Murgon State School is a heritage-listed state school, pre-school and teacher's residence at 91 Gore Street, Murgon, South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Department of Public Works (Queensland) and built from 1914 to 1940. It was also known as Murgon Provisional School and Murgon Rural School. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 9 October 2015.
History Murgon State School opened in 1908 as Murgon Provisional School (changing to Murgon State School in 1909) within the small agricultural settlement of Murgon, to serve its growing rural population. A new teaching building replaced the original provisional school building in 1917 and shortly afterwards, in 1925, the school began operating as a rural school. By the mid-1930s the school complex had grown to include a range of vocational teaching buildings, including a blacksmith's shop (1930, extended 1935–36) and domestic science building (1935–36). Due to the loss of the southern portion of the original school reserve in 1915 for the construction of the Murgon-Proston railway line, school expansion occurred to the north between 1959 and 1972, resuming part of Fryar Street and acquiring the former Murgon Court House (1940) for educational purposes. The school has been in continuous operation since establishment and has been a focus for the local community as a place for important social and cultural activity.
The first European settlers arrived in the Murgon area, the traditional land of the Wakka Wakka people, in the 1840s, taking up land which is now known as Barambah Homestead.'Murgon State School', in Queensland Schools Heritage Study Part II Report, for Education Queensland, January 2008. In 1901 part of Barambah pastoral station became the Barambah Mission Station - known as Cherbourg from 1932.'Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council', https://queenslandplaces.com.au/cherbourg-aboriginal-shire-council, accessed 4 August 2015. The nearby town of Murgon, about to the north, grew around the location of an unattended timber loading siding, which opened in 1903 on the Nanango railway line from Kilkivan to Kingaroy. The railway, which facilitated the transport of local produce - maize and pumpkins, pigs, cattle and dairy products - to markets, spurred an influx of selectors who took up land excised from Barambah Station in 1902 and again in 1913.'Murgon Civic Centre', QHR 602812. Murgon was surveyed and the sale of town lots took place in 1906. Murgon's development was stimulated by the creation of the Shire of Murgon in 1914, with Murgon as its administrative centre; and the construction of a railway line from Murgon to Proston (commenced 1916, completed 1923), with a branch line to Windera (1925).'Murgon Civic Centre', QHR 602812'Work for Unemployed', The Brisbane Courier, 22 April 1916, p.4.
The early basis for the prosperity of Murgon was the dairy industry. During the interwar period dairying expanded greatly in Queensland, and by the 1930s it was the state's most widely spread agricultural industry. While butter factories enabled the production and export of dairy products, numerous small farms, reliant on family labour to milk herds twice daily for generally modest returns, were the backbone of the industry.'South Burnett Co-operative Dairy Association Factory (former)', QHR 602811.
Cream from Murgon's dairy farmers was initially railed to the Tiaro butter factory, which relocated to Murgon in 1913. Murgon's butter factory (the South Burnett Co-operative Dairy Association Factory) was extended in the late 1920s, and by 1931 it was Queensland's fourth largest butter producer. By the mid- to late-1930s Murgon was rapidly expanding as a service centre for its surrounding agricultural community, and a new and impressive Art-Deco style Murgon Civic Centre was built in 1938. In 1911 Murgon's population had been 706;'Murgon and Murgon Shire', https://queenslandplaces.com.au/murgon-and-murgon-shire, accessed 4 August 2015. however by 1941 it was the second largest centre (after Kingaroy) in the South Burnett, with a population of 1091.
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.4-5Paul Burmester, Margaret Pullar and Michael Kennedy Queensland Schools: A Heritage Conservation Study, a report for the Department of Education, 1996, pp.87-8.
Steps towards the establishment of a school in Murgon began in 1906. In September of that year George Arnell, president of the Murgon Progress Association, wrote to the Minister for Education about opening a school in Murgon. A building committee was later formed and a site for the school reserve was selected on the north side of town.75th Anniversary (1908-1983) 26 February 1983, Murgon State School, 1983, n.p. The reserve of , bounded by Gore, Fryar, Bell (now Krebs) and Stephens streets, was proclaimed in August 1907.'Crown Lands', The Queenslander, 10 August 1907, p.34Survey Plan Fy352, 1907. Contractors McKewan and Woods were the successful tenderers for the erection of the school at Murgon, and it was completed in November 1907. Located in the southern quarter of the school reserve, the school building comprised a single classroom with verandahs front and back.'Notes and News', Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette, 4 July 1907, p.375th Anniversary (1908-1983) 26 February 1983, Murgon State School, 1983, n.pDepartment of Public Works Plan 871/439/1, "Murgon State School Block Plan", .
