Buranda State School is a heritage-listed state school at 24 Cowley Street, Woolloongabba, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Department of Public Works (Queensland) and built from 1920 to 1928. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 April 2017.
History Buranda State School, established in 1918, is located in the suburb of Woolloongabba, approximately three kilometres southwest of the Brisbane CBD. It is important in demonstrating the evolution of state education and its associated architecture. It retains its suburban timber school building (1920, 1928) with WWII honour boards (1944, post-1945); set in landscaped grounds with a swimming pool, dressing shed and terraces (1926); sports oval; retaining walls (1926–36); and mature trees. The school has a strong and ongoing association with the Buranda-Stone's Corner-Woolloongabba community.
Traditionally the lands of the Turrbal and Jagera people, suburban development around the Buranda State School site began in the 1880s. The nearby Stone's Corner Hotel opened in the late 1880s and by the 1890s industries were established in the area. The Cleveland railway line ran to the north of the future school site from 1889 and from 1897 electric trams operated along Logan Road to Stones Corner. By 1908 the population had grown sufficiently for the Department of Public Instruction to commence planning a school to serve the district.Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Cultural Heritage Database and Register, <https://culturalheritage.datsip.qld.gov.au/achris/public/public-registry/home>, accessed 3 Mar 2017Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM), Survey Plan 11960Brisbane Tramway Museum. "History of Electric Tramways in Brisbane" < http://www.brisbanetramwaymuseum.org/morwoodtrams.php >, accessed 3 Mar 2017Centre for the Government of Queensland, The University of Queensland, Australia. "Buranda", <http://queenslandplaces.com.au/buranda>, accessed 11 January 2016Merle D Grinly, Stone of Stone's Corner. Yesteryear Links, Brisbane, 2000, n.p.Queensland State Archives (QSA), Item ID2032969, memo from Land Cmr, District Land Office, Brisbane to Department of Public Lands, 5 Mar 1913.
The establishment of schools was considered an essential step in the development of new communities and integral to their success. Schools became a community focus, with the school community contributing to maintenance and development; 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.4-5Paul Burmester, Margaret Pullar and Michael Kennedy Queensland Schools A Heritage Conservation Study, a report for the Department of Education, 1996, pp.87-8.
To help ensure consistency and economy, the Queensland Government developed standard plans for its school buildings. From the 1860s until the 1960s, Queensland school buildings were predominantly timber-framed, an easy and cost-effective approach that also enabled the government to provide facilities in remote areas. Standard designs were continually refined in response to changing needs and educational philosophy and Queensland school buildings were particularly innovative in climate control, lighting, and ventilation. Standardisation produced distinctly similar schools across Queensland with complexes of typical components.Burmester, et al, Queensland Schools A Heritage Conservation Study, pp.84, 120-1.
Buranda State School was established as a separate Girls and Infants School (1918) and a Boys School (1920) to provide primary school education for the growing population in the locality of Logan Road. Its site, formed from Crown land, purchased land, and a South Brisbane City Council quarry, was proclaimed as a school reserve in 1916. The timber Girls and Infants School building occupied high ground at the northwest of the site, and was accessed via Martin Street. The school's name was taken from the nearby Buranda railway station. Establishment of the school was intended to relieve the enrolment pressure on East Brisbane, Dunellan (later Greenslopes), Junction Park and Dutton Park state schools.Betty Barron, Buranda SS 1918-1993: 75th Anniversary, Buranda SS, Buranda, 1993, pp. 7, 8QSA Item ID2032969, 'Brisbane Regional Reserve for State School Buranda R1087';Subdivisions 11, 13 to 25 of Section 3 of Portion 173, also Portions 225 and 246, parish of South Brisbane, County of Stanley: see: DNRM, Survey Plan B.3.613Government Gazette 1916, vol. 2, p. 1545'New School at Buranda', The Brisbane Courier, 23 Feb 1918, p. 4Centre for the Government of Queensland, The University of Queensland, Australia. "Buranda", <http://queenslandplaces.com.au/buranda>, accessed 11 January 2016. In 2017, Buranda is a locality name. In 1921, Buranda also became the suburb's name. In 2017, Buranda is a locality.
The Buranda Boys School opened on 27 September 1920 with an enrolment of 173 pupils. Its suburban timber school building (Block A), positioned in the lower southwestern portion of the site and accessed via Cowley Street, was a high-set, timber building with a continuous north verandah, and central, projecting teachers rooms. The building comprised a central wing with two side wings, each with a Dutch gable roof of shingle tiles and central fleche. It seated 320 boys in eight classrooms. The central wing was divided into four classrooms and each side wing into two similar-sized rooms separated by fixed glazed partitions. The undercroft was utilised for play space and lavatories.Suburban Timber School Building Type C/T8Department of Public Works, Report of the Department of Public Works for the Year Ended 30 June 1920, Queensland Government Printer, Brisbane, 1920, p. 4Memorandum, Deputy Govt Architect, 22 Sep 1919 cited by Barron, Buranda SS, p. 8.
