Niangala Public School was opened in 1891 with 28 students and one teacher.

The school remained a one teacher school until 1980. In 1983 enrolments had grown to a point where the school was then reclassified from a 4th class primary school to a third class primary school. Niangala School reached its peak enrolment of 51 students in 1991.

Restructuring of the NSW Department of School Education and Training classifications also gave the school a status of PP5 in 1991.

The school had one main weatherboard building along with two demountable classrooms. The main weatherboard building was built in 1955 when the original school building was deemed to be "too old and dilapidated to justify repairs".

Originally the school was established to service the children of the local gold miners. The present village of Niangala is a remnant of the glorious Australian gold rush days.

Niangala Village

Niangala village began as a thriving gold mining town with the population reaching 300 in 1891. By the end of October 1890, Niangala had 5 boarding houses, 2 butcheries, 1 blacksmith, 1 bakery and 2 stores. A short time later, a post office was established and coach services travelled almost every day from Walcha to Niangala.

Evidence of the village's past glory remains in the form of a sizeable old cemetery, a derelict gold crusher and a number of old buildings.

Niangala is located on the South-Eastern edge of the New England Tablelands. It lies on the Great Dividing Range and has an altitude of approximately 1300 metres. Although it is situated less than three hours from Newcastle, all access roads are steep, windy and dangerous in poor weather. Some travel on unsealed roads is necessary for access to the village.

Niangala is extremely cold in winter, often having several falls of snow during the season. During this time it is transformed into a 'winter wonderland'.

 The main industry of the area is cattle and sheep raising. However it also supports other diversified industries, particularly berry and herb farming. There is also a pine plantation and a timber mill in the area.

 The area around Niangala is renowned for its trout fishing and breathtaking scenery.