Robert Crawford and Doris Crawford with Mr Little 1935

1934 — Head Teacher Robert Crawford, at the request of the Chief Protector, creates a new school syllabus for Cherbourg and other settlement Schools.

Using the 1930 State School Syllabus as a guide, the new model is created with the aim of preparing pupils for life on the settlement.
The new syllabus consists of four grades of schooling carried out over eight years. An increased emphasis is placed on vocational subjects, Domestic Science for girls and Manual Training for boys. This reflects Cherbourg’s ongoing role as a labour depot and the role young Aboriginals are expected to occupy.
The new syllabus is introduced in 1934. Some boys attend Murgon Rural School for instruction in sheetmetal work, leatherwork, blacksmithing and woodwork.

“It seems far more important to me, that they should be instructed in this practical work than in history and geography. Once they can read, write and do simple arithmetic, that would seem all that is required.”
— Governor Leslie Wilson, 6 June 1934, after a visit to Cherbourg