Milton State School is a heritage-listed state school at Bayswater Street, Milton, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1923 to 1936 by Queensland Department of Public Works. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 April 2017.
History Milton State School opened in 1889, as Rosalie State School, on its current site approximately two kilometres west of the Brisbane CBD. The school is important in demonstrating the evolution of state education and its associated architecture. In 2017 Milton State School retains a Depression-era brick school building, retaining walls and stairs (1935–37); a re-purposed two-storey timber classroom building (1923); and mature trees. The school has been in continuous operation since its establishment.
The land north of the Milton Reach of the Brisbane River and southwest of the North Brisbane Burial Ground (used 1843–75, later Lang Park), part of the traditional lands of the Turrbal people, was outside Brisbane's original town limits. Large suburban allotments were sold in the area in the 1850s. The suburb of Milton is named after Ambrose Eldridge's "Milton House", built near the river in the early 1850s when Eldridge was farming cotton. During the 1860s, the Paddington, Milton, and Auchenflower area consisted of large houses on acreage, but denser settlement later occurred due to the opening of the Main Line railway to Ipswich in 1875; and Milton developed a mix of worker's cottages, small businesses and industry. A distillery opened at Milton in 1871, followed by the Castlemaine brewery in 1878, and there was a population boom during the 1880s due to residential subdivision. The opening of a tram line from Petrie Terrace to Toowong Cemetery, via Milton Road, in July 1904, also promoted suburban development in Milton.'Meander through Milton - Brisbane Heritage Trails', online document (accessed 10 October 2016)Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM) Survey Plan S15185, 1854'Milton House', QHR600253AT Miles, "Milton State School: a history", Rosalie, Queensland, the author, 1973'Rectifying distillery Milton', Brisbane Courier, 25 February 1871, p.5'Opening of the railway', Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald & General Advertiser, 17 June 1875, p.3'Toowong tramway. Informal opening', Brisbane Courier, 23 July 1904, p.6 A tram line also branched off Milton Road to run along Baroona Road, north of Milton State School.1914 Map, 8 chains to an inch, Brisbane and Suburbs, Sheet 8
A large number of residential estates were created in the 1880s, which soon led to pressure for a state school for Rosalie (today a locality in the suburb of Paddington, northwest of the suburb of Milton).Estates close to the Milton State School site included Castletown, Lewison, West Paddington, Glengallan, Rosalie, Oxford, Latrobe Park, Holmedale, Rose Hill, Blackall, Baroona, Douglas, Bayswater, Brewsterfield, Torwood and Milton (Miles, 'Milton State School: a history'1895 Maps, 6 Chains to an Inch, Brisbane and Suburbs, McKellar, Sheets 7, 8). The establishment of schools was considered an essential step in the development of early communities and integral to their success. Locals often donated land and labour for a school's construction and the school community contributed to maintenance and development. Schools became a community focus, a symbol of progress, and a source of pride, with enduring connections formed with past pupils, parents, and teachers.Project Services, "Mount Morgan State High School" in Queensland Schools Heritage Study Part II Report, for Education Queensland, 2008, pp.4-5P Burmester, M Pullar and M Kennedy Queensland Schools: A Heritage Conservation Study, a report for the Department of Education, 1996, pp.87-8.
The effort to open a school at Rosalie/Milton accelerated when a committee was formed in February 1886 at a meeting of residents of the Rosalie, Oxford, Bayswater, Blackall, Lewison and Holmedale Estates. A small area of high ground on the west side of Red Jacket Swamp (later Gregory Park), part of an 1884 Water Reserve, was later chosen as the site of the school. Unlike alternative sites, this land was free.Miles, 'Milton State School: a history''Reserves', Brisbane Courier, 21 June 1884, p.5.
The site of Red Jacket Swamp, which was drained by Western Creek, is today bounded by Baroona Road to the north, Bayswater Street to the west, and Haig Road to the southeast. In the 1880s the swamp was located in Toowong Shire, just south of the boundary with the Ithaca Division (1879–87, then the Ithaca Shire). Land to the west and northwest of the swamp was subdivided into residential allotments in 1879; to the north in 1886–87; and to the southeast in the early 20th century. However, in the 1880s Red Jacket Swamp remained undeveloped, and was a source of contention between the two local governments about who was responsible for draining and filling it. Waste-water runoff from the houses on the higher ground (in Ithaca) around the swamp had created an odorous health hazard.DNRM Survey Plan RP19654, 1879 (subdivision of land west/southwest of swamp, portions 228, 229)DNRM Certificate of Title 10171097, 1871 (allotments sold from 1886 onwards, north of swamp, portion 227)DNRM Survey Plan RP19643, 1887 (subdivision of land north of swamp, on portions 226, 227)DNRM Certificate of Title 10654061, 1887 (southeast of swamp, Suburban Allotment 43 mostly subdivided in the early 20th century)'Red Jacket Swamp', Brisbane Courier, 29 September 1888, p.9 (unsanitary school location)'Rosalie Arbour Day', Telegraph, 11 November 1889, p.4 (odour).
