Dalby State High School is a heritage-listed state high school at 28B Nicholson Street, Dalby, Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1953 to 1954. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 19 August 2016.
History Dalby State High School (SHS) opened on its present site in 1954, due to overcrowding at Dalby State School (est. 1861) – which had accommodated a secondary department (or "high top") since 1914. In 2016 Dalby SHS retains six 1950s buildings, and part of a seventh, which demonstrate the evolution of standard government designs: the eastern half of Block A (Boulton & Paul prefabricated timber vocational buildings, 1953–1955) the eastern section of Block B (Boulton & Paul prefabricated timber school building, 1953–1954) Block D (highset timber school building with semi-enclosed stair, 1954–1955) Block C (timber school building with timber floor trusses, 1956–1958) Block F (administration building, 1958–1959) Block J (brick veneer vocational building, 1958–1959). It also retains its 1950s site planning; covered links; and paved areas associated with Block F; along with a sports oval and mature perimeter trees. The school has been in continuous operation since establishment.
The traditional land of the Barunggam people, Dalby was established with European settlement of the Darling Downs from 1840. Laid out in 1852, Dalby was resurveyed and named in 1853, and its Town Reserve was declared in August 1855. The first urban land sales were held in 1857, and Dalby became a municipality (the Borough of Dalby) on 29 August 1863.'St Columba's Convent (former)', QHR 602761'Dalby, Myall Creek', Moreton Bay Courier, 13 August 1853, p.2Tony Matthews, 1988, Beyond the Crossing, a history of Dalby and district, Dalby Town Council, Dalby, pp.10-11.
The growing town soon required a school. National schools, established in 1848 in New South Wales, were continued in Queensland following the colony's creation in 1859. Following the introduction of the Education Act 1860, Queensland's national and public schools grew from four in 1860 to 230 by 1875.Thom Blake, "Educating Queenslanders" in Queensland Historical Thematic Framework, 2007 (rev. 2013 by EHP), p. 2. The State Education Act 1875 provided for free, compulsory and secular primary education and established the Department of Public Instruction. 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.91-2.
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.
A school was built in Dalby by public subscription by early 1859, and the Dalby National School (later Dalby State School) opened on 1 June 1861 on Cunningham Street.Dalby' Moreton Bay Courier, 14 May 1859, p.2Queensland State Archives Agency ID3295, "Dalby State School" The 1859 school appears to have been sited elsewhere, east of Myall Creek.The Story of Dalby State School, 1861-1961, Centenary Commemorative Booklet. Dalby State School 1961 In September 1861 the locals voted to transfer the building and land to the Board of Education, to become a vested national school.'Dalby', Courier, 20 August 1861, p.2'Dalby' Courier, 23 September 1861, p.4. In non-vested national schools, the Board of Education did not own the building, but usually provided the teacher. From 1875 national schools were referred to as state schools.
Transport improvements had a major effect on the prosperity and growth of Dalby. The extension of the Western railway line from Toowoomba to Dalby in 1868 led to a boom in the town, which had a population of 3500 by the mid-1870s. However, Dalby's population plummeted to 1500 when the line was extended west towards Roma in 1877, and people followed the railhead. Farming was initially inhibited due to a lack of rain, and without refrigeration agricultural produce could not be delivered to distant markets.'Settlement near Dalby', Week (Brisbane), 18 November 1882, p.9. By 1885 the population was 1296, and this had only recovered to 1416 by 1901.Matthews, Beyond the Crossing, p.34. Dalby's population recovered in the early 20th century due to the Queensland Government's enforced break-up of the large pastoral stations, and its construction of branch railway lines, which encouraged closer settlement. Dairying and wheat cultivation expanded, and the development of agriculture led to secondary industries in Dalby. However, the rural economy of the area remained predominantly pastoral until after World War II.The story of Dalby State School, 1861-1961. A previous flour mill was opened in 1896 (Matthews, Beyond the Crossing, p.136).
As Dalby grew, so did the state school. A secondary department opened in January 1914.Queensland State Archives Agency ID4897, 'Dalby State High School'The story of Dalby State School, 1861-1961'High School for Dalby', Dalby Herald, 17 January 1914, p.2. In Queensland, governments were slow to establish state secondary education, considering this to be of little relevance to Queensland's primary industry-based economy. It was not until 1912 that the government instituted a high school system, whereby separate high schools were established in major towns or, where the student population was too small, a primary school was expanded to include a "high top". High tops were an economical measure that provided essentially the same education while utilising already established facilities. In Queensland generally, high schools remained few in number until after World War II.Blake, "Educating Queenslanders", pp.9-11Burmester et al, Queensland Schools: A Heritage Conservation Study, pp.32-35.
