Rockhampton School of Arts is a heritage-listed former school of arts at 230 Bolsover Street, Rockhampton City, Rockhampton, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by William (Walter) Cherry built in 1894 by Walter Adam Lawson. It is also known as Rockhampton Regional Library and Rockhampton Municipal Theatre. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
History
The Rockhampton School of Arts building was built in 1894 and is an important element of the streetscape of Bolsover Street in Rockhampton. The building is a fine example of late nineteenth century Victorian Classical architecture. It has formed a major part of the cultural, social and civic life of Rockhampton since 1894, and has associations with a previous school of arts building that existed on the site from 1865. The School of Arts building is evidence of the growth of the City of Rockhampton, and is a reflection of the confidence, drive and energy of the citizens in the period of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Rockhampton is fortunate in having such an excellent School of Arts which, was established so long ago as July 1861. The promoters worked under many disadvantages for a long time. The population was small, and there was great difficulty in getting a supply of books and papers, not to speak of collecting funds for a suitable building. A considerable portion of the population was coming and going, and many others were not of a reading class. However, on 23 July 1861 a meeting was held in the Rockhampton Court House, when it was resolved to establish a School of Arts.
Schools of Arts were synonymous with Mechanics' Institutes, established in Britain early in the nineteenth century, and transplanted throughout the British Empire during the colonial era. The movement was instituted by George Birbeck who established a class for journeymen mechanics in Glasgow, and later formed the first Mechanics' Institute in London. The purpose of forming such an institute was to improve the education of working men, and to instruct them in various trades. By the late nineteenth century, Mechanics' Institutes had become popular agencies of adult education in general.
Mechanics' Institutes were part of a wider nineteenth century movement promoting popular education in Britain, at which time co-operative societies, working men's colleges and the university extension movement were established. The call for popular education in turn can be contextualised within the broader liberal, laissez-faire, non- interventionist philosophy which dominated British social, economic and political ideologies in the nineteenth century. In this environment, Mechanics' Institutes flourished as a means by which working men might improve their lot, either through self-education (the provision of reading rooms was an important facility provided by the Institutes), or by participating in instructional classes organised and funded by Institute members.
A School of Arts Reserve was proclaimed as part of the Rockhampton Town Plan in 1862. Prior to the proclamation of a reserve, a School of Arts had been proposed by the 700 residents of Rockhampton to encourage the diffusion of "literary, scientific and other useful knowledge amongst members". A reading room had been set aside by Police Magistrate John Jardine in the Rockhampton Court House. A Reserve of 1 acre was set aside for this purpose adjacent to the Rockhampton Town Hall. Sect 65A of the Rockhampton Town Survey comprised four portions in an area of more than five acres. The boundaries of this reserve were Bolsover, William, Alma, and Derby Streets. The 1 acre area set aside for the School of Arts was Portion Four, of the north eastern end of the section, with a frontage onto Bolsover and William Streets.
Post 1862, the establishing of the School of Arts faced great problems, with little public monetary contribution being forthcoming. The community continued to push for a building dedicated for a School of Arts in the period of 1862–4, with public fundraising within the Rockhampton community raising £434 in 1864. The Queensland Government promised to match this amount for the construction of a building. Tenders were called for the construction of a School of Arts, and in 1865 a tender of £900 was received from Downland and Hartley. The building however cost £1100 to construct. Despite the blow out in the budget, the first Rockhampton School of Arts was opened on 24 February 1865.
Despite the grandiose hopes of educating the community of Rockhampton, initial community reaction to the use of the public reading room was lukewarm. The overall quality of the standard of public education offered was not very high. Courses were offered in classical languages, at various times, but the standard of education was dependent upon interest from the local community, and the standard of school teachers who were willing to contribute to after hours lectures.
During the fifteen years to 1890 the membership in the School of Arts increased from 40 to 380. Likewise the library grew from 250 to 7000 volumes during the same period. A museum and library wing was added to the building in 1872.
On part of the reserve fronting William Street the portion of land adjoining this major thoroughfare was opened to the letting of commercial businesses in 1883. Prior to this a hotel was opened on the corner of William and Bolsover Street. Prior to 1881, the hotel was known under various names, including the School of Arts Hotel. In 1881 the present name of the Queensland Hotel was adopted. The shops and hotel were separated from the School of Arts building by a service lane.