Regardless, the site was deemed suitable for a school. A and Reserve for State School Purposes was surveyed off the Water Reserve in late 1886, and was gazetted in January 1887; with the remainder of Red Jacket Swamp ( , gazetted as a Reserve for Recreation in July 1887.DNRM Survey Plan N25284, 1886'State School for Rosalie', Telegraph, 26 July 1886, p.4Queensland Government Gazette, V.40 1887, p.194 (Reserve for State School Purposes)Queensland Government Gazette, V.41 1887, p.871 (Reserve for Recreation).
In June 1888 the tender of James Loynes for a new state school at Rosalie, Milton, for £999, was accepted, and the first timber school building - comprising a single classroom, head teachers office, and front and back verandahs - was completed by February 1889. The Rosalie State School opened with an enrolment of 261 students on 18 March 1889, and had an enrolment of 422 by the end of the year. A second classroom was added to the north, perpendicular to the first building, by September 1889. The school soon changed its name, and the "Milton State School Committee" operated by October 1889.'State School Buildings', Telegraph, 27 June 1888, p.5Miles, "Milton State School: a history". The first building addressed the street, with the head teacher's office on the western verandah. Brisbane Courier, 10 April 1889, p.4'Cost £30,000: Milton's new school official opening', Sunday Mail, 9 May 1937, p.8Brisbane Courier, 10 October 1889, p.3. However, an 1890 article still refers to the "Rosalie State School Committee" ('Rosalie drain. Effect on school children', Telegraph, 6 November 1890, p.4).
The school's enrolment continued to increase, with average attendance rising to 850 by 1898. Additions were made to the school in 1891 and 1899; and two playsheds were built by early 1896.'Milton State School: Improving Red Jacket Swamp', Telegraph, 12 November 1898, p.2Project Services, "Milton State School", in Queensland Schools Heritage Study Part II Report, for Education Queensland, January 2008'Milton State School', Brisbane Courier, 4 February 1896, p.5. In 1919 one playshed was located immediately north of the original pool, and one was located at an angle behind of the northernmost wing of the school (1919 plan in Miles, 'Milton State School: a history').
An important component of Queensland state schools was their grounds. The early and continuing commitment to play-based education, particularly in primary school, resulted in the provision of outdoor play space and sporting facilities, such as ovals and tennis courts. Also, trees and gardens were planted to shade and beautify schools. In late 1889 Milton State School was one of the first Queensland schools to hold an Arbor Day, and 65 trees, supplied free by the Department of Agriculture and including Moreton Bay and other figs, Bauhinia, Poinciana, and Jacaranda trees, were planted by students. The aim was to beautify the school grounds, and reduce the smell of stagnant water, using shade trees.'School Arbour Days', Telegraph, 7 November 1889, p.2'Rosalie Arbour Day', Telegraph, 11 November 1889, p.4.
The school grounds were gradually extended northwards along Bayswater Street. In 1901, were added north of the school buildings; and another , at the corner of Bayswater Street and Baroona Road, was added in 1920. This corner site had, from c.1892 until 1919, been the headquarters of the Milton Volunteer Fire Brigade (established 1888).1895 Map, 6 Chains to an Inch, Brisbane and Suburbs, McKellar, Sheet 7DNRM Survey Plan S133, 1901'Milton Volunteer fire brigade', Brisbane Courier, 6 July 1892, p.6. The Milton brigade moved to the Ithaca Fire Station, which opened in 1919 ('Ithaca Fire Station (former)' QHR 601199).
In February 1914 a swimming pool was officially opened at Milton State School, making it the second Queensland state school to have a swimming pool, after Junction Park State School in 1910. The Milton pool, funded by parents, was long, wide, and to deep. Located at the south end of the school grounds, it was built by James Price for £250.'Swimming pool at Milton State School', Telegraph, 12 December 1913, p.5'School swimming bath, Milton's good example', Telegraph, 9 February 1914, p.4'Swimming. Order of the Bath. What schools are doing', Daily Standard, 7 April 1914, p.7. This pool was later replaced by a new reinforced concrete pool, built by Messrs William Collin & Sons and opened in November 1930. The new pool (extant in 2017) was long by wide, and deep; and cost . Parents again provided most of the funding.'Cost £1206. New Swimming pool, Milton State School', Sunday Mail, 16 November 1930, p.19'Milton State School, new swimming pool', Telegraph, 17 November 1930, p.12Miles, "Milton State School: a history". The playshed located just north of the old swimming pool was removed at this time (Project Services, 'Milton State School').
Improvements to the school's accommodation also continued in the interwar period, as the population of Milton expanded. A new highset wing, with three classrooms, was added at the south end of, and perpendicular to, the first school building in 1919; and another wing was added in 1923, this time at the north end of the school. The latter building had six classrooms in two storeys, and cost £2500. In 1923 the average daily attendance at the school was 900–1000 students.'Milton State School', Week, 10 October 1919, p.16'Milton State School', Brisbane Courier, 29 August 1923, p.13 A 1919 newspaper article was illustrated with a photo taken from the east (rear) of the school, with the new wing "on the left". The 1923 building, with a western and northern verandah, is shown on a 1933 site plan, as the northernmost of a group of buildings connected by verandahs.Brisbane City Council Water Supply and Sewerage Department, District no.4 Detail Plan No.799, 24 November 1933"Milton State School", Brisbane Courier, 29 August 1923, p.13.