Over three decades, enrolment at the Dalby State School's high top slowly rose, from 16 students in 1915 to 41 in 1944.'Dalby State High School Speech Night', Dalby Herald, 10 December 1954, p.6. Domestic science classes were also added to the secondary department in 1922, and woodwork and commercial courses followed in 1927. Pupils from the wider district outside Dalby also attended these vocational classes, some of which were held at night.'State School, many improvements, committee meeting', Dalby Herald, 15 March 1929, p.6'Technical classes', Dalby Herald, 13 May 1930, p.2 In 1934 the high top building (extant in 2016) was shifted, to be parallel to, and slightly behind, the west end of the main school building .'Dalby School, details of alterations and additions. A fine building', Dalby Herald, 1 June 1934, p.5 Vocational education was a Queensland Government priority to support the development of primary industries; this evolved after World War I into a variety of subjects. Vocational training within primary education began in 1895 with drawing classes and expanded to include domestic sciences, agriculture, and sheet metal and wood working classes. The subjects required a variety of purpose-built facilities and were initially gender segregated.Greg Logan and Eddie Clarke, State Education in Queensland: a brief history, a report for the Department of Education, Queensland, 1984, pp.3-5. Standard, purpose-designed vocational buildings were first introduced in 1928. In 1936 the Minister for Education permitted students to take vocational subjects in lieu of geography or history in the Junior Examination, increasing the subjects' popularity.Burmester et al, Queensland Schools: A Heritage Conservation Study, p.58.
Although closer settlement boosted agriculture, prickly pear cactus was a serious impediment for farmers in the Dalby district, until it was eradicated by the introduction of the moth Cactoblastis cactorum to Queensland in the late 1920s. As a result, Dalby experienced renewed growth and prosperity, and its population reached 3500 in the mid-1930s.Chinchilla Field Station Insect-rearing shed (former)', LHIS Reported Place, 602829'Dalby Swimming Pool Complex', QHR 602564
There was further expansion of agriculture in the Dalby District after World War II, due to the Soldier Settlement Scheme, which lead to an influx of young farmers. During the 1950s grain and wheat silos were constructed around the district, and a new flour mill was opened in Dalby. There was a related expansion of secondary industries, and an extensive home building program in the town. Dalby's population reached 4385 in 1947, and 6182 in 1954, with an acute housing shortage in town by 1955.Matthews, Beyond the Crossing, pp.34-5, 43, 73-4.
Dalby State School's enrolments grew in step with the town, and extra classrooms were added in the 1940s and early 1950s. The Department of Public Instruction was largely unprepared for the enormous demand for state education that began in the late 1940s and continued well into the 1960s. This was a nation-wide occurrence resulting from the unprecedented population growth now termed the "baby boom". Queensland schools were overcrowded and, to cope, many new buildings were constructed and existing buildings were extended.Project Services, Queensland Schools Heritage Study Part II Report, pp.28-31. Enrolment at Dalby State School rose to 491 by 1945, and to 1024 by 1954. Leslie F Diplock, head teacher of Dalby State School from 1946, and Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Condamine from 1953, was instrumental in pushing for a new high school.The story of Dalby State School, 1861-1961. In 1950 a member of the school's Parents and Citizen's association complained that the desks were so crowded that the children could not move their elbows to write.'Mud and congestion at Dalby State School', Dalby Herald, 31 March 1950, p.7
A decision was made to provide a state high school for Dalby in July 1953, and building plans were prepared by the Department of Public Works (DPW) the following month.Matthews, Beyond the Crossing, p.72PDW Plan A71- /3, "Dalby State High School, new school, first section", August 1953. However, a site plan had previously been prepared in 1952.DPW Plan A71-2, "Dalby High School Site Plan", February 1952. This early site plan showed entrance pathways leading from the Warrego Highway to the west end of the intermediate wing and from Nicholson Street to the east end of the domestic science block. From their introduction, the design of high school buildings was the responsibility of the DPW. The first high schools were established within existing technical colleges, utilising their buildings. The first purpose-built high school buildings were constructed in 1917.Burmester et al, Queensland Schools: A Heritage Conservation Study, p.46.