A number of boys are working at carpentry benches under the supervision of their teacher.

While some technical studies had been available in a number of schools during the 19th century, the 1915 Education Act made wide recommendations on technical education. In 1917 Charles Fenner was appointed Superintendent of Technical Education under the Act and began to instigate reforms. It would be compulsory for boys and girls under 14 to attend junior technical schools or domestic arts schools unless they were enrolled in a high school. For many children this would mean attending a class a week at another school as the facilities were not available at every school.

During World War Two the technical facilities that Fenner had developed in schools were used to produce materials for the munitions factories and the schools' workshops served in the training of fitters for the RAAF.

By the 1980s technical education in schools was out of favour and facilities phased out, only to be re-introduced again in 2007.

Abbott, Jacob. The boy's own workshop; or, The young carpenters, Edinburgh: W.P. Nimmo, [1866]

The endless playground: celebrating Australian childhood compiled and edited by Paul Cliff; with introductory essays by Robert Holden and features by Jack Bedson ... [et al.], Canberra: National Library of Australia, 2000

Thiele, Colin. Grains of mustard seed, research by Ron Gibbs Adelaide: Education Dept., South Australia, 1975