a huge decline from its peak of 14,000 during the rushes. Businesses closed and buildings were dismantled. Schools The rise and decline of Homebush and Lower Homebush can be seen in the history of its schools. In 1861 a Church of England school opened, with classes held in a rented building. Over the next two decades the number of students increased to more than two hundred and two more schools were built, one at Homebush, with another, even bigger, at Lower Homebush - the Lower Homebush Primary School. ( Coordinates ) But by 1903 the average attendance at the Lower Homebush school was only forty. Gold yields had dropped and mining companies had ceased operating. Homebush School closed permanently in 1908. Lower Homebush School had small enrolments from the 1930s, and by 1967 it too had closed. By then the Homebush School had long gone. The Pyrenees Shire Council has documented the history of the Lower Homebush Primary School, in the Avoca Heritage Study: 1864 - 1994 - Volume 3. See also Australian gold rushes Bung Bong, Victoria Homebush railway station, Victoria Rathscar, Victoria Wareek, Victoria References External links Avoca and District Historical Society Prior website of the Avoca and District Historical Society Towns in Victoria (Australia) Ghost towns in Victoria (Australia) Mining towns in Victoria (Australia)