While the place has its own bathing facilities, many of its habitues would like easy access to the surf-bathing offered by the ocean beach at Newport. During nine months of the year a launch plies between Bayview and Newport landing-places, as a means for school children to attend school while in session; but now during the long Christmas vacation this service is suspended. I am informed that the service is subsidised for this purpose, but the owner cannot see his way to continue running, because the traffic would not pay. This letter is written to submit that the authorities should so far favour visitors as to enable them to cross the water between the two localities through-out holidays by slightly Increasing the subsidy to the owner of the launch, and thereby give visitors the additional enjoyment of surf

I am. etc., VISITOR., Bayview, Dec- 24. BAYVIEW—NEWPORT. (1910, December 29). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15250241

There are numerous references in 'Early Times of Newport Public School and District' of a bit of a damp problem at the Teacher's residence and ongoing repairs and modifications appear in records found:

Department of Public Works,

Sydney, August 7, 1914.

TENDERS FOR PUBLIC WORKS AND SUPPLIES.

TENDERS tor the Works, etc., specified below will be received at this Department until 2 o'clock p.m. on the dates mentioned;AUGUST 27, 1914 - Newport — Repairs to School and Residence.  Advertising (1914, August 10). Construction and Local Government Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1913 - 1930), , p. 5. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article118678812    

Newport Public School, circa 1914. Image No.;- 15051_1_24_a047_000517, courtesy NSW Archives and Records

Mr Harper was replaced by a Mr. Jacob Barnes, a man who had begun his career as a teenager Pupil Teacher and was sent to many urakl areas, which Pittwatre considered in many ways still, prior to coming to Newport:

Mr. Jacob Barnes, jun., teacher at the Provisional School, Gilmandyke, near Rockley, has been appointed to Esehol' School, near Dubbo. He was, on Saturday evening, presented by the president, on behalf of the members of the Rockley Cricket Club, with a sold medal, suitably inscribed. SOCIAL ITEMS. (1900, March 9). Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), , p. 8. Retrieved fromhttp://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article117037381

(From our own Correspondent.)  The news of Mr. Barnes' removal from Tichbourne Public School to Newport, near Manly, has caused widespread regret throughout the neighbourhood. Both Mr. and Mrs. Barnes have entered into every movement for the advancement and welfare of the district and will be greatly missed. TICHBOURNE. (1917, December 20).Western Champion (Parkes, NSW : 1898 - 1934), , p. 22. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113528797 

Mr. J. B, Boyle, head teacher of Mortlake State school, has been transferred to the Newport school, and was tendered a civic farewell and presented with a wallet of notes. The school children also presented Mr. Boyle with an illuminated address and a silver shaving set. VICTORIAN NEWS. (1918, February 7).Western Champion (Parkes, NSW : 1898 - 1934), , p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113469723 

The little village of Newport made a great effort for Red Cross Day. A sale of gifts was held In the grounds of the Newport Public School, and mainly through the enthusiasm, and work of the schoolmaster, Mr. J. Barnes, a returned soldier, there was garnered In £110 for the Red Cross. Mr. J. Barnes was ably assisted by his wife and a small committee; this sum was a record one for Newport. FROM NEAR AND FAR. (1918, June 12).The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 7. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15766292 

Mr. William Fairley from Spring Hill to Newport; Mr. Sam Morrison of Newport school enters on 11 months long leave on October 10, prior to retirement. He began as teacher at Pittwater in 1884 and was transferred to Mona Vale 1886, Freshwater 1912, Newport 1918. EDUCATION. (1922, September 30).Tweed Daily (Murwillumbah, NSW : 1914 - 1949), , p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article193480838

It is during Mr Fairley's era that the Newport Parents and Citizen's Association for the school began in 1923. Mr Fairley was born the son of a farmer in 1872 in Picton. He began his career as a teacher in 1890 - another 18 year old Pupil Teacher!

The Retirement is announced of Mr. W. Fairley, Headmaster of Newport Public School: School Notes (1937, October 8). The Newcastle Sun (NSW : 1918 - 1954), , p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article166649562 

A CREEK AT NEWPORT BEACH, (Photo: C. S. Harnett.)