The school opened as Murgon Provisional School on 24 February 1908 with an enrolment of 40 pupils, increasing
to 67 pupils by the end of March.'Murgon', Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette, 4 April 1908, p.4. Provisional schools, which could be opened with as few as 15 (later 12) pupils, were regarded as interim measures until state schools were built. If the district or town developed, provisional schools were raised to state school status, with larger, purpose-designed school buildings and teacher residences constructed, attracting better qualified and more experienced teachers. Murgon Provisional School became a State School in 1909, only a year after opening. Over time the building was enlarged and raised, with space underneath used for classes and later partially enclosed.The Brisbane Courier, 17 December 1909, p.2Project Services, "Murgon State School", heritage report, 2007Greg Logan and Eddie Clarke, State Education in Queensland: a brief history, a report for the Department of Education, Queensland, 1984, p.2Hector Holthouse, Looking Back. The first 150 years of Queensland schools, a report for the Department of Education, Queensland, 1975, pp.16-17.
In 1914 a teacher's residence was added to the site, fulfilling "a long felt need"'New Buildings', Queensland Times, 24 July 1914, p.3. Most Queensland state schools incorporated a teacher's residence on the site, particularly in rural areas. In Australia, only Queensland offered free accommodation to teachers, the government policy applying to male teachers (only) from as early as 1864. This was partial recompense for a low wage, an incentive for teacher recruitment in rural areas and provided onsite caretakers.Thom Blake, "Educating Queenslanders" in Queensland Historical Thematic Framework, 2007 (rev. 2013 by EHP), p.4Project Services, Queensland Schools Heritage Study Part II Report, for Education Queensland, January 2008, pp.33-5. From the 1880s they were built as detached residences and were similar to the vernacular Queensland house. Designed by the Department of Public Works and constructed to the high standard demanded by the state, teacher's residences were typically of a higher-quality than most similarly scaled private residences. The residence was located within the school grounds at a distance from the teaching buildings, usually with a separate, fenced yard. Residence designs varied in size and evolved to keep up with modern needs and styles.
In May 1914, W Bytheway was announced as the successful tenderer for the construction of the teacher's residence at Murgon State School, for a cost of £686.'Public Works', The Brisbane Courier, 30 May 1914, p.5. A standard Department of Public Works design,Type C/R3, according to type classifications contained within Burmester et al, Queensland Schools: A Heritage Conservation Study, 1996. the residence was timber-framed and -clad with a hipped roof. The layout comprised: a front verandah with central staircase; a four-room core containing a sitting room, dining room and two bedrooms; an internal semi-enclosed dining verandah (running the full width of the residence); and a rear wing containing a kitchen, pantry, bathroom and servants bedroom. The residence was located northeast of the teaching building, facing Gore Street.Burmester et al, Queensland Schools: A Heritage Conservation Study: Conservation Management, p29Department of Public Works Plan 871/439/1, "Murgon State School Block Plan", Department of Public Works Plan 871/505/2A, 'Murgon State School Head Teacher's Residence', 1964.
The following year, confirmation that the route of the proposed Murgon-to-Proston railway line would pass diagonally through the centre of the School Reserve meant that major changes were needed at the school. The newly completed teacher's residence could remain in place; however the teaching building was now partly overlapped by the railway reserve. A new School Reserve was surveyed in 1915 and assented to by the Department of Education. Now triangular in shape, it occupied the north-eastern half of the block, on the corner of Gore and Fryar streets, with the main entrance from Fryar Street. Construction of the railway line began in 1916.'The Murgon-Proston Railway', Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser, 10 July 1915, p.9'Murgon-Proston Railway: Turning of the First Sod', Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser, 1 February 1916, p.4Survey Plan RP28463, 1915
Prior to the removal of the original teaching building,Part of the Provisional School building was relocated in to Hillsdale State School, source: Judy Mickan, "Looking Both Ways: 100 years of education at Murgon State School", 2008, p.9. a new State School building of a standard government design was constructed in 1917 within the new school reserve. 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 their response to 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.