Our Story

The History of Lismore Primary School 

Lismore State School 1293 was opened on 1st January, 1874.  It replaced a non-vested rural school No 44., which in turn replaced a school established by the Presbyterian Church at Lismore.  This school was built by public donations and was opened in 1867.  The building which served the three schools in succession, comprised of a school room 19’ x 16’, shingle roof and unlined.  The teacher’s residence, being attached, consisted of two small rooms.  A local committee had been elected by the contributors to control the working of the school.  The building and site was first leased and then bought by the Minister of Public Education at valuation.

A temporary reservation on five acres of land was approved and a school built on the present site, most likely in 1878.  The school consisted of one room, large enough to accommodate forty children, and a small porch.  At the commencement of this school, the attendance was approximately fifteen to twenty students.

From mid 1896-1898 the school worked on a part-time basis with Derrinallum.  The attendance at Lismore gradually increased, with the need for a larger building.  This in turn was constructed and opened in 1912 with an enrolment of sixty four students and by 1914, eighty one children.

The new school room once again proved inadequate and additions and alterations were carried out, these being officially opening in 1916.

The school was burnt to the ground on the 11 August 1948.  All records and equipment were lost.

Part of the present structure was built and opened in 1950.  A third room and staff room were added in 1956, and in 1961 saw the completion of the fourth room. At this time, there were 144 students and four teachers.

In 1950 the Mingay bus commenced operation, the bus being driven by Phil Lorensini.  In 1964 the school enrolment increased to 188 and approval was given for another classroom, staff room and store room.  The school library was completed in 1973.  In 1974, the enrolment was 112.

In 1974, following many letters from the School Principal and School Committee, the existing residence was condemned and a new residence was built on a site opposite the sale yards on the corner of Cunningham and High Streets.

In July 1974, saw the closure of Mt Bute Primary, Berrybank closed in 1976 and Bradvale in 1977, with most of these children transferring to Lismore.  During this time, Des Davis successfully tendered for the contract for a Primary School bus route which commenced in October 1974, and served the Mt Bute / Bradvale / Mingay areas until October 1992.

In 1984, an adventure playground was added to the south side of the school with the addition of a shelter shed from Mt Bute to this area.  At this stage, the large pine trees were removed from the perimeter of the school grounds.

During 1985, the School Council added an Art Room to the south side of the school.  The room was brought from Dundonnell and was the old Dundonnell School.

From then on Lismore Primary School has seen various alterations to buildings and grounds. The shelter shed was removed and a large multi purpose shed erected in July 2008.

The BER project saw two storage rooms added off the main building and a large office area built into an existing classroom. Double doors and stairs link classrooms together. An undercover deck was also built as part of this project which was completed in 2011.

In 2017, some of our windows were replaced and a new façade was installed at the front of the school. A new Art room floor was completed during the 2017/18 summer holidays and new Art room cupboards were installed in Term 2 2018.