About Us

Wollombi School Patron

“As a nation we lose our Identity if we don’t take care of our History.

As a nation we are made up of thousands of small communities.

Wollombi is one of those communities. The Wollombi School dates back to 1852. To sell the school off, may gain some money which will soon disappear, but in the meantime a piece of our national identity expressing where we came from will disappear forever.

To the people who are making this decision I say please think long and hard about selling off pieces of our history dating back over 160 years.”

John Newcombe AO, OBE

Wollombi School Site

We’ve greatly appreciated your attendance and support at WSCET events at Wollombi School these past 18 months. WSCET alone has held over 300 events at the school site. Together with other community efforts there have been almost 350 events. Now, WSCET, and in fact the School’s very existence, are at a juncture. We need your support.

The NSW Department of Education and Communities has declared the Wollombi School site as “surplus to needs”, and is now preparing the site for disposal. The promised community consultation regarding its future use, pledged by Education Minister Piccoli (ABC News, Nov 2014), has not occurred, and most likely will not, unless we act now. The preschool, which utilises the school two days a week, has been asked to vacate the premises by 16th Dec 2016, and all other equipment is to be removed.

The school site is now in real danger of being lost to the Wollombi community forever. To prevent this we need unified, strong and decisive community support. You can be part of that momentum.

WSCET, together with our Patron John Newcombe A.O., O.B.E., have made a representation to our local Member of State Parliament, Clayton Barr, and have requested a meeting with the Education Minister and Premier. We have prepared a media release and information package.

We invite you to join WSCET. Membership numbers will assist our cause. Your membership and letters will help maintain the school in community ownership. Please act now.

We are receiving positive responses from the Department, but require your voice to show the depth of community support. Now is the time to write, no matter how brief, as it will be effective in showing community support. If you feel strongly about the community benefits of WPS, we ask that you consider becoming a member, or at least join forces with WSCET by writing independently to our local member, Education Minister and Premier.

Gladys Berejiklian – NSW Premier – Ministerial Office

• ADDRESS – The Hon. Gladys Berejiklian, MP, 52 Martin Place, SYDNEY NSW 2000
• POSTAL -The Hon. Gladys Berejiklian MP, GPO Box 5341, SYDNEY NSW 2001
• PHONE – (02) 8574 5000
• FAX (02) 9339 5500
• EMAIL – Contact the Premier

Robert Stokes – Minister for Education – Ministerial Office

• ADDRESS – The Hon. Robert Stokes, MP, 52 Martin Place, SYDNEY NSW 2000
• POSTAL -The Hon. Robert Stokes MP, GPO Box 5341, SYDNEY NSW 2001
• PHONE – (02) 8574 5300
• FAX – (02) 9339 5532
• EMAIL – Contact the Minister for Education

Clayton Barr- MP, Member for Cessnock

• ADDRESS – Mr Clayton Barr, MP, 118 Vincent Street, CESSNOCK NSW 2325
• POSTAL -Mr Clayton Barr MP, PO Box 242m CESSNOCK NSW 2325
• PHONE – (02) 4991 1466 Toll free – 1300 550 114
• FAX – (02) 4991 1103
• EMAIL –  cessnock@parliament.nsw.gov.au

John Barilaro – NSW Deputy Premier, Leader NP – Ministerial Office

• ADDRESS – The Hon. John Barilaro, MP, 52 Martin Place, SYDNEY NSW 2000
• POSTAL -The Hon. John Barilaro MP, GPO Box 5341 SYDNEY NSW 2001
• PHONE – (02) 8574 5150
• FAX – (02) 9339 5558
• EMAIL – Contact the Deputy Premier

​Your letter will be persuasive if you include what you believe to be the community value of Wollombi School and why. Even a paragraph or two will help. Some key points to consider are:

• Heritage/History of school
• Heart of the community/village
• Preschool use 2 days a week
• Indigenous programs
• Local History talks
• Art workshops
• Play readings
• Regular Meetings eg Landcare, TIP, Knitters
• Film nights
• Pottery – kiln, pottery wheels
• Prenatal classes
• Music
• Meetings for Area School Principals
• Counselling
• Great site for a school too!

