History of RPS

Rosebery Primary School was established on January 25th 2011 and began with approximately 280 students across all year levels from Pre-School to Year 6. Our students and staff come to us from schools and communities across the Northern Territory, the rest of Australia and even other parts of the world.

Rosebery Primary School is located in an important place for our community. It has been a special place for travellers and explorers in the Northern Territory's foundation days. It has been a crucial location for our defence forces in times of war and is the gateway to several airstrips of major significance in the outcome of World War II. It is also an important place in the Indigenous and natural histories of our land. Mitchell Creek runs across the back of our schools and connects Palmerston to the ocean through the Elizabeth River. Our address at Belyuen Road is named after Crab Billy Belyuen, a senior Aboriginal elder of the Larrakia people. His name means "Sacred Water Hole".

Our school's logo, the long-neck turtle is a symbol of the rich fauna we are blessed with in this place. With a hard outer shell, long-neck turtles show resilience and adaptability throughout their lives. In their younger lives, they stay close to home in the fresh water where they can feel safe and cared for. But later in life, they have been known to travel vast distances to find better and more interesting lives. Long-neck turtles are an indicator of a very healthy environment.

Contemporary Indigenous people of the Northern Territory believe in the notion of freshwater and saltwater coming together for improved communication and fellowship with non-Indigenous Australians. Where saltwater and freshwater meet the result is a unique and thriving ecosystem where new ways of living together emerge. The concept can be further enhanced to consider the meeting of land and water – where Indigenous knowledge is represented by "knowledge from land" and Western knowledge by "knowledge from water". Rosebery Primary School is unique and values the culture, background and knowledge that all of our families contribute.

The animal life that emerges where freshwater and saltwater meet is diverse and robust, including – long-neck turtles, dolphins, crocodiles, sharks, barramundi, water dragons and many birds of prey. These animals are represented in our house names, which Rosebery students can call their own throughout their learning journey here.

The Rosebery Primary School  community believe in each other and work hard for each other. We are creative and we always do our best. We are a community of learners, connected by this special place. Rosebery Primary School is a great place for students, staff and parents/carers to laugh, learn and prosper.