Katanning Museum open day to celebrate rededication of former Dongolocking Primary School after 19-year refurb

Katanning Museum has a brand-new exhibit with a forthcoming open day to mark the completion of the 91-year-old classroom’s refurbishment.

Katanning Historical Society will celebrate the “reopening” of the former Dongolocking Primary School with an open day from 9am to noon on April 5 that will include a rededication of the building and a cake-cutting ceremony.

The weatherboard school has a new roof and a paint job and has been kitted out as a traditional one-school classroom with old desks, school uniforms, ink wells and quills.

KHS president Robert Godfrey thanked the Shire of Katanning for providing grants and local tradespeople for their expertise and labour.

“We have built up a great rapport with the shire and the local community and it is great to see the building properly up and running again,” he said.

Built in 1934, the Dongolocking Primary School shifted to Katanning in 1945 where it served as a primary school classroom until 1965 when it became a canteen.

It deteriorated over time and was set for demolition when the Katanning All Schools Reunion Committee — now the All Schools Archive Committee — gathered enough support to negotiate its relocation to the museum site in 2003.

“I remember it as a canteen because I went to the primary school as a kid,” Mr Godfrey said.

“The committee ran into one hurdle after another around the relocation but remained resolute, and in July 2003 it was moved to where it stands today.”

It was officially opened to the public in April 2006 but needed maintenance and a revitalised KHS took up the reins, overseeing the improvements after securing grants from the shire, Lotterywest and the Australian Museums and Galleries Association.