Waterford State School facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Waterford State School |
|
|---|---|
View from Nerang Street
|
|
| Location | 40 Nerang Street, cnr Jordan Street, Waterford, City of Logan, Queensland, Australia |
| Architect | Richard George Suter |
| Official name: Waterford State School (Block A and Play Shed) | |
| Type | state heritage |
| Designated | 16 October 2008 |
| Reference no. | 602672 |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
The Waterford State School is a special old school building located at 40 Nerang Street in Waterford, Queensland. It's a heritage-listed site, meaning it's an important part of history! The oldest part of the school, called Block A, was designed way back in 1871 by an architect named Richard George Suter. This school was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 16 October 2008 because of its historical value.
Contents
A Look Back at Waterford State School
The Waterford State School's Block A is a wooden building with one floor. It sits at the corner of Nerang and Jordan streets in Waterford. The first part of this building was put up in 1871. It was made from strong local wood like ironbark and pine. This design was created for the Board of Education by a Brisbane architect, Richard George Suter.
This school was the first "national school" to open in the Logan Agricultural Reserve. This reserve was a large area of land set aside in the 1860s to encourage farmers to move to Queensland. Over the years, the school building grew. In 1884, and again in 1888–1889, more parts were added. A second classroom was designed by John Ferguson from the Department of Public Instruction. The play shed, a covered area for students to play, was built in 1898.
How Waterford Grew
The Waterford area started to be settled in the early 1860s. This happened after the Logan Agricultural Reserve was created in 1861. This reserve was a huge area of land, about 20,000 acres, north and west of the Logan River. More land was added later, making the reserve even bigger. It included areas like Loganlea, Waterford, and Logan Village.
Many of the first settlers who came to the Logan Agricultural Reserve in the 1860s were Irish immigrants. They came to Queensland through a special program. These Irish families formed a unique community in Waterford. Later, in the 1870s, many of them moved to other areas. German immigrants, who had settled nearby, then moved into the Waterford and Logan Village areas. The government also encouraged German families to move to Queensland, so many came to the Logan district.
Early Schools in the Area
In the 1860s, the first schools in the Logan and Albert rivers area started to appear. These were linked to the new Logan Agricultural Reserve. Some private schools opened for a short time, but they soon became part of the public school system.
In 1860, the Education Act created a Board of General Education in Queensland. This board managed and helped existing schools. Before 1869, there was only one government-supported school in the Logan Agricultural Reserve. It was called the Logan River Non-Vested School, started by the Irish Catholic community in 1865.
Back then, it was hard for new farming communities to get a national school. They had to pay school fees and raise one-third of the building cost. They also had to promise that at least 30 students would attend every day.
Provisional Schools: A Stepping Stone
In 1869, the government made it easier to get an education in new farming areas. They started "provisional schools" for smaller communities. These schools only needed 15 students (later changed to 12). Provisional schools were usually temporary buildings on private land. The government provided the teacher and books, but not the building. Many were held in barns or huts. As a community grew and had more students, these provisional schools could become national schools (which are now called state schools).
The Waterford State School actually started as the Logan Provisional School. It opened on 29 June 1869 in a barn owned by Charles Wilson. Most of the first 22 students were from German families.
Building a Permanent School
In late 1869, the people of Waterford asked the Board of Education for a permanent national school. This was a good time because the government decided to stop charging school fees starting in January 1870. After some discussion, a spot was chosen in the middle of Waterford town. This is where the school still stands today. Students living across the Logan River used a ferry to get to school until the first Waterford Bridge opened in 1876.
The contract to build the national school was given to Robert Hardy and John Ford. The community helped pay for one-third of the cost. The school was built with local timber and opened in mid-1871 as the Waterford Primary School. It was the first national school built inside the Logan Reserve.
The school had some tough times early on. It even closed for parts of 1872 and 1873 because there weren't enough students or because of arguments. Things got better after a teacher's house was built in late 1873.
School Designs by Richard George Suter
In those days, the government hired private architects to design new school buildings. These designs had to follow rules set by the Board of General Education. Richard George Suter designed the Waterford Primary School. From 1868 to 1875, he designed most of Queensland's schools. He created simple, affordable wooden schools for country areas. His designs were used for the next 50 years!
Suter's early wooden schools were low to the ground and had a pointed roof. They were rectangular with a porch but no verandahs. After 1873, Suter improved his design by adding verandahs at the front and back. These verandahs gave students a place to hang hats and offered more space for playing or learning.
In 1876, an inspector described the Waterford school building. It was about 30 feet by 16 feet, with an entrance porch and no verandahs. It had strong ironbark wood on the outside and pine wood on the inside walls. The roof was made of hardwood shingles.
Play Sheds and New Rules
Play sheds were added to Queensland schools in the 1870s. They gave students a covered area to play near the school. Around 1874, an open play shed was built at Waterford Primary School. This first one is no longer there.
