Old Uduc School 1889 – 1921

The Old Uduc School is a rare example of a quaint school from the late 1800s.

It was operational between 1889 to 1921.

In 1897, when the settlers of Uduc had 26 children under the age of 14, Mrs Anna Smith donated a quarter acre of her land for a school to be built and a room for a teacher to board.

Mrs Smith lived at Uduc Farmhouse, where the large Moreton Bay Fig Tree now stands on the corner.

After correspondence with the Education Department, the Uduc Settlers were approved to build a school, and the government paid for the materials.

Built by the local community, the School opened in July 1899 with furniture and books supplied by the Education Department.

Miss Eileen Nielsen was the head teacher; later teachers were R. Murdock, O’Mara, and D. D’Evelynes.

In 1900, the Uduc School had an average attendance of 30 pupils. Some teachers boarded with Mrs. Smith until teachers’ quarters were built in July 1903.

By 1909, the number of students had dropped to nine, and these attended rarely. Hence, the school closed for two years, with the local children attending the Coast School and others travelling into Harvey.

With new families settling at Uduc, the school opened again in 1912.

With the centralisation of schools in 1921, the Uduc School closed, and after that, a bus took children to Harvey.

The Uduc Progress Association was formed in 1919. After the Uduc School was closed, the Association decided to keep the school building as a public hall. The first dance was held in the hall in 1922, after which it was used for many public fund-raising activities until the mid-1950s when the new Uduc Hall was built.

In 1999, a memorial plaque was laid for the 100-year celebrations.