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The first Mean Mahn School was the fourth in the Shire of Katanning. The others being Marracoonda, Cartmeticup and Katanning. In Katanning there was an Education Board.

The first letter applying for the school to be built is dated 7th May 1896 from Eli Quartermaine.

First Site – 1899-1909
Second Site – 1910-1930

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FIRST SCHOOL SITE

8th May 1896:
The application for the school was noted.
The settlers were required to guarantee sixty pounds per annum. There must be 19-24 settlers in the area and 20 children of the compulsory age of 6-14 years.

20th May 1896:
A letter from Mr. Patrick Cuneen asking for the school to be erected near his residence. He also thought that five hundred pounds would be sufficient to build the school and Mr. Eli Quartermaine would give two acres of land for it to be built on.

22nd May 1896:
Official Application and List of Students.
Patrick Cuneen’s Family: John 12, Patrick 5, May (crossed out), Josephine 2.
John Cuneen’s Family: John 3, William 1 (Both crossed out)
Eli Quartermaine: Drussilla 14, George 13, Amy 11, Agnes and Walter 6, Morton 4.
William F. Quartermaine: Sophie 7, Ernest 5, Alica 4.
One name illegible. No parent or guardian listed.

6th June 1896:
Application Acknowledgement

8th June 1896:
Application for school noted and settlers informed what they must do to get a provisional school as the numbers had dropped from 26 to 18.

5th September 1896:
Pat and John Cuneen, William and Eli Quartermaine and John Webse met to discuss the location of the school.

20th September 1896:
A letter from the Education Department, Perth told the settlers what they must do to get a provisional school. Also considered “Mearninking” is the correct name of the place (area? school?) In earlier correspondence the names “Mearnicking”, “Mearnmahn” “Meanmanicinking” and “Mearnmarking” were listed. But in all later correspondence, Mean Mahn was used. (The late Elizabeth O’Donnell, daughter of Eli Quartermaine, always spelt it as Mehn Mahn as the Quartermaine property is still called “Mehn Mahn” today.

26th September 1896:
From Thomas White (School Inspector) to the K.E.B.
In reference to your letter 11 Sep 96 concerning the “Meanmahn” proposed school: He had informed the proposers of the school about the regulations and as he had not heard from them, had taken for granted that the proposed school had not gone ahead. This he assumed as Mr.  Quartermaine had applied to have his children placed on the Free List at the Katanning School. The list enclosed must have been Mr. Quartermaine’s Children (Initials not shown).

5th October 1896:
Department of Education to E.B. Katanning have noted that the applicants of Mean Mahn School do not intend continuing at present.

6th June 1897:
From Thomas White. Application for school

24th January 1898:
Letter from Thomas White to E.B. Katanning to say “That I have heard from hearsay that the settlers have already erected the building and have only the furniture to provide”

2nd February 1898:
Settlers inquired about a teacher as the school was nearly completed and only the furniture needed.
In a letter to Mr. Quartermaine a teacher was promised. However, it was to be noted that a teacher was not available, and they were trying to get one from England. They also noted that there were hardly enough pupils for the opening of the school and the settlers did not want a male teacher.

1st April 1898:
A list of pupils: Amy, Agnes, Walter, Morton and Donald Quartermaine, Sophie, Ernest, Alice and Rueben Quartermaine, Annie Webse, John, James (crossed out) and May Cuneen, Jilia Murack, John and Myrtle Gulley, James, John and William Cuneen.

4th April 1898:
From Thomas White to E.B. Katanning: “That the settlers are required to guarantee sixty pounds per annum and that there be 20 children between 6 and 14 years old.
The guarantors were Eli and William Quartermaine, Patrick and John Cuneen, John Gully and John Webse.
We the undersigned guarantee to supplement the Education Department at four pounds a head on the average daily attendance by such amount to provide the teacher with a salary of sixty pounds per annum.

17th April 1898:
A letter from either the Education Department or E.B.: Katanning insisting regulations be observed for the number of children in the district. That there be 20 and not 18.

18th April 1898:
A record from Local M.P. Mr. Frederick Piesse shows there were only 12 pupils (could be numbers that would actually attend school).

25th April 1898:
From the Education Department: Had secured the services of Miss McKnight. She was from N.S.W. and Mr. Gamble (School Inspector) spoke highly of her and expressed the Department loss of her services after the Toodyay school where she had been teaching had closed down. It appears that she had been the governess for Mr. Eli Quartermaine at the time of her appointment. Mr. Quartermaine always had governesses or tutors for his children.

24th September 1898:
It appears that the building had been completed and only the furniture and 18 hat pegs were required.

5th October 1898:
The building and most of the furniture requirements completed. However, the settlers had to make the seats and forty pounds was forwarded to the settlers for what must have been the price of making the seats.

Once again “Mearnmarnking” a more correct name of the place was suggested. The Ed. Board, Katanning stated that the building appeared ‘very satisfactory’ and noted ‘it was a pity that the settlers had built the school without permission instead of going through the proper channels’. It appears that there were only 10 children available.

25th March 1899:
Settlers were willing to give some money but not much expected as times were hard. It appears that there are now nearly 20 children to attend school.

From Miss McKnight to Cyril Jackson of the Department of Education, Perth inviting him to the opening of the school on June 7th at 2.30pm and to the picnic afterwards.

