Our 140 Years of History

Bowen Bridge Road Primary School:  1865

The first Congregational Church minister in Brisbane, Rev. George Wight, arrived in 1859.  He had a house on his property on the southern slopes of Eildon Hill where he later established a Sunday school for local children.

Wight was on of a group of people interested in getting a primary school built, and the Queensland Daily Guardian reported in December 1864 that citizens had met to discuss this.

The original building consisted of a single room with a veranda and cost 450 pounds inclusive of 70 pounds for the site (area 1 acre, 0 rods, 23 perches).

The school was built on the long sloping area between Bowen Bridge Road and Roblane Street, a rough and congested site, but as it was already Crown Land, its acquisition was assured.  The school master’s residence was built adjacent to the school house.

The contractors for this work were John Coop, Thomas Lenham and James Cumes, who completed the buildings by 30 June 1865.

The local citizens had contributed 125 pounds and the Board of Education found the remaining 275 pounds.  There was no doubt about the need for a school, there being at least 100 children enrolled in the first year.

The first head teacher who took up duty on 24 July 1865 was Charles Johnson.  He continued until 30 April 1866 and was followed during the next 6 years by Patrick Walker, John Robertson, John Fewings and John Caine.

John Henry Maynard

On 1 January 1873 a new era began with the arrival of John Henry Maynard as head teacher.

By the end of 1877 there were 287 students on the roll and with an eye to expansion; the Board acquired an additional area of 1 rod, 16 perches at the north end of the school ground.

Maynard had at this stage 8 teachers, 3 being qualified, the others, pupil teachers.  By 1886 the school population was 552, with 5 assistants and 10 pupil teachers.

Additional classrooms were now necessary and builders E & J Headland of Brunswick Street were contracted to make the additions.  This allowed all classes to be taught inside.

By the late 1890’s there were 800 children crowded into the site.  More additions were made by Podmore, Hall and Figgis and a new play shed erected.  The possibility of a divided school with boys in a new building was considered, but the existing site was unsuitable for additional structures.

After almost 40 years of combating termites and coping with the constant overcrowding in his school, John Maynard retired at the end of 1911. 

Windsor State School

The Education Department began seriously to prepare for a new school in 1912 and bought 2 large blocks of land fronting Bowen Bridge Road and Harris Street, opposite the old school.  These were owned by Mr R and Mrs A Lane.

Plans were prepared for a large 2 story brick building.

By July 1916 all was ready for the great move.  The old school was closed on Friday 28 July to enable essential equipment to be transferred.  What a great day that must have been for the 100 children of the old Bowen Bridge Road School, and what planning must have been done by head teacher Papi and his 24 assistant teachers to fit everyone into their new classrooms.  All went well and teaching began at the Windsor School on Monday 31 July.

The new building was the latest most up-to-date State School in the commonwealth.  It is interesting to note that the contractor for this building was M. R. Hornibrook who had been a pupil of the old Bowen Bridge Road School.

The school began with Mr F. C. Papi Ph.D, as headmaster and 28 teachers and an enrolment of 1.024 students.  the new building and furnishings cost 16,179/16/8 pounds, and the site comprising 7 acres,2 roads and 6 perches cost 4,317/16/3 pounds.  This was a wonderful achievement in a span of 50 years.

By 1918 there were 1093 children on the roll so that the new school was already at full capacity.  The old problem of overcrowding had begun again.

Several events of note occurred in the 1920’s, the most important being the construction of the swimming pool in 1925.  The Minister had assured the school committee that no help would be available from the Department.  It seems the pool was largely financed by a bank loan, as in 1926 records show the school committee still owed the bank 400 pounds.  The following year the dressing sheds were completed and lighting was installed for night swimming.

By 1927 there were almost 1500 on the roll and one room which would accommodate 70 pupils had to take 215 in turns.  Hundreds of students had no permanent classroom and even the small hat rooms were used as were all the verandas.  There were 38 teachers.

