BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TOWN

 

The township of Maffra is thought to have been named after Maffra, a small convent town in Portugal, by William Bradley, a veteran of the Peninsula War. He  was one of the first squatters to follow Angus McMillan whose trips of exploration in 1839, 1840 and 1841, opened up the Gippsland area for settlement.  McMillan established his run at Bushy Park by the Avon River in 1841, an example soon followed in the establishment of other large stations throughout the Shire. These stations required towns which would house their workers and supply their needs. As a result service towns such as Maffra, Newry, Boisdale and Heyfield came into existence. The first buildings in the Maffra town area were shepherds' huts for the large Mewburn Park station.

 

The Selections Acts of the 1860's and the growth of the State's railway system allowed closer settlement and the establishment of new industries such as dairying, sugar beet, hops and tobacco growing. Since these industries were more labour intensive than grazing, the area's population grew and processing industries were set up in the towns. A sugar beet factory was built in Maffra, and creameries and cheese factories in other towns, the most famous being Foster's factory at Boisdale, which gained national fame for the quality of its cheese. A contributing factor to the area's growth at this time was its proximity to the Walhalla goldfields, which provided an impetus to the growth of agriculture and service industries.

 

This expansion of the industry and population led to the Government establishing the Shire of Maffra in 1875 at a time when Maffra's town population was about four hundred people. The next one hundred years was to see the growth of Maffra at the expense of the other Shire towns as employment became centralised there.

 

The sugar beet industry and its processing factory, a large employer of labour, was to gain Maffra national prominence during the Federation debates and referenda of the 1890's. This industry declined until its demise shortly after World War II. It was unable to compete with Federally subsidised cane sugar and offered producers a smaller financial return than dairying.

 

Dairying has been the mainstay of nearly all business activity located in the Maffra area this century. The completion of the Glenmaggie irrigation system in 1926 led to a rapid expansion of the industry accompanied by a gradual shift from sugar beet production. Today the Shire is one of the largest producers of dairy products in the world. The various local diary co-operative and cheese factories have merged so that the collection and processing of milk is now centralised in Maffra. This came about because of the convenient rail transport located in Maffra and the high labour costs involved in operating more than one factory.  Cost pressures have forced producers into larger and larger mergers with the co-operatives outside the area under the Trade names of G.C.L. and G.A.M. Finally in 1972, the local co-operative became part  of Murray Goulburn Co-operative Company Limited.

 

About one-third of the school’s population is drawn from the towns of Heyfield and Stratford. Both these towns had their origins in the manner typical of the area. Heyfield grew as a service town to James Tyson’s station at Heyfield Bridge. Stratford provided the same function of Captain Macalister’s station at Boisdale. With the subdivision of Tyson’s estate in 1899, a rapid expansion of the dairy industry occurred in the Heyfield area. Later saw-milling was to become the mainstay.  Stratford had grown slowly since its inception as an important supply centre for the Walhalla and Crooked River gold-fields. The place was named because there was an excellent ford for crossing the river Avon on the main Munro – Port Albert Road. Present populations are approximately:-Maffra – 5,000; Heyfield – 2000 and Stratford – 1,200.

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL

 

The school began as a Higher Elementary School in November, 1927, when students in what had previously been Grades 7 and 8 at the Primary School literally carried everything for their new school up the hill by hand. The original building still stands, though it has undergone many internal changes since it first held classes. It is hard now to imagine that one of the first complaints directed at the building was that it was too far away from the town! Originally there were four forms; students who progressed beyond intermediate worked by correspondence in the Headmaster's office. There were five members of staff, plus the Headmaster who was shared with the Primary School.

 

In the following year students from Valencia Creek and Boisdale began to be brought in by bus –  "Leaping Lena" was its nickname. In limited ways some of the school's current extra-curricular activities began as far back as the late 'twenties'. Overnight excursions to Bairnsdale and Traralgon became an annual feature. Schools socials commenced. Even an overseas student arrived. The toilet block became the unofficial smoking zone.

 

The buildings were extended in 1944 with the provision of the domestic science room, plus facilities for woodwork and sheet metal work. The first of the pre-fabs arrived in 1953. Maffra High School came officially into being on 1/10/1955. By then it had an enrolment of 149 students. Form V was introduced the following year.

 

As the school continued to grow further "temporary" buildings were added in 1959 and 1962 creating what is now the humanities wing. A new Art/Craft complex was built in 1964 – this is now the Commerce Wing and a Commonwealth Science block in 1970, which provided us with, among other things, the first decent toilet block and much needed central heating.

 

The temporary buildings eventually became permanent when they received brick cladding in 1978, the same year that the road circling the school was closed and the new Art/Craft block was built on what had been the local drag strip.

 

After many years of promises, the school's activity centre was finally built in 1981. Perhaps as compensation for the wait, we were provided with the State's first standard theatrette.

 

A permanent addition to the school's facilities has been the pottery studio, which grew from the feeling that the school community had more and more to help itself. The building was thus erected mainly by students, parents and staff.

 

During 1993, the Maffra Shire agreed to the closure of Kent Street to allow for school expansion and to eliminate the danger of students crossing a busy road when moving between classes and to or from the school oval. This area is now called Bill Cane Court, in honour of a former School Councillor and noted botanist, Bill Cane.

 

1994 saw the completion of a new library, VCE common room and commencement of significant landscaping initiatives by parents, students and staff. The library was officially opened in February 1995 by the Governor of Victoria and is named in honour of Ron (Dingo) Reed and Shirley Reed, who served our school for over 30 years.

 

During 2002, new Science and Technology buildings were opened and refurbished Home Economics and Fabrics, Health, PE and staff facilities were finished. A new canteen was built into the refurbished block.