Wellcamp State School is a heritage-listed state school at 609 Drayton–Wellcamp Road, Wellcamp, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. Block A was designed by Department of Public Works (Queensland) and built in 1911, while Block L was building in 1918. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 27 March 2020.
History Wellcamp State School was established in 1899 as Wellcamp Provisional School in Wellcamp, a rural area 17 kilometres west of the centre of Toowoomba. It retains good examples of standard school architecture (Block A, 1911 and Block L, 1918), set within spacious grounds with mature trees, play areas, and sporting facilities. In continuous operation since its establishment, the school has been a focus for the surrounding community as a place of important social and cultural activity.
Part of the traditional land of the Western Wakka Wakka people, the locality of Wellcamp was once within Westbrook pastoral station, leased by John Campbell in 1841. By 1864, the future site of the school, on Portion 115, was located in the northwest corner of the Drayton Agricultural Reserve, declared in 1861.https://culturalheritage.datsip.qld.gov.au/achris/public/public-registry/home (accessed 17 July 2019)R Pennycuick, Wellcamp State School: 1899-1999: work and play in harmony, Wellcamp, Centenary Committee, Parents and Citizens Association, Wellcamp State School, 1999, p.9Squatting Map of the Darling Downs, JW Buxton, 1864Darling Downs 2 Mile Map, sheet 5, 1923. The Drayton Agricultural Reserve covered 11,000 acres, or 4452ha.'Drayton Agricultural Reserve', Darling Downs Gazette, 21 March 1861, p.3 Portion 115, of , was purchased by Mary McCleverty in December 1867, and by 1881 it was owned by James Paterson.DNRME, Survey Plan DAR6210, 1861 (redrawn 1961)DNRME, Deed of Grant, 10130244, 11 July 1868DNRME, Certificate of Title 10138135, 17 December 1868DNRME, Certificate of Title 10371232, 19 May 1880. From the late 19th century, the district was used for dairy farming and agriculture.
Wellcamp was established as "Williams Camp", the main railway construction camp for the section of the Southern railway between Gowrie Junction and Hendon. Located on Portion 113, east of Portion 115, the construction camp was named after Daniel Williams, the contractor for the section. Bisected by the railway line, Portion 113 later became the site of a railway station.'Warwick Railway', Brisbane Courier, 20 December 1865, p.3 (tender of David [sic] Williams accepted)'Weekly Epitome', Brisbane Courier, 24 March 1866, p.5 (Daniel Williams arrives in Brisbane)'The two reports', Northern Argus, 4 November 1867 ( from [Gowrie] junction to William's Camp, from William's Camp to the Westbrook Creek Bridge)DNRME, Survey Plan RP36643, 1868 (Portion 113)Pennycuick, Wellcamp State School: 1899-1999, p.10, states the construction camp was on a site of 56 acres and 1 rood, which was the original size of Portion 113 (DNRME, Survey Plan DAR6210, 1861 (redrawn 1961). Hendon was referred to as "Allora" in the 1860s. The Southern Railway was opened (through Williams Camp) to Hendon on 11 March 1869; to Warwick on 9 January 1871; Stanthorpe in 1881, and Wallangarra in 1887.JD Kerr, "Queensland Rail Heritage Report, final report", July 1993, Part 1, 3-9.
The name "Williams Camp" was replaced by "Wellcamp" ; apparently because there was a well at the construction camp.Darling Downs Gazette and General Advertiser, 7 August 1878, p.3 (name changed in the latest 'Smith's Queensland Bradshaw and Postal Guide')'Hambledon Estate', The Queenslander, 27 December 1879, p. 803 (refers to Wellcamp railway station) However, the name Wellcamp was not used in Pugh's Almanac and Directory until 1883, referring to the railway station.Pennycuick, Wellcamp State School: 1899-1999, p.9.DJ Kerr, "Queensland Rail Heritage Report, final report", July 1993, Part 1, 3-9). A number of facilities were erected at or near the Wellcamp railway station over time, including a cottage for the gatekeeper, a station building, weighbridge and goods shed (), loop siding, stockyards and loading bank.'Official notifications', The Week, 23 June 1883, p.8 (tender for goods shed at Wellcamp) The Wellcamp Hotel opened in 1908 and was offered for sale in 1922.'Toowoomba and District', Brisbane Courier, 9 July 1908, p.2 (Wellcamp Hotel license)'Wellcamp Hotel for sale', Toowoomba Chronicle, 29 July 1922, p.4 A small reinforced-concrete factory for cheese making was opened in 1917 by the Standard Dairy Co. of Brisbane, as an "auxiliary" to the company's condensing factory at Wyreema.'Wellcamp Cheese Factory, the official opening', Toowoomba Chronicle, 27 March 1917, p.3 The cheese factory was closed in 1942, but was still extant at 2019.Pennycuick, Wellcamp State School: 1899-1999, p.10-11
Due to closer settlement in the Wellcamp district after the railway opened, the population increased and there was a need for a school. 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 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.Burmester et al, Queensland Schools: A Heritage Conservation Study, pp.84, 120-1.
