Throughout the township of Bonnie Doon, there are a total of 12 sightseeing locations with signboards. Each signboard will tell you some of the history of Bonnie Doon, and also have a QR code to direct you to these pages on our website. These codes when scanned with a smart phone or tablet provide additional informative text/images that create an interactive walk throughout the history of the Doon. You can follow along the history here on our website or better yet, get out on the trail and take a wander through Bonnie Doon – follow the signs that go along with along with these pages. We hope you enjoy your walk back in time.
Sign 2 Kitchen Street – This site is the location for the Bonnie Doon Primary School
From 1871, Bonnie Doon children were educated at a rudimentary non-vested rural school by a teacher who, apart from a salary of 45 pounds per year, received additional payment for ‘producing results’, whatever that may have meant!
On January 1, 1874, after parents petitioned the Minister of Public Instruction to make the school property of the Education Department, the State leased the school and all its furniture for a nominal rent of 1shilling per annum.
Just three months later, in March 1874, a public meeting occurred at Cox’s Hotel in Bonnie Doon where the educational needs of the district were discussed.
A new school was to be build west of the township because, as District inspector Bourke stated, “… the township of Doon comprises of nothing but four or five very low hotels, and from the appearance of the men, and from what I hear, it must be one of the most disreputable holes in Victoria… hence the need for keeping the school away from the township.”
After its closure in 1998 the Bonnie Doon primary school was converted to a Community Centre to serve the local community. This was brought about by the committee of management of the Bonnie Doon Community Group Inc, a volunteer board of local community members who serve the community ongoing.
Read more about the current board here – The Bonnie Doon Community Group Inc Management Committee 2023/24
Kitchen Street also is the site location for the Old Bonnie Doon Library
The Old Library once stood first in the old township, then it was moved to Bon Crescent before being moved to this present location in 2011.
As the only public building from 1931 until 1978, the library did not merely function as a place to borrow books, it also gave the wonderful service of providing the venue for social functions such as kitchen teas, plays, travelling shows, film nights, euchre and card games, meetings, voting and even served as an infant welfare centre.
An article in the Mansfield Courier from February 1931 about the opening of the library stated: “The building is a neat and ornamental addition to the town, besides serving a useful service in distributing knowledge.” Granted, for quite a long while, the building was far from looking “neat”. It had fallen in disrepair and had not had any upgrades apart from the installation of electric heaters and a lick of paint administered by Brian Shannon and Lindsay Tait in 1978. The collective efforts of a caring community set about to return the old library to its former glory.
On February 21, 2011, preparations were set in motion (after years of effort from the Bonnie Doon Community Group) for the relocation of the old Bonnie Doon library and public hall.
The work began with the removal of roof tiles and chimney bricks, both of which were cleaned and set aside for later reconstruction. The next step in the proceedings involved the removal of asbestos walls from the outside of the building. Once the bare bones became visible, it could easily be seen that the building was structurally sound, proving wrong even the experts, who believed the 80-year-old hall should be condemned! While the structure was being prepared for removal from the site, preparations for repositioning were underway at the other end: the ground was levelled, and stump holes were dug.
Finally, on March 8, the big day arrived, and the old library was shifted to its final destination next to the Community Centre in Arnot Street. Now, electrical re-wiring and renovations have been completed and the official opening took place on November 23rd, 2012, by Dr Bill Sykes MP for Benalla.
This walk crosses the traditional lands of the Taungurung people and the Bonnie Doon Community acknowledges them as the traditional owners of the land. We also pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Bonnie Doon Community Group 