History - Our School & Our Buildings
In 1869 Sunbury State School No1002 was established on Macedon Street in its original location. Mr William Forster had the title of Head Teacher between June and December of 1868, while the school was forming and he was succeeded by Ms Maria Forster for the school’s official first year. Parents were charged one shilling per week for every first child and 6d for every additional child.
Also opened in this era was the Sunbury Industrial School, located in the bluestone buildings on top of Jackson’s Hill in 1864, just 2.6km away from the Sunbury State School. It was unknown at this stage that the two original education institutions, though very different, would eventually combine their history over 100 years later. The two schools ran without connection for the duration of the Industrial School until its closure in 1879.
Sunbury Primary School continued to develop with the growing population and became one of four Primary Schools in the town available to the Sunbury Community. With little room for growth on the Macedon Street site, the school council of 1994 (the school’s 125th anniversary) voted to move Sunbury Primary School to Jackson’s Hill.
In 1999, under the leadership of principal Mr David Cook, the school finally settled next door to the Sunbury and Macedon Ranges Specialist School, therefore occupying the entire original site of the Sunbury Industrial School.
