The place extends from the northern perimeter of Mount Coolon township, northeast along Police Creek to include the weir and the former Hammond house. The mill site includes a square brick chimney, concrete foundations of a 10 head stamp battery, two mortar boxes, gas producer, two-cylinder gas engine (partly demolished), one-cylinder Crossley engine, ball mill and a steel vat. Timber, stone and concrete foundations of the cyanide plant are located south of the mill, closer to the Mount Coolon Hotel.
Plant:
·\tOne-cylinder gas engine with flywheel - Crossley Brothers Limited Manchester (cylinder block removed).
·\tMortar box - Hudson Brothers Engineers Clyde N.S.W. 1897.
·\tMortar box - Walkers Limited.
·\tTwo-cylinder cross compound gas engine and flywheel (not intact).
·\tBall mill.
·\tGas producer.
","history":"Mount Coolon is situated approximately 130km south-west of Collinsville, and 200km north of Clermont. Luke Reynolds, a jackeroo from Yacamunda station, discovered gold there in 1913. Thomas Coolon was the first to peg a claim in 1914, but other claims were quickly taken up, including one of the most active prospectors, James Barclay.
James Barclay mined gold, at what became the Native Bear lease, from 1914 when he constructed a 5 head battery on the present site at Police Creek, 2.4km from the mine. In 1917, the Sydney lease owners Hooke and Sutherland erected 10 stamps nearby, and Barclay consolidated claims to form the Native Bear lease, which was the most valuable section of the gold lode. That same year Barclay erected another 15 head of stamps, two Cornish boilers, machinery, an assay plant and smelting furnace and a 23m chimney made out of 200,000 local bricks at his Police Creek battery. Barclay had begun operating a cyanide plant by 1918.
A township called Koala (now Mount Coolon) was surveyed on Police Creek in 1917. Mount Coolon is largely remembered in North Queensland folklore as a result of the multiple murder-suicide that took place in November 1918. This incident generated Australia-wide attention and notoriety, as the calculated shooting cost the lives of five men. The offender, Thomas Coolon, had lost his gold mining claim following an application for forfeiture by an individual named Thompson, which was then upheld by the mining warden's court.
Seething at the perceived injustice of Thompson's action, and the court's subsequent dismissal of an appeal, Coolon armed himself, shot Thompson and one of his workers and later two other hands at the Sydney battery before turning the gun on himself. That he made a will that same morning, and arranged for Barclay to provide for his wife before taking his own life, conferred on the murders an aura of tragedy in which newspaper feature writers revelled for over fifty years. (Doug Hunt, "Industrial Conflict at Mount Coolon, 1935", in B.J. Dalton, ed., Lectures on North Queensland History No.5, James Cook University, 1996, pp.36-37.)
In 1921 over 2100 ounces of gold were produced and by 1922 there were 12 adjacent leases on the Mount Coolon lode. However most of the gold came from Barclay's Native Bear lease and kept the battery operating on two shifts per day, crushing from 7 to 8 tons per shift. Barclay's battery output for 1921 was 2546 tons of stone crushed yielding 1707 ounces of gold and 400 tons of tailings cyanided yielding 425 ounces, the total valued at over £7000. In 1922 Barclay erected another 10 head of stamps.
The slow development of the Mount Coolon goldfield was attributed to the absence of a custom battery, so in 1924 an Empire ball mill was erected on a site near the Mount Coolon battery on Police Creek, while Barclay installed a powerful gas suction engine early in the year to replace the steam power plant to run all his plant and equipment. The Sydney battery was still operating on Police Creek, making a total of three working mills.
By June 1932 Mount Coolon Gold Mines had taken over all the batteries and mines on the lode and built a new dam (the existing one) on Police Creek. Mr Cec Hammond, a teamster carting lime and wood to the company's plant, lived in the cottage near the weir.
In 1932 Mount Coolon had the highest gold production in Queensland and the Mount Coolon Gold Mines No Liability Company, who had bought out Barclay, had erected a large reduction and cyaniding plant 2.3km south of the town.
At Mount Coolon in 1935, a six-month industrial conflict occurred which marks an important milestone in Queensland's industrial relations history. Analysis of the events leading up to and during this strike ably reveals many of the difficulties and tensions associated with isolated mining operations in semi-arid Australia.
The dispute, which involved only some one hundred employees, also throws a glimmer of light on management tactics; relations between the Australian Workers' Union (AWU) and employers; collaboration among mining companies; and the alignment of ideological forces in the Queensland labour movement in the 1930s. (Hunt, op.cit., p.36.)
This strike was to acquire all the hallmarks of a bitter and drawn our industrial action in which rank and file unionists were pitted against not only the mine's management, but also other workers, and more particularly their own union - Australian Workers' Union (AWU). This industrial action had been initiated by local action in April 1935, without any reference to the union organisation or leadership at either the district or state level. The trouble was exacerbated by the oppressive living conditions of this semi-arid region, compounded by the severe drought during the summer of 1934-35.
In the late 1930s the Mount Coolon goldfield was also significant as a profitable concern for its parent company, Gold Mines of Australia, which in turn, was the catalyst for the early growth of the mining giant, Western Mining Corporation. However, by 1941 those operators left on the field had disposed of most of their machinery and abandoned their leases.
In 1947 prospecting recommenced for alluvial gold and bismuth, and alluvial gold was treated in new plant installed by L.F. White.
","criteria":"Barclay's Battery is located within the Mount Coolon goldfield. The remaining structures and features demonstrate the evolution of the gold-mining industry in north Queensland, including the growth, upgrading of operations, and subsequent company takeovers often associated with early mining endeavours, through to the eventual decline of operations at this isolated location in 1941.
|The battery site comprises a brick chimney, ball mill, stamp mill remains, and rare cross compound gas engine which demonstrate some of the machinery functions of mining operations that were carried out at Mount Coolon.
|The battery is associated with the isolated mining community of Mount Coolon and several important historical events in Queensland's history. Mount Coolon is well known for a multiple murder-suicide in 1918, following a claim-jumping incident leading to a mining court case and unsuccessful appeal, the tragic results of which attracted Australia-wide attention. Mining operations at Barclay's and the rest of Mount Coolon goldfield are also significant as they are associated with important aspects of Queensland industrial relations history, with a six-month strike in 1935 revealing many of the difficulties and tensions associated with isolated mining operations in semi-arid regions.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion B | Criterion G","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage | The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":14816,"place_ref":600041,"name":"Bowen Harbour Board Building (former)","alternate_name":"McDonald Hamilton & Company | Queensland Transport","street_address":"6 Herbert Street","suburb":"BOWEN","lga":"WHITSUNDAY REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1992-10-21","description":"The Bowen Harbour Board Building (former) is located on the corner of Dalrymple Street and Herbert Street, the main street of Bowen. It is on the outskirts of the commercial area, and overlooks Port Denison to the south-east.