Between Narrabeen and Barrenjoey, N.S.W. OUR NEW SERIAL (1923, October 10).Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), , p. 11. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article159036756 

Newport 'lagoon' prior to the bridge across it as shown above; and illustrating how landscapes are changed by those occupying them - Image No.; d-12147h, courtesy State Library of NSW - the Mitchell library

The earliest students of Newport Public School were those who were part of continuing to make Newport a great place, many were foundation members of the Newport SLSC and remained so - a timely item for this year's Easter weekend observations (March 25-28) where John Bulfin, son of William Bulfin, has volunteer community input:

NEWPORT AT EASTER. Newport has decided to hold a carnival on April 19 (Easter Saturday). Secretary J. C. Bulfin will be delighted to see members of the big city clubs. Entries close on April 8.WINTER SURF PROGRAMME (1924, March 7). Arrow (Sydney, NSW : 1916 - 1933), , p. 6. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article103538690

Where Peace and Loveliness Abide

A scene at Broken Bay, on the Newport side. This region is rich in scenic gems, and is indeed one of the show places of New South Wales. It is near here that the Pittwater Regatta is annually held. Thousands of tourists who come to Sydney carry away with them vivid memories of what's popularly known as 'the Hawkesbury trip'-a train excursion to Hawkesbury and a steamer run which takes in Pittvvater (the southern mam arm of Broken Bay) with Barrejoey Palm Beach and Newport, affording exquisite glimpses of some of the finest scenery in Australia. A narrow strip of land divides the pellucid, lake-like Pittwater from the ocean. Where Peace and Loveliness Abide (1925, October 28). Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), , p. 10. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article160082866

Assistants, etc.: Messrs. H. Allen. Newport to Brookvale: L. Aynsley. Brocklehurst to Wellington: SCHOOL TEACHERS. (1932, September 14). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 7. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28032559 

Assistants, &c. Miss C. Grater Dee Why to Newport; Miss M. Single. Newport to Orange Girls; SCHOOL TEACHERS (1933, January 19).Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954) , , p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article135564715 

Marriages.

MORRISON-CHAVE.-May 13. at Carlton Villa, Pittwater, by Rev. R. T. Willis, Samuel Morrison, late head master of Saunders-street School, Belfast, to Emma, eldest daughter of F. Chave. Family Notices (1887, May 20). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 1. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13659178 

STAFF CHANGES

At Forbes High  School

The following staff changes at Forbes Intermediate High School took effect when school studies resumed last Tuesday: — Girls' Dept.: Miss J. G. Stewart, formerly teacher of Forbes Opportunity Class, has been transferred to fill the vacancy caused by the transfer of Miss I. Monro, to Coogee, and Miss M. E, Williams, from Newport Public School, replaces Miss E. Dennis, who has been transferred to Rose Bay. STAFF CHANGES (1944, February 4). The Forbes Advocate (NSW : 1911 - 1954), , p. 6. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article218695564 

One thing that has changed slightly in Newport Public School's surrounds is the green canopy of trees that keep the area cool during hot Summers. When the grounds were first allocated they recorded: 'one silky oak, one ironbark and one Kurrajong tree' in the playground. Although Trafalgar Park runs parallel to the school, with an old cement cricket pitch and a rather unusual seat made from an old tree stump, photos from the area during the 1930's show open fields devoid of sheltering and shady trees - Mr. Hodges is telling people to stay clear of them in 1910!

As the farms became suburban homes a shift in thinking is shown once more in that people now wanted to put the trees back. The record of what happened at Newport school on this day in 1951 also records the name of a teacher who began there in 1937:

Aerial view of Newport bay circa 1935 by E. W. (Edward William) Searle, PIC P838/838a-b LOC Album 1124/9, courtesy National Library of Australia.

Schools Celebrate Arbor Day In 

By Our Special Representative. 

