Look at all those kids!

Posted on Saturday, 31st May 2025 by Janine Rizzetti

Just look at all those children! The teacher can barely fit between the desks!

This photo from 1956 shows a class at Heidelberg West State School (later renamed Haig Street Primary School in the 1990s).

If the building looks old, it’s because it was: it was the former Ivanhoe State School building in Upper Heidelberg Rd on the current site of the Ivanhoe Post Office. It was moved to Haig Street West Heidelberg in 1925 by teams of horses.

The parents of West Heidelberg at the time weren’t too impressed with their ‘second-hand’ school, but it was probably a larger school than they would have obtained had it been built from scratch.
Gradually army huts and new classrooms arrived as the numbers grew. This old school building stood until the 1960s, when it was demolished.

This is just one of the many photos of schools that you can see at our ‘Back to School’ exhibition, winner of the History Interpretation prize at the 2024 Victorian Community History Awards.

We’re open on Sundays between 2.00 and 5.00 p.m., entry $5.00 with children under 16 and members free. There’s only three more Sundays to catch it: Sunday 1 June, Sunday 8 June and Sunday 15 June.