It is a two-storeyed masonry building with a hipped corrugated iron roof. A single-storey wing projects from the rear of the building, with gabled roof and brick chimney. There is a timber verandah on the two street sides, which also returns to the rear of the building.
At the corner is a hexagonal turret with a pyramid roof and views over the bay.
The external masonry walls are finished with rough-cast in panels between shallow pilasters. The windows are double-hung timber, with 4-pane upper sashes and 2-pane lower sashes.
The verandah posts have post moulds and brackets, and a fibro valance. The underside of the verandah is corrugated steel.
The original main entrance from Herbert Street is raised several steps above the footpath. Recessed from the alignment the front doors are a pair of half-glazed French doors. A series of French doors provide access from the upper level to the verandah.
The interior features silky oak counter, partitions, cupboards and staircase. The rear door to the stair has coloured glass panels.
A new entrance was installed in 1998. The entrance is through the side facade, off Herbert Street giving wheelchair access.
","history":"The former Bowen Harbour Board building was constructed in 1921 for Bowen shipping agents McDonald Hamilton & Company.
During the second half of the nineteenth century the expansion of settlement in North Queensland caused increasing problems with the carriage of freight to and from southern supply centres. In response to this problem the New South Wales Government, in 1859, offered a reward for the discovery of a suitable harbour north of Port Curtis (Gladstone) that could be more easily accessed by northern settlers. Captain Henry Daniel Sinclair, owner of the Santa Barbara, who in August 1859 departed Sydney in order to locate such a suitable harbour, undertook this mission. On the 15th October 1859 Sinclair's party found such a site, and subsequently named it Port Denison. The first settlers began arriving as early as 19 March 1861. The settlement was officially proclaimed on the 11th April 1861, and named Bowen after the Governor, Sir George Ferguson Bowen. The township of Bowen quickly grew to support the northern pastoral industry as a strategically placed supply centre and over the course of several decades the town developed into a thriving commercial port.
One contributing factor to the town's success was the management of its harbour, and therefore the efforts of its harbour board. The prospect of an official harbour board was first considered in 1913, when dissatisfaction among the Bowen Chamber of Commerce led to an inquiry into the financial arrangements of the port. The inquiry, dated November 27th 1913, found the current port revenue situation lacking, with the revenue at the time being insufficient to provide for the upkeep of the wharf, let alone improvements. As a result, the Bowen Harbour Board Act of 1914 was gazetted on September 1st 1914. The first meeting of the Board was held on March 22nd 1915 in the Shire Hall, and the Board's by-laws were gazetted on July 15th 1915. Changes made to the system of revenue collection, such as charging for berthage, and changes to the haulage system, quickly resulted in the Harbour Board's revenue substantially increasing, and then annually increasing for a prolonged period thereafter. This in turn allowed further expansion of port facilities through the construction of new cargo sheds and facilities to accommodate the expanding range of export materials.
As the port developed so did the role of the Harbour Board. By 1933 the Board was seeking a new location for its offices. The building selected by the Board was constructed in 1921 for ship owners/agents, MacDonald Hamilton and Co., who occupied the site until closing their business in Bowen in 1930. When the Bank of New South Wales and the Australian Bank of Commerce merged in 1929, they purchased the building. In 1931 they moved back to the original Bank of New South Wales and auctioned the building to the Bowen Harbour Board for 1150 pounds In the same year, the upper floor of the building was leased, for one pound per week, to a Mr A. V. Murrey (the only other bidder at the auction), who was the secretary of Bowen Consolidated Mines, Bowen Salt Ltd., Bowen Fire Brigade and the Bowen Chamber of Commerce. After his death in the 1950's his son Dennie Murray took over the lease, and remained until his death in 1960, at which time he was replaced as secretary by Mr Lew Head.
The Harbour Board building has sustained damage from cyclones on numerous occasions, including damage to its roof in 1959, after which the building was roofed with galvanised iron.
In 1963, Bowen Consolidated Mines moved from the building. They purchased the former Adelaide Steamship Company building next door and relocated. Bowen Salt Ltd. then took over the lease of the upper floor of the former MacDonald Hamilton & Company building until their own office accommodation was provided at the salt works on June 23rd 1965.
After Bowen Salt Ltd moved the upper story of the premises remained vacant until July 26th 1967, when the Bowen Historical Society was offered the use of the area at a rental of 20 cents per week. The Society remained there until relocating to their current building in 1979. After this period the upper level of the premises was used variously by shipping agents, a solicitor and the Art's council in the establishment of the Dalrymple Gallery.
The Harbour Board occupied the first floor up until March 30th 1985, at which time the Harbour Board was officially abolished as the port had been superseded by ports such as Townsville and was now obsolete as a commercial port. At this time the building was taken over by the Harbours and Marine Department.
In 1988 the building was restored at an expense of $200,000 to house the Department of Harbours and Marine, and was further renovated in 1994 by Q-Build in conjunction with Project Services in order to add air conditioning and internal fit out.
In February 1998 the Queensland Heritage Council gave approval for the renovation of the ground floor. Works included construction of a new main entry, removal and re-positioning of the existing counter, provision of a new door opening and the provision of a set down area to the footpath on Dalrymple Street for vehicle inspection purposes.
Queensland Transport now occupies the front offices of the building.
","criteria":"The former Bowen Harbour Board building, constructed in 1921 for Bowen shipping agents MacDonald Hamilton and Company and occupied by the Bowen Harbour Board for sixty four years, has had a significant association with the development and consolidation of Bowen Harbour. The building has also made a major contribution to the commercial, social and cultural life of Bowen because of the occupation of office space by companies and community organisations such as Bowen Consolidated Mines Ltd, Bowen Salt Works, Bowen Historical Society, and the Arts Council's Bowen Art Gallery.
|The Harbour Board building located close to the harbour in Herbert Street, makes a substantial contribution to the historical commercial streetscape of Bowen. Its two-storey height, verandah detail and the octagonal turret with a pyramid roof make it a feature of the area close to the harbour.
|The building has also made a major contribution to the commercial, social and cultural life of Bowen because of the occupation of office space by companies and community organisations such as Bowen Consolidated Mines Ltd, Bowen Salt Works, Bowen Historical Society, and the Arts Council's Bowen Art Gallery.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion E | Criterion H","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":14817,"place_ref":600042,"name":"Bowen River Hotel","alternate_name":"Heidelberg Inn","street_address":"Strathbowen-Leichhardt Range Road","suburb":"COLLINSVILLE","lga":"WHITSUNDAY REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1992-10-21","description":"The Bowen River Hotel was built in the 1860s from local timber and originally roofed with bark. It comprises two buildings connected by a covered walkway, and is an example of careful bush carpentry and skilled jointing fixed with wooden pegs. The complex comprises two buildings connected by a covered walkway. A verandah extends round three sides of the main building, while a small verandah opens off the main room on the northern corner of the second and smaller structure.