THE growing interest among school children in the planting and protection of trees was demonstrated last Friday at Arbor Day ceremonies at public schools in seaside resorts north of Sydney. To celebrate Jubilee year and in support of the Festival of Trees special ceremonies had been arranged at Avalon, Newport and Mona Vale. 

These districts are well known surf and holiday resorts,  but with increased building development they are rapidly becoming suburban residential  areas. This part of our northern coastline is well endowed with trees and the undulating country sweeping down to the sea provides many picturesque vistas. 

With the change to suburbia, however, many of the tree clad hills are showing the effects of the axe and the fire stick. As land is subdivided and building blocks cleared trees have to come down to make way for progress. 

People Tree Conscious 

A tour of the district last Friday during the school Arbor Day ceremonies revealed that many of the local public bodies and residents are tree conscious and are anxious to preserve as much as possible of the district's natural beauty. 

The schools at Avalon, Newport and Mona Vale, therefore, received generous support in their tree planting programmes from their own parents and citizens' associations and other local organisations. 

Because of continuous heavy rain Arbor Day was celebrated at the three  schools with only token plantings of trees. The extremely wet conditions, however, appeared to act  as a spur to the enthusiasm of  the youngsters and their parents and friends. Programmes of songs, physical  culture exercises, verse speaking and tableaus were performed indoors or in the open in those few brief moments  when the rain eased. 

R.S.L. Support 

The first ceremony was at Avalon, where the local sub branch of the R.S.L. had provided the trees for a planting programme in the school grounds. This is a comparatively new school. Only temporary buildings have been erected so far and there is plenty of scope for tree planting in the four acres of grounds. The headmaster, Mr. T. E. L. McGuire, explained that a master plan had been prepared on the advice of a nurseryman for laying out and planting the school grounds with trees and shrubs. The plan provides for windbreak and shade trees, an agricultural section and a properly equipped playground. 

After the children had given several items short addresses on the value of trees and the need for their protection were delivered by Mrs. A. Wyatt, a vice-president of the Forestry Advisory Council and a member of the Kuring-gai 'Tree Lovers' Civic League, and Mr. E. Breakwell, former organiser of Junior Farmers' Clubs, and representing the Australian Forest League. 

Mr. Breakwell, who is well known throughout New South Wales for his work in the interests of school agriculture and tree planting, is now residing at Newport. He continues to take a most active interest in the local schools and  is particularly keen on the development of a tree consciousness among school children and  the public generally. With due ceremony a Norfolk Island Pine, one of many to be planted on the southern boundary, was "planted" in a large pot indoors, while the children recited the tree warden's pledge. 

At Newport the headmaster, Mr. N. R. Sanderson, had organised a splendid programme which was performed despite the rain. Here again, however, it was impossible to carry out the tree planting portion of the programme. But the singing of "Trees" by the school choir, the clear young voices ringing out in the rain-washed air amid a lovely setting of trees, was ample compensation for those who braved the wintry weather to attend. 

Cavalcade of History 

The highlight of  the day's events, however, was at Mona Vale, where a most elaborate and well organised programme had been arranged to celebrate  Jubilee Year and Arbor Day. The school children, in full costume and with scenery and  effects, took part in what was really a cavalcade of Australian history. 

The headmaster, Mr. G. B. A. Daly, was responsible for the  arrangement of the performance and had valuable assistance and co-operation from his teaching staff and members of the Parents and, Citizens Association. 

Providence was kind at this stage. The rain ceased and fitful sunlight shone out as Capt. Cook landed from the Endeavor and was greeted by a large band of aborigines, to be followed by colorful scenes from Australia's past, with Redcoats marching to the beat 

of a vigorous drummer, pioneers pushing out to conquer the outback, statesmen telling of the development of a nation and the three arms of the present-day services marching proudly across the parade ground. 

The programme ended with a salute to "Australia" and "Britannia." 

