Ipswich Girls' Grammar School Buildings facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ipswich Girls' Grammar School Buildings |
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Ipswich Girls Grammar School, 2009
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| Location | 82 Chermside Road, Ipswich, City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1870s–1890s (late 19th century) |
| Built | 1891–1968 |
| Official name: Ipswich Girls Grammar School | |
| Type | state heritage (built, landscape) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600565 |
| Significant period | 1890s ongoing (social) 1890s (historical) 1890s–1900s (fabric admin bldg) 1890s (fabric gatekeepe |
| Significant components | hall – assembly, classroom/classroom block/teaching area, sculpture, gatehouse, gate – entrance, garden/grounds |
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The Ipswich Girls' Grammar School Buildings are a special group of heritage-listed buildings. They are located at the Ipswich Girls' Grammar School in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. These buildings were constructed between 1891 and 1968. They are recognized for their historical importance and were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
School History
The Ipswich Girls' Grammar School (IGGS) first opened its doors in 1892. It was the last of ten non-religious grammar schools built in Queensland. These schools were created under a law called the Grammar Schools Act 1860. This law was a big step for education in Queensland. It helped set up the first public secondary schools. This also helped pave the way for universities in the state.
The 1860 Act said that if a community could raise £1000 (a lot of money back then), the government would add £2000 to help build a grammar school. There was a debate about whether these new schools should be linked to churches or be open to everyone. The Queensland Government decided that grammar schools should be secular. This means they would not be controlled by any church. This rule was followed for all grammar schools that were built.
Grammar schools in Queensland taught subjects like those in British schools. These included languages such as Latin and Greek, English, Mathematics, and other academic subjects.
Girls' Education in Queensland
In the late 1800s, the idea of formal academic education for girls was quite new in Australia. The first grammar schools in Queensland, like Ipswich and Brisbane, were only for boys. However, by 1874, the Brisbane Grammar School started accepting girls. Later, separate girls' grammar schools were established. For example, the Brisbane Girls' Grammar School opened in 1883. The Rockhampton Grammar School became co-educational in 1881, and a separate Rockhampton Girls' Grammar School was set up in 1892. The Maryborough Girls' Grammar School also opened in 1883.
By the late 1870s, people in Ipswich really wanted a girls' grammar school. A newspaper, The Queensland Times, wrote in 1876: "Our boys have had the chance... of getting a good education. But what about higher education for our girls? Nothing!"
In 1887, a group was formed to raise money for a girls' grammar school. In 1890, land for the school was given by the trustees of Queen's Park. That same year, George Brockwell Gill was chosen as the architect. He was hired to design the school building. Construction began in 1891, and the foundation stone was laid on March 10, 1891.
George Brockwell Gill designed many important buildings in Ipswich. He worked as an architect in Ipswich from the 1880s to the 1930s. Some of his other designs include the Ipswich Technical College (1901) and the Ipswich Club House (1916). Gill was also a member of the school's board of trustees. He even became the chairman of the board before he retired in 1948.
IGGS welcomed its first students on February 1, 1892. There were 31 girls, and the first headmistress was Fanny E. Hunt. The school offered subjects like English, Latin, German, French, science, history, and physical education. The school quickly made a difference. Among its first students were the first Queensland woman to earn a medical degree and the first woman to get a Master of Arts degree in mathematics at Sydney University.
Later in 1892, a gymnasium, a play shed, and stables were added to the school grounds. Trees were also planted, including those that now line the main driveway. The gatekeeper's lodge was also built in 1892. The school trustees wanted the lodge's kitchen to have a view of the school gate. This was so the caretaker's wife could attend to the gate while she was in the kitchen.
In 1901, the original school building was made larger. George Brockwell Gill designed this extension. This made the front of the school look balanced and added a decorative light feature to the new part. In 1952, the current school gates were opened. They are called the Estelle Cribb Memorial Gates. Estelle Cribb was a former student and later a teacher at IGGS. Her family has had a long connection with the school.
In 1968, a new assembly hall was opened. It was designed by architect Karl Langer. Langer was known for designing homes that suited the sub-tropical climate. The assembly hall at IGGS shows some of his ideas for climate control.
The gatekeeper's lodge was later changed to be used for speech and drama classes. In 1991, the lodge was extended. A new building was also constructed next to it to create a small theatre. The assembly hall was also extended in 1977. Since 1995, several new buildings have been added to the school, including a gymnasium.