Both buildings are raised on low stumps, some of which have ant caps, and flooring laid on a rough timber frame, rather than an earthen floor. It would appear to be an early example of this technique. Horizontal slabs of split timber have been used to construct the walls and the hipped roof and skillions over the verandahs are of corrugated iron.
A post and rail fence encloses what was once the front yard of the hotel. The building sits in a rural landscape with White Cedar and Burdekin Plum trees near the house and Oleanders along the front fence.
","history":"Phillip Sommer and his partner John Harvey pioneered the area in 1862. They established a sheep and cattle run on Heidelberg, a selection of ninety five square miles taken up by James Mead in 1861 but never stocked. Sommer had moved to Dotswood Station north of Charters Towers by 1866 and the Bowen River Hotel was operating from his Heidelberg homestead by 1865 with George Burnes as publican.
It was constructed on the supply route to Central Western Queensland which passed through the Kennedy District. Licensing information from the Port Dennison Times indicates that it was probably one of two hotels built at much the same time in the same area. An inn called the Heidelberg was built at 'the lower crossing place' while the Bowen River Hotel was constructed higher up on top of the steep bank of the River. The building was donated to the National Trust of Queensland in 1974 by Ted Cunningham of Strathmore Station and restoration of the rear wing was carried out by Mr George Stewart at that time. Since the 1970s the structure has been left exposed to vandals and campers.
","criteria":"Its significance is enhanced because of its connection with the pastoral development of the Kennedy Region and Central Western Queensland.
|The building is one of very few surviving country hotels constructed using bush carpentry techniques.
|The Bowen River Hotel is representative of a transitional type of timber construction which led to the development of a distinctive style of architecture in Queensland.
|The building is one of very few surviving country hotels constructed using bush carpentry techniques.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion B | Criterion D | Criterion F","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":14819,"place_ref":600044,"name":"Bowen Court House","alternate_name":"Bowen Courthouse; Court House Bowen","street_address":"30 Williams Street","suburb":"BOWEN","lga":"WHITSUNDAY REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1992-10-21","description":"The Bowen Court House is a two storey classical revival building constructed of rendered brick, with a corrugated galvanised iron roof. It is located on the corner of Williams and Herbert Street, the main street of Bowen, and addresses both streets with major facades
The building is 'H' shaped in plan, with a small single story projection to the east corner which was originally a kitchen and bedroom. The wings are now occupied by offices and the court room is in the centre section, rising through both stories with a mezzanine level public gallery at the south east end.
The walls of the court room are rendered and scored up to a moulded plaster dado, and have painted brickwork above. The ceiling is lined with beaded tongue and groove boards divided by exposed stop-chamfered beams, with turned knobs at the intersections. The space has 4 pane, horizontally pivoting windows to the upper section and large double hung windows with arched heads in the lower section. Centred on each long side of the court are pairs of four-panel entry doors. The furniture of the court room includes the bench, jury benches, press box and dock all constructed from beaded tongue and groove boarding, and a silky oak witness stand.
The upper level offices have ripple iron ceilings, moulded timber architraves and chimney pieces. The internal doors are four-panelled with toplights and glazed french doors with toplights open onto the verandahs. There is a timber staircase with turned balusters in the north-west block, and a similar new stair in the south-east block. Ceilings in the lower level are fibrous plaster or masonite with cover strips.
The south-east verandah has masonry arches, infilled with cast iron panels, and a timber floor. The north-west verandah is timber, with a timber balustrade and lattice, and weatherboard toilet rooms at the northern corner.
","history":"The Bowen Court House is a substantial masonry building in classical revival style, prominently located on the corner of Herbert and Williams Streets, Bowen. It was built in 1880 to house the Northern Supreme Court, the Bowen Post Office and Government Offices. Since 1899 it has functioned as a District and Magistrates court.
In 1859 the government of New South Wales commissioned Captain H.D. Sinclair to find a suitable site for a port to support the pastoral development of the Kennedy district. He selected a place on Port Denison, an inlet of the Coral Sea, although Queensland became a separate colony before settlement took place. The new township, designated a Port of Entry, was formally established on 12 April 1861 and named after Sir George Ferguson Bowen, Queensland's first governor. The first pastoral run in the area, Strathmore, was taken up in the same year by the Cunningham family who were quickly followed by other graziers eager to establish grazing properties. A Police Magistrate was appointed to serve Bowen in late 1860 and a temporary courthouse was constructed. Bowen soon became a major administrative and commercial centre and was declared a municipality on 17 March 1863 in the courthouse. This was merely a small slab hut without a verandah and which was not weather proof. After local agitation, tenders for a Court House were called in October 1864, though a building was not constructed. Two other northern ports were established in 1864, at Cardwell and Townsville.
In Nov 1865, Bowen became a District Court area. Judge Long Innes, later to become Attorney General and Judge of the Supreme Court of NSW, was appointed as Bowen's first District Court Judge. He arrived in early 1866 and held court in the Municipal Chambers. Because of the financial crisis taking place in Queensland in 1866, the planned courthouse did not go forward and in early 1867, the judge made unauthorised changes to the Court House to improve conditions.
In 1874, recognising the rapid development of North Queensland, due largely to the discovery of gold, the Supreme Court Act increased the number of judges in Queensland to 4, of which 1 was to reside in Bowen as 'the Northern Judge'. The Bowen Supreme Court formally opened before His Honour Mr Justice Sheppard on 21 Oct 1874. The Supreme Court first sat in Townsville on 12 Feb 1875, Bowen 26 Feb 1875, and Cooktown 29 May 1876.
Queensland developed as a series of ports linked to inland resources. Bowen was disadvantaged, despite its excellent harbour, because it was located on a flood plain and the Burdekin River flooded regularly, cutting off the port from the hinterland for extended periods. Bowen's importance decreased in the 1870s following the success of Townsville, which had better access routes to pastoral mining and centres, particularly the major goldfields at Charters Towers and the Palmer River.
By May 1877, all the government buildings in Bowen had become dilapidated and it was recommended that it would be more economic in the long term, allowing for the tropical climate, to construct new buildings in masonry. The site selected for the new court was considered the best in town and plans were completed by July 1879. Presumably for reasons of economy, the new building was to house several different functions in different parts of the building. A large court room occupied the centre of the building, rising to its full height The south wing was occupied by the Post Master, the ground floor containing the office, kitchen and servant's room, and the upper floor sitting and bedrooms. The lower floor of the north wing was designed to house officials of the Supreme Court, and the upper floor was shared by the Survey and Roads offices, with bedrooms for Court Officials.
