The following is an excerpt from ‘They Came to a Plateau’ by Jean Harslett and Mervyn Royle.
Schools
In the 1890’s, four new schools were opened – at Accommodation Creek in 1893, at Silver Spur in 1895, Paddock Swamp in 1897 and Mt Janet in 1898, while in the 1900’s schools opened at Cherry Gully, Glenlyon, Broadwater, Broadwater Crossing and Ballandean.
In fact, the first provision of education at Accommodation Creek dates from 1891 when a humpy on Mr Mick O’Connor’s land was used.
The school was subject to no government control, parents paying sixpence per child per week to the teacher, Mr Quinn.
This school closed within a year, but another opened in a hut on the property of John Johnston, Mr Wood being the teacher.
On 7 November 1893, the Accommodation Creek Provisional School opened in a slab building erected one mile south of the Lyra railway station.
The first teacher was Miss Charlotte England.
In 1905 the name was changed to Lyra, when it became a state school.
No doubt the opening of the Silver Spur school under the charge of Mrs Marion Booth was in response to a demand created by mineral discoveries, but the school functioned until 1960.
On 25 January 1997, a state school was opened at Paddock Swamp under the charge of Sophia Sommerville.
Twenty years later its name was changed to Eukey, and functioned until closure in 1964.
