Nundah State School is a heritage-listed state school at 41 Bage Street, Nundah, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1892 to 1955. It was formerly known as German State National School and German Station State School. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 15 July 2016.
History Nundah State School (established 1865 as German Station National School) is located in the suburb of Nundah, about eight kilometres northeast of Brisbane's CBD. It is important in demonstrating the evolution of state education and its associated architecture. It retains a Depression-era brick school building (1935, 1941, 1946–51); a suburban timber school building (1915) with extensions (1916, 1955, 1956), and an Honour Board (1916); set in landscaped grounds with concrete retaining walls (, 1940), a playing field, sporting facilities and mature trees. The school has a strong and ongoing association with the Nundah and district community.
Nundah is the site of the first free European settlement in Queensland. Lutheran missionaries settled there in 1838 on of land granted by Major Cotton, the then commandant of the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement. They named their settlement Zion Hill. The group numbered 20, including 2 ministers, 10 laymen and their families, until 4 more laymen missionaries arrived in 1844. By 1849, the group had abandoned their missionary work but most remained farming in the area. They purchased land at Nundah, then called German Station, which was surveyed into blocks by the Queensland Government in 1848, and a small rural community developed.DNRM, Zion Hill settlement Nundah, 1862 map reproduced in Ross Johnston and Helen Gregory, "Brisbane: Making it Work" in Pamela Statham, ed, The Origins of Australia's Capital Cities, Cambridge University Press, Sydney, 1989, p. 259Queensland Heritage Register (QHR) 601926 The First Free Settlers MemorialQueensland Places, Nundah, <http://queenslandplaces.com.au/nundah>, accessed 17 Mar 2016HJJ Sparks, Queensland's First Free Settlement 1838-1938, WR Smith & Paterson, Brisbane, 1938, pp. 17, 18, 42-43.
In the early 1860s, local citizens raised towards the cost for the establishment of German Station National School. The school opened on 2 October 1865 on its current site with 62 children enrolled.Nundah State School, German Station State School 1865 - Nundah State School 1965, Nundah State School, Brisbane, 1965, n.p.Queensland Government Gazette, 1871, p. 1357Nundah and Districts Historical Society Inc, From Pioneering Days Nundah Northgate Virginia, Nundah and Districts Historical Society Inc, Brisbane, revised ed 2010, p. 24. The school building was located at the southeast corner of the site facing Buckland Road.SLQ, E W Robinson, sketch, "Recollections of the Nundah State School in the Early 1900s", n.p.Photograph of Nundah State School, 20 July 1925 in German Station State School, n.p. A teachers residence was onsite from the 1860s, located to the north of the school building.'Nundah State School', The Brisbane Courier, 23 Jun 1896, p. 7DPW Plan 1077-5, New Closets for Girls, Alterations to Fencing, 21 August 1912 (with later modifications).
The provision of state-administered education was important to the colonial governments of Australia. 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, which established the Board of General Education and began standardising curriculum, training and facilities, 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. This further standardised the provision of education, and despite difficulties, achieved the remarkable feat of bringing basic literacy to most Queensland children by 1900.Greg Logan and Eddie Clarke, State Education in Queensland: a brief history, a report for the Department of Education, Queensland, 1984, p. 2.
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. The inclusion of war memorials and community halls reinforced these connections and provided a venue for a wide range of community events in schools across Queensland.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. 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.
The development of Nundah, and increased school enrolments, were stimulated by the opening of the Sandgate railway line in 1882, with a stop at German Station (soon renamed Nundah railway station). Subdivision of land near the station from 1882 led to the formation of the Nundah village.'Classified Advertising', The Brisbane Courier, 26 Jul 1882, p. 4Classified Advertising', The Brisbane Courier, 22 Aug 1882, p. 4. Enrolment at German Station State School rose rapidly from 61 pupils in 1883 to 118 by 1886, resulting in extension of the school building in the same year. When a playshed was built in 1889, the school's enrolment was 200 pupils.Nundah State School, German Station State School, n.p.Project Services, Queensland Schools Heritage Survey Part II, Nundah SS site no 20043, Project Services, Brisbane, January 2008 Another addition in 1892, connected to the northwest of the school building by a verandah, brought the classroom total to three.Nundah State School, German Station State School 1865, n.p.DPW Plan 1077-6, Nundah State School Additions Block Plan, 1 Sep 1909. The school's name changed to Nundah State School in 1896.Nundah and Districts Historical Society Inc, From Pioneering Days, p. 24. A new teacher's residence was built in 1897.