The building was designed in the Colonial Architect's office during the time when FDG Stanley was the Colonial Architect. Within the office, the design of the building is attributed to GS Connolly, who later became Colonial Architect himself. Both architects excelled in the classical revival style chosen, which was thought well suited to public buildings intended to convey a sense of stability and dignity, particularly a court which represented the power of the law. The building is on a corner site and designed so that the major street elevations each represented a separate function housed within the building; that to Herbert Street representing the Court and that to Williams Street the Post Office. The two elevations are linked stylistically by the use of arcades.
The tender of builders Southall and Tracey for £8023 was accepted and work was completed by July 1881. The old court buildings were sold in 1884. Soon after this, however, the pre-eminence of Townsville as the major town in North Queensland was recognised in the 1889 the Supreme Court Bill which provided for the appointment of a second northern judge and the relocation of the Northern Supreme Court to Townsville. This occurred on 1 December 1899, although Townsville did not have a purpose designed Court House. Since this time the Bowen Court House has functioned as a District and Magistrate's Court.
The building has remained substantially unchanged since construction, and has continued in use as a court house, but has undergone some minor additions and alterations. A verandah was added to the north-west elevation in 1913, and the balustrades and posts have been altered, however, the building is generally very intact and still has the main components of its early furniture.
","criteria":"The Bowen Court House is important in demonstrating the early prominence of Bowen, being considerably more grand than other early courts at Townsville and Charters Towers; both of which towns were to eclipse Bowen. As the first Supreme Court outside Brisbane, it also illustrates the way in which a legal system was established and government services provided in the developing north of the colony. The inclusion of a second function as a Post Office indicates both the need for economy and the importance given to the role of communications services.
|The court house remains substantially unchanged since completion and retains the major components of its original furniture, which is now rare.
|The building is a good example of a government building of its era with offices and accommodation provided for judges and court officers and for other government officials.
|Bowen Court House is an important component of the streetscape of Bowen. It is a well designed and prominent public building and an excellent example of the high quality work produced by the Colonial Architects office.
|It is associated with the life and work of GS Connolly (1847-1901) and FDG Stanley (1839-1897) of the Colonial Architects office who made a great contribution to the building of Queensland.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion B | Criterion D | Criterion E | Criterion H","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":16250,"place_ref":601487,"name":"Flemington Road Cemetery","alternate_name":"Bowen Cemetery","street_address":"Flemington Road","suburb":"BOWEN","lga":"WHITSUNDAY REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1999-07-23","description":"Officially, the Flemington Road Cemetery is located on a roughly rectangular block of level, alluvial river flat, encompassing 8094 square-meters, defined as Portion number 95, Reserve 54. The reserve is located completely within, and can only be accessed by dirt road through Portion Number 96, currently used for agricultural purposes. On site the dimensions of the cemetery are unmarked.
The entire area is covered in several species of grass, and thinly scattered throughout the area are well established eucalypts, wattles, and Burdekin plum trees.
The cemetery is currently unfenced, although physical evidence on site suggests that several fencing efforts have been previously undertaken to protect particular family plots. The practice of inscribing the names of several deceased family members on a single headstone has resulted in the twenty-two observable headstones actually representing 39 burials. The inscriptions on all but one of the headstones are observable. The twenty-two observable gravesites are spread over a wide area, suggesting the presence of unobservable graves, further evidenced by the lack of observable gravesites of deceased known to be located there. The oldest inscription, referring to the death of Jessie B. Scott on 10th May 1863, presents something of a mystery, considering the site began operating as a cemetery only after 1878. It seems likely that the deceased lies elsewhere, with the name being inscribed on the headstone at a later date out of respect. The most recent observable headstone inscription refers to the death of one C. M. Brecht in 1947.
Given the small number of observable graves, a broad range of grave styles is represented. Headstones are predominantly of limestone, with sandstone and concrete also present. Many of the headstones do not record the stonemason responsible for their manufacture, those that do, include the names of Melrose and Fenwick, A.L.Petrie, and W. Batson & Sons S.B. Several cast-iron fence designs are also present.
The cemetery is in very poor condition. All headstones are damaged to varying extents. Of the sites that have gravestones, few are intact. Fencing lies in disarray among the graves. All but a few of the originally fenced graves have had fencing removed. All fences are damaged. Several of the graves are heavily overgrown. Evidence of previous attempts to maintain the physical condition of the cemetery can be seen in the form of scrubbed headstones, poisoned grave perimeters and damage to grace perimeters from the employment of mechanical equipment such as whipper-snipers.
","history":"The Flemington Road Cemetery is Bowen's second cemetery and operated for 76 years between 1878 and 1954.
During the second half of the nineteenth century the expansion of settlement in North Queensland caused increasing problems with the carriage of freight to and from southern supply centres. In response to this problem, in 1859 the New South Wales Government offered a reward for the discovery of a suitable harbour north of Port Curtis (Gladstone) that could be more easily accessed by northern settlers. This mission was undertaken by Captain Henry Daniel Sinclair, owner of the Santa Barbara, who in August 1859 departed Sydney in order to locate such a suitable harbour. On the 15th October 1859 Sinclair's party found such a site, and subsequently named it Port Denison. The settlement was officially proclaimed on the 11th April 1861, and named Bowen after the Governor, Sir George Ferguson Bowen. Bowen quickly grew to monopolise the northern station trade as a strategically placed supply centre and remains a centre for northern agricultural production.
As with other towns in Queensland, a cemetery reserve was created when the town was surveyed. Much confusion currently exists concerning the history of Bowen's cemeteries due to the limited nature of relevant historic literature. The town's present cemetery is located on John Street, and although often referred to as the new cemetery, this is actually the site of Bowen's first cemetery. As such, this is the site alluded to when historic literature discusses the first, or the old cemetery, despite local opinion to the contrary. The second cemetery, located off Flemington Road, was used alternatively with that on John Street between 1878 and 1954. This was Bowen's second cemetery, or what should be correctly referred to as the new cemetery. The fact that all burials returned to the John Street Cemetery after this period, and the condition of the Flemington Road Cemetery, has led to the misconception that the Flemington Road Cemetery is the older cemetery.
Early evidence in the form of newspaper articles from the Port Denison Times indicate that the first cemetery on John Street had a history of neglect that was much lamented by the locals of the time. In response to this problem, a board of Trustees was appointed, and on 13th July 1867 the Port Denison Times printed rules and regulations of the cemetery in the hope of improving its condition. By the 22nd February 1868, these rules had been found ineffective in improving the condition of the site. Shortly after this period, public and governmental dissatisfaction arose not only in response to the poor state of the existing graves, but also for the cemetery's inappropriate location for future burials. It had been found that graves were filling with water at a shallow depth, and grave diggers were finding it increasingly difficult to keep coffins out of the water.