The school’s value as a community education venue (including an ideal site for a preschool), as an educational facility for possible future population fluctuations, and its historical significance to the village, are very important to our community. We would urge you to encourage other supporters to write. Please note that, to be effective, letters must be from individuals, and not proforma style. It would also be very helpful if community organisations express support on behalf of their members, stating their use and support for the school site.

You may even consider writing to the newly elected National Party Leader as listed above.

Wollombi School Community Education Trust (WSCET)

Thank you for your recent letters of support.

Due to the recent political changes we have been advised that our community’s letters to both the Premier and Minister have been discarded. This occurs once a Minister changes portfolio. To have our views heard, we need to submit our letters to the new Premier and Minister. The website has been updated to facilitate a resubmission, please see below.

If you have also written to Clayton Barr and Mr Barilaro, they will still be valid. If you haven’t, a letter may be worthwhile.

Some members have received letters from a Mr Anthony Perrau, DEC, stating the school’s intended disposal and the cessation of CUA’s. This has been known for some time. There is however, no mention of the promised consultation. Mr Perrau refers to community consultation that took place prior to the school’s closure announcement in November 2014. Mr Piccoli subsequently pledged that community consultation regarding its future use would occur later. To date this has not taken place, despite a direction from the Premier.

Mr Perrau, appears unaware of two points: the school’s community value; and the promised community consultation as to the school’s future use, both of which are glaringly absent in his correspondence.

We thank you for your time, patience and support.

We have been informed by Cr Dunn that the meeting he had organised for next Tuesday, 14th March, with the Hon. Catherine Cusack has been postponed.

Thank you for you support and we will keep you informed.

WSCET has facilitated over 350 events at Wollombi School. Throughout this time members, community groups and individuals have appealed to government, politicians, council and the Department to maintain this valuable asset in public or community ownership.

In mid January, together with the Hon. Clayton Barr, WSCET met with Scot MacDonald, then Parliamentary Secretary of the Hunter and Central Coast, regarding Wollombi School. This has culminated in a very positive meeting with the Deputy Premier Hon. Mr John Barilaro. We would also like to acknowledge the work by Cr Allan Stapleford (Deputy Mayor) in organizing a meeting with Council and gaining their support for community ownership, with the proviso that there would be no impost to ratepayers.

Since WSCET announced on 23 Feb that it had obtained an on-going short-term licence agreement from the Department of Education, and of important developments, certain groups have claimed a “stakehold” in the school and a meeting with Hon. Catherine Cusack (Scot McDonald’s successor since 1 Feb) has been arranged. WSCET had no knowledge of this until a Facebook posting on 1 March. We are uncertain who has actually organised this. However, a post on the WSCET FB site by Cr Paul Dunn (Ward A Liberal) and an announcement he made at the Cessnock Council meeting on 1 March, appear to imply he may have been the initiator. Chamber of Commerce (CoC) are now promoting the meeting for people to put forward “alternative positions”, and have distributed a Wollombi School “FACTS” list that contains many misrepresentations and erroneous information that most would easily identify.

To the best of our knowledge, neither Cr Dunn nor CoC have declared their position or put forward an alternative plan publicly. Cr Dunn is quoted in the newspaper as having an interest in retaining the school in community ownership, but when he contacted me late last year he put forward a vision for dividing the school into commercial business ventures, including a café, restaurant and cellar door.

WSCET has already secured the return of the preschool and other community groups. Regular programs have kicked off with many new proposals from the community being formulated.

We are uncertain whether the organisers have obtained the Department’s permission to hold such a meeting in the school grounds/buildings. However, as there is no clear agenda or advice for this meeting, it may be in the interests of all “stakeholders” to attend on Tuesday 14 March at 3:30pm to voice your suggestions and/or opinions, should permission be granted.

WSCET is proud to announce that it has attained an ongoing short-term licence agreement with the Department of Education. Under the terms of the agreement WSCET will be the booking contact, liaising directly with the Department of Education.

WSCET is in further discussions with the government regarding options for community ownership. WSCET, together with Clayton Barr MP, will soon be meeting with the Deputy Premier, Hon. John Barilaro. These are very positive developments. WSCET would like to acknowledge and thank all community groups for their supporting letters and all the individual letters of support to the Department, politicians and government. This is an outcome to be proud of! We will keep you informed as further developments come to light.

We look forward to developing this wonderful community asset together. We are commencing regular and new events from Wednesday 1st March 2017.