Schooling and the Production of Local Communities in Mid-Nineteenth-Century Australia

Abstract

This paper explores some ways in which the provision and management of schools in mid-nineteenth-century Australia shaped the local communities of which they were a part. It argues that the existence of schools, especially public schools in purpose-built accommodation, played an important role in shaping local society, geographically, culturally, and politically, and in positioning local society in relation to the colonial state.