Wavell State High School buildings are a group of heritage-listed school buildings at Wavell State High School, Telopia Avenue, Wavell Heights, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. They were designed by Department of Public Works (Queensland) and built from 1959 to 1966. They were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 27 July 2018.
History Wavell State High School opened in 1959, on its current site at 70 Telopia Avenue, Wavell Heights, about north of the Brisbane CBD. The school is important in demonstrating the evolution of state education and its associated architecture. It retains:
an administration building (Block A 1960, F/T7) seven classroom buildings (Block C, D, G, and H 1960, F/T7, and Block J 1961, Block E and F 1966, F/T8) covered links (1960–66) set in landscaped grounds playing field (1964).
The school has a strong and ongoing association with the Wavell Heights community.
Wavell Heights was part of the traditional land of the Turrbul speaking people. The area, first known as West Nundah, was characterised by dairy farming and pineapple growing. By the 1920s a portion of the farming land close to Sandgate Road had been subdivided into small lots intended for residential development. Encouraged by its relatively close proximity to the Nundah railway station, which was approximately a walk away, many new houses were built in the interwar period. A great deal of the area, however, remained farmland.
By the early 1930s an active progress association had been established in the district. In the early 1940s the association lobbied to have the suburb officially defined and to have the name changed. Through a series of public meetings, several suggestions were made, including Beverley Heights, Avon Hill, Inala, and Wavell Heights. A poll was taken and Wavell Heights proved to be the most popular. With the Lord Mayor's and the postal authority's approval, the name of the area was officially adopted in 1941.Courier Mail, 5 December 1940, p4Courier Mail, 18 July 1941, p9 The new suburb's namesake was British Field Marshall Archibald Percival Wavell, who at the time was the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial forces fighting in the Middle East, North Africa, Greece, and Crete. Later in World War II (WWII) he served as Commander-in-Chief of India.
In the immediate post-WWII era some of the undeveloped land in Wavell Heights and Chermside was acquired by the Queensland Housing Commission. This was a time when Queensland was experiencing a major population increase resulting in a severe housing shortage. It is believed that up to 100,000 Queenslanders lived in temporary housing between 1946 and 1960. In 1947, the Housing Minister, Bill Power, acknowledged this need for housing and assured that the Queensland Government was building houses as quickly as possible. Priority for new houses was given to those living in tents or huts, then for families forced to live apart due to the housing shortage, and finally to those who were sharing accommodation with others.Courier Mail, 18 December 1947, p1.
In August 1947, the Queensland Housing Commission was planning to spend £500,000 on a housing project for Wavell Heights; 450 houses were to be constructed on the site situated between Gympie Road, Rode Road and Hamilton Road. At the time, it was deemed to be the Commission's largest housing project. Following contemporary town-planning principles, the housing project was to be undertaken with the cooperation of the Department of Public Instruction and the Brisbane City Council, who would be essential partners in delivering services and infrastructure, including schools,Courier Mail, 16 August 1947, p1. "features of the scheme were reservations for a shopping centre, parks, sports ground, state school, and child welfare centre".Courier Mail, 24 May 1947, p5. Once constructed, the houses were swiftly tenanted. The population of Wavell Heights increased substantially with an estimated 2,000 people moving into the area.
The Department of Public Instruction delivered on its promise to build schools in the area with the Wavell Heights State School being opened by 1950. Closely following this, a Catholic primary school was also built in Wavell Heights. It was quickly apparent, however, that a high school would be needed for the area.
The Queensland Government was slow to establish state secondary education, considering this to be of little relevance to Queensland's primary industry-based economy. The Grammar Schools Act 1860 provided scholarships for high-achieving students to attend elite grammar schools, although few were awarded. 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 WWII when secondary education was generally accepted as essential and was more widely provided for.Thom Blake, "Educating Queenslanders" in Queensland Historical Thematic Framework, 2007 (rev.2013 by EHP), pp.9-11Burmester et al, pp.32-35
The first high schools were established within existing technical colleges, utilising their buildings. The first purpose-built high school buildings were constructed in 1917 and were large, elaborate buildings that were variations of a standard design introduced in 1914 (C/T8) as well as vocational buildings built to standard designs. In the 1950s the number of high schools in Queensland increased significantly. The grounds were large, greater than providing ample room for sports facilities. From their introduction, the design of high school buildings was the responsibility of the Department of Public Works (DPW). The general classroom buildings were the same standard types as used for primary schools but those for high schools included rooms with minor alterations for science laboratories, domestic science classes, workshops for woodwork and metal work, and libraries.Burmester et al, p. 79. The buildings were designed to reflect educationalists' modern requirements, favouring "lighter, loosely grouped, flexible" buildings.Burmester et al, Appendix A.
