Silkstone State School

Silkstone State School was established in 1915, originally on a site, east of the Ipswich CBD. More land was added to the school between 1946 and 1948, totalling the size of the school at . The school retains an excellent example of a suburban timber school building (Block A, built 1915) set in landscaped grounds with mature trees and playing fields. In continuous operation since its establishment, it has been a focus for the local community as a place for important social and cultural activities. Free European settlement began in the area in 1842 and it developed as a mining town and river port for Darling Downs pastoralists, becoming a municipality (Borough of Ipswich) in 1860. Miners and their families, many of whom had come to Australia from Wales, lived in the suburbs near the fields, including Blackstone, Bundamba, Newtown, and Silkstone. This close-knit mining community celebrated their Welsh culture, establishing one of Queensland's earliest Welsh churches (United Welsh Church) in Blackstone in 1886. One year later they held the first eisteddfod, heralding the beginning of this continuing tradition in Ipswich. In 1914 it purchased a hilltop site, overlooking the surrounding area, for the new school. The former site of the Newtown school became Newtown Park (approximately 500m west of Silkstone State School). The department retained responsibility for school design from 1893 to 2013 and focused on improving the natural ventilation and lighting of classroom interiors to produce superior education environments. In the early 20th century, with a growing concern about child health in education, the DPW evolved its school building designs with recommendations from medical professionals on light and ventilation. Notably, high-set buildings were introduced , providing better ventilation as well as informal teaching space and a covered play area in the understorey. This form became characteristic of Queensland schools. A technical innovation developed at this time was a continuous, hinged ventilation flap on the wall at floor level to increase air flow into the classroom and, combined with a ceiling vent and large roof fleche, improved internal air quality and decreased temperatures. Windows were considerably enlarged and sills were lowered to provide a greater amount of light into the room. These windows were provided to one wall of the classroom only, the wall to the left hand side of the student, and any other windows remained small and very highset. Dr Eleanor Bourne's stress on light from the left hand side is only one of her many recommendations for the health of children. However, it is not clear if this was to encourage right handedness. Smaller classrooms in serial arrangement were preferred as they were easier to light well and correctly. The lighter and airier interiors met with immediate approval from educationalists. In 2019 Silkstone is the most substantial extant example of the type and the most substantial known to have been built. It is comparable to Gympie State High School (built 1917, destroyed by fire 1955) and Bundaberg State High School (Block D, designed 1919 and built 1920, extant in 2019) but both are smaller than Silkstone. No other buildings of this type are known to have been built that are comparable in size to Silkstone. Gympie had 12 classrooms with of total classroom area and wide verandahs. Bundaberg had ten classrooms with total classroom area and wide verandahs. Silkstone had ten classrooms with total classroom area and wide verandahs. Amongst other dignitaries present, was the Under-Secretary for Education, JD Story. The ceremony was well attended by school committee members, parents, and future students. The minister proclaimed that "the people were about to have a new school on most modern lines, erected on one of the finest sites in Queensland ... It was for the sake of the child that the new and improved style of school building had been introduced". The opening ceremony was attended by the Minister for Public Instruction, HF Hardacre, as well as other dignitaries including JD Story. Amidst a large crowd of staff, parents, students, and community members, the Minister declared Silkstone State School "one of the most beautiful schools, if not the most beautiful wooden school in Queensland". Further, he stated "the development of a series of architectural schemes had resulted in the present building, with its excellent provision for light, ventilation, and sanitation". Silkstone State School stood on an elevated site, overlooking the district and to the distant southern mountains. It was a weatherboard structure with a tall, open understorey of brick piers which included concreted play areas and small "lavatory stands" (hand washing basins). The building had a gabled Marseilles tile-clad roof with ventilation fleches and decorative timber work. It accommodated ten classrooms, separated by tall, glazed timber folding partitions with "hyloplate" (blackboard) panes, allowing the spaces to be combined. Of the ten classrooms: eight were wide by long, and two were wide by long. The building had wide verandahs on one side of the classrooms only. A head teacher's office and separate staff room were accommodated in a small central front projecting block. The school was one of the largest in Queensland at the time with Block A designed to accommodate 528 students. Both the bell and flagpole