First mention of the need to provide a new cemetery is found in the Port Denison Times of 18th March 1871. This paper reports the government willing to grant a new site for the cemetery, given the old site was generally recognised to be as unfit for the purpose. Several locations were considered, including Stone Island, that while publicly considered ideal, would entail the inconvenience of transporting the deceased by boat rather than the traditional horse and carriage. It was decided that a block of 80 to 90 acres, on the banks of the Don, lying between the pumps and the racecourse, would be most suitable. The site and dimensions of the reserve for the second cemetery, on Portion Numbers 95 and 96, were published in the Government Gazette on 21st December 1878.
Current evidence suggests this is the site of the Flemington Road Cemetery, identified in early maps of the area as Portion Numbers 95 and 96. Initial application by the Trustees proposed that a new site should be used alternatively with the old, depending on the preference of the deceased's family or representatives. The first registered burial in the new cemetery was of Henrietta Mary, aged 15 weeks; burial number 369 on the 10th May 1879. No observable physical remains of this gravesite exist. Five other registered burials are recorded for 1879.
Throughout the early life of the cemetery, funding problems are evident in several petitions made to the public and government in order to facilitate the upkeep of the cemetery. Most often these took the form of projects aimed at fencing the area against livestock that were in the habit of knocking over and trampling headstones. Unfortunately, as both cemeteries were used during the life of the Flemington Road Cemetery, and given the lack of differentiation between cemeteries in Bowen's historic literature, it is difficult to match surviving information with a particular cemetery. Information that can be identified specifically to the Flemington Road Cemetery indicates that the legacy of disrepair to the old cemetery was passed to the new, as the Port Denison Times of 1881 contains several articles of public complaint concerning the physical condition of the new cemetery.
In November 1944, control of the cemetery passed from the Board of Trustees to the Town of Bowen Council.
In 1949, Mr WHL Nicol, who lived on the reserve and had cleared approximately fifteen acres for farming, applied to acquire the reserve. In response to the application by Mr Nicol, whose father had allegedly leased the land since 1917, it was suggested by the land commissioner that 31 acres 2 roods 32 perches be excised from the reserve and offered to Mr Nicol as a priority Special Lease. An area of two acres was to be retained for cemetery purposes, and additional land for a right of way to the cemetery through part of the Special Lease.
In 1952 an area of approximately two acres was surveyed around the existing graves and classed as Portion Number 95, Reserve 54, with the remainder of the original reserve becoming Portion Number 96.
More recent inclusions to the site's history occurred in 1993, when public concern was raised regarding the issue of encroachment on to the reserve by the bordering landowners. This issue seems as yet unresolved.
The issue of neglect of Bowen's cemeteries has persisted into the recent history of the site. In March 1993 the Bowen Shire Council publicly noted that while the Flemington Road Cemetery contained a number of headstones, it was poorly maintained due the expense and isolation of the cemetery. Furthermore, the council suggested relocating the headstones in the Flemington Road Cemetery to the John Street Cemetery in order to facilitate mechanical clearance at the site. Descendants and relatives of those buried in the Flemington Road Cemetery met this notice with severe disapproval, and no council action would appear to have been taken. Other developments from this period include a proposition to erect an interpretive sign at the site.
","criteria":"The settlement of Port Denison (Bowen) being the first town in North Queensland, is of special significance as it represents the earliest period of the settlement of the Kennedy Region. As such, the Flemington Road Cemetery is important in demonstrating the evolution and pattern of Queensland's history in being tangible evidence of the settlement.
|The cemetery is also important as it provides evidence of the history and demography of the Bowen area, and demonstrates architectural trends in monument design during the latter half of the nineteenth and earlier twentieth century.
|Existing headstones on site clearly indicate the family names of many notable figures from Bowen's early history, such as Betzel, Darwen, Sinclair, Bull, Jensen and Brecht. Being the resting-place of the physical remains of early settlers and relations to current Bowen residents, the Flemington Road Cemetery has both a strong and special association with the Bowen community for social, cultural and spiritual reasons.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion D | Criterion G","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":16334,"place_ref":601573,"name":"Proserpine Hospital","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"Herbert Street","suburb":"PROSERPINE","lga":"WHITSUNDAY REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2001-02-23","description":"The Proserpine Hospital is a group of three single storeyed brick pavilions located on a large block at the corner of Herbert and Taylor Streets, Proserpine. They are adjacent to new hospital buildings constructed in 1998-99. The new buildings all front Taylor Street.
The three brick pavilions which all face Herbert Street, the original front entrance of the hospital, include:
the former Maternity Ward
the former Men's Ward
the former Outpatients Department
The former Maternity Ward was refurbished as part of the 1999 hospital redevelopment. The interior of the building has been altered and currently houses Allied Health (ie. dental health/mental health/physiotheraphy/speech therapy and child health etc).
The ward is linked to the former Men's Ward by a covered way. The walkway has been partitioned into small rooms, which are currently used for storage. The Men's Ward is also used for storage. The building is comprised of two (2) wards and an operating theatre.
The former Outpatients Department was inspected internally and found to be intact. The building, now vacant, had an area for administration, an examination room, a consulting room, a laboratory, a X-Ray facility, and an outpatients treatment area. There were no changes made to the building as part of the 1999 hospital redevelopment. The building is currently closed to the public.
Elements of the original landscaping around the buildings has been retained, including open grass areas and specimen trees of Moreton Bay Fig, Mango, Norfolk Island Pine, and Queen Palms.
","history":"The Proserpine Hospital on the corner of Herbert and Taylor Streets, Proserpine was constructed in 1939-40 to the design of prominent north Queensland architects, Hill and Taylor. The pavilions were built by W C Kynaston. It contains a group of three single storeyed brick pavilions located on a large block originally surrounded by formal gardens of manicured lawns and specimen trees.
The architectural firm of Hill and Taylor commenced in Cairns in 1925, although Richard Hill had been working in Cairns prior to this. A J Taylor was born in New South Wales and received his general and architectural education in Brisbane. Hill and Taylor continued in Cairns until 1941, with a Townsville office running from 1933-39. The practice resumed in 1945 but was abandoned in 1952 mainly due to Taylor's ill-health.
The partnership of Hill and Taylor dominated north Queensland architecture between the first and second World Wars. The firm was responsible for a number of prominent buildings in north Queensland including the Cairns City Council Building (1938), the Cairns Post Office (1930), the Johnstone Shire Hall in Innisfail (1938), the Barron Valley Hotel in Atherton (1940) and a number of country hospitals, including Mossman Hospital.
The Proserpine Hospital replaced an earlier timber hospital, which was built in 1911 on the old Bowen Road approximately 3 km from the centre of town. The first hospital was constructed using funds raised by the local community. They continued to fund the running of the hospital, assisted by regular donations from the local Shire Council, until June 1930 when it was forced to close as it seemed that the Proserpine community were unable to support it any longer. However, a year later the hospital re-opened when the community rallied together to raise the necessary funds.