Building Features
Ipswich Girls' Grammar School is located on a high point near the Chermside Road intersection. The school gates, built in 1952, lead into a driveway lined with old, tall trees.
To the left of the entrance is the gatekeeper's lodge. This building was designed by Brockwell Gill and built in 1892. It is a low timber-framed house with chamferboards (overlapping timber planks). Its roof has three gables (triangular sections) and separate skillion roofs (single-sloped roofs) over the verandahs. The verandahs have simple timber railings and brackets. This building has been extended and changed inside over the years. A similar-looking cottage has been built next to it for a theatre workshop.
The tree-lined driveway ends at the Assembly Hall and the Administration building. The Administration building was the first one built on the site. It is a two-storey building made of brick with a smooth, rendered finish. It was designed by Brockwell Gill and built in stages starting in 1892. The first part was the central section with a gabled wing on the left. Another gabled wing was added on the right in 1901, making the building look balanced. The gabled ends have pilasters (flat, column-like decorations) that go up two storeys. The year each wing was built is written below the central upper windows. The middle part of the front has an arched verandah on the ground floor. This leads to the main entrance door. This arch is repeated on the upper verandah. The building also has timber finials (decorative tops) and decorative timber fretwork (carved patterns) on each gable.
Inside the Administration building, most walls have a painted, rendered finish up to the dado line (a decorative molding). The original timber details inside are mostly still there. A decorative roof lantern (a structure on the roof that lets in light) brightens the beautiful timber staircase in the 1901 wing. The 1892 wing also has a simpler timber stair. The top room in this wing has strong timber roof trusses (support beams) and a ceiling lined with diagonal timber boards. It also displays timber honour boards that list important achievements since the school began.
The back of the Administration building has several wings built around a central courtyard. These wings were built in stages. They are made of brick and timber. They have narrow verandahs on both sides of the main rooms. These verandahs have simple timber balustrades (railings) with a cross pattern and curved timber brackets.
The Assembly Hall was designed in 1964 by Karl Langer. It stands at the end of the tree-lined entrance driveway. The hall has a simple gabled portico (a porch with columns) at the front. Behind it is a main wall made of finely textured bricks. A sculpture of birds in flight by Shillam is in front of the building. Double glazed timber doors lead into the foyer. Inside, the hall has steel webbed truss portal frames (support structures) that extend out to hold up the roof of a side aisle on the eastern side. Langer's focus on designing for the climate is clear in this building. Indirect light enters the hall through eastern clerestory glazing (windows high up on the wall). A folded brick wall on the eastern aisle has windows on the south side to let in more indirect light. High-level louvres (slanted slats) on the western wall help warm air escape and allow air to flow through the building. Original metal and glass light fittings are still in the foyer. The dark-stained vertical timber details in parts of the hall are also still there. The hall has been extended since it was first built.
Heritage Significance
The Ipswich Girls Grammar School Buildings were listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. This means they are important for several reasons:
The place shows how Queensland's history has changed. The school was founded in 1891. It is a key example of an early secondary school for girls in Queensland. It shows how education developed in the state. As the newest of Queensland's grammar schools, it represents the final stage of the grammar school movement. This movement saw grammar schools built across the state after the 1860 Grammar Schools Act.
The place is beautiful and well-designed. The school has great aesthetic value. Its buildings and grounds are on a prominent slope near the city centre. They are an important part of the Ipswich skyline. The memorial entrance gates, the 1893 gate-house, and the tree-lined driveway are especially beautiful. The original school building, designed by George Brockwell Gill, and the 1960s assembly hall by Karl Langer, add to the school's beauty.
The place is important to the community. Ipswich Girls' Grammar School has a strong connection with everyone who has been part of the school community, past and present. It is also very important to the local community of Ipswich. It has been a well-known landmark in the city since 1891.
The place is linked to important people in Queensland's history. The school is strongly connected to the work of George Brockwell Gill, a famous Ipswich architect. He designed the original building in 1891 and its additions in 1901. It is a good example of his early work. He also designed other important buildings in Ipswich, like the Ipswich Technical College (1901) and the Ipswich Club House (1916).
The school also has a special link to the work of architect Karl Langer. He designed the assembly hall, which opened in 1968. This hall is a good example of his work and shows his ideas for designing buildings to suit the climate.
