The Education Act 1872, which came into operation on 1 January 1873, in clause 15[1] provided for establishment of boards of advice, summarised here: The Sandhurst board, for which there was no shortage of nominees,[3] was chosen as the model for proving the principle.
The Advocate noted with approval that Catholics in one district decided to neither nominate, nor vote for, any candidate.
[7] The education reforms in the neighbouring colony of Victoria were commented on approvingly by editors of the major South Australian newspapers, though conceding that Victoria, with its deep religious rivalries, had more need of reform.
[11] "Boards of Advice" were variously criticised for being pointless and with having too much power, but it was clear that something of the sort was necessary to counteract the swarms of "little urchins without shoes and stockings .
[12] The (Catholic) Southern Cross argued (with support from Anglican Messenger) that the Victorian Act was not only unjust and a failure, but ruinously expensive — "about one-sixth .
[13] When it passed into law, Section 17 of the Education Act of 1875 provided for the establishment of Boards of Advice, whose duties and responsibilities were defined in the Regulations issued by the Council of Education, the contents of which, according to one newspaper, left the Boards "with no legislative and very little executive power" and by giving them no responsibility risked making them "lifeless and ineffective","Boards of Advice".