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. Arbor Day celebrations began in Queensland in 1890.Burmester et al, Queensland Schools: A Heritage Conservation Study, pp.4, 48-9.
The first school at Wellcamp, located less than one kilometre west of the railway station, was a provisional school. These were provided where student numbers were insufficient to justify a state school. A committee was formed in July 1898, at a meeting in the railway gatekeeper's cottage, to obtain a school. The school's site, of Portion 115, was purchased from James Paterson for £5 and transferred to the Secretary for Public Instruction in January 1899.Pennycuick, Wellcamp State School: 1899-1999, p.12DNRME, Certificate of Title 10371232, 19 May 1880 (transfer to Secretary for Public Instruction). Wellcamp Provisional School opened with 27 students on 27 February 1899, and its opening was celebrated with an Arbor Day picnic in May 1899. The timber school building was lowset, with a verandah at the rear.'Wellcamp Provisional School', Darling Downs Gazette, 25 February 1899, p.1 (opening date)'Arbor Day at Wellcamp. School opening celebration', Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Advertiser, 9 May 1899, p.4No author, 75th Jubilee, Wellcamp State School: 1899-1974, Wellcamp, Wellcamp State School Jubilee Committee, 1974 (np)Pennycuick, Wellcamp State School: 1899-1999, p.14. After the Arbor Day picnic and games, 130 people, including 45 couples, attended a public ball in the new school building. There was dancing from 8pm until supper at midnight - followed by dancing until 4am. In 1903, two more acres (0.8ha) of Portion 115 were added to the school grounds, although title for this land was not transferred until 1936.Pennycuick, Wellcamp State School: 1899-1999, p.15DNRME, Certificate of Title 10942214, 3 January 1899 (2 acres to Secretary of Public Instruction in 1936)DNRME, Survey Plan AG1226, 1924 (a school reserve existed by this time). This plan shows the teacher's residence east of the school building, on the L-shaped 1903 addition of land. A Methodist church was just south of the school from 1905 to 1932.Pennycuick, Wellcamp State School: 1899-1999, pp.85-6
The first school building quickly became the centre of Wellcamp's social life, as a venue for dances, and meetings of organisations, including a committee in support of extending a telephone line from Toowoomba to Wellcamp, and farmers interested in forming a local dairy company. It was not the only local dance venue, however; in 1903 a concert and dance was also held at the railway goods shed, to raise funds for the school.'School Social at Wellcamp', Darling Downs Gazette, 27 September 1899, p.3'Telephone communication with Wellcamp', Darling Downs Gazette, 11 February 1901, p.2'Wellcamp telephone extension', Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs General Advertiser, 30 March 1901, p.4'Wellcamp Dairy Company', Darling Downs Gazette, 29 October 1901, p.2'Concert at Wellcamp', Darling Downs Gazette, 7 September 1903, p.2.
In May 1909, when it had 43 pupils, Wellcamp Provisional School became Wellcamp State School.Pennycuick, Wellcamp State School: 1899-1999, pp.15, 20. A teacher's residence was moved from New Farm State School in 1910, and positioned to the east of Wellcamp's teaching building. The original school building was then replaced in 1911, when enrolments totalled 63. Erection of the new building was approved in May 1911, with the local community to pay a fifth of the cost. The tender of A Barr, for £577 and 16s, was accepted in October 1911.Pennycuick, Wellcamp State School: 1899-1999, pp.16, 17, 21'Wellcamp School' Darling Downs Gazette, 16 March 1910, p.5 (tender accepted to move residence to Wellcamp)'School at Wellcamp', Darling Downs Gazette, 27 May 1911, p.4'Public Works tender', Telegraph, 13 October 1911, p.2. The old school building was sold for removal in 1912 (The Queenslander, 20 July 1912, p.12). A dance was held in the completed school building in March 1912.Pennycuick, Wellcamp State School: 1899-1999, p.17.