Then in 1936 a decision was made by the Bowen Hospital Board, which had taken over the running of the hospital, to shift the hospital to its present site so that it would be closer to the town. A new hospital was designed in late 1936 to supplement the buildings shifted from the original site. A foundation stone was laid on 4 February 1939 by the Hon. E M Hanlon. The new buildings, which were completed by 1940, comprised a maternity ward, nursers quarters, male ward and an outpatients department.
These buildings consisted of a series of pavilions joined by covered walkways. They were all in the same style and constructed in red brick with high pitched bungalow roofs, which incorporated louvered ventilators in their gables. A feature of all the buildings were arcades with distinctive brick arches and concrete columns, and projecting front parapets that gave emphasis to the entrances.
In the early 1960s the front entrance parapets of the buildings were altered. This work varied slightly on each building but involved the removal of the ornate brickwork parapets and their replacement with plain triangular pediments or small hipped roofs. In addition the roofs which had been constructed in corrugated asbestos cement was replaced with galvanised iron.
The hospital was redeveloped in the late 1990s. When works were completed in 1999 much of the original hospital had been retained including the former maternity ward, male ward, and outpatients department. However, the Nursers's Quarters which fronted Herbert Street was demolished. The original 1923 Maternity Hospital, later Wardsman's House, was renovated to provide accommodation to medical staff.
","criteria":"The Proserpine Hospital is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural place. The Proserpine Hospital is significant as a group of hospital buildings, designed in the tradition of separate pavilions which was part of a philosophy of hospital design.
The Proserpine Hospital has a special association with the Proserpine community. The community was responsible for funding the construction and operation of an earlier timber hospital in the town. Today, the community continues to support its local hospital and, when the hospital was redeveloped in the late 1990s, the Proserpine community were adamant that the original buildings be retained on the site.
The Proserpine Hospital has a special association with the work of the prominent architects Hill & Taylor, who worked in north Queensland in the period between World Wars and designed a number of country hospitals.
|The Proserpine Hospital is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural place. The Proserpine Hospital is significant as a group of hospital buildings, designed in the tradition of separate pavilions which was part of a philosophy of hospital design.
|The Proserpine Hospital has a special association with the Proserpine community. The community was responsible for funding the construction and operation of an earlier timber hospital in the town. Today, the community continues to support its local hospital and, when the hospital was redeveloped in the late 1990s, the Proserpine community were adamant that the original buildings be retained on the site.
|The Proserpine Hospital has a special association with the work of the prominent architects Hill & Taylor, who worked in north Queensland in the period between World Wars and designed a number of country hospitals.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion D | Criterion G | Criterion H","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons | The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":16350,"place_ref":601589,"name":"St Paul's Anglican Church","alternate_name":"Proserpine Church of England | St Paul's Anglican Memorial Church | St Pauls Anglican Church | St Pauls Anglican Memorial Church | Proserpine Anglican Church","street_address":"8 Main Street","suburb":"PROSERPINE","lga":"WHITSUNDAY REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2013-10-11","description":"St Paul's Anglican Church, a striking, parabolic arched structure of concrete, brick, timber and glass, is located in Proserpine in the Whitsunday region of northern Queensland. Orientated with its longitudinal axis north-south, the church is positioned at the front of a long rectangular block on the southern side of Main Street. The church is largely intact, retaining its original furniture and fittings. The most notable alterations have been to the roof, where original translucent sections have been replaced with opaque sheeting.
The dominant element of the church's design is the parabolic arched roof over the nave and sanctuary. Clad in metal roof sheeting, the parabolic form is created by a reinforced concrete arch at the front, regularly spaced laminated timber arches throughout the interior and a brick end wall at the rear. A raised strip of roofing along the apex is clad in opaque sheeting.
Single-storey brick side wings run along either side of the nave, featuring large windows and flat roofs clad in metal sheeting. Straddling the walls are reinforced concrete dished slabs, curving up and away from the top of the walls and overhanging by approximately one metre, acting as both guttering and eaves. The height of this slab indicates a datum level that extends within the church in the form of a flat ceiling over the aisles.
The church is rectangular in plan with an entrance foyer in the north-west corner, linked to a brick and concrete bell tower by a covered walkway. The main elevation of the church is asymmetrical, with the end walls of the wings flanking the central arch being constructed of different materials. The concrete parabolic arch is in-filled with a timber framed glazed wall, with a reinforced concrete cross forming the central spine and a raised brick garden bed running along the base. A series of horizontal ridges on the outer edge of the parabolic arch are remnants of the original roof cladding system. To the side of the arch is the end wall of the eastern aisle, which features small, cross-shaped openings in the brickwork, in-filled with glass. A plaque commemorating the laying of the foundation stone is located here. The entrance foyer on the western side is fully glazed with timber framing and a low brick garden bed along the north side.
The eastern elevation is straight, while along the western elevation the vestry and entry foyer project out beyond the aisle wall. Both elevations are divided into bays by regularly spaced brick piers, with brick infill up to waist height and windows above. The timber framed windows are made up of four awning casements separated by strips of frosted glass in the shape of a cross.
The solid brick wall of the rear elevation is pierced by a high window in the form of a narrow cross. It has two layers of glazing, consisting of an inner layer of coloured glass segments and an outer layer of clear glass. Glazed doors provide access to the vestries. Adjacent to the western vestry door is a toilet block built up against the rear wall (this structure is not considered to be of cultural heritage significance).
The bell tower is approximately 11 metres high, surmounted by an aluminium cross. The tower is constructed from two parallel reinforced concrete walls with decorative brickwork on the outer faces. The two walls are linked by horizontal concrete beams and a bell is hung near the top. A rough render has been applied to the concrete surfaces, with a raised cross ornamenting to the top of each side. A low, rectangular, brick garden bed, originally a reflection pool, projects from the front of the tower.
Entrance to the church is through the foyer at the north-west corner, through glazed doors on the western side. Aisles run along the eastern and western sides and through the centre of the nave. The sanctuary at the southern end is raised one step above the nave with vestries on either side. The timber pews, like most furniture in the church, have chambered corners painted an off-white colour. The collection plates are made from seven interlocking triangular pieces of timber.
In the centre of the northern glazed wall is the baptismal font, standing on a small raised platform. It consists of a spun copper bowl set on a concrete column. The timber cover is a shallow, seven-sided pyramid, with an etched copper symbol of one of the seven sacraments attached to each face.
An ANZAC shrine in the north-east corner has a bronze plaque attached to the centre of the wall, listing the names of fallen servicemen from the Proserpine district. Above this is a wooden sign bearing the words ‘Lest We Forget' and a small crucifix. A wooden rack supports flags attached to wooden poles.
