Dutton Park State School is a heritage-listed government primary school at 112 Annerley Road, Dutton Park, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1916 to 1934. It was also known as Woolloongabba State School, Woolloongabba Boys State School, and Dutton Park Boys State School. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 30 November 2018.
History Dutton Park State School is located in the suburb of Dutton Park, approximately south of the Brisbane central business district (CBD). It was established in 1884 as Woolloongabba State School on the northern side of a large school reserve. In 1886 the school was divided into Woolloongabba Girls and Infants State School, using the existing buildings, and the Woolloongabba Boys State School, established on the current Dutton Park State School site. Renamed Dutton Park Boys State School and Dutton Park Girls and Infants State School in 1910, the schools amalgamated in 1935 as Dutton Park State School, on the boys school site. The school is important in demonstrating the evolution of state education and its associated architecture. It retains a rare open-air annexe (1916, now called Block B) and two intact interwar concrete toilet blocks (1936); set in landscaped grounds with mature trees, play areas and sporting facilities. Dutton Park State School has a strong and ongoing association with the Dutton Park community.
European settlement of the Dutton Park area proceeded slowly. From the 1840s, farms were established near the Brisbane River. Land in the vicinity of the later Dutton Park school site was surveyed in 1863 for future government uses. By 1883 there were about ten residences along Gladstone Road, most on large allotments on the ridge overlooking the river. The new Boggo Road Gaol on Annerley Road (formally Boggo Road) opened in 1883. To the south-east, the Diamantina Orphanage also opened in 1883, later evolving into a blind, deaf and dumb institute, the Diamantina hospital for chronic diseases in 1901 and the Princess Alexandra Hospital in 1956. Residential subdivision of land, from large land holdings around the future school site, occurred during Brisbane's 1880s land boom. As transport became available, more people moved to the district. A railway station opened at Dutton Park (called Boggo Junction railway station, now Dutton Park railway station) in 1884. The first horse-drawn bus service linking Dutton Park with the city commenced in 1890 and was replaced by electric tram along Gladstone Road by 1908, which stimulated rapid development of the area. In 1914 the suburb was named in honour of Charles Dutton, Secretary of Public Lands between 1883 and 1887.Sunday Mail, 30 June 1929, p. 24McKellar's 1895 Map of Brisbane Sheets 8 and 11Ronald Lawson, Brisbane in the 1890s: A Study of an Australian Urban Society, UQP, St Lucia, Qld, 1973, p. 11Greenwood and Laverty, Brisbane 1859-1959: A History of Local Government, BCC, Brisbane, 1959, p. 478 ill
The establishment of schools was considered an essential step in the development of new 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 students, 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.Burmester, et al, Queensland Schools A Heritage Conservation Study, pp. 84, 120-1.
In 1882 the Woolloongabba community united to raise money for a school in the area, as existing schools at Kangaroo Point and South Brisbane were considered too far away. With the assistance of Simon Fraser, MLA, their efforts came to fruition. A site bounded by Annerley Road, Park Road and Merton Street, was granted and construction of the school began in late 1883. Woolloongabba State School opened on 1 September 1884, with more than 400 students.'New School for Woolloongabba', The Queenslander, 11 Mar 1882, p.310Dutton Park SS Centenary Committee, Dutton Park 1884-1984, Dutton Park State School, Brisbane, 1984, p. 6;
Enrolments at the school quickly increased. Within a few months, the average daily attendance was about 555 students.Andrew Watson, Conservation Management Plan (CMP): Dutton Park State School, for Queensland Department of Education and Training, 2017, p, 15. Consequently, it was decided to separate the school into a Girls and Infants school, and a Boys school. In 1884, the school reserve was extended by to the south to accommodate the new boys school building. Work commenced on the Woolloongabba Boys School, sited on the southern portion of the school reserve, in 1885. It opened on 5 July 1886 with 353 boys enrolled.'no title', Telegraph, 2 Jul 1886, p. 5.Watson, CMP: Dutton Park State School, p. 12.
In 1889, of land was resumed from the school reserve for re-alignment of the Cleveland railway line, dividing the Girls and Infants School (north of the railway line) from the Boys School (south of the railway line).Project Services, "Dutton Park State School Report", 2 Jun 2006, p. 4
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 playing fields and tennis courts. Also, trees and gardens were planted to shade and beautify schools. 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.
