When Australia was established as a penal colony for convicts from England, Ireland and Scotland in the late 18th century there was very little interest in education. The early migrants brought with them the British disinterest in educating children that prevailed at the time.

At the beginning of the 19th century, it was estimated that less than 20 per cent of children were receiving any education. By mid-century the population had grown to around 400,000 but the numbers of children between the ages of four and 14 receiving any education was still only about 50 per cent. By the end of the 19th century, the numbers of free settlers had grown and spread throughout the country and the Australia's population had swelled to around 3.7 million. There was also an emerging liberalism towards the idea of an education for everyone.

The role of educating the children of the new colonists was first taken up by the Church of England which regarded itself as the "true" or Established Church. The Catholic and Presbyterian churches which had a large number of followers among the Irish and Scottish settlers, challenged this, thus beginning an acrimonious debate that lasted for decades.

Before the state involved itself fully in the education arena, a duel system of education existed throughout most of Australia. There were National schools (operated by the state) and denominational schools (operated by the churches and partially funded by the state).

There were ongoing disagreements between the various religions claiming responsibility for education, and differing ideas about how, or if, religion should be taught in a combined school system. The result was that the colonies, one by one from the 1850s to the 1890s, introduced “free, compulsory and secular” education acts. The acts abolished state financial assistance to schools that were not government controlled (mostly church operated) and education at primary school level became compulsory across Australia. The colonies established state departments of education operated under a Minister of the Crown, to administer government-funded schools.

The colonial education acts did not introduce government-funded schooling to Australia – state-funded schools had been operating for more than 40 years in some colonies. Nor did it force the closure of non-government schools – Tasmania and South Australia abolished state funding for church schools in the 1850s. What it did was enshrine in legislation that these schools would no longer receive government funding, legislation that would remain for another 80 years.

For a comprehensive history of Australian education see “History of State-Aid to Non-Government Schools in Australia” on the Department of Education, Science and Training website: www.dest.gov.au