Roadvale State School is a heritage-listed state school at 111 Roadvale Road, Roadvale, Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by John Ferguson and Robert Ferguson of the Department of Public Works (Queensland) and was built from 1889 to 1899. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 31 May 2019.
History Roadvale State School is located north of Boonah and south-west of Brisbane. It opened in 1889, soon after closer settlement commenced in the district. The school was established east of the small township of Roadvale in a rural setting. It retains an 1889 Ferguson Teaching Building and an 1899 playshed. Its grounds are surrounded by open farmland. The school has been in continuous operation since its establishment and has been the focus for the local community as a place of important social and cultural activity.
Roadvale forms part of the traditional land of the Yuggera Ugarapul people.Queensland Government, Map 1: South East Queensland Traditional Owner Groups, 2017. When European settlement began in the area in the 1840s, large pastoral runs were established and the district became known as the Fassifern Valley. In the 1870s several of these were divided and made available for closer settlement. In the Roadvale area, German settlers cleared the land and began farming.Dan O'Donnell, Schools of the Fassifern: A Window to Queensland Education, 1867-1933, University of Queensland Thesis, 1995, p.136 As rural settlement increased throughout the Fassifern Valley, the Dugandan railway line was constructed in 1886–87 to provide an efficient means for farmers to transport produce to markets in Brisbane and Ipswich. The line branched from Ipswich to Dugandan via Boonah, and a station was built at Roadvale.John Kerr, Triumph of Narrow Gauge: A History of Queensland Railways, Boolarong Publications, 1990, pp.57-58. This proved a catalyst for further settlement in the Roadvale area, attracting more immigrants, mainly from Germany, who established farms.
The small township of Roadvale emerged to provide goods and services to the farmers. By the early 1900s Roadvale had become a bustling centre in the Fassifern Valley and boasted three hotels, several stores, banks, a post office, bakery, blacksmith's shop and a butcher.CK Pfeffer, The Fassifern Story: A History of Boonah Shire and Surroundings to 1989, Boonah Shire Council, 1991, p.181.
In the 1880s, as the population in Roadvale increased, so too did the need for a school. Although there were several earlier schools established in the district, including Blantrye, Milbong and Milora, all were several miles from Roadvale and the children found it difficult to travel that far every day. As a result, attendance at these schools by children from Roadvale was inconsistent.Roadvale State School, Centenary, 1889-1989, A Souvenir of Roadvale State School, Roadvale State School, p.6. The settlers at Roadvale recognised the value of education for their children and in 1888, following the formation of a school building committee, an application was submitted to the Department of Public Instruction (the department) for a separate school for Roadvale. The department was assured that there would be at least 46 enrolments, with an age range from five to fourteen years.Roadvale State School, Centenary, 1889-1989, A Souvenir of Roadvale State School, Roadvale State School, p.6Dan O'Donnell, Schools of the Fassifern: A Window to Queensland Education, 1867-1933, University of Queensland Thesis, 1995, p.136.
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. The State Education Act 1875 provided for free, compulsory and secular primary education and established the department. This further standardised the provision of education, and despite difficulties, achieved the remarkable feat of bringing basic literacy to most Queensland children by 1900.Thom Blake, "Educating Queenslanders" in Queensland Historical Thematic Framework, 2007 (rev. 2013 by EHP), 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.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. When the application was made for a school at Roadvale, the community had raised £70 and by November 1888, £130 had been raised. A site on Portion 141 was donated by Roadvale settler, Rudolph Beitzel, with the department's assurance that he would be reimbursed £24 for the land. This occurred several years later.Roadvale State School, Centenary, 1889-1989, A Souvenir of Roadvale State School, Roadvale State School, pp.6-8.
Initially, the department had reservations about a school at Roadvale, due to the number of schools in the district. However, following further requests from the Roadvale community, and consideration of the potential growth of the area, the department approved the construction of the school.Roadvale State School, Centenary, 1889-1989, A Souvenir of Roadvale State School, Roadvale State School, p.8Dan O'Donnell, Schools of the Fassifern: A Window to Queensland Education, 1867-1933, University of Queensland Thesis, 1995, pp.135-136. On 7 February 1889 tenders were called for "the erection of new state school buildings at Roadvale".Queensland Government Gazette, 1889, p.499Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser, 21 February 1889, p.1. The successful contractor was Charles Newman and would cost £610. The announcement was made in the Brisbane Courier: "the Government having decided to establish a state school at Roadvale, near Blantyre, have accepted the tender of Charles Newman".Brisbane Courier, 7 March 1889, p.4.
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.Paul Burmester, Margaret Pullar and Michael Kennedy, Queensland Schools A Heritage Conservation Study, pp.84, 120-1.
The new building at Roadvale State School was built to a standard design (B/T4) that had been introduced in 1880 and constructed across the colony until 1893. Employed by the Department of Public Instruction, Robert Ferguson was responsible for school building design between 1879 and 1885 and he was the first to give serious consideration to the ventilation of interiors.Paul Burmester, Margaret Pullar and Michael Kennedy, Queensland Schools A Heritage Conservation Study, a report for the Department of Education, 1996, p.13. Into the low-set, timber-framed buildings Ferguson introduced a coved ceiling and vented the roof space, improving internal temperatures. The number of windows and their size was increased; however, they were few in number and sill heights were typically over above floor level, well above eye level of students. Modestly-decorative timber roof trusses were exposed within the space. Built to this standard design, the new school building at Roadvale State School was a lowset, timber-framed structure with gable roof, verandahs front and back, and modest "carpenter gothic" timber detailing. It had a single classroom space, naturally lit and ventilated by windows on the east and west gable-end walls.Paul Burmester, Margaret Pullar and Michael Kennedy, Queensland Schools A Heritage Conservation Study, a report for the Department of Education, 1996, p.16iv.
In 1885 Robert Ferguson was replaced by his brother John Ferguson who continued to implement his brother's designs until John's death in 1893, when responsibility for school buildings passed back to the Department of Public Works.Paul Burmester, Margaret Pullar and Michael Kennedy, Queensland Schools A Heritage Conservation Study, a report for the Department of Education, 1996, p. 12. The Ferguson period (1879–1893) is distinct and marked by extensive redesign of school buildings including associated structures and furniture. The Ferguson brothers' designs were reflective of education requirements of the time, responsive to criticism of previous designs, revolutionary in terms of internal environmental quality, technically innovative, popular and successful and provided a long-lasting legacy of good educational design.Paul Burmester, Margaret Pullar and Michael Kennedy, Queensland Schools A Heritage Conservation Study, a report for the Department of Education, 1996, p. 13.
Roadvale State School was opened on the 14 November 1889 with William Seeley appointed the school's first head teacher, and an enrolment of 31 students.Roadvale State School, Centenary, 1889-1989, A Souvenir of Roadvale State School, Roadvale State School, p.9Queensland Times, 13 November 1939, p.10 Seeley taught at the school until 1899. By 1899 the enrolments had increased to 51 students.Roadvale State School, Centenary, 1889-1989, A Souvenir of Roadvale State School, Roadvale State School, p.45. A teacher's residence was also constructed in 1889. Unfortunately, this was destroyed by fire in 1917.Queensland Times, 7 March 1917, p.4Queensland Times, 13 November 1939, p.14.
The school became the centre for the Roadvale district's social life with dances, fund-raising events and community group meetings held in the school building. In 1904, following the construction of the Roadvale School of Arts on the main street of town, many of these activities were then carried out in the new hall.Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser, 2 June 1904, p3Queensland Times, 13 November 1939, p.70.