Mount Morgan State High School is a heritage-listed state high school and technical college at 4 Central Street, Mount Morgan, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1908. It was formerly known as Mount Morgan Technical College. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 4 December 2015.
History Construction of Mount Morgan State High School commenced in 1908.
Mount Morgan State High School was established in the central Queensland mining town of Mount Morgan in 1912, as one of Queensland's first secondary schools. It commenced operating on the Mount Morgan Technical College site, which the two institutions shared until 1964. The former Technical College Building (1908) and Science Block and Workshop (1913, extended 1918), both masonry buildings, are important in demonstrating the growth of technical colleges in Queensland and the establishment of state high schools. These purpose-designed buildings are excellent examples of technical college and Department of Public Works buildings. The Technical College Building has aesthetic significance for its composition and materials, and as a landmark in the town. 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.
European settlement commenced at Ironstone Mountain (Mount Morgan's initial name) when mining of gold began there in 1882. In 1888 Mount Morgan's population was 4000 people scattered in a series of settlements located close to the Dee River and the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company mine. In time, the town centre developed around Morgan and East Streets.Gordon and Gotch, Australian Handbook, 1903, Gordon and Gotch, n.p. 1903 cited by Queensland Places, "Mount Morgan", <http://www.queenslandplaces.com.au/mount-morgan>, accessed 12 June 2015Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP), Tipperary Point Swinging Bridge. Ref: 602618, History. Mount Morgan became a municipality (the Borough of Mount Morgan) in 1890 and in the two decades after its creation most of the town's infrastructure was established. From 1898 the town was linked by the Mount Morgan railway line to Rockhampton over the steep Razor Back Range, reducing the town's isolation. According to the 1901 census the population of the area was 8486, with 6280 living within the Mount Morgan municipality. By 1903 the town had a wide variety of facilities and amenities.EHP, Tipperary Point Swinging Bridge, Ref: 602618, History. Mount Morgan had a general hospital (established 1890) two bank branches, three state schools, a School of Arts, churches of most denominations, police barracks and court-room, court-house, new police quarters, 13 hotels, stores, Foresters' and Oddfellows' halls, a sanitary system, three newspapers, general stores and shops. After constructing the "big dam" in 1902 the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company supplied the town with water free of charge from 1904.
After achieving a record annual gold output in 1889 (the highest in the colony), the Mount Morgan mine was the second largest gold producer in Queensland between 1890 and 1909. During the last five years of the 19th century the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company, which operated the mine, trebled its annual output of ore, employing an army of new men who increased the town's population to 10,000. The highest production of gold was achieved during the period from 1887 to 1897, after which production fell. From 1906–07 the production focus of the mine changed from gold to copper, but falling copper prices impacted adversely on this.Queensland Heritage Register (QHR) 600751 Mount Morgan Mine SiteEHP, Tipperary Point Swinging Bridge. Ref: 602618, History.
Technical education classes started in Mount Morgan in 1900 to meet the growing need for skilled labour for the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company. Classes were initially held in the Mount Morgan School of Arts building in Morgan Street, starting with an enrolment of eight. The Technical College was overseen by a committee, which commenced fundraising for a building in 1905.'Opening of the College', Capricornian, 1 May 1909, p. 26.
Technical education in Queensland grew and evolved after the first technical college was established in Brisbane in 1882. Technical education developed out of the Mechanics' Institute / School of Arts movement which arose in Great Britain in the early 19th century, initially "to instruct artisans in the scientific principles of arts and manufactures", which expanded in the Australian colonies.Eddie Clarke, Technical and Further Education in Queensland: A History 1860-1990. Department of Education and Bureau of Employment, Vocational and Further Education and Training, Brisbane, 1992, p. 4 cited by Project Services, "Mount Morgan State High School" in Queensland Schools Heritage Study Part II Report, pp. 3-4. In 1902, the 17 technical colleges in Queensland established a Board of Technical Education to advise the Minister for Public Instruction. In 1905, this Board was abolished and a separate branch of the Department of Public Instruction created to oversee technical education.'Technical Instruction', Brisbane Courier, 27 June 1906, p. 3'A' Block, CQ Institute of Technical and Further Education (TAFE) Rockhampton Campus, QHR600789. The colleges in operation in Queensland during 1905 were located in Bowen, Brisbane, Brisbane South, West End, Bundaberg, Cairns, Charters Towers, Gympie, Ipswich, Mackay, Maryborough, Mount Morgan, Rockhampton, Sandgate, Toowoomba, Townsville and Warwick. The total number of technical education students enrolled in Queensland in 1905 was 4171 and the state subsidy for technical education was more than .'Technical Instruction', Brisbane Courier, 27 June 1906, p. 3.
