Woods Point school about 1900 – 96 children. Enrolments at Woods Point SS789, as with many of the schools in the mining areas, fluctuated greatly, varying positively with the number of gold strikes. This school first opened in 1865 with an enrolment of forty and head teacher William Onslow. Messrs. Tonkin, Harrison and Elliott were among some of the head teachers who followed. When some of the small mines in the area closed down during the period 1910 – 1920 attendance declined. Raging bushfires in 1939 burnt down a considerable part of the Woods Point township; the school being one of the buildings that didn’t escape. A new school was built to accommodate the three teachers and the enormous enrolment of 200. By 1969 enrolments were down to twelve, largely as a result of the closure of the Morning Star Mine in 1962. One of the outstanding pupils was Eric Shade. He was born in Woods Point and taught for twenty-three years with the department. He joined the R.A.N. in 1940, and in 1960 became the Director of Prisons in the Social Welfare Department. After completing grade six, the pupils either had to go from the district to attend a secondary school or work with the Correspondence School, supplemented by a twice weekly visit from a Mansfield High School teacher.