4 Nero has been investigating the history of Glenmore Road Public School. We read Lynne Collingwood's "The Story of a School" which was researched and written for The Centenary in 1983. We then wrote an information report about the beginnings of our school.

Construction of Glenmore Road Public School was finished in 1883. The land had been bought from John Gurner, a wealthy solicitor, who had come to Australia from England in 1817.

The main difficulty with the land was that it was uneven and sandy. The sand drifts would rise up to the window sills of the residence and the sand made the toilets unstable. Other problems were fencing the school, clearing the playgrounds and fixing the toilets.

The original school, infants and primary, had 421 students. The children were supposed to attend school for 140 days a year but many of the girls had to stay at home to help and to do domestic chores, requiring them to have exemption certificates.

The first headmaster lived in the 5 room and kitchen residence. His name was John Cardin and he was transferred from Windsor. In 1884 the Department of Public Instruction moved him to another school because of a misdemeanour.

John Cardin was replaced but was unwilling to move for 4 or 5 months. His replacement was John O'Brien who was headmaster for the next 10 years.

In 1886 Cambridge Street was cut through and a retaining wall and fences were built to prevent sandslides onto the new road.

John O'Brien's trouble was that he had chickens and ducks which flew into the yard and left feathers to block the drains. They also left droppings everywhere.

In 1894 the school numbers were falling and the Department accused Mr O'Brien of being inefficient. He was ordered to a post outside Wollongong but he refused to go. He retired on a pension in 1894.

Between 1895 and 1920 there were many problems. Girls were sent to other schools because Glenmore Road was always a mixed school and also because local residents were frightened of snakes (which did not exist) in the grounds. The school added more buildings, such as another retaining wall, a wash house, a shed and steps from Cambridge Street into the building.

Joint Negotiation by 4 Nero

PROCLAMATION
New South Wales to wit, (L.S.) HARRY H. RAWSON, Governor.	By His Excellency Sir Harry Holdsworth Rawson, Admiral in the Royal Navy, Knight Commander of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath, Governor of New South Wales and its Dependencies, in the Commonweatlth of Australia.
In pursuance of the provisions of the Public Instruction Act of 1880, I, Sir HARRY HOLDWORTH RAWSON, the Governor aforesaid with the advice of the Executive Council, do hereby appoint the undermentioned Public School to be a "Superior" Public School, in accordance with the 9th section of the said Act, viz :- GLENMORE ROAD (PADDINGTON).          Given under my Hand and Seal, at the State Government          House, Sydney, this twenty-sixth day of September, in          the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and four,          and in the fourth year of His Majesty's Reign.                 By His Excellency's Command,                     B.B.O'CONNOR GOD SAVE THE KING !

1928 Little Sarah Cameron (arrow), aged seven, teaches arithmetic to children much bigger than herself at Glenmore Road Public School, Paddington, with the Newton Russell automatic arithmetic machine. The machine was invented by Miss Newton-Russell, the headmistress of the school.

FACTS ABOUT GLENMORE ROAD IN THE PAST
An old man thought that the school      was infested with snakes - but      he was wrong. He thought that      a child was playing with a snake, but      in fact the child had a string tied to      a goanna's neck, using it as a toy. Hannah - 4 Nero	*    You were not allowed to write with      your left hand. *    If you spilt the ink you would get      the cane over your knuckles. *    Our school's nickname was Glennie Annabel - 4 Nero
100 years ago this school was called Glennie School and people who were left handed got hit over the knuckles with a cane. The first principal of Glennie was John Cardin. Our school was built in 1883. Matthew - 4 Nero

Headmaster Tells School Story Former Headmaster of Glenmore Road Public School, John O'Brien, yesterday told the Sydney Herald about the history of headmasters at Glenmore Road Public School. The first Headmaster of Glenmore Road, John Cardin, was sent to an inferior school when he was accused of some unexplained behaviour in 1884. He was replaced by John O'Brien. John O'Brien also found himself in trouble in 1891 when he was told to remove 18 chooks and ducks which he was keeping in the residence. The Department claimed that the birds flew into the school where they left feathers and droppings blocking the drains. Mr O'Brien was later ordered to take up a post outside Wollongong. He refused to go. He said, "Even criminals are called on to state why the sentence of the law should not be carried out, before final condemnation." Edward - 4 Nero

Hi! My name is James and it is October 14th 1898. I live in Paddington and I walk to school every day carrying my bag with my lunch and my slate. I have to bring my slate because I need to write on it, and my copy book so I can practice my running writing. We have all different classes in our room. My teacher's name is Miss Abigail Crabtree and we have to be very good or Miss Crabtree will cane us or make us sit in the corner wearing the Dunce's Cap. My friend Henry is left handed and Miss Crabtree ties his left hand behind his back so that he will write with his right hand. I am 12 years old and soon I will have to leave school and take a job because my family is very poor and my family needs the money. Nick - 4 Nero

Wealthy solicitor John Gurner occupied a large amount of property in Cascade Street, Paddington. The Department of Public Instruction offered Mr. Gurner a large sum of money but, although Mr. Gurner accepted, there were many arguments over the price and it was not until Mr. Gurner died that the case went to court and Mr. Gurner's solicitor demanded ten thousand pounds plus three thousand pounds compensation. The plaintiff stopped at six thousand eight hundred pounds and bought the property. They built a teacher's residence and a school which was named Glenmore Road Public School. Frey, Hiki and Matthew - 4 Nero

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