Also, there was a focus on the fit between the school and its neighbourhood, as well as site planning for expansion and ideal solar orientation. Educationalists argued that the ideal orientation of classroom buildings was ten degrees east of north, with verandahs protecting the northern side and classrooms facing south. This led to the construction of school buildings that were oriented in relation to the sun rather than the site boundaries.Burmester et al, pp.65-66. New school buildings were constructed using modern materials and featured modern colours.Burmester et al, p.66.
In the early 1950s, architects developed master-planning concepts that influenced the design and layout of the whole school. Initially, these plans were broadly based on regular and symmetrical plan forms around a central or prominent axis.Burmester et al, pp.73-74. This concept was replaced a few years later by architects planning for growth and change. There was a shift away from grid-like layouts to nuclear plans, centred on a reception building with classroom wings connected to and fanning away from the nucleus. The primary focus was the ideal solar orientation of buildings. Interest was also shown in developing schemes that related to the natural contours and existing vegetation. The long, narrow buildings were positioned so that the spaces captured between them were triangular, opening out into the landscape.
It was in this period the Department of Education acquired just over of land in an elevated and undeveloped area of Wavell Heights. In September 1958 the Director-General of Education announced that the Executive Council had approved the construction of six new high schools for Queensland, which included Wavell State High School. The Courier Mail reported in September 1958 that "sufficient accommodation was expected to be ready at the new Wavell State High School for classes to start on January 27 next ... the school, in Edinburgh Castle Road, would have academic, commercial and industrial courses".Courier Mail, 19 September 1958.
At Wavell Heights, the DPW produced a site master plan for a central core of buildings and playing field. The buildings were laid out symmetrically on an axis from Telopia Avenue at the northern high ground and the playing field was at the southern low ground. Entrance gates were at the surrounding residential streets with vehicle entrance across the northern high ground. The plan comprised a central administration building with four classroom buildings radiating out from it. The buildings had north facing verandahs and south facing classrooms, connected to the administration building by covered links.ePlan, Site Plan Drawing, 2 April 1959.
In November 1958 construction work began on the first building on the site, the Manual Training Building (Block B). The school was scheduled to receive its first students at the beginning of 1959, however, Block B was not complete by then. To address this, a timber school building was moved from Oakleigh State School to Wavell State High School. Considered a temporary structure on the site, it consisted of three classrooms and an office. All were occupied by the end of January 1959. Initially, there were 122 students and five teachers, with classes taught in the three classrooms of the timber building. Due to the lack of facilities at this time, science classes were held in the principal's home garage situated beside the school in Childers Street.Wavell State High School Golden Jubilee, p3Project Services, Report, "Wavell State High School", Queensland Government, 2007. By May 1959 classes were held in the Manual Training Block.
In February 1959 work commenced on the Chemistry wing (Block D), which at the time of its completion in January 1960, consisted of three classrooms, and a chemistry laboratory, lecture room, and store. The construction of the Administration block (Block A) began in August 1959 and was occupied by January 1960. A new Physics wing (Block G) and the Home Science wing (Block C) were completed by the end of 1960.Wavell State High School Golden Jubilee, p10 These new wings were built to a standard type (F/T7) - highset timber-framed buildings incorporating steel open web floor trusses.Burmester et al, p51. The new school was officially opened on the 14 May 1960, with the opening ceremony being well attended by the school community and dignitaries, including the Minister for Education, Jack Pizzey.Wavell State High School Golden Jubilee, p9.
Further building work was carried out in 1960 and 1961, with the construction of two general classroom buildings (Block H and Block J). The DPW reported that "the design has been kept in harmony with the existing buildings to which the new block (Block J) will be connected by covered ways".
In 1962 Block A was altered with the conversion of a first floor classroom into more administration space and a ground floor extension was made to accommodate a library at the rear (south). In the same year Block C was altered to accommodate dressmaking by enclosing part of the ground floor.Project Services, Report, 'Wavell State High School", Queensland Government, 2007.