Woolloongabba (Dutton Park) State School participated in Arbor Day from 1890. In 1892 the children planted trees on both sides of the railway cutting. Closure of part of Annerley Road in 1907 provided additional land to the school grounds. A contemporary pupil reported that a row of palms was planted along the Annerley Road boundary by the whole school in 1908.Project Services, Dutton Park State School Report, 2 Jun 2006, p.4E J Hickey in Dutton Park SS Centenary Committee, Dutton Park 1884-1984, p. 18.
In 1910, the Woolloongabba Girls and Infants State School and Woolloongabba Boys State School were renamed the Dutton Park State School for Girls and Infants and the Dutton Park State School for Boys.Project Services, "Dutton Park State School Report", p. 4.
Due to the need for more accommodation, an open-air annexe (now called Block B) was constructed at Dutton Park State School for Girls and Infants in 1916.Burmester, et al, Queensland Schools A Heritage Conservation Study, p. 26. Although experimentation with "open-air" buildings started as early as the 1890s, open-air annexes were introduced as a standard design in 1913 by the Department of Public Works (DPW) in conjunction with the Department of Public Instruction. This design was developed in response to contemporary medical thought related to the need for adequate ventilation and high levels of natural light for health, coupled with the need to build cheap, portable schools. Dr Eleanor Bourne had been appointed the first Medical Inspector of Schools in 1911 and under her instruction the relationship between classroom environment and child health was given prominence. Subsequently, school architecture evolved through iteration and experimentation to improve interior light and ventilation. The open-air annexe type achieved maximum ventilation and natural light; it comprised one large room and had only one wall, the western verandah wall. The other sides were open with only adjustable canvas blinds for enclosure. Ideally, they were high-set, thereby increasing the ventilation and providing further shelter underneath. The design was praised by educationalists as conducive to the good health of students.Burmester, et al, Queensland Schools A Heritage Conservation Study, pp. 24-28.
Dutton Park State School's open-air annexe was opened by the Minister for Education, Herbert Hardacre, and the Home Secretary, John Huxham, at an official ceremony on 29 July 1916.'Dutton Park School. New Annexe Opened', Brisbane Courier, 31 Jul 1916, p. 4'Dutton Park School. New Annexe Opened', Telegraph, 31 Jul 1916, p. 8. The building was with a west-facing verandah; while a gangway along one side of the Annexe connected it to another building. The open-air annexe, a highset timber building on brick piers, had a Dutch-gable, iron roof, and a verandah with decorative timber brackets to its six-bay of perimeter posts. The interior had a coved ceiling lined with pressed metal. The building accommodated 140 students. Constructed by day labour, the open-air annexe cost £969 19s 3d, including its embanked site and furniture.Project Services, "Dutton Park State School Report", p.4DPW, Annual Report of the DPW to year ending 30 June 1916, Qld Gvt Printer, Brisbane, 1916, pp. 9, 32, plate 22.
However, open-air annexes proved to be inadequate because the open sides provided limited weather protection and climate control, and the canvas blinds deteriorated quickly. The building type was discontinued in 1923, after many had been constructed across Queensland. All were modified to provide better enclosure. In 1925, the Dutton Park Girls and Infants School's open-air annexe was enclosed with sliding sash windows, a typical modification of open-air annexes in Queensland schools in the 1920s.Burmester et al, Queensland Schools: A Heritage Conservation Study, pp. 24-26, 41, 45.
In the 1920s and 1930s, substantial changes to the school grounds occurred. In 1925, the railway cutting that divided the Dutton Park schools was widened, requiring relocation of the northern wing of the original 1886 boys school.Watson, CMP: Dutton Park, p, 12 In 1927, the school reserve was extended to the south, through resumption of a triangular portion of the jail reserve. In the following years, improvements were made to the grounds including drainage, fencing, and landscaping, and a pedestrian pathway was created along the southern boundary of the school, which is now the driveway from Annerley Road.Watson Architects Pty Ltd, "CMP: Dutton Park", pp, 12, p. 43. In 1930, nine Depression relief workers employed under the Queensland Government's Unemployment Relief Scheme, administered by the DPW during the Great Depression (1929–1930s), were improving the playing grounds and preparing a playing field.'Unemployment Relief: Governor's Sympathy, Telegraph, 26 Jul 1930, p.16'The Human Element', Brisbane Courier, 26 Jul 1930, p.14'Relief of unemployment: big programme contemplated', Telegraph, 24 July 1929, p. 5'Unemployment: the relief scheme', Telegraph, 26 Jul 1929, p. 5DPW, Report of the DPW for the year ended 30 Jun 1930, Queensland Government Printer, Brisbane, 1930, p. 15