What do the words Lovely, Joy, Good and Shovelbottom conjure up for you? What do these words, in fact these names, have in common? These names are all the names of people who between 1856 and 1919 conducted private schools in the area of Collingwood, namely Collingwood, Abbotsford and Clifton Hill. During that period over 100 private schools were conducted in houses in the area. These schools varied dramatically in size, from a small number of students in a house to schools which started in a small way and went on to prepare students for matriculation.

Karen Cummings from the Collingwood Historical Society is writing a comprehensive history of schools and education in Collingwood which will be published by the Society later this year. If you have any questions about the schools or reminiscences about your experiences here is the place to share them!

The picture above shows a group of Collingwood children outside a house which provided their schooling in the 1880s. The specific location is unknown but one of the girls was resident in Turner Street, Collingwood, so the school was probably fairly close to this location. Was this a typical number of students for a private school? Is the teacher typical for the time? Watch out for the CHS publication where you can follow up all of these questions and more!