As the enrolment showed no signs of decreasing and the school was operating well above its designed capacity, the Works Department was asked, in 1927, to prepare plans for a separate Infants School.  No decision was made to build at this time however, and it was 6 years later that a final plan of a school for 400 infants was accepted.

Building work began using day labour early in 134 and by June the Works Department advised that the school was completed.  Approval for the establishment was given and number 1321 was allotted to the new school.

And so the Infants School began its career of almost 40 years.  Miss Sarah Ann Hall of Buranda State School was appointed head mistress but did not take up her position when teaching began on November 1 1934.  Miss Agnes McKenna, a teacher from Ipswich Central Boys School, acted as head for the remainder of the year.

The war years were characterised by austerity and a tight Government purse, so the school was fortunate that the long awaited Harris Street extension was approved and built in 1940 before shortage of funds curtailed activity.  The Government Architect’s drawings on file show plans for both north and south wings, but the latter never eventuated.  The extension gave the school 4 much needed additional classrooms.

Very soon a Windsor Air Raid Precautions Centre was set up under the Infants School, protected by sand bags against bomb blast.  The body responsible for oversight and training of local centres in Brisbane was the Brisbane & South Coast Hospitals Board.

For the protection of the infants, a sand-bagged shelter was built beside the wall fronting Harris Street, in what is now the adventure playground.  One who was there remembers the frightening experience during an air raid alert of being shut in the dark shelter with a wooden clothes peg to bite on and a paper bag in case of sickness.  Slit trenches were also dug along the Constitution Road frontage.

The upper grades were provided with slit trenches dug under the trees along the main road and Harris Street frontages, but in February 1943 large storerooms for the use of the United States Navy were built by the Allied Works Council at the corner of Lutwyche and Constitution Roads necessitating the construction of additional slit trenches.

In all 1200 feet (366m) of trenches were in use for practices and some alerts.  After the war the school committee arranged for these to be filled in.

By the early 1960’s Windsor had become available to children with special educational needs and a small “opportunity” section was formed.  This grew and in 1967 a decision was made to reunite the infants and seniors in the main school and to convert the infants’ building for “opportunity” use only.  The transfer of children and equipment was completed early in 1967.

The last headmistress of the Infants School was Miss Merline Muldoon who presided over the infants in the Harris Street wing until December, 1971 when the position was abolished.  The total school enrolment by this time was down to 500, so ample room for infants and seniors was available.

In 1965 the school celebrated its centenary.

The 1980’s saw the establishment of a preschool in the Harris Street wing, with many of the children continuing their education at Windsor State School.

The war memorial statue was relocated in 1982 to a more prominent position on the palm terrace overlooking the basketball courts.

In 1986 the children of the school painted a mural, on the concrete wall facing Harris Street, incorporating designs influenced by the multi-cultural society of Windsor.

1989 saw the opening of a much needed school museum and archives.  The collection of artefacts, photos, documents etc has steadily grown over the years and with donations and discoveries, continues to do so. 

Windsor State School is facing the dawn of the new millennium with a renewed sense of pride in its heritage, its traditions and its achievements.

As many young families move into the surrounding suburbs and enrolments increase, there is a growing emphasis upon identifying the past history of the school and including the impact of this history in the progressive educational vision for the future.

This overarching sense of Windsor State School being part of a larger family community transmits into the harmonious relationships among all stake holders –students, teachers, parents and the many others who work in the school.

It is these ties of affection which bind the current and past generations of students together.  Past students return to visit the school on a regular basis; their fondness and affection for the stately school is almost a palpable feeling.

Windsor must continue to celebrate its heritage.  Many of the current students are descendants of past students, a fifth generation student is currently enrolled at the school.

It is this collective knowledge of decades gone by that gives strength to the academic and social programs experienced by the students today.

Windsor is a unique school owing to its heritage of tradition, its close caring community and its commitment to educational change.

Windsor State School really does combine “the best of tradition with the benefits of progress”.