The Education Act of 1875 made primary education free and required for all children in Queensland. Under this law, provisional schools continued, but the government stopped funding private schools. Government-owned schools became known as state schools. This Act also created the Department of Public Instruction, which took over school design.
In 1879, the architects Robert and John Ferguson took over school design. They created new designs that were used until 1893. They liked to use a single layer of wood for walls, with the wooden studs showing on the inside. Their designs often included roof vents to help with airflow.
Growing and Changing
By the 1880s, the Waterford area had grown, and the school had more students. In 1884, a 10-foot wide verandah was added to the back of the school. This gave more space for classrooms. By 1888, about 100 students were enrolled! So, in late 1888 and early 1889, the school was made even bigger. A new classroom, about 20 by 16 feet, was added. Front and back verandahs were also built along the whole length of the school. The old front porch was removed to make space for the new verandah. The whole building then got a corrugated iron roof.
In 1898, a new play shed was built near the school. It first had a gravel floor, which was later changed to hardwood, and then asphalt. In 1901, parts of the play shed were enclosed with wooden boards. These boards could be removed on hot days. Later, in 1911, corrugated iron was used instead of the boards.
In 1910, the outside of the school building was covered with weatherboards. This was done to protect the wood from water damage. In 1939, the raised seating areas in the classrooms were removed, and flat floors were put in.
From the 1960s, more and more students came to Waterford State School as the area grew. The back verandah was enclosed around 1967 to make extra classroom space. In 1968, a new school building (Block B) was built behind the original school. When Block B opened in 1969, the old school building was used as a library and a tuckshop.
The school facilities kept growing in the 1970s. The original building was repaired in 1976. Today, it is still used for music lessons and learning support.
What the School Looks Like Now
The original Waterford State School building is on Nerang Street, which was the main street of Waterford when the school was built. The newer school buildings are accessed from Jordan Street.
The old school, now called Block A, is a low, timber building with a pointed roof. It has two rooms, an open verandah at the front, and an enclosed verandah at the back. The room on the north-west side is the oldest part from 1871. The room on the south-east side was added in 1888-1889.
You can see the wooden studs (the upright pieces of wood that form the frame) on the verandahs of both parts. The way the studs are arranged, with criss-cross bracing, is typical of Richard George Suter's designs in the older section.
The 1871 room is about 30 by 16 feet. It has exposed wooden roof beams and a ceiling made of diagonal wooden boards. The walls have horizontal wooden boards. The windows in this section are narrow and pivot in the middle.
The 1888-1889 section is about 22 feet long. It has a curved wooden ceiling with wooden vents. The dividing wall between the two rooms was the original outside wall of the 1871 school and still has its high windows. The windows in the newer section are tall and pivot vertically.
The play shed has a typical hip roof and ten support posts. One end of it, facing the road, is enclosed.
A palm tree on the Nerang Street side might be very old. The teacher's house is gone, but frangipani trees show where its north-west boundary used to be.
The newer school buildings, built from 1968, are not considered part of the heritage listing.
Why This School is Special
Waterford State School (Block A and Play Shed) was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 16 October 2008. This means it's important for several reasons:
Showing Queensland's History
The school helps us understand how primary education developed in early Queensland farming areas. It shows the changes that happened after the Education Act of 1860, when school fees were removed in 1870, and when education became free and required in 1875.
This school is especially important because it was the first "national school" built in the Logan Reserve. This reserve was one of the earliest and largest farming areas in Queensland. The school is still standing and is still used as part of the Waterford State School today.
A Rare Find
Waterford State School (Block A) is a rare and early example of a wooden national school. It was built using Richard George Suter's standard design and later extended. Both parts of the building are still very much like they were originally.
Suter's schools are important because they helped develop a style of building with exposed wooden frames in Queensland. This became a very important building style for the state. His designs for wooden schools were used widely, but not many of them are still around. Only two other Suter wooden schools are mostly intact: Morayfield (from 1873) and Mutdapilly (from 1874). Schools from the Ferguson period are also becoming rare.
Showing Key School Features
Waterford State School, including Block A (from 1871 with additions in 1884 and 1888-1889) and the Play Shed (from 1898), is a great example of a small country school from the late 1800s. It is still mostly original. The play shed is an important part of the old school and shows typical designs from the 1890s.
The two classrooms in Block A are very well preserved. They still have most of their original walls, doors, windows, and hardware. This helps us see the main features of early school designs by Richard George Suter and how school designs changed under Robert and John Ferguson. They added more windows, better airflow, and wider verandahs. You can see the different design ideas in the two rooms, like the different window styles and the exposed roof timbers in the older room compared to the ceiling in the newer room.
Beautiful and Important
The school has a special look and feel because of its size, the materials used, the exposed wooden frames, and the high ceilings. Its grassy setting and its important spot at the front of the school grounds on a main road in Waterford also make it beautiful.
