classphotographs

The school was also located in a place of prominence, at the top of the second hill in Mount Shamrock. The selection of this position by residents can be considered deliberate as adequate flat land was available behind the residential and business area. Churches and administrative buildings such as courthouses in nineteenth-century Queensland settlements often occupied a hilltop position but there were no municipal or administrative buildings in Mount Shamrock. Instead, the school building fulfilled these roles, being the venue for public performances, community dances, and other entertainment, the location where visiting clergymen held church services, and the venue for elections, public meetings, and receptions for visiting dignitaries. The location was not selected for practical reasons; there was considerable debate over location between residents when the school building from Paradise was moved to Mount Shamrock (QSA 15567). Despite the identification of more suitable and accessible locations, the school remained in a focal position on the hill, overlooking the town, visible to all. Source: "Streets and stamper batteries – an ‘industrial’ landscape of gold mining townships in nineteenth-century Queensland" by GERALDINE MATE AUSTRALASIAN HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 32, 2014

For Mount Shamrock, a 19th-century gold-mining town outside of Biggenden in Queensland, we get a picture of a mining town where the mine was an important feature in the town, yet also a town where the relationships between the residents are important enough to transcribe onto a map and are features of the everyday social milieu. Government authorities saw it as “a mine of great promise” (Annual Report of the Department of Mines 1896) with the locals promoting a “settled and business-like aspect” (Maryborough Chronicle 1887). Elsie Bilbrough, a young teacher who recently arrived from England, saw wilderness, flooding, and disorder. Source: blog.qm.qld.gov.au/2017/05/16/meaning-in-maps/

Chronology of education in Queensland Queensland's first school opened in 1826 with 16 pupils, the children of soliders and convicts from the first settlement in Moreton Bay. It was not until 1860, however, that the first Education Act was proclaimed and all primary education was placed under one general and comprehensive system controlled by the Board of General Education. This chronology of education in Queensland provides a factual outline of the major milestones and trends in the development of state education. 1888 - Primary schools and their administration were strongly criticised by a Royal Commission on the Civil Service. Financial support was provided to enable 13 children to attend the Deaf, Dumb and Blind Institute in Sydney. 1890 - The first Arbor Day was held. 1891 - An Instructress in Kindergarten was appointed to give teachers in infant grades in primary schools instruction in the new Froebellian methods. 1892 - An optional Class 6 was added to the class structure. 1893 - A Blind, Deaf and Dumb School was established in Queensland, controlled by a committee chaired by Sir Charles Lilley. The school opened at Cornwall St, Annerley with 20 students. 1895 - Drawing was introduced as a subject in primary schools. This subject was seen as a vital basis for technical education. 1897 - Queensland Agricultural College at Lawes was established. The Blind School and the Deaf School were established as separate schools on the above site. Deaf and blind children were educated separately but housed together. 1898 - State Education Amendment of 1897 was implemented, allowing the introduction of secondary-level subjects like Euclid, Algebra and Science in classes 5 and 6 of primary schools. 1900 - The compulsory clause of the Education Act of 1875 was fully implemented. Source: education.qld.gov.au/about-us/history/chronology-of-educa...

Bowen is a coastal town and locality in the Whitsunday Region, Queensland, Australia. Merinda Provisional School opened in 1898 and became Merinda State School on 1 January 1909. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowen,_Queensland