In the 1830s and 1840s, churches increased their hold on Australian education to an extent that concerned the central administration of the Australian colonies. The government agreed to continue government agreed to continue government support of the denominational schools under the aegis of the Denominational Schools’ Board if the churches allowed the government to establish and fund a parallel board, the Board of National Education was established in 1848. Essentially, this arrangement laid the foundations for private and public education to exist in parallel tracks.