The rear sanctuary wall contains the glazed cross-shaped window, which has protruding metal fins attached on the interior. Below, the altar is located in the centre of a raised platform of three steps. The altar has a thick central base that inclines towards the top, clad in dark grey stones. A concrete cantilever angles out from the base to support the altar top, which is made from a terrazzo-like material incorporating pearl shell. Other items of furniture in the sanctuary include candlesticks, pulpit, lectern, and small stools and tables. The candlesticks are free-standing posts with a conical-shaped copper drip ring at the top. The timber pulpit has a protruding timber cross against a white background on the front face and sides that angle out towards the top, which has an angled book holder elevated on a tubular metal stand. The lectern is a simplified version of the pulpit but without the angled sides, and has an overhanging v-shaped top. A cupboard in the western wall of the sanctuary, the aumbry, has images of two saints on the inner face of the door leafs, made visible when opened.
Walls of fixed vertical timber fins divide the sanctuary from the vestries on either side. The eastern vestry contains a small kitchenette and timber pantry cupboard. The western vestry contains built-in timber storage cupboards, a small safe and a corner sink.
The lowered ceilings on either side of the nave give the appearance of floating, horizontal planes, the sides of which are lined with a timber fascia. These converge along the length of the church, towards the sanctuary wall. The undersides are clad in recent plasterboard sheeting, with regularly spaced, rectilinear openings along the inner edge, increasing in width as they approach the sanctuary. Along the top of both side walls the concrete dished slab extends into the church. Smaller in scale than on the exterior, the edges of the slab also curve upwards, pierced with regularly spaced square holes.
The length of the church is divided into bays by the exposed parabolic arches. A scaled-down arch within the arch closest to the sanctuary provides the framework for a lower arched ceiling, lined with plasterboard. The gap between the inner and outer arches is glazed with frosted glass. The lower ceiling stops short of touching the southern sanctuary wall, allowing views of the main roof structure. Throughout the nave, the underside of the parabolic roof is lined with timber, while the tops of the parabolic arches are concealed from view by a high, plasterboard-clad cove.
The church is fronted by a lawn area with recent garden beds along the footpath. A gravel driveway runs along the eastern side of the church and a concrete drive leads past the bell tower to the entrance. Behind the church is a recent steel building, while the remainder of the property is open lawn in 2013.
","history":"St Paul's Anglican Church in Proserpine, completed in 1959, is one of a series of innovative churches designed by Cairns-based architect Edwin Henry (Eddie) Oribin. It was constructed by local builder Les Tinsley and Co.; with engineering details provided by R McLean.[1] The church is made from a variety of materials including brick, timber and concrete, and features a striking parabolic roof of laminated timber arches, an early use of this structural system in Queensland.
\nThe Proserpine area was first settled from the 1860s and agriculture became the main industry.[2] An initial attempt at sugar cane production in the early 1880s at Glen Isla plantation failed and the estate was subsequently sold and subdivided into small farms. Much of the present-day Proserpine town area occupies land formerly part of the plantation site. A stable sugar-growing industry was eventually established in Proserpine in 1897 with the opening of the Proserpine Central Mill.[3] By 1900, there were 200 settlers and 70 suppliers to the mill.[4]
\nAnglican services in Proserpine, which was then part of Bowen Parish, had been established by 1896 when church services were conducted by a visiting clergyman from Bowen.[5] In 1904 a building committee was formed to oversee the establishment of a Church of England in Proserpine, so that regular services could be held and a Sunday School set up. Fundraising was undertaken, and by early 1905 the committee had secured a site in Main Street, opposite the mill. The first St Paul's Church of England, a small timber building, was completed in 1906.[6]
\nProserpine continued to grow throughout the early 20th century, with the population nearly doubling in the 1920s and a rail link to Mackay, completing the line from Brisbane to Townsville, opening in 1923.[7] However, until the 1950s Proserpine remained a country sugar town, a stopover place rather than a destination in itself, with little appeal to visitors.[8] Proserpine airport opened in late 1951, boosting tourism to the local area and Whitsunday Islands.[9]
\nThe 1950s were a significant period of change and reform within Anglican and other Christian denominations throughout Australia, as they sought to become more relevant to contemporary society. Developments in religious theology and liturgy, coupled with an expansionary building program, led to a radical departure from established architectural traditions. Reflecting international trends, church designs moved away from historical revival styles and became increasingly influenced by Modernism.[10] However, it was expected that a church would still be recognisable as such, resulting in a wide range of variations combining traditional church elements, symbols and functions with new construction techniques, materials and forms.[11]
\nA particular advocate of constructing churches in a modern idiom was Bishop Ian Shevill, the sixth Anglican Bishop of North Queensland (enthroned in 1953), who began a crusade to provide a permanent church in every parish.[12] Having travelled to the United States of America to learn new methods of fundraising, Shevill implemented the Anglican Building Crusade, which raised £145,000 for buildings. Of the amount raised by each parish, half was retained and half went to the diocese.[13]
\nIn order to encourage construction of modern rather than pseudo-Gothic style churches, the Bishop compiled a set of canonical principles of church architecture, which were a set of rules ensuring certain aspects of Anglican church designs remained constant while allowing architects to exercise their creativity. These principles prescribed such things as setting aside a third of the church for the sanctuary and two thirds for the nave, the proportions of steps leading up to the altar, and that furnishings be designed by the architect. All new Anglican churches were to be individual and contemporary in design, for, as Shevill himself put it, ‘God is no museum piece and He should be worshipped by modern people in modern buildings which are aesthetically pleasing and cool.'[14] By 1958, six new permanent Anglican churches and a chapel had been completed according to these principles.[15]
\nSteps towards constructing a new church at Proserpine began in 1956 when architects Barnes and Oribin of Cairns were engaged.[16] Designed by Oribin, the proposed church was highly unusual, with a parabolic roofed nave, glazed end wall with a central concrete cross, flat side roofs and separate brick tower.[17]
\nEdwin Henry (Eddie) Oribin was born in Cairns in 1927. As a teenager during World War II, he spent time in Brisbane where he obtained work with the Allison Aircraft Division of General Motors rebuilding aircraft engines. Returning to Cairns in 1944, Oribin commenced architectural training with Sid G Barnes, Chief Architect of the Allied Works Council for North Queensland, whose training gave Oribin a solid grounding in structural design and construction. In 1950 Oribin moved to Brisbane to work and study, and on 10 February 1953 he obtained his registration as an architect in Queensland, returning to Cairns the following month to begin a partnership with Barnes. This partnership lasted until Barnes' death in 1959, after which Oribin continued practicing on his own.[18]
\nOribin undertook a wide range of work in north Queensland between 1953 and 1973.[19] Throughout his career, he was devoted to experimenting with different structural and aesthetic ideas, drawing inspiration from a wide variety of Australian and international publications. Characteristics of Oribin's work included meticulous detailing, structural creativity and concern for the modulation of light.[20] He was also known for his model-making skills and superb craftsmanship, often creating objects himself.[21]
