Marysville, the Victorian town now synonymous with the tragedy wrought by last year's bushfires, reached an important milestone today with the opening of a new school.
Over a year since the Black Saturday bushfires, the rebuilt Marysville Primary School welcomed back 33 students on Monday on the site where the original 1870 school once stood.
"We are very excited about coming home to such a beautiful school," principal Peri Dix said in a statement.
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"We appreciate the hard work of the many people who made this new building possible."
The $5 million school completes the first stage of the Marysville Community Centre, which is at the heart of the town's rebuilding efforts.
Students had been forced to travel over 20 kilometres to Taggerty for school since the February 7, 2009 fires.
Now local students will be able to walk to school once again.
The building, the first public facility reopened in the town since the bushfires, brings a kindergarten, a primary school and a playground together.
The second stage of development will include a community centre, recreation grounds and community health rooms.
Marysville faced the brunt of the Black Saturday bushfires, with the loss of 34 people and most of the town's homes and buildings.