were aligned with the centre of Block A with the bell post immediately north of Block A and the flagpole slightly north of where the formal entrance garden was later developed. The Anzac Day ceremony was attended by teachers and students and patriotic, moral lessons were given. Arbor Day was first celebrated at the school on 1 May 1916 and repeated in September that year. Both were well attended and Ipswich City Council donated many of the trees. Students were tasked with preparing the ground prior to planting. Following the initial ground preparations, the holes were deepened using gelignite donated by the Aberdare Collieries and detonated by local miners. Many trees were planted in the grounds and each teacher from the school was given the opportunity to name a tree; several were named after Department of Public Instruction administrators and others after former head teachers. By 1957 the flagpole was moved to the south of Block A in a small, central formal garden, while the bell was mounted to a square timber post (probably part of the original post) on the south porch of Block A at some time prior to 1985, probably at the time the teacher's room was extended in 1973. a path from Glebe Road to the front of the school laid by 1928, and a fernery and aviary in 1928. In 1929 the committee built a large gold-fish pond with elaborate central fountain in the front formal garden and decorative timber archways at the garden entrance. The committee purchased a film projector in 1933 for educational films for the children, making Silkstone State School the first Queensland school to install this innovative teaching technology. In 1937 the infants school was extended. During the Great Depression, further groundworks were undertaken by relief workers including cementing paths, fence maintenance, and building stone retaining walls to create terraces including terracing the northern playing field between Glebe Road and Block A was terraced into three flat fields. Soon after, trees from the Ipswich City Council's nursery were planted along the Prospect Street boundary. To accommodate this, new classroom buildings were constructed between 1950 and 1963: Block E, three classrooms (1950); Block M, a temporary three classroom building (1951); Block D, five classrooms (1955); Block C, four classrooms (1956); and Block G, two classrooms (1963). The second on 21 September 2009 destroyed the 1922 infants school buildings. In 1992 the building was partially converted for administration use with the removal of folding partitions and pressed metal ceilings from these rooms and addition of suspended ceilings and partitions to form small offices. Some high-level windows were removed, doors and windows were rearranged, and new double hung windows were added. In 2009 some external stairs were demolished, verandahs were opened up with reconstruction of original verandah details, a lift was added to the central projecting wing, and further partitions were added. The school continues to be a centre for social, sporting and community events. == Description ==

Silkstone State School stands on a large site in the suburb of Silkstone, east of the Ipswich CBD. Bounded by roads on all sides, the school occupies an entire town block except for the northeast corner, where the former head teacher's residence, standing in a separate house yard, is now a private residence (not part of the QHR place). A complex of teaching buildings stands on the middle of the site with a playing field on the north and south sides. The features of state level cultural heritage significance are: • the site layout • Block A, a large timber teaching building • front entrance gate, path, formal garden, and forecourt • north (front) and south playing fields • tennis court • mature trees Site Layout The impressive, symmetrical form of Block A is revealed at the end of an attractive 180m long walk along a path from a front entrance gate on Glebe Road, through a tree grove to a formal garden and forecourt on axis with the centre of Block A. Block A (1915), suburban timber school building (C/T8) Block A is a large symmetrical timber-framed and -clad building with a prominent gable roof surmounted by three tall ventilation fleches. Highset on tall face brick pillars, it is E-shaped in plan with centre and end wings projecting north to the building's front. The building has wide verandahs, with sweeping timber brackets and battened balustrade, that are the primary circulation. At the building's rear (south) is a small projecting porch with flanking stairs and battened timber work. The building has been converted to administration use and has had seven of its ten large former classrooms divided by partitions to form smaller offices with suspended ceilings. The original lofty coved ceilings lined with pressed metal have been removed in some locations but are retained in at least four classrooms. Doors and windows have been altered over time and include double-hung windows () onto the verandahs that mimic traditional detail. Front Entrance Gate (1957) A metal front entrance gate stands on the Glebe Street boundary and is the formal entrance to the school. It comprises metal side posts (which have replaced the original brick pillars), short decorative metal gates, and a decorative metal overhead arch bearing the school name. Front Entrance Path (by late 1920s) A straight concrete pedestrian path runs from the front