Hartley Street School

Reopens 2024 Dry Season.

Visit Hartley Street School to see how outback children were educated in the early twentieth century. It was the first official school building in Alice Springs, and it was here that the first School of the Air address. Explore the school buildings including the small studio from where the broadcast was made.

The oldest buildings were constructed in 1929 to cater for the increasing population arriving in this important railway terminal town. In 1945 a new kindergarten and classroom were designed by the architect B.C.G. Burnett and constructed. The wooden floors and octagonal shape of the new addition are in great contrast to the concrete floor and simple design of the earlier construction. The buildings reflect the changing styles and requirements of school design at different periods.

The School of the Air started teaching students on 20 September 1950 when the first broadcast was made from a small studio ion the school. Between 1953 and 1965 students and teachers were moved to a new school at the base of Anzac Hill.

The unusual octagonal room is open to the public as a school museum.