Merrilands Primary School

Merrilands Primary School (Hughes Parade), opened in 1959. A declining student enrolment resulted in a merger with Merrilands Secondary College in 1997 to become Merrilands P-12 College (Merrilands Road). Merrilands Primary School was sold to make way for private housing.

Lakeside Primary School

Lakeside Primary School (Radford Road) opened in 1962. Like Merrilands Primary School, dwindling enrolments resulted in a merger. At the end of 1993, Lakeside and Ruthven Primary Schools merged on the Glasgow Avenue site. Lakeside Primary School was sold to Melbourne's Vietnamese Budhist community and became the site of the Linh Son Budhist Temple.

Ruthven Primary School

Ruthven Primary School (Glasgow Avenue) opened in 1968. The Department of Education's Regeneration project resulted in Ruthven Primary School and Merrilands P-12 College (Primary) merging at the end of 2010 to become William Ruthven Primary School. Ruthven Primary School was purchased by the City of Darebin in 2016, with the aim of converting the fomer school site to public open space and sporting facilities. 

William Ruthven Primary School

In 2011, William Ruthven Primary School was temporarily located on the Glasgow Avenue site while the new school was being built at 60 Merrilands Road. William Ruthven Primary School officially opened its doors on the Merrilands Road site on 2 February 2012.

The school's butterfly logo symbolises its new beginning. The logo shows two parts (two schools) combined to create a single unified entity (the butterfly). The two colours represent the sky (blue) and the earth (green).

Who was William Ruthven?

William 'Rusty' Ruthven VC (21 May 1893 - 12 January 1970) was an Australian soldier and state Labor politician from 1945 until 1961. For his actions in World War 1, he was awarded the Victoria Cross - the highest award for gallentry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.