School House, Townsville Grammar School facts for kids
Quick facts for kids School House, Townsville Grammar School |
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School House, 2000
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| Location | Paxton Street, North Ward, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1870s - 1890s (late 19th century) |
| Built | 1903 - 1904 |
| Architect | Tunbridge & Tunbridge |
| Architectural style(s) | Classicism |
| Official name: School House, Townsville Grammar School | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 31 December 2002 |
| Reference no. | 601029 |
| Significant period | 1880s-1900s (historical) 1900s (fabric) 1903 ongoing (social) |
| Significant components | school/school room |
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The School House at Townsville Grammar School is a special old building. It is located on Paxton Street in North Ward, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. This building is important because of its history and design. It was designed by architects Tunbridge & Tunbridge and built between 1903 and 1904. The School House is now listed on the Queensland Heritage Register, which means it is protected for its historical value.
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A New Start After a Cyclone
The current School House building was built from 1903 to 1904. It was designed by a firm of architects called Tunbridge and Tunbridge. This new building replaced an older one from 1888. The first building was badly damaged by a huge storm called Cyclone Leonta on March 9, 1903. The new design by Tunbridge and Tunbridge was made stronger to survive future cyclones.
How Townsville Grammar School Began
Townsville Grammar School first opened in 1888. It was started by important people in North Queensland like Robert Philp. This school was the last and most northern grammar school in Queensland. It welcomed students from all over North Queensland and even from other countries. For many kids, it was the closest place to get a good secondary education.
Grammar Schools in Queensland
Grammar schools in Queensland were set up under a law called the Grammar Schools Act 1860. This law helped local communities build schools. If a community raised £1,000, the government would add £2,000. These schools offered the only government-supported secondary education until free high school started in 1912. The schools taught a wide range of subjects, including sports, classical studies, and modern subjects. Unlike schools in other parts of Australia, Queensland's grammar schools were open to all students, no matter their background or religion. Scholarships were given to bright students based on their academic skills.
Girls Join the School
Townsville Grammar School first opened as a boys' school in 1888. However, in 1893, a girl named Mary Foley asked to join. This started a big discussion! Some parents worried that girls would distract the boys from their studies. Others saw that letting girls in could help the school financially. This was especially important during a time of economic problems.
The law didn't say anything about boys and girls learning together. So, the school's leaders decided it was up to them. The headmaster, Mr. Hodges, agreed to let girls in. He pointed to successful schools in America that had both boys and girls. After talking with parents, it was decided that girls who had scholarships could attend as day students. By 1905, the idea of a separate girls' grammar school was dropped because of money issues. So, Townsville Grammar School officially became a school for both boys and girls.
A Unique Co-Educational School
Townsville Grammar School was special because it started teaching boys and girls together from 1893. Other grammar schools in Queensland usually had separate schools for boys and girls. Many girls who attended Townsville Grammar became very successful. For example, Agnes McWhinney became Queensland's first female lawyer in 1915. Shirley Richards won a major award for her excellent exam results in 1944.
Rebuilding and Strengthening
After the 1888 school building was damaged by the cyclone in 1903, the school borrowed £3,000 from the government to rebuild. Lieut.-Colonel WH Tunbridge, a famous architect and engineer in North Queensland, was in charge of the rebuilding. He made sure the new School House was much stronger against cyclones.
Evidence suggests the old building was taken apart, and some of the bricks were reused. To make it stronger, Tunbridge used a special cement-based mortar for the bricks, instead of the usual lime. He also made the main walls thicker. The roof was designed to be less steep and was reportedly braced with steel. This made it much more resistant to strong winds. The new building looked similar to the old one but was designed to be cooler. It had wide verandahs on both levels, which were even used for sleeping in hot weather! Until 1940, most lessons happened on the lower floor, while the upper floor had dormitories for students who lived at the school.
School House During World War II
Like many schools in Townsville, Townsville Grammar was used by the military during Second World War. The RAAF took over the buildings in February 1942. Their No.3 Fighter Sector HQ was based there. This unit watched for aircraft in the area and gave air-raid warnings. You could see antennas and wires on the roofs, and huts were built on the sports fields for members of the WAAAF. The school moved to a different location until January 1945. They didn't get full use of their grounds back until later that year.
Modern Changes and Achievements
Since the 1950s, the school has grown a lot, with more students and new buildings. The School House building is now surrounded by other school structures. In 2012, the School House stopped being a boarding house. It then underwent a careful restoration that lasted over 10 years. Layers of paint were removed from the outside to show the original brickwork. Inside, the building now has modern function rooms, the School Boardroom, and offices for the Principal. The upper floor has a modern kitchen and space for a school museum.
Townsville Grammar School has a proud history of academic success. Two former students, GFE Hall (1910) and Chester Parker (1938), even won Rhodes Scholarships, which are very prestigious awards for studying at Oxford University.
What the School House Looks Like
The School House is a T-shaped building with two floors. It is made of brick and timber. Most of the brickwork is painted dark brown. The front of the building faces towards the Strand. A section of the building sticks out at a right angle towards Castle Hill.
Inside, a key feature is a large archway in the middle of the back section on both floors. The rooms on both levels have ceilings made of tongue and groove wooden boards. The ceiling on the lower floor is much higher than the one upstairs.
Verandahs and Roof
The verandahs on the upper floor have wide wooden ceilings and hardwood floors. The posts supporting the verandahs have special decorative carvings. A pattern of timber battens runs along the lower verandahs. The railing on the upper verandah has vertical wooden dowels with a second horizontal rail, creating a regular pattern.
The roof is made of corrugated iron. The front part of the roof is hipped, meaning it slopes on all sides. It also has small gables (pointed sections) with decorative tops called finials. The verandah roofs are slightly lower than the main roof.
Doors and Windows
The steps on the front and side of the building appear to be covered in cement. The School House has solid timber French doors. The ones on the upper floor that open onto the verandah have glass and timber. Most French doors have small windows above them called fanlights. There are also some heavy timber panelled doors. The original front entrance door has been replaced with a glass sliding door, but you can still see a piece of the original etched glass that was around it. Most of the original windows have been replaced with glass and metal louvres, but one original sash window still exists on the upper floor at the front. Some window openings on the side of the building have been bricked up, but you can still see their original arch shapes in the brickwork.
Why School House is Important
School House was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on December 31, 2002, because it meets several important criteria.
Showing Queensland's History
The School House, built in 1903-1904, replaced the original grammar school building that was damaged by a cyclone. It is important because it shows how education and grammar schools developed in Queensland. Townsville Grammar School was the only grammar school in North Queensland. It played a big role in providing affordable secondary education before state high schools were common. It is also the longest-running grammar school in Queensland that teaches both boys and girls. The building is also important because it was used as an aircraft monitoring and air-raid warning center during World War II.
A Typical Grammar School Building
The School House shows what a grammar school building from the early 1900s looked like. It even had space for students who lived at the school (boarders).
Beautiful Tropical Design
The building is also important for its beautiful design. It shows how buildings were designed to suit the tropical climate in the early 20th century.
Smart Building Techniques
The School House also shows clever building techniques from the early 1900s, especially how it was made stronger to handle tropical weather.
Special to the Community
The School House has a strong connection with the people of Townsville and everyone involved with Townsville Grammar School. It is important to them for social and cultural reasons.
Connected to a Key Architect
The building is also linked to the work of WH Tunbridge. He was one of North Queensland's leading architects and engineers in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
