St John’s Schoolhouse Museum

During the 2021 ACT Heritage Festival the Schoolhouse will be conducting an Open Day and Tours of the Church, marking the 175th anniversary of both Heritage buildings. See the Festival program for details.

St John’s Schoolhouse was Canberra’s first school and school master’s residence. It opened in 1845, to provide elementary education for children from the Campbell estate of Duntroon and surrounding farms. Many family names of former pupils can be seen on gravestones in St John’s Churchyard.

In 1907 the School was closed, and the building was eventually scheduled for demolition. Fortunately, the significance of the building and its history were recognised, and in 1969 the restored Schoolhouse re-opened as a museum of Canberra’s early history and education. In 2020 we were proud to record 50 years as one of Canberra’s first museums.

The Schoolhouse enables visitors to imagine the different scene of rural Canberra before it became the Federal Capital. Sit at an old desk, write on a slate, or play old -fashioned games. See the fascinating early photographs of the Limestone Plains.