Performance Praised 

The performance was excellent and won high praise from, Mr. J. N. Harrison, the district inspector of schools, who described it as one of the most outstanding Jubilee Year events he had witnessed. Three of the "actors" then planted a tree in the school ground to mark the Jubilee Year Arbor Day. It had been intended that 80 advanced trees would be planted but, owing to the rain, this major planting had to be postponed. Schools Celebrate Arbor Day In The Rain; Children's Enthusiasm (1951, July 6). The Land (Sydney, NSW : 1911 - 1954), , p. 1. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article112489300 

Newport Public School, with its motto ‘Cooperation and Friendship’, has continued to thrive. When this page was published in 2016, Newport shared a birthday with another relatively local (for then; 1891) school - the Hawkesbury Agricultural College. This is a great parallel since Newport was considered a food bowl during its formative years and many of the first students went on to 'grow Newport' just as some of the students at Hawkesbury Agricultural College returned to Pittwater to grow better food to feed the youngsters, and others.

The wonderful teachers are a long list of those who did, and those continue to grow knowledge through this great school today. There may be far many more Teachers now but there are also around 800 students who attend from Kindergarten through to Year 6. Some arrive by bus, some by Church Point Ferry Service, others walk and some are dropped off seen in Warriewood just a few years ago - see:

Pittwater Schoolchildren Help Create Taronga Wild! Rhino Sculpture Trail

To avoid misunderstanding and inconvenience, it is hereby notified that, by agreement with the lessee of the Newport Hotel, and Jetty connected therewith, for a term of years, the Hunter River New Steam Navigation Company has the SOLE and EXCLUSIVE RIGHT (excepting only the regular small vessels) of calling at the said Newport jetty to land and embark passengers on such days as the said Company choose to run excursion trips with their steamships.

THOS. H. HODGES, - Lessee of Newport Hotel and Jetty.

F. J. THOMAS, Manager H.R.N.S.N. Co. 15th December, 1890. 

POPULAR EXCURSIONS per H.R.N.S.N. CO.'S . STEAMERS.

PROPOSED EXCURSIONS DURING HOLIDAYS.

Newcastle to Port Stephens, Boxing Day, 26th Dec.

Sydney to Newport, Boxing Day. 26th Dec.

to Hawkesbury Bridge, &c., .Saturday Afternoon, 27th Dec.

to Newport. New Year's Day, 1st Jan.

to Hawkesbury Bridge, &c., New Year's Day, 1st Jan.

to Newport, Sunday, 11th Jan. „ * „ Anniversary Day, 26th Jan. Advertising (1890, December 20). Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), , p. 1. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113746346

ST. LEONARDS. SIR HENRY PARKES AT NEWPORT.

The electoral campaign so far as the Ministry are Concerned was opened yesterday, when Sir Henry Parkes addressed a small meeting at Hodge's Newport Hotel in the afternoon. Mr. W. Bulfin occupied the chair.

Sir HENRY PARKES, who met with a hearty reception said he had come out to Newport that morning with some pleasurable anticipations. He remembered addressing a small meeting in that immediate neighbourhood some time ago, and ho met with so much cordiality and altogether so much enjoyed his visit that he felt certain that he should have a repetition of that kind of enjoyment. But he came out here with other anticipations, which might appear to some hardly well founded, but which to his mind, had a very good foundation . He looked forward to the time when that portion of the colony would be a very busy scene. It was not in the nature of things for a place possessing so many advantages in so many features of natural attractiveness to remain for a long time without those natural beauties being taken advantage of and though they were a scattered hamlet now with only a few persons attending a meeting of that kind he anticipated the time-and not beyond another generation when Newport would be a well-known fashionable watering place…..

Sir Henry Parkes, in replying, said that as they had been good enough to pass a vote of confidence in him without asking any questions, he had one or two pieces of information to give them as a member of the Government. The Government was considering, and he had no doubt that consideration would lead to active steps being taken of supplying them with a wharf suited to their purposes, on both sides of that important water He ascertained that from the Works Department. Also he had to tell them that the Government was considering better requirements for the Public school there, for the accommodation and shelter of the children attending.

