The first school in the area, known as the Common School, also became the first church in the community.

Reverend Canon John Mathes will begin the celebrations on November 29 with a special service at the Christ Church in Great Western at 11am.

The service is open to everyone and organisers are hoping to arrange a choir and accompaniment for the occasion.

In 1866, Joseph Best received tenders for the building of a brick school at Great Western and by the end of January, 1867 the first school was nearing completion.

The original Common School still stands today and is located beside the Christ Church.

After the Common School was built it became necessary to appoint a teacher.

Although there were numerous schools throughout the area, they were often forced to close due to lack of students.

The school in Great Western had the opposite problem and as the number of students reached between 70 and 80 in 1878, construction of a new weatherboard school building commenced.

This building is still in use today on the original site of the Great Western Primary School.

The school and its surroundings has stood the test of time and played an important role in the development of Great Western.

The historic buildings feature on the Great Western Heritage Trail and will be open for inspection on November 29.