School’s out: what happens when classrooms close in rural Australia?

Elmhurst resident Natalie Attard with her daughter Sienna outside Elmhurst primary school, which closed this year. Photograph: Stuart Walmsley/The Guardian

A sea of autumn leaves covers the abandoned grounds at Elmhurst primary school. The mildew-covered playground is still, the buildings neglected. The tagline on the skip bin – loaded with school supplies – reads: “Making a sustainable future possible.” The irony is not lost.

At the only shop in Elmhurst, a man named Cole says there’s “no infrastructure to bring in new families”.