This building type, introduced in 1914, was the culmination of years of experimentation that solved many of the problems of light, ventilation, and classroom size, which had plagued previous school designs, as well as providing the ideal, modern education environment.Building Type: C/T8. Burmester, et al, Queensland Schools A Heritage Conservation Study, p.21. From 1893 the Department of Public Works greatly improved the natural ventilation and lighting of classroom interiors, experimenting with different combinations of roof ventilators, ceiling and wall vents, larger windows, dormer windows and ducting. In high-set timber buildings had been introduced, providing better ventilation as well as further teaching space and a covered play area underneath. This was a noticeable new direction and this form became a characteristic of Queensland schools.Burmester, et al, Queensland Schools A Heritage Conservation Study, pp.19-20.
Prior to the widespread adoption of electricity and artificial lighting, achieving an ideal or even adequate level of natural light in classrooms, without glare, was of critical importance to educators and consequently it became central to the design and layout of all school buildings. From around 1909 windows were rearranged and enlarged to provide a greater amount of gentle, southern light into the room and desks were rearranged so that the light would fall onto students' left hand sides to avoid throwing shadows onto the pages; this presupposed that all students were right-handed. Windows were larger and sills were lowered to let in more light generally. Smaller classrooms were preferred as they were easier to light correctly. Interiors became lighter and airier and met with immediate approval from educationalists. These features - large banks of south-facing windows and smaller classrooms - are retained at Buranda State School.
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 the 1870s, schools inspector William Alexander Boyd was critical of tropical schools and his recommendations stressed the importance of the adding shade trees to playgrounds. Subsequently, Arbor Day celebrations began in Queensland in 1890. Aesthetically designed gardens were encouraged by regional inspectors, and educators believed gardening and Arbor Days instilled in young minds the value of hard work and activity, improved classroom discipline, developed aesthetic tastes, and inspired people to stay on the land.Burmester, et al, Queensland Schools A Heritage Conservation Study, pp. 4, 48-9. Arbor Day celebrations at Buranda State School commenced in 1918 and were conducted up to at least the late 1950s. By 1958 there were 63 planted trees alive in the school grounds.'Arbor Day at Buranda', Daily Standard, 24 Aug 1918, p. 2'Girls' School Sports', Courier-Mail, 4 May 1936, p. 16QSA Item ID 14035: letter from S.N. Alcorn, Head Teacher, Buranda State School to Department of Public Instruction, 28 Mar 1951. Letter, Director General of Education to Park Superintendent, Brisbane City Council, 15 May 1956'Arbor Day Report for Buranda Boys School', Aug 1958.
Buranda State School's Committee undertook an active programme of fund-raising events to improve the school's facilities. This included an annual combined schools' fete, fancy dress balls, socials, euchre parties and excursions. One major outcome of its efforts was the school swimming pool with dressing shed, goldfish pond and landscaping, completed for and opened debt-free. At its opening during a school fete on 30 October 1926, Alderman Lawry acknowledged that the baths were "a splendid record of voluntary work, teachers, parents and pupils all assisting in the hard work of clearing and excavating the ground....[while] the Public Works Department...suppl[ied] the materials".'Swimming. Buranda School Pool. Official Opening.' Sunday Mail, 31 Oct 1926, p. 9. When opening the pool, the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, William Jolly, stated "Not only was it a perfect pool but the terraced lawns, flower beds, goldfish pond, and dressing shed created an environment which could not fail to inculcate a love of the beautiful in the children".
The establishment of swimming pools in Queensland state schools was a growing trend in the early decades of the 20th century. The perceived benefits of learning to swim for pupils were expounded from 1915 onwards: as a particularly appropriate physical exercise during summer; of value to children's physiques; and for water safety reasons to prevent drownings.'Wooloowin State School', Brisbane Courier, 8 Oct 1915, p. 10'School Swimming Pool', The Telegraph, 25 Sep 1916, p. 10: "Swimming", The Telegraph, 11 Dec 1922, p. 3'Buranda Baths', Daily Standard, 1 Jul 1924, p. 1'Swimming Buranda School Pool Official Opening', Sunday Mail, 31 Oct 1926, p. 9: "Buranda State School Fete for Swimming Pool", The Telegraph, 31 Oct 1927, p. 4. Earlier pools had opened at Junction Park State School (1910), Milton State School (1914), Wooloowin State School (1916), Ascot State School (1921), Cannon Hill State School (1921), Wilston State School (1923), and Windsor State School (February 1926).'Buranda SS Committee Report for the Three Years Ending March 1929' cited by Barron, Buranda SS, p. 117'First School Swimming Pool', Brisbane Courier, 5 Feb 1910, p. 7'School Swimming Pool', The Telegraph, 25 Sep 1916, p. 10'Rangeville School Swimming Baths', Darling Downs Gazette, 7 Mar 1921, p. 4'Swimming', The Telegraph, 11 Dec 1922, p.3'School Swimming Pools', The Telegraph, 22 Feb 1926, p. 3.