NRS-16664 | Visitors' Books [Carrington Public School]

The Public Instruction Act, 1866 authorised special religious instruction by visiting clergymen and their delegates (Public Schools Act, 1866, s. 19), and regulations under the Act authorised members of the public to visit schools during ‘the hours of secular instruction’ to observe teaching methods, teaching material and equipment (Regulations adopted by the Council of Education on 27 February 1867, s. 84-85). The regulations required every teacher to keep a visitors’ book ‘in which visitors may enter their names and if they think proper any remarks. Such remarks the Teachers are by no means to erase or alter.’ (Regulations … s. 86).The purpose of the visitors’ book was to create a record of the persons other than pupils or teachers who attended the school during business hours. Visitors’ books were divided into three columns – date, name and remarks. The remarks usually recorded the purpose of the visit which included religious instruction (by far the most usual purpose for visiting a school), school inspection, medical inspection, departmental officers visiting on business e.g. to inspect the buildings or equipment, and guest speakers. Occasionally visitors (particularly Inspectors) remarked briefly on the conduct or the ambience of the school.The present series is represented by three volumes, which cover the years 1892-1896 and 1941-1960. The volume for 1892-1896 contains very few entries, less than a page in all, most of which appear to relate to visits of inspection; the rest of this volume is blank. The visits recorded in the later volumes relate almost exclusively to the provision of religious instruction at the school; at the end of the years 1951, 1952 and 1953, tallies of the number of visits by representatives of each denomination have been entered in the record.