There is a group of dedicated people who are transcribing all Queensland School Registers – showing historical records of Schools and the list of children who attended the school, including the year of attendance.   I believe the registers will show school attendance records up until the 1940s  (not sure if they are going to record details beyond the 1940s).  It is a work in progress – they haven’t completed all schools, and when I looked at the School register  databases early last year, it appeared none of the Townsville School registers had been done.  Some work has now been done, and there are now some Townsville schools on the database.

Townsville West State School celebrated its centenary in 1987.  In a book produced by the school, included in the class of 1887 were the following names:

Smith, Maggie

Smith, Martha

The school register database is divided into 5 parts – I found Maggie and Martha in Part 5 of the database.  I also did a name search using the surname ‘Smyth’ but it didn’t turn up anything.

The School database can be accessed through the local library, if the library has family history research facilities, if not either both the State Library and QLD Archives have the database available.

Hopefully the transcribers get South Townsville and Railway Estate Schools done this year, as this is where the Colemans (I think) and the Raynors attended school.

At the time Maggie and Martha were attending school, Annabella and Eliza were in Townsville Orphanage.  Annabella discharged from the Orphanage 11 May 1893, and Eliza was discharged 7 Aug 1894.  They must have had it pretty tough.