West of civilization

Hopetoun West Baptist Church sign

The Hopetoun West Baptist Church operated from 1906 until it was closed in 1965. Between 1933 and 1954 the Karkarooc Shire's population fell by 35%, due to farm mechanisation and the drift to larger towns, the droughts in the 40s and 50s. To say nothing of mouse & locust plagues, sand-drift, drought or farm income fluctuations.

The Church & its monument

This left the hopes and dreams of the church founders empty and abandoned. Fortunately for us today they built to last, and the remains of their stone buildings still stand today, abet somewhat shakily. The floor is a little treacherous, and sections of the roof have fallen in, but you still get the impression of what the church was like.

The interior with its pressed tin ceiling

The lead-light window panes have been destroyed

Likewise the Hopetoun West State School No. 3321. It opened in August-November 1898 in a hall with a porch built of pine plastered with lime and later an iron shelter shed.

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The school entrance to the school

 A new hall, built with local labour, was occupied in 1913. The Hopetoun West school closed in May 1947 due to falling attendance.
In this marginal land, schools opened and closed with remarkable frequency, with buildings moving from one site to another following the population flows. Of the 378 schools established in the Mallee region, only 100 remained open by the 1970s, and they have dipped even further since. 
Despite being unused for more then 50 years the building stands as testament to the efforts of the local families who erected it.

The interior with its fireplace and tongue & groove board ceiling