He was glad to see the youngsters present, because they had arrived at an age when they came to take an interest in the course of public affairs, and in a few short years-a few years which would fly away in swifter moments than they could imagine-they would be men in the life of the country. 

A vote of thanks to the chairman was passed, and the meeting closed.  ST. LEONARDS. (1891, June 9). The Sydney Morning Herald(NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 5. from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13827407 

The General Election

DIBBS IN SOUTH SYDNEY. HE GROWS EXCITED, AND USES STRONG LANGUAGE.

VOTE OF CONFIDENCE CARRIED. OTHER SYDNEY MEETINGS.

MINISTERS REFUSED A HEARING

DAN O'CONNOR STORMED.

TB* TflLBGEAPH.]

From Our .tm Correspondent,

SYDNEY, Friday.

Mr. G. R. Dibbs addressed an immense audience in the New Masonic Hall, South Sydney, last night, when he dealt fully with the speeches of the Premier and the Treasurer. He termed the former a " wily old dodger," and complained bitterly of the discourtesy shown by Sir Henry to him as leader of the Opposition.

He said that the Government had fixed his old seat, Murrumbidgee, at the bottom of the list to make arrangements for stumping the country against his party, and seeking by machination, infamy, and lying, to cast him from public life forever. Sir Henry Parkes had slandered him at every conceivable opportunity, but had not the courage to meet him in the heart of the city, and so had to sneak in by the back door andopen the campaign for his party in some outlandish place called Newport, where his audience consisted of six electors, as many school children, together with a few policemen and reporters. In order to get these few miserable votes in support of his St. Leonards candidature, Sir Henry Parkes did not stop at the grossest corruption; for he promised Newport two jetties if it returned him, and the Manly tramway as well, well knowing that the latter had been condemned by the present Parkes Government. …The General Election. DIBBS IN SOUTH SYDNEY. (1891, June 12). Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : 1888 - 1954), , p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44068479 

And again, but with only five schoolchildren in this report:

He had not the conscience to come forward into the heart of the city but, coward like, he sneaked in at the back door by addressing six men, five Public school children-(laughter)-three policemen, and 10 reporters at an interesting spot called Newport. Many of his hearers no doubt, did not know where Newport was. He had looked up the chart that day to find where it was, and he found that it was described as a fishing village between Manly Beach and Broken Bay. SOUTH SYDNEY. (1891, June 12). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 5. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13827843 

A SKETCH OF PITTWATER.

When Governor Phillip first set out in search of good farming land, close to the settlement at Sydney Cove, he found some on the coast a few miles north of Manly, where he also discovered ' the finest piece of water I ever saw,' which he named after William Pitt the younger, the British Prime Minister at that time. It took the Governor and his party three days to complete their excursion to Pittwater. They had to wade through the swamps and marshes of 'Curl Curl, Dewhy, and Narrabeen lagoons. The same journey can now be performed in little over an hour. The swamps and marshes have been drained, the lagoons bridged, and there is an excellent road from Manly to Newport. It is very popular with cyclists from the city and suburbs. Narrabeen and Rock Lily are favourite picnic grounds on holidays, and were more facilities for transit available, there is no doubt that the bulk of the vast crowds that visit Manly on Saturdays and public holidays would extend their journey outwards to enjoy the magnificent scenery of sea and land, for which the drive to Pittwater is justly celebrated. The people of Pittwater and Narrabeen are agitating for a light railway or tramway from Manly to Newport. Such a. means of communication would open up a splendid district, and afford excursionists the healthiest and most attractive outlet perhaps in the whole world. The Hawkesbury has been called by Trollope and other travellers the Rhine of Australia. Pittwater at its mouth deserves to be designated the garden of the beautiful river. That part of Pittwater between Newport and Barrenjoey is a true peninsula, Atone time, and not very long ago apparently, it must have been an island. A few feet depression in the neck at the foot of Mount Loftus would make it one now. The road from Newport to Barrenjoey is neglected. For two miles it is a series of hills and hollows, cut, rutted, and washed away in divers places. The cyclists generally avoid it, and so would the horse if he could help himself. It is dangerous and laborious to vehicular traffic, and is a drawback to settlement in that part of the district. Now that Barrenjoey is to be fortified, there is some talk of cutting down or tunnelling the hills, and filling in the hollows. As it is the only road by which an invading army could reach Sydney from Broken Bay, their progress could be stemmed in the cuttings there by a few hundred men, as effectually as the 300 Spartans blocked the Persian hosts at the Pass of xhermopylio. But apart from the military use that may be made of the road, it is a work of necessity on the part of the Government to make its hilly ways level in the interests of those who have taken up land there. Settlement has been delayed there by the difficulty of road access, it is said. The owners of land about there have been taking things too easy. They neither approached the Government nor their representative on the matter. Mr. Dugald Thomson, the member for the district, would, I am sure, have done something for them had their requirements been brought under his notice. It may not yet be too late to do so. There are still, unfortunately, unemployed. If the Government is to provide work for them, what work is more urgent than this road? It is a national work that must be done some day. It is a work that will facilitate settlement on the land beyond Newport. It is a work that will be of more lasting benefit than sand-shifting or Bogan scrubbing. It is a work in which the tourist and the excursionist in quest of the grand and beautiful are interested. 

