582 Skipton
A school conducted by Mrs William Parsons 'a pretty hard woman', is believed to have preceded No.582, which opened on the 1st of January 1858 under Presbyterian control, with Elizabeth Blair as first HT and 22 children on the roll. Through lack of finance it closed on 15th March 1864. The Rev WT Whan then worked successfully to gain interest and funds for the new school, a bluestone building officially opened on 9th October 1864. This served until replaced in 1988 and survives today as the Masonic Hall. It first HT was Alexander Hart who had 32 pupils. The present red brick building was occupied in June 1888 when Harry Hardy, HT for thirteen years, was appointed. A third room was added in 1915. Enrolment reached 100 when Harold Peart, a Gallipoli veteran was HT in the 1930s. A notable pupil was
(Sir) Henry Bolte, Victoria's Premier from June 1955, who won a scholarship in 1921; he then attended Ballarat College. Dux of the school in 1954, Pamela Wise, returned to the school as its first IM in 1968. Additional classrooms added in 1957 and 1969 reflected the steady growth in population in the area. There are now 140 children at the school.
Source: Vison and Realisation Vol 2 Published 1973
THE SCOBIE AND CLAIRE MACKINNON TRUST
The Scobie and Claire Mackinnon Trust was established by the Will of the late Donald John Scobie Mackinnon, a pastoralist of “Mooramong”, Skipton, Victoria, who directed his initial Trustees, partners of the legal firm of Blake and Riggall (now Blake Dawson), to apply the funds to a variety of charitable purposes among which the welfare and health of children and of animals are prominent. These instructions maintained the pattern of the charitable interests which Mr and Mrs Mackinnon had demonstrated during their lives.
Donald John Scobie Mackinnon was a member of a family important in the early development of the colony of Victoria. Descended from Lauchlan Mackinnon of Corry and Letterfern, Isle of Skye, Scotland (1772-1828), the first to arrive in Melbourne in 1838, was Lauchlan, the son of his eldest daughter Anne, who married her cousin, the Rev John Mackinnon of Skye in 1815. After an adventurous early life in Australia, he joined Edward Wilson in 1852 as a proprietor of the “Argus” newspaper. Lauchlan was the uncle of L K S Mackinnon, father of Donald John Scobie Mackinnon.
L K S Mackinnon came to Melbourne in the 1880s. He was senior partner in the law firm of Blake and Riggall (now Blake Dawson), had extensive interests in pastoral properties in Queensland and Victoria, and was Chairman of the Victoria Racing Club. His name is still very well known to Australians who are interested in horse-racing – the Mackinnon Stakes (formerly the L K S Mackinnon Stakes) is one of the prestige events of the Melbourne Spring Racing Calendar.
D J S Mackinnon was born in Melbourne on 25 March 1906 and was educated at Geelong Grammar School and Cambridge University. On returning to Australia at the completion of his education, he settled on “Mooramong” Station, Skipton and established himself as a successful pastoralist, a career which he pursued until his death at the age of 68 years, on 22 December 1974. He was a keen follower of horse-racing and owned a number of racehorses.
In 1937, he married Claire Adams, a Canadian, who was one of Hollywood’s silent movie stars of the 1920s. She had starred in many films including five Zane Grey pictures (four with Tom Mix). She also starred with other great actors such as Lon Chaney, Milton Sills, Wallace Beery, Edward Everard Horton and Adolph Menjou. Claire had an affinity with animals and acted in many of the “Rin Tin Tin” pictures. She was a connoisseur of jewellery and built up a notable jewellery collection starting from her Hollywood days.
Claire died in 1978. On her death, part of the “Mooramong” Station was sold and the remainder passed into the ownership of the National Trust (Victoria) with the aid of a substantial legacy under her Will.
Every year since it was established in 1982, The Scobie and Claire Mackinnon Trust has made a grant to the Skipton Primary School. The grants have funded the Year 5 and 6’s annual trip to Canberra or Tasmania and the purchase by the School of computers and other equipment.
