Even though the Walloon State School was one of the earlier schools established in Queensland, there was a school at Walloon well before the state school was even planned. This school was organised by the Roman Catholic Church and was a “non-vested” school, meaning it was run with financial and curriculum assistance from the state but the property and control were in the hands of the Church. The non-vested school at Walloon was opened in 1865 under the name “Guilfoyles Creek”. At this stage in Queensland Education History there were only 41 schools in the whole of the state, so it was truly amongst the first schools in Queensland and ran almost continually until the opening of the state school in 1877. The first report of 1865 showed at total enrolment of 41, with an average daily attendance of 32.