entrance gate through the formal garden to the forecourt in front of Block A. The path is shaded by a grove of trees (existing here prior to 1946). The trees are an informal mixture of mature and immature or short-lived species including jacarandas, figs, palms, eucalypts, and melaleucas: none is of state level cultural heritage significance individually, however, their general location, form, character, and composition is. Formal Garden (by 1928) The formal garden is a large shield-shaped open grassed space enclosed by a low wide hedge. It is bisected by the front entrance path, which also branches to encircle it on the outside of the hedge on both sides. It has a central circular garden bed. Forecourt (by 1928) The forecourt is a flat area immediately north of the centre of Block A with a curved, branching concrete path from the front entrance path to both stairs of Block A. The layout is original but surfaces are modern. North and South Playing Fields (1915) The north and south playing fields are large grassed recreation fields for play and informal sport. Tennis Court (1918) A tennis court stands east of the front entrance path in its original location and size. It has a concrete surface surrounded by a tall chain link fence. Its appearance blends with the overall landscape and its surface colour and markings are not conspicuous. Mature Trees Additional to those mentioned earlier, trees of state level cultural heritage significance include: • large shade trees on the school boundaries – a mix of trees including figs (Ficus sp.) • a line of 'pencil pines' (Cupressus sp.) (planted 1960s) along the boundary between Molloy Street and the south playing field (remnants of a longer line, which was originally evenly-spaced) • large shade trees (figs) on north edge of south playing field == Heritage listing ==

Silkstone State School was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 29 March 2019 having satisfied the following criteria. '''The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.''' Silkstone State School (opened 1915) is important in demonstrating the evolution of state education and its associated architecture in Queensland. The place retains an outstanding representative example of a standard government design that was a response to prevailing government educational philosophies. The suburban timber school building (Block A, built 1915), the most substantial example of its type, demonstrates the evolution of timber school design, including experimentation with light and ventilation, by the Department of Public Works. The school's generous, elevated site and formal layout including entrance garden, mature trees, and open fields for play and sport demonstrates the importance of play and aesthetics in the education of children. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. Silkstone State School is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a Queensland state school of the early 20th century. These include: a teaching building of standard design by the DPW set in a landscaped site with mature trees, gardens, and play and sport areas. Block A is an outstanding, intact example of a suburban timber school building and demonstrates the principal characteristics of this type. These include its: impressive, highset timber-framed and -clad construction; open understorey accommodating play areas; facebrick understorey piers; symmetrical design with classroom wings linked by verandahs; sweeping verandah brackets; teachers rooms; hat and cloak rooms; and a strong consideration for natural light and ventilation, including elevated classrooms with open understorey, high level windows and fanlights, lofty and coved ventilated ceilings, hinged wall ventilation flaps at floor level, and distinctive roof fleches. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. Silkstone State School has aesthetic significance for its picturesque qualities created by the carefully composed relationship between Block A and landscape features of the place. Standing on the centre and highest part of the site, Block A is reached via an axial pedestrian path from a decorative entrance gate, through a grove, to a formal entrance garden and forecourt that reveals the building's impressive form. Block A has a sense of pleasant simplicity and order through its elevated symmetrical form, dominant roof with prominent fleches, wide verandahs, extensive well-crafted timber work, and coved pressed metal ceilings. The building is enhanced by its setting with vistas to and from the building across the open, treed grounds. The grounds include lines of mature boundary trees, and large grassed playing fields to the north and south, which creates an open verdant character within the surrounding close residential development. The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. Silkstone State School has a strong and ongoing association with past and present pupils, parents, staff members, and the surrounding community through sustained use since its establishment in 1915. The place is important for its contribution to the educational development of Ipswich, with generations of children taught at the school, and has served as a prominent venue for social interaction and community focus. Contributions to its operations have been made through repeated local volunteer action, donations, and an active Parents and Citizens Association. == References ==