In 1906, the Mount Morgan Technical College Committee realised that a new building for the expanding college would be costly, so the institution should be responsible to the Queensland Government rather than the School of Arts. The Committee drew up a constitution that was adopted by the School of Arts Committee on 31 May 1906 and subsequently by the government. The college's new board had 12 members – three appointed by the government; four appointed by Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company; two elected by subscribers of 5s and over; two elected by students of certain standing; and one appointed by subscribers of or more.
Queensland's private schools, technical colleges and schools of arts were not built to a standard plan, but were individually designed with variation in style, size and form.Paul Burmester, Margaret Pullar and Michael Kennedy Queensland Schools: A Heritage Conservation Study, a report for the Department of Education, 1996, p. 99. Plans for the Technical College Building (now known as Block A) were prepared in the office of the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company. The design was approved by the college's board and the Department of Public Works, and the contract for erection of the building was awarded to J K Evans of Rockhampton in November 1907, with Arthur Jenks appointed Clerk of Works.'Opening of the College', Capricornian, 1 May 1909, p. 26'Death of Mr Arthur Jenks', Morning Bulletin, 8 Nov 1943, p. 4. By 1908 enrolments in the Mount Morgan technical education classes had increased to 323 and classes were conducted in various building around the town, attesting to the need for a site dedicated to the technical college.
The Mount Morgan Technical College Building, located on the corner of Central and Dee Streets, was completed at the end of 1908. Wherever possible, the building was constructed from materials obtained in Queensland. The bricks were supplied by the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company and made at the company's brickworks (known locally as Gunthorpe's brickworks after its long-term manager, Robert Gunthorpe),'Brickmaker Revisits the Mount Mr Robert Gunthorpe, Mt Morgan', The Evening News, 14 Feb 1938, p. 8. situated behind the Mount Morgan railway station. The stone came from G Sanderson's quarry at Stanwell, while all the timber used in the building was Australian. The furniture was specially designed and manufactured in Rockhampton by W A Lawson.Nessie Chardon and F L Golding (eds) Centenary of the Town of Mount Morgan 1882-1982, Mount Morgan and District Historical Society, Mount Morgan, 198x, p. 107.
After the building's completion, The Capricornian newspaper praised the new building and the community:Mount Morgan Technical College', Capricornian, 21 Nov 1908, p. 18."The people of Mount Morgan are to be warmly congratulated on the splendid Technical College which has now been completed and will be opened in the course of the next few weeks. With the exception of the College in Brisbane and the School of Mines in Charters Towers it is by far the finest college in the state, and as a building it certainly surpasses the Charters Towers institution. The cost is over £6000 and the college will be opened free from debt, a remarkable achievement. The Government ... assisted ... by a contribution of well over £4000, and the Mount Morgan Company directly and indirectly subscribed £800, besides presenting the land.... The people of Mount Morgan ... provide[d] .... [s]omething like £800 in hard cash..."Money collected from the community to build the Technical College Building was raised from functions, "brick-selling" donations, donations from individuals and businesses, plus from Walter Russell Hall, Director of the mine. The Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company donated land for the site of the Technical College (worth ); the Secretary's house; another house for the Principal; as well as the Manual Training Building.Chardon and Golding (eds) Centenary of the Town of Mount Morgan 1882-1982, p. 104.
Queensland's prosperity from mining and agricultural pursuits in the first decades of the 20th century enabled the government to implement a campaign of construction of large public buildings.Burmester et al, Queensland Schools A Heritage Conservation Study, p.18. This was the case for the Mount Morgan Technical College which received from the Queensland Government for every raised by community.
The technical college was officially opened by the Hon William Kidston, Premier of Queensland, on 24 April 1909.'Hon W Kidston', The Telegraph, 26 Apr 1909, p. 9. The Capricornian printed the following description of the building at its opening:"The outside of the building... shows only pure materials – brick and stone and timber. No stucco has been allowed in any shape or form, the only plaster being on the inside of the walls of the rooms to ensure ... smooth surfaces for the purposes of light and cleanliness. The question of lighting the rooms both day and night has had especial study and we consider the desired result has been achieved. The main building contains seven classrooms – four on the ground floor and three on the first floor – and in addition, a board-room and library combined, a main entrance hall or vestibule and a museum, besides passages and verandah balcony. The rooms have all been designed to suit present and future conditions and include a demonstration theatre, where demonstrations in physics, chemistry and cookery are held. In additional to the main building, practical classes are held in plumbing in what is called the malthoid building and in practical mechanical engineering and carpentry in the workshops of the Mount Morgan Goldmining Company. The total amount spent on the building is £4301 and on equipment £1699, making a total of £6000."