Yeppoon State School building facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Yeppoon State School |
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Yeppoon State School
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| Location | 29 Queen Street, Yeppoon, Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1870s–1890s (late 19th century) |
| Built | 1889–1929 |
| Architect | Department of Public Works (Queensland) |
| Architectural style(s) | Classicism |
| Official name: Yeppoon State School (former), Queen Street Community Hall | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 3 December 2003 |
| Reference no. | 602404 |
| Significant period | 1880s (historical) 1889–1920s (fabric) 1889–1971 (social) |
| Significant components | school/school room |
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The Yeppoon State School building is a special old building in Yeppoon, Queensland, Australia. It used to be a school, but now it's called the Queen Street Community Hall. This building was designed by the Department of Public Works (Queensland) and built between 1889 and 1929. It's so important that it was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on December 3, 2003, as a protected heritage site.
The School's Early Days
The former Yeppoon State School building was built in 1889. This happened after a smaller, temporary school, called the Yeppoon Provisional School, opened in 1885.
How Yeppoon Started
Back in 1867, people living in Rockhampton wanted a place on the coast to enjoy the beach. They asked the government to mark out a town near the sea. An area known as Bald Hills, which later became Yeppoon, was officially made a town reserve in 1868. Another nearby spot, Emu Park, also became a town reserve.
At first, people from Rockhampton liked Emu Park more than Yeppoon. So, the first people to settle and develop Yeppoon were farmers and graziers. The land was very good for farming, with plenty of rain. By 1878, much of the land around Yeppoon was used for growing crops, and other areas were for grazing animals.
Growing Interest in Yeppoon
In the early 1880s, more people started to become interested in Yeppoon. Between 1881 and 1884, local residents bought many of the town lots that hadn't sold before. When more land was surveyed for sale in 1881, all those new lots were quickly bought by 1885. This showed that Yeppoon was becoming a popular place to live.
From Provisional to State School
The very first school in Yeppoon was a provisional school, which opened in 1885 with 25 students. To get a full state school, a town usually needed to show it had at least 30 students ready to enroll. By January 1889, the number of children at the school had grown to 60! Because of this growth, a new, bigger building was needed. This new building, opened in 1889, became Yeppoon's first official state school.
Requesting a Teacher
In January 1884, a local resident named James Atherton asked the Department of Public Instruction to send a teacher for the children in Yeppoon. He even offered his own house to be used as the school.
On June 7, 1884, an official request was sent to the Department to set up a provisional school in Yeppoon. The current site for the school was chosen, though it wasn't officially set aside until March 1888. Just over a week later, on June 18, 1884, the Minister for Public Instruction, Sir Samuel Griffiths, approved the request. Finally, on May 4, 1885, Provisional School number 442 opened its doors in Yeppoon.
Building the First State School
By September 1888, the Yeppoon community wrote to the Department again, this time asking for a state school. Their formal application was sent on October 31, 1888.
On March 21, 1889, an advertisement appeared in the Queensland Government Gazette asking for builders to construct new state school buildings in Yeppoon. The new school officially opened in August of the same year. The old provisional school building was then moved and added to the teacher's house to make it bigger.
School Expansions and Changes
Over the years, the school grew with many additions:
- In July 1900, a fifteen-foot extension was added.
- More additions were made in January 1901.
- Repairs were done in July 1911.
- Gardens started to be planted in April 1917.
- New school buildings were constructed in 1918.
- In July 1929, tenders were invited for more additions, and an eastern wing with two classrooms was opened.
- By June 1930, the teacher's residence was sold and removed.
By June 1945, the school was very crowded. A public meeting was held to ask the Minister for Education for a new school on a new site. It took some time, but eventually, three more classrooms were added to the eastern wing – two in 1950 and one in 1953 – to help with the overcrowding.
A New School and New Purpose
Finally, in August 1955, the Department of Education bought a large piece of land in Jeffries Street for a new school. The old Queen Street school then became the Infants' School. It included the original 1889 building, plus offices and staff rooms. The other school buildings were moved to the new Jeffries Street site to form the new state school.
The Queen Street site remained the Infants' School until 1971. After that, it became a reserve for recreation, and the school building was used as a fitness centre. The land next to it is now used by the Yeppoon and District Kindergarten Association.
In July 1993, the site's purpose changed again. It became a reserve for local government, specifically for use as a community hall. Since then, the former Yeppoon State School building has been used regularly by various community groups as a community hall.