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. In the 1870s, schools inspector William Boyd was critical of tropical schools and amongst his recommendations stressed the importance of the adding shade trees to playgrounds. Subsequently, 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. Arbor Day was regularly observed at Nundah State School from at least 1892, when 20 plants and shrubs were planted.'Nundah SS', The Telegraph, 23 May 1892, p. 4'Nundah SS', The Telegraph, 2 May 1893, p. 3'Arbor Day Nundah SS', The Brisbane Courier, 3 May 1913, p.6'Nundah SS', Brisbane Courier, 9 May 1916, p.5'Arbour Day Fete', The Telegraph, 1 Oct 1932, p. 7. In 2016 a number of mature trees feature in the school's grounds.
From the late 19th century, Nundah became the centre for the surrounding district. It served as the headquarters for the Toombul Divisional Board after its new offices and a hall (Toombul Shire Hall) were built on Sandgate Road at Nundah in 1891.QHR600272 Toombul Shire Hall (former). Similarly, Nundah State School's population expanded and in 1909 another classroom was added to the western end of the school buildings.DPW Plan 1077-6, 1 September 1909; By 1910 the school had an average attendance of 342 pupils while the Nundah and district's population was 1675 in 1911.
Early in the 20th century, accommodation for the infants of the school became a priority. In 1912 a new room was erected for the infants, to the west of the early school buildings; it was highset and had north and south-facing verandahs.Nundah State School, German Station State School, n.p. (This was demolished in 1964. See: Project Services, Nundah SS site no 20043 An infants wing (a suburban timber school building, known as Block D in 2016) of "substantial finish and ornate appearance", was erected to the west of the infants classroom in 1915 at a cost of .Nundah SS, Daily Standard, 18 Feb 1916, p. 6. The building contained three classrooms and had a wide north-facing verandah. The school's enrolment was 700 when the building was opened on 17 February 1916. That year, a teachers room was added to the verandah.DPW Plan 1077-5, 21 August 1912 (with later modifications)DPW Plan 94-15-7, Nundah State School Extension of Room & Erection of New Room for HD Teacher, 10 December 1923. A drawing of the building from 1933 shows it had a large roof fleche.DPW Plan 94A-15-7, Nundah State School Alterations, 26 October 1933.
This suburban timber school building, designed by the Department of Public Works (DPW) in 1914, was the culmination of years of experimentation to solve many of the problems of light, ventilation, and classroom size that plagued previous school designs as well as provided the ideal, modern education environment.Type C/T8 as shown in Burmester et al, Queensland Schools A Heritage Conservation Study, p. 21. This type was introduced around 1909 and was constructed until approximately 1920. From 1893 the DPW had greatly improved the natural ventilation and lighting of classroom interiors, experimenting with different combinations of roof ventilators, ceiling and wall vents, larger windows, dormer windows and ducting. Achieving an ideal or even adequate level of natural light in classrooms, without glare, was of critical importance to educators and consequently it became central to the design and layout of all school buildings. In highset timber buildings had been introduced, providing better ventilation as well as further teaching space and a covered play area underneath. This was a noticeable new direction and this form became a characteristic of Queensland schools. A technical innovation developed at this time was a continuous ventilation flap on the wall at floor level. This hinged board could be opened to increase air flow into the space and, combined with a ceiling vent and large roof fleche, improved internal air quality and decreased internal temperatures effectively.Burmester et al, Queensland Schools A Heritage Conservation Study, pp. 19-20.