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%T yrendarra Celebrates. 50th Anniversary of State School. A Menmorable Gathering.

Thorsday lat was a red letter dea in , l) e of .Tyroudarra, the occasion 'tbe celebration. of the jubilee ip e State School, No 1630, Fifty i ao tbh building wa first erected tla dounated by the late Mr Samuel a, one of the original settlers of Pdlri c, and since then a period ol dl irogress baa been experienced. dfal iaD have received the foundation sla uccassful business career, and the Soue distinctiona gained by scholais Stime to time have tended to make aldeolt feel very proud of their little IW and to take an active interest in I rilerre and the pupils attending, 4 A ip idea was that of the school com 0tce when it organised a grand "back ,cbool" reunion for the celebration of 6lleth anniversary. Tbo movement 5ikea op with gVeat enthuslasm, and i ,,srgetic band of workers, with Mr W t solaw as president and Mr A.S. 0olt as secietory,, set. about the i0lging of details in such a thorough -1 ttMoo t thlthe success of the under- I diogf was at once assured. Invitations I ?ra broadcasted to "come home," and t a Thursday old Tyrendarraites ( limbled at the festivities from all ft,, many original scholars being I otot The oldest resident in icodance was Mrs Mullens, who has t tchebd the venerable age of 97. She i Ylved a very hearty welcome on all I oes, and her faculties have been so il preserved that she was well able nreciprocate the feelings of goodwill c epressed by her numeious friends in a Iit cordial manner. prior to the commencement of the I a0etmorativB dinner, the childreni oformed the ceremony of saluting the ( ig in the presence of a large I oimblage. A large trarquee was erected in the I :ool grounds, to which were crowded I tWeen 20oo and 300 people, who sat so to an at fresco dinner, prepared in MItyle by the ladies of the district. t [I W. J. Brownlaw, the president of \ mtchool committee, presided, and on a rlight band were Mr Bond, M.L.A., c aobir wile, The chairman, in brief I it appropriate words, welcomed the a utlol the day, and expressed pleasure a etlog such a representative gatheriog. htafittlng tribute to the important t ccaSioo, and the school committee took i he large attendance as an indication i bit bhe public bad approved of their i clons In making provision for the celo A atlon of the school's fiftieth anniver- I Tbh toast list opened with * The oiog," the Chairman aptly remarking < at they should never forget the great od ever-growing Empire of which they i armed a part. "The Day We Celebrate" was pro Ded by Mr McCrae (head inspector of. late schools), and this gentleman, by a s oratorical effort, did the toast full utice. No one, he said, could propose with more fervour, zeal, and convic on thba be. As representative of the Aucatlon Department be was delighted obe amongst the large gathering which ad met to honor the fiftieth birthday Ithe sclool that had been the centre of Ollro for so many years. At the same lae they were honoring themselves, as Ias good for any community to keep rarm place in their hearts for their ichool, Their presence there, and the piit in which they came, was a vote of uofidence in what the Department was doilgin the way of providing educational fcilitles. He complimented the school ammittee, ladies, and other friends "on bsebadsome way everythlig bad been ons to mark tbo great uccasion. The at t1 or 20 years bad been a period of reat development in education, and the' rowth of intereet on the part of parents odothera in what the schools were do. of bad also been most marked. * In his hy, i be bad seen his parents at the cbool be would have shivered.l bieh inte, thinking that trouble was ahead. itht time the school largely existed orihelf, and Ibe people of the district look little intereet In its doings.' What achange had taken place tonday If bhe school could speak, it would express ligratitude for its place in the hearts Mod thoughts of the community. ' It was the growing part of a nation. The outh of to-day wopld catch the torch aom our hands and carry it on to future ipsrations. They bad fortunately bkt taught the traditions of the' grand oldEmpire, and it was a fine thing that thei cutriculum each day should begin wilbthe saute of the Flag-the symbol oltruth and justice, and a fair 'deal be. Isteo nation and nation. Parents were ddog well in interesting themselves in shool llle, as their presence would have Ihelplulinfluence on the children. It would bing home to them the'impor tioce ol the school and be reflected in it fluture by the work accomplished by lheyoutig folk. Mr McCra. referred to the new subjects being from lime to lime introduced, and particularly men tined agricultural plots, which did not preleod to teach the children the last blog io sclentific terming, but helped to stl them thinking about the conptituents Cl Ibe soil and how best It would respond lth different kinds of crops. The De piatment was also training the children to takl an active part In junior red cross orlk, orcommnnity service. It was in te?ded to "learn them to do by doing," aod so mike the school, in the words of Woodrow Wilson, "the laboratory 0of clizenhbip."' In the school young liv6s "ere Ourtured, plans and ambitions for libfuture formulated, the whole career moulded and shaped and destinies wor d out, He came to them from the partment with a message of goodwill O0 that auapiclous occasion, and con ItniU.ttlon on the manner in which the ctliraloo was carried out. All would cokt upon it as a red letter day io the ottlory of Tyreodarra, and a greater spirit Sloyalty would be the outcome. In t°cluilon, h trusted that the next 50 ler would be a time of eteady and pros. 1r0ous developmenrt, and that a stream "l bos and girls would pass through the bool of whom the Commonwealth, Qt9l »ed Tliondatta would bo proud,