What the Building Looks Like
The former Yeppoon State School is a single-story building made of timber. It has weatherboards on the outside and sits on tall timber stumps with a concrete base. The roof is shaped like a gable (a triangle) and runs from east to west. It's covered with asbestos cement sheeting. It looks like the building was extended on the north-east side, and this part also has a gabled roof.
Outside Features
- Main Entrance: On the south side, there's a central porch with a gabled roof. Timber steps lead up to a concrete landing. The central gable has timber shingles and a rounded archway with decorative blocks called dentils. The main gables have plain bargeboards (decorative boards along the roof edges).
- Windows: The end gables on the west and east sides also have timber shingles. There are timber, louvred (slatted) openings high up on the west and east walls for air circulation.
- Verandahs: The building has verandahs on both the north and south sides.
- Southern Side: This is the main entrance. It has two double timber doors leading into the main room. Above these doors are rectangular windows with three square glass panes each. Part of the front verandah on the western side has been closed in with early casement windows. The verandah has timber railings and posts with heavy, curved timber brackets.
- Western Side: This side has a large, interesting window with eight rectangular timber sections. It's divided into three levels with different types of windows: casement windows at the bottom, pivoting windows in the middle, and fixed windows at the top that slope inwards. There's a mesh panel above the windows. A timber-framed hood covered with corrugated iron sits above this window.
- Northern Side: The back verandah has been closed in with weatherboards and louvres on the eastern end, and vertical timber on the western side. The enclosed area on the western end has old timber-framed sliding glass windows.
- Eastern Side: The later extension on the eastern side has two rectangular window openings, each with three square glass panes. A timber-framed window hood is above this window. A similar window is on the northern side of this extension.
- Stairs: A steel and concrete staircase is on the north side, leading down to a concrete court area at the back of the site.
Inside the Building
- Main Room: Inside, the building is one large room, but it was originally divided into two classrooms by a folding partition.
- Ceiling and Walls: The room has two round ceiling vents with lattice covers. Metal rods run across the room from north to south walls. The ceiling is lined with timber boards, flat in the middle and sloping down to the walls on the sides. The walls are also lined with timber boards.
- Folding Partition: You can still see where the folding partition used to be. There are hinge marks on vertical posts and reinforced brass holes in the floor for bolts. The skirting boards (baseboards) have hinged flaps that allowed the partition to fold away. Some of these still have their original hinges and bolts.
- Doors: There are four doors: two original double doors on the south side, and one original double door on the western end of the north wall. The door on the eastern end of the north wall was added later.
- Pivoting Windows: There are two sets of four pivoting windows on the north and south sides, placed above the doors. Each set has three vertical dividers (mullions) and each window has three panes. The windows in each set are paired and connected by a bar, so opening one opens its partner.
- Old Hooks: Very high up on the walls, there are some old hooks that might have been used to hang charts. There are four on the northern wall, and one on the west and east walls. Some only have their base plate left, with the hook broken off.
Grounds and Surroundings
- Underneath the Building: Toilets made of concrete blocks are located under the building on the central western side. The north-eastern corner under the building has also been enclosed with timber flooring and a timber frame covered with corrugated iron.
- Sloping Land: The land slopes downwards from Queen Street towards the north. Queen Street itself slopes from east to west.
- Gardens: The grounds are uneven with rocky areas and rough grass, but there are still some original plants. Terraces have been built with dry-stone walls. Mature plants include two large frangipani trees and shrubs like loquats.
- Walls and Fences: A stone retaining wall is on the south side of the site, with timber railings along it. A picket fence runs along the front of the building on Queen Street.
Why This Building is Special
The former Yeppoon State School building was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on December 3, 2003, because it meets several important criteria.
Showing History's Story
This building, built in 1889, is important because it was the first state school in Yeppoon. It shows how Yeppoon and the surrounding area grew in the 1880s as more people wanted to live near the coast. It also helps us understand how the education system developed in Queensland.
A Great Example of School Design
The former Yeppoon State School is mostly in its original condition. It's a good example of the type of building designed by the Department of Public Works for schools. Its shape and materials show how architects tried to solve problems like lighting and ventilation in Queensland's climate. For example, they used large special windows and hinged skirting boards to allow air to flow through the building.
Beautiful and Important to the Street
The building's simple design and materials make it aesthetically pleasing (nice to look at). It also adds to the overall look and feel of Queen Street.
Connected to the Community
The former Yeppoon State School is very important to the people of Yeppoon and the surrounding area. For many generations, it provided public education. Its later use as a community hall also shows its strong connection to the local community.