In common with many other public and private buildings in Rockhampton, the clay strata on which the foundations of the first School of Arts was built proved to be detrimental to the fabric of the building. Underpinning of the front and rear foundations of the first School of Arts was necessary in 1867. By 1881 the movement of the clay sub strata had caused damage to the brickwork. In 1882 John William Wilson, an architect resident in Rockhampton submitted three plans for the reconstruction of the School of Arts.
Wilson, a prolific architect, was responsible for the design of over eighty buildings in Rockhampton in a career from the early 1860s until the early part of the twentieth century. The plans submitted by Wilson were not made public by the Committee of the School of Arts. To encourage further interest a public competition was launched for plans for the intended structure; however financial difficulties forestalled any further action.
As the centre of intellectual debate and learning in Rockhampton, the School of Arts building was used for the inaugural meeting of the central Queensland separation movement in 1890. This movement was to agitate throughout the period of the pre-federation years for the creation of a separate state centred on Rockhampton.
In 1893 further deterioration of the 1865 building made it essential that a replacement structure be built for the School of Arts. 1893 was also a period of economic depression within the Queensland economy; however £5000 was borrowed from the Union Bank of Australasia. The committee called for plans and specifications of a structure that was intended to be the centre of intellectual life in the Rockhampton community. The 1865 building was demolished, and a residence was erected facing Alma Street for the secretary-librarian.
The design that was chosen for the new School of Arts was attributed to local architect William (Walter) Cherry. Cherry was born in 1843 in Scotland, and worked as clerk of works at various Scottish architectural firms. Cherry emigrated to Queensland in 1884, and from 1885 he was employed as a clerk of works by FDG Stanley. The supervision of the design was entrusted to John William Wilson, and the contract let to Walter Adam Lawson for £5,500.
The School of Arts was constructed in masonry, a rarity amongst School of Arts buildings at this period. Bundaberg School of Arts and Maryborough School of Arts were the only other centres with comparable buildings. As Rockhampton was proposed to be the capital of the new state of Central Queensland, its new School of Arts would have to reflect the aspirations of its citizens. At a cost of £5,578 the Rockhampton School of Arts building would be the most expensive in the colony.
The two storeyed building featured a hall with seating for 800 patrons. The front facade of the building was designed in the classical style. The hall area featured a stage, musical pit and store rooms. A committee room, two large class rooms and a secretary's office were located on the ground floor, and on the upper floor were five apartments provided for the reading room and book collection. Other rooms on the upper floor were used for the museum collection and a class room. The reading room was described as being cool and pleasant, all rooms opening out onto the verandah.
The School of Arts building was officially opened in the presence of the Governor of Queensland, Henry Wylie Norman, on 6 March 1894. At the time it was claimed that the School of Arts had no other equal in the colony. Over 11,000 books were housed in the School of Arts collection on the two floors of the building.
An addition was made to the School of Arts in 1903 when a recreation room was provided between the School of Arts building, and the residence of the secretary-librarian. The recreation room featured two billiard tables, a chess and card room and a verandah. Allegations were later made that the rooms were being used for gambling by members of the School of Arts.
In 1904 a two-storeyed School of Mines was added to the complex facing Alma Street. An assay room and furnace were also provided. Classes were offered in metallurgy, geology, chemistry and mineralogy. A lack of interest from students saw the School closed in 1906.
Technical classes that had been a part of the education charter of the School of Arts Committee were taken over by the Department of Public Instruction in 1908. The State Government passed of the Government Technical Schools Act 1908, allowing for the establishment of vocational/education based studies. In 1909 the classes were placed in the hands of a specially organised Technical College Committee that was separate from the Rockhampton School of Arts.
Classes were still held in the School of Arts building, and additional classroom space was made available in the Market Building, for cookery classes, opposite the School of Arts building in Bolsover Street. The Technical College Committee was a partially elected, partially Government nominated body. In 1915 the Rockhampton Technical College was opened in Bolsover Street.
By 1909 the upper balcony of the hall was considered inadequate. Edwin Morton Hockings, architect of Rockhampton prepared plans for a curved gallery to extend from the stage line to the back of the hall and return. The curved dress circle was claimed to increase seating to 1500 patrons. The hall was a centre of social and entertainment life within the community of Rockhampton. Political rallies, fancy dress balls, patriotic rallies and the anti-conscription league all made use of its facilities. In the 1920s the hall was licensed as a place of "public amusement and entertainment".
During times of economic recession or depression the School of Arts was able to draw on additional sources of income other than membership subscriptions to survive. Rent from commercial buildings on William Street, let by the School of Arts provided an income in the absence of government subsidies, or members subscriptions.