The landmarks on the road from Newport to Careel Bay are Farrell's farm, west of Bilgola Beach, and Dalley's Villa, situated on the ocean beach, in the valley of calms and ferns.

There the deceased Privy Councillor often retired to enjoy 'rapture on the lonely shore,' and the music of the boundless Pacific. The 'old homestead' near the head of Careel Bay, where the pioneer settler and patriarch of Pittwater, Mr. John Collins lived, is a place of interest. He was monarch of all he surveyed there for upwards of a generation, until the estate was sold in 1880. It consisted of two grants to Father Therry in 1833 and 1837, made to the good and holy Archpriest probably as compensation for the injustice inflicted upon him, and the bitter persecution of which he was the victim some years before then. By his will Father Therry left the estate to the Jesuits, who sold it, as I have said, in 1880. 

The western shore of Pittwater harbour is all taken up, and dotted with pretty homesteads and a few cyclist 'boxes.' There is a good road skirting the shore as far as Church Point or M'Gar's Creek, which gives it an advantage over the eastern side of the harbour. Mr. J. Roche's orchard at Bay View is a place of beauty and of profit to the enterprising owner. His poultry-yard is an exhibition in itself, where the rarest varieties of fowls may be seen, all in first-class condition. Over this pen and that and the other is the Agricultural Society's first-class award, given at different exhibitions. A visitor's judgment is that if he had sent his. whole stock tothe Exhibition he might defy all competition. The Bay View Post-office, with a telephone, is attached to a store in front of his grounds. The various industries that Mr. and Mrs. Roche successfully conduct are worthy of praise and admiration. There is also a post and telegraph office at Newport, so that

in the matter of postage, telegraphic, and telephonic communication Pittwater is up to date. Religion and education are amply provided for at Pittwater. Most of the denominations have places of Divine worship there. There are two Catholic churches, one at Josephton, Careel Bay, and the other at Mona Vale, which are served by the Rev. Father Dowling, or one of the priests attached to St. Patrick's College, Manly. There is a Public school at Bay View, and one also at Newport. A SKETCH OF PITTWATER. (1898, May 7). Freeman's Journal(Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932), p. 20. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article115386531 

Another interesting insight into teachers and teaching:

PUPIL TEACHERS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD. 