A letter from (presuming) Dept. Education to the Katanning E.B. “that the building appeared to be very satisfactory and that the Minister for Railways, Mr. F. Piesse, Mr. Gamble, Mr. Adams plus guests of the district be invited. They were to be given a reception worthy of their civic positions.

A letter from Cyril Jackson asking if the opening could be changed to the 13th of June as the trains only ran every three days and he couldn’t attend to be away from his office too long. This date also affected Mr. F. Piesse.
The reply to Cyril Jackson was that “the date could not be altered as all the invitations had been posted”

From Father Flood (R.C. priest) to Cyril Jackson asking him to convey a message “of confined loyalty to Her Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria” whose birthday it was that day. He also informed Cyril Jackson about the opening of the school “where the weather was caring, our ceremony was faultless, all the families were represented, and everyone went home well pleased about the day”
Father Flood regretted that Cyril Jackson wasn’t present and informed him that the Annual School Picnic would be in September and looked forward to him being there for it.

15th April 1907:
10 pupils only, 3 Stade’s, 4 Treloar’s, 3 Casey’s.

21st September 1909:
Miss Kruger reported that the pupils enrolled at the school were 3 Stade’s, 2 Parnell’s, 4 Treloar’s, 2 Eli Quartermaine’s, 5 W.F. Quartermaine’s. Also, that there would be 3 Gulley’s who are returning from Victoria. Also, that there would be one more Parnell enrolling next year.

24th September 1909:
Approval given to have the school shifted which would bring another 18 children within the Compulsory School Age Radius. Mrs Stade had applied 14th February 1997, early 1909 and 24th September 1909.

20th October 1909:
Removal of school to be done during the school holidays and be completed for the commencement of the new year. Cost of removal would be forty five pounds.

23rd December 1909:
Public Works carry out the removal.
Mr. Peter Webse said the building was jacked up and transported to the new site on a wooden wheeled jinker.

2nd February 1910:
Work completed at the new site.

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SECOND SCHOOL SITE

Mrs Stade applied on 14th February 1897, early 1909 and on the 24th of September 1909, to have the school shifted to the new site.

STUDENTS

3rd September 1909: Miss Pixie Kruger had listed the students from the following families:

Gulley – three over 6 years – one under
Philip – two over 6 years – five under
Parnell – three over years – two under
Treloar – four, Stade – three
Quartermaine E. – two
Butterworth – two
Wallis – three and two
Reimmer – five
O’Donnell – two and two
Quartermaine W.F. – four and three

According to Flora O’Donnell there was a lot of correspondence about the school at the new site. A lot of it trivial and in some cases libelous. However, the new school appeared to have settled down very quickly.

Date Unknown
A request for the school to be fenced in and a better site for the garden to be found. The soil at the school was “as the farmers called it – cement gravel” and a “site five or six chains from the school would be suitable” The parents were also asked to fence suitably to keep out the bush animals.

1930:
School closes through low attendance. Miss Gladys Stade was the teacher and Mr. Edmondson, the School Inspector. On the roll was Leslie, Keith and Ronald Gooch, Lloyd, George and Keith Wells.

2nd June 1930:
A request for the removal of the school to Corackine, a further 6.3 kms east along the Warren Road.

3rd December 1930:
Towerlup (settlers) requesting that either the building from Bokal or Mean Mahn be erected at Towerlup.

8th December 1930
From the Public Works Department to the Towerlup (settlers) pointing out that the Mean Mahn School was over 30 years old and unsuitable for removal. The tank from Mean Mahn was to be transferred to “Fifield.”

4th February 1931:
Mr. Stade asked to cart the stock and furniture to Katanning along with the blackboard which was going to the Katanning School. Mean Mahn school had been let to a Mr. Brown.

6th October 1942:
Inquiries regarding purchases of Batchelor’s Quarters on Mr. Stade’s property by E.W. Gilchrist. This was a small tin room built onto Mr. Stade’s house for the teachers to use.

15th September 1942:
Mean Mahn School sold to W.A. Gill, Richardson Street, Katanning for salvage according to Rose Spitty (nee O’Donnell).

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TEACHERS, INSPECTORS, EDUCATION BOARD, KATANNING.

Teachers:

First Site
1899 – 1902 – Elizabeth McKnight
1903 – 1904 – Hannah Gleeson
1905 – 1907 – Ellie Gleeson
1908 – 1909 – Pixie Kruger

Second Site
1910 – 1913 – Margaret Ogden
1914 – 28th April 1914 – Lottie Hardy
15th June 1914 – June 1915 – Thomas Rodda
Vacant from June 1915 to September 1915
1915 – 1916 – Dora Gordon
1917 – Robert Rowel
1918 to April 1930 – Gladys Stade

nb: Both consecutive teachers Pixie Kruger (Mrs. Kealley) and Margaret Ogden (Mrs. Cook) lived to be over 100 years of age.

School Inspectors:

1898 – Thomas White
1898 – Gamble
1899 – Clifton
1899 – Wallace Clubb
1900 – R. Gamble
1900 – McLintoff
1903 – Gleeson

Education Board Katanning:

1896 – James Flood
1899 – Thomas Flood
1899 – W. Waley
1900 – Stables