Mr: DvI)vld Arnott proposed "The De. pertminent of Education," and said that the future of the rising generation de. peuded greatly on the education receised at thq State schools. He congratulated the Department on the facilities provi. ded, and referred to the drbt of gratitude the community owed to the Gover:ment in this respect. He pitied the children denied a decent education, as on that depended their whole success In life. Mr Law. inspector, responded, and said that if the Director bed been pre sent he would have been gratified at the .euccess of the function, He (Mr Law) s was pleased to see the parents rallying round their school. The Department desired is to be the social centre of the community, and in many cases it was. Io New-York plenty of schools provided accommodation for the parents, so that they could attend and gain a knowledge t of thesystem of teaching. It should not t be a case of "S:hbool No. So and So," -but rather one of "Our School." In ngoo the present idea of school committees was brouvbt into operation-the result of the fertile brain of the Director of Edu cation, which gave the opportunity for s service by. citizens. Complaint was E made that the school requisites were not provided free as in New South Wales, hout it that were the case the establish. ment of country schools would have to be curtailed, and those in the outlying parts would be the sufferers, tAt presnt -Viitoria could boast of a splendid country school system, buildings being supplied for as few as bhall.a.dezeo children, who received instruction equal to that into the big city schools. He con. gratulated the secretary and president of the local committee on their 25 years' service'in their responsible posi. tions, a record of which they could justly feel proud. Educational drawbacks would be more serious as the days ad vanced, as competition was increasing with the advance of the times. What they desired was to create a noble, hard woking, honest class of oitizens-not talkers, but workers in the development of this great country. The people on the land were doing their part just as much as those in high professional positions, and all came within the scope of the State's great educational system, He hoped the vote for educational purposes would never. be decreased, because it had as its object the training of the young for a worthy citizenship. Although they owed a debt to the Department, the Minister was amply rewarded by the fact that the system was so highly appreciated, as evidenced by such gatherings asthese. Mr H. V. MacLeod gave " Parlia. ments of Australia," and referred to the near approach of. the Federal elections, when, In accordance with the franchise conferred upon the people, they would have to decide which party would represent them in the Common. wealth House. Under the present administration of the State Parliament, education recetved the closest attention of the authorities, with the result that they had one of the best systems of edu cation In Australasia. Credit was due to Parliament for carrying on the affairs of the country in such a manner that it was looked up to more than any other part of the world. He hoped that in the future it would prosper to the same degree as it had done In the past. - Mr E. E. Bond, M.L.A., replied, and after expressing pleasture at being cre sent as their Parliamentary representla tive, made reference to the high standard of education existing in not only Vic toria, but in Australia as a whole, ,The actual work ot administration was left to the Director of Education and officials, but nevertheless Parl ament had to at. terd to the raising- of the. necessary funds. Finance played a big part in the system, and thq pople, should bie .pre. pared to shoulder the rosppnsihility of maintaining and mafptoring'the schools, If members of the House, however. Iaried to carry out. ebeir part. they could not expect those in charge of the ad -ministration to discharge their, duty satisfactorily. As an ex-member of the Department, he felt keenly for the wel fare of the children, as they must look to them as the future-costopians of this young country, Therefore, it was necessary that, they should be given' the best education, otberlise they would not be in a position to secept the great responsibility. Although, as be bad said, they had a good system, it was not perfect, and they should strive to find means of Improvement, In the nesr future technical eduetfop }yould have to be given more earnest attentiop, as, it .was essential, it this country was to be properly developed, that we must foster the primary and secondary industries, sod the only way to place those on a sound ard firm basis was by giving the necessary education to the children. Ho mentioned the value of the book written. by Mr Tate on his travels abroad, par tlcularly the portion dealing witb the dairyfog Industry inm enmark, and con cluded by urging the necessity of developing the young minds, while they were susceptible, by a vigorous policy of free education., Mr Ben Saunders proposed P'The Pioneers of the Parish," and on behalf of-the Narrawong F$ast jtate School, expressed his thanks for the invitation to be present. 'heoy should be proud of their pioneers, he said, aod admire them for their heroism in facing the dangers and trialsi of early settlement, thus preparing theway for thp gepend'teone to. follow, They must have possessed hearts of oak to undertake the task. With it all, bowevtr, they found time for the religious and educational side of life, Without Wvhich no nation sould be really great, -Filfty-two years ago the first chapel was built -at Tyrendprra, being allorily followed by ibe ereptlon of a school, the jublleo of which they were celebrating that day. "Amongst those present be was pleased to see IMrs Mullens, loo~itng bale and bparty. (Applause.) Mr 3ond should feel a proud man to have slch a fine old grandmother, the like of whom had provtded the counly with the legislators

of the present day. Manyol the pioneers had passed away, and in memory of the departed ones he asked the gatherin5 to stand in silence for a brief period. (The request having been reverently compiled with, the toast was then eontbusiastically drunk). Mr Bond euitab y responded, expressing the pleasure it gave him to reply on behalf of his grandmother, who was in her 97'b.,ear, and the other sturdy old pioneers who had made posesb!e the privileges they at present enjoyed He counted it an bonor to be present tha' day at Tyrendarra, the bome of his mother and grardoaother, (Applause.) " The Guests" was given by Mr Bond, and replied to briehy by Messrs Tom Wright and A. H. Sutton, two former scholars of the school. Mr Rawlinson was entrusted with the toast of '"The Ladins.' to which Mr H. V. McLeod replied, and alter "The Prese" had' heen honored and replied to by Mr O. G. Pettit ("Portland Guar. dian '), the proceedlo?s terminated. In the afternone a sports galbering was held for the children; and at night a d-oce in the Tyreodarra Hall broukht a memorable day's festivities to a close. More thrills then a aerial ; wore laughs than a jackass-Buster Keaton in "Three Ages" at the Star Theatre on Saturday night. See the Indians swonp on the cattle train ; the battle in the wilderness; the huge herd swim turblulent rivers ; the furl oua cattle etempeile in the "* North of 36." at the Star Theatre next Saturday. T'hril. ling spectacle, etirring romanoe-a pioneer ing epic.

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