Sir-,-Through the medium of your paper I wish to call attention to a matter connected with tho administration of the Education Department that is unjust to applicant pupil teachers, and certainly unfair to the taxpayer. As most of your readers know, pupil teachers serve are such for four years, and during the last year are paid £46. Now it seems in most cases that female teachers much prefer to hold the position of pupil teacher after what can be called their apprenticeship has expired to being placed as mistresses in the Provisional schools, and, in order to stay on, they refuse offer after offer of appointments And as, very properly, the department never selects a school far distant from their home, there always elapses a considerable time between the offers of appointment. All this time same applicant pupil teachers are waiting for an appointment, and the country is paying double as much to each such teacher as it would to a newly appointed one. A banking company or mercantile firm would have no use for employees that were not ready to go where its interests required, and m the interest of education and of the taxpayers it would be well if the Education Department dealt with teachers in the same way. I am, &c., A. S. C. PUPIL TEACHERS. (1895, December 31). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 3. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28255057

Sir Henry Parkes, GCMG (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was a colonial Australian politician and longest non-consecutive Premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in theCommonwealth of Australia. He has been referred to as the "Father of Federation" due to his early promotion for thefederation of the six colonies of Australia and as an early critic of British convict transportation and as a proponent for the expansion of the Australian continental rail network.

Parkes delivered his famous Tenterfield Oration in 1889 which lead to his instigation of a conference in 1890 and a Constitutional Convention in 1891, the first of a series of meetings that led to the federation of Australia. He died in 1896, five years before this process was completed. He was described during his lifetime by The Times as "the most commanding figure in Australian politics". Alfred Deakin described Parkes as having flaws but nonetheless being "a large-brained self-educated Titan whose natural field was found in Parliament".

Sir Parkes convened the 1890 Federation Conference of February 1890 and may be considered the first real step towards Federation. In May he moved resolutions in the assembly approving of the proceedings of the conference that had just been held in Melbourne, and appointing him and three other members' delegates to the Sydney 1891 National Australasian Convention. On 18 May he broke his leg and was laid up for some time. It was 14 weeks before he was able to be assisted to his seat in the house. When the convention met on 2 March 1891 Parkes was appointed president "not only as the Premier of the colony where the convention sat, but also as the immediate author of the present movement". The next business was the debating of a series of resolutions proposed by Parkes as a preliminary interchange of ideas and a laying down of guiding principles. It was at this convention that the first draft of a bill to constitute the Commonwealth of Australia was framed. Parkes proposed the name of Commonwealth of Australia for the new nation.

When it was about to be submitted to the New South Wales assembly Reid on the address-in-reply moved an amendment hostile to the bill. Parkes then announced that in view of Reid's amendment he proposed to put the federal bill third on the list. George Richard Dibbs moved a vote of no confidence, defeated only on the casting vote of the speaker, and Parkes resigned on 22 October 1891.

Henry Parkes. (2016, March 3). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_Parkes&oldid=708055504

A wood engraving of Sir Henry Parkes moving the first resolution at the federation conference in Melbourne, 1 March 1890

F. A. Sleap - http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/miscpics/0/0/5/doc/mp005988.shtml 

Sir George Richard Dibbs KCMG (12 October 1834 – 5 August 1904) was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales on three occasions. Dibbs was born in Sydney, son of Captain John Dibbs, who disappeared in the same year. He was educated at the Australian College under Dr Lang, obtained a position as a young man in a Sydney wine merchant's business, and afterwards was in partnership as a merchant with a brother.

Dibbs entered parliament in 1874 as MLA for West Sydney, as a supporter of business interests and compulsory, secular and free education, which involved withdrawal of the support from denominational schools, provided under the Education Act of 1866. He lost his seat at the 1877 election due to his support for assisted immigration, which gave him a reputation as an "enemy of labour". Subsequently, a seamen's strike broke out against the Australian Steam Navigation Co, because it had begun to employ Chinese sailors on the Australian coast, and he was obliged as a director of the company to defend its policy, further reducing his popularity. He went to jail in 1880 for a year for refusing to pay a slander judgement to a lawyer who had committed adultery with Dibbs' sister-in-law. Nevertheless, this restored his political popularity.

