At a Village School in Australia by Eleanor Spence

Part I

The Wilmots were an English family. They lived in London. The father, Mr. Wilmot, worked in an office, and the mother, Mrs. Wilmot, looked after the house and the children. There were three children in the family: a son, Aidan, who was thirteen years old, and two daughters, Harriet, who was twelve, and Rose, who was ten.

The children went to school in London. Aidan was at a boys’ school, and his sisters went to a school for girls. They also took music and singing lessons. Aidan was a tall boy with a clever face. He liked to read and to learn. He was a very good pupil at his London school.

Harriet had dark hair and brown eyes. She was not pretty, but she was very clever and a good pupil. She liked her school lessons, but she did not like her music or her singing lessons. Her sister Rose was a very pretty girl with long fair hair and large blue eyes. She liked singing and music.

One day their father got a letter from Australia. The letter said that Mr. Wilmot's uncle was dead, and that his house and farm in Australia were now Mr. Wilmot’s house and farm. Mr. Wilmot decided to go to Australia and take his family with him.

So one day in January, they all got on a big ship to go to Australia. Australia is very far from England, and they were on the ship for three weeks. The weather was bad, and the wind blew. Rose was ill for many days.

They came to Australia at last and went to their farm. The house was big. It was on a hill. It was summer then because in Australia, December, January, and February are summer months. Mr. Wilmot began to work on the farm, and his children helped him.

When autumn came, Mr. and Mrs. Wilmot began to think about a school for their children.

Part II

One day Harriet went down to the village, which was not very far from their house. The people in the village told her that there was a school there, but it was a one-room school and very small. There was only one teacher for all the pupils. They showed her the teacher’s house. Harriet went up to the house and looked into the garden. In the garden, she saw a small, plump man with fair hair. He looked up and saw Harriet. The girl went up to the man and said, “How do you do? I am Harriet Wilmot from the house on the hill.”

“Yes,” said the man, “and I am Mr. Burnie, the school-teacher. What can I do for you?”

“Oh,” said Harriet, “I want to ask you if we—my brother, my sister, and I—can come and learn at your school.”

“Yes,” said Mr. Burnie, “of course you can, but you must come with your mother and father and see the school. Perhaps you will not like it.”

“Oh, no,” said Harriet, “we shall like it very much.”

Then Harriet said goodbye to the teacher and went home. She told her father and mother and Aidan and Rose about the school and the teacher. The next day they all went to see the village school. It was a small wooden building. There was only one classroom with many desks in it.

Part III

Harriet got up early in the morning and began to dress. It was their first day at a village school in Australia. She and Rose wore green dresses and white pinafores. Aidan wore a blue suit.

After breakfast, they all went down the hill to their new school. At the desks in the classroom sat twenty children from fourteen to four years old. Some of the older girls and boys had their little brothers and sisters with them.

Mr. Burnie, the teacher, taught his pupils all the subjects. Lessons began at 9 o’clock. The big boys and girls read books and wrote dictations in their exercise-books. They studied history, geography, and other subjects with the teacher.

To the little children the teacher gave pencils and paper, and they drew pictures or learned to read and write. One of the older girls helped Mr. Burnie with the little ones. During the breaks they all played in the playground.

Harriet liked her new school, and she had many friends there. Soon she asked Mr. Burnie to let her teach the little children. Her brother and sister did not like the village school. They often talked at home about their schools in London and wanted to go back to them.