In 1882, he won St Leonards with the support of the unions. In January 1883 he was given the portfolio of Colonial Treasurer in the Stuart ministry, and was committed to continued railway-building although revenue was under pressure due to a suspension of land sales. The Assembly refused to pass an increase in property tax, so he decided to borrow an unprecedented £14m, giving him a subsequent reputation for extravagance. Stuart resigned due to ill-health in October 1885 and Dibbs became Premier. In the October 1885 elections, he was beaten by Henry Parkes in St Leonards, but he won Murrumbidgee. Although his government polled badly overall, he attempted to govern on, but he was forced to resign after less than three months when it became clear that there would be a budget deficit of over £1m. Dibbs was Colonial Secretary in the Jennings ministry from February 1886 to January 1887, and became Premier again on 17 January 1889, but was succeeded by Parkes a few weeks later. He had been a convinced free-trader, but gradually moved into the opposite camp, and was responsible for the first New South Wales protectionist tariff. When Parkes resigned in October 1891 Dibbs came into power in a time of great financial stress. He went to England in June 1892 on a borrowing mission, not only as the representative of New South Wales but also of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, and carried out his negotiations successfully. During the banking crisis of May 1893 he showed himself to be a firm leader, saving the situation at Sydney by giving the banks power to issue inconvertible paper money for a period, although most of them failed to take advantage and went bankrupt. In 1893, his electoral reform removed rural over-representation. He was elected as the member for Tamworth in 1894. He later received a substantial public testimonial for his services at this time.

Federation

Dibbs had little influence on the question of federation. He was a member of the 1891 convention and sat on the judiciary committee, but was never more than a lukewarm advocate for it. In June 1894, writing to Sir James Patterson, then Premier of Victoria, he suggested the unification of New South Wales and Victoria, in the hope that the other colonies would join in later on. A few weeks later his ministry was defeated at a general election and Reid became Premier in August. In the following year Dibbs lost his seat at the election held in July, having been portrayed as reactionary and unprincipled by William Lyne. 

Later life

Dibbs retired from public life, and was appointed managing trustee of the savings bank of New South Wales. He held this position until his death in the Sydney suburb of Hunter's Hill in 1904. He was survived by Lady Dibbs, two sons and nine daughters.

Dibbs had been created KCMG in July 1892.

Above: Ocean Beach, Newport. Image Number: a106115, from album 'Scenes of Newport, N.S.W.' ca. 1900-1927,  Sydney & Ashfield : Broadhurst Post Card Publishers, courtesy State Library of NSW

 OTHER RESORTS NEAR THE CITY.

Bilgola Plateau Public School

What it would have looked like for all those who came to Newport for the famous 'Newport Oysters, See:

Oystering in the Pittwater Estuary - Oyster Kings and Pearl Kings and When Not to Harvest Oysters 

Oystering on the Hawkesbury.

Our artist has depicted one of the minor industries of the New South Wales coast — namely, oystering for the metropolitan market. The sketch sufficiently tells its own story. It will be seen that the purveyors of this delicious addition to our table luxuries ply their avocation amidst natural surroundings which are surpassingly beautiful. We have not, however, heard of any oyster-getters of the Hawkesbury developing a passion for poetry or painting. The rule is that they are intent on nothing but oysters. Very simple and primitive is the method in which the industry is conducted. And, indeed, all fishing whatever on the Australian coast is full of suggestion that we are far behind the world generally in securing and distributing the plentiful and wholesome food of the sea. At present the food of the land is cheap and easily  obtained, and probably we must wait for something like a food famine before we shall awake to the vast food resources of the Pacific. Oysters will, perhaps, be quoted as the first exception to the prevailing policy of apathy and blundering. They are unboundedly popular with the British palate ; but, unless they are judiciously 'farmed,' the supply is sore to give out. It is a long time since they were so scarce as they are this summer. The Government has done a right thing in checking indiscriminate and intermittent oystering, and private enterprise is waking up to the fact that ' there is money ' in oy6ter-beds, if properly laid down and looked after. On the Hawkesbury and other Northern rivers a good many men have got a fair living in the simple manner indicated in our illustration. Three bags of oysters are obtained, for two of which they receive £2, and the third is freight-payment to the little coasting steamer which takes the fish to Sydney. OYSTERING ON THE HAWKESBURY,Oystering on the Hawkesbury. (1882, March 4). The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), , p. 340. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article162030659