\nSt Paul's Anglican Church at Proserpine was one of three churches designed by Oribin between 1956 and 1960, the others being Mareeba Uniting (formerly Methodist) Church (completed 1960) and St Andrew's Presbyterian Memorial Church, Innisfail (completed 1960, QHR 602332). Each of these churches is distinctive in design, having directly responded to the needs of the clients, while still allowing experimentation with construction and design ideas.[22]
\nBy mid-1958 Proserpine parish's participation in the Anglican Building Crusade had raised over £3000 and their own fundraising campaign was supported and encouraged by Bishop Shevill, who stated ‘...I should like to congratulate the wardens and council upon their adoption of a design which is so revolutionary and so progressive, for it will provide the parish with a contemporary building of great beauty and one which will make religion relevant to the 20th Century people who believe in progress...'[23] The original timber church was relocated to the rear of the property and Cairns contractors Les Tinsley and Co. began construction of the new St Paul's in June 1958. The Governor of Queensland, Col. Sir Henry Abel Smith, laid the foundation stone in a ceremony on 9 July, during which he inspected a model of the proposed new church and discussed the building with the architect.[24]
\nConstructed on site, the main parabolic frames of St Paul's Church were of laminated timber, with the exception of the front frame which was made of pre-cast concrete. The first two laminated arches constructed were used as the basis for the formwork of the front concrete arch.[25] The unusual form of the nave with its exposed internal structure led to it being compared to World War II igloos.[26] With their large curved trusses made from small pieces of timber, igloos were a familiar building type to Oribin who had worked in the Allison Overhaul Assembly Plant igloos at Albion during World War II.[27]
\nThe parabolic arch has been associated with church architecture since at least the 1880s.[28] German architect Dominikus Bohm (1880-1955) exploited the possibilities of the parabolic arch in several 1920s church designs, demonstrating that the kind of atmosphere commonly associated with Gothic architecture could be obtained with a minimum of historical allusion.[29] Though it remained an uncommon architectural form in the early 20th century, it featured in several Modernist churches, most notably the Church of St Francis of Assisi (completed 1943) in Pampulha, Brazil, designed by Brazillian architect Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012). Constructed from cast in-situ concrete, the nave of the church was a free-standing parabolic vault. Highly controversial at the time, Niemeyer's bold design was extremely influential among architects around the world (including Australia[30]), with photographs and plans of the church published in architectural journals.[31]
\nThe parabolic form of St Paul's was made possible by the use of glued laminated timber for the internal arches. Laminated timber arches, constructed by overlapping and bolting together small pieces of timber to make a single, large member, have been in use in Australia since the mid-19th century.[32] Cost-effective and able to span large distances without intermediate posts, laminated timber arches also became an alternative system for roof structures of large buildings such as markets, factories and, from the early 20th century, large auditoria and picture theatres.[33] The process of glue lamination, using casein glue to bond the layers of timber rather than bolts, originated in Germany before being introduced to the United States in the 1920s. Several publications in the 1930s and early 1940s provided the necessary data for constructing glued laminated timber arches, and became a source of inspiration for Australian designers.[34] The earliest experiments in Australia took place in the early 1940s[35] and the arrival of powerful synthetic resin adhesives in the post-World War II period increased the reliability and range of applications of glue lamination.[36] The former Burge Bros Factory in Melbourne (1945-46) is considered to be the oldest known surviving example of this technology in Australia, with semi-circular arches spanning 30 metres, manufactured by Sydney-based company Ralph Symonds Ltd.[37]
\nDespite the technology being available, it wasn't until the 1950s, when curved shapes such as conoids and hyperbolic parabolas became fashionable,[38] that glue laminated arches were more commonly used in Australia, particularly for church structures.[39] Recognising the structural and aesthetic potential of this new technology, Oribin specified glue laminated timber arches for two of his earliest buildings, the Mareeba Shire Hall and Proserpine's St Paul's Church; both were designed in 1956 and completed within 5 years, making them an early use of the technology in Queensland. St Paul's was completed first, with engineering details for both buildings provided by Cairns engineer R McLean.[40]
\nOribin designed all aspects of the church, including internal fixtures and furnishings, and his attention to detail led him to personally craft some items. Timber furniture included the baptismal font, lectern, pulpit, candle holders, stools and pews. A pair of aumbry[41] cupboard doors, depicting stylised interpretations of Saints Peter and Paul, were designed and routed by Oribin himself. Oribin also personally produced seven acid-etched copper panels, each depicting one of the sacraments, to ornament the baptismal font lid. Other copper work for the sanctuary lights, candle holders and spun copper font were designed by Oribin and produced in Sydney. His work was so valued by the Proserpine congregation that, years after the church was completed, Oribin was contacted by them to design and detail a simple noticeboard.[42]
\nThe total cost of the finished church came to £22,000.[43] It was dedicated by Bishop Shevill on 4 July 1959, coinciding with American Independence Day.[44] During the ceremony a memorial plaque was unveiled by ET Bourne, the second secretary of the US Embassy in Canberra.[45] The design of the church attracted a great deal of attention from locals and visitors, as well as the wider Anglican community. In the September 1960 edition of ‘The Northern Churchman,' the church is praised both for its beauty and iconic status: ‘The Proserpine building is judged by competent critics to be one of the most imaginative and beautiful conceptions amongst our Parish Churches in which every detail of colour and form has been true to the Canons of Liturgy and Art. It is without doubt the finest building in this town and a tribute to the parish.'[46] Local newspaper ‘The Proserpine Guardian' speculated that Proserpine ‘may be known increasingly not just as a sugar town, or even as the jumping off ground for the famed Whitsunday Islands, but as the town with THAT CHURCH.'[47]
\nWhen completed, the parabolic roof was clad in flat aluminium sheeting, folded over angled timber fillets which ran horizontally along the length of the roof. Panels of translucent corrugated fibreglass sheeting ran along the apex and in six vertical strips at the southern end.[48] By 1968, problems with leaking led to the roof sheeting being replaced with corrugated aluminium.[49] Repairs and changes have been made since and all of the original translucent sections of the parabolic roof have been replaced with opaque sheeting. Thus, internal features such as the side-lighting of the sanctuary wall and indirect light along the apex of the parabolic ceiling have been lost.
\nThe church has been damaged by cyclones over the years. In January 1970 Tropical Cyclone Ada struck, causing flooding and damage to buildings in the Proserpine area. While carpets and cork tiles were badly damaged, there was no structural damage to the church, which was used as a temporary place of shelter for affected people. In 1977 St Paul's Church was consecrated when it became debt free.[50]
\nLater additions to the church include toilets, built against the back wall of the church, and a brick columbarium wall near the entrance, both added in 1995.[51] A rectory, which stood behind the church, was sold and removed in early 2004,[52] and a recent steel building has been constructed in its place. The original timber church has also been demolished. St Paul's continues to function as the main church for the Parish of Proserpine.
\nOribin's significant contribution to Queensland architecture was recognised by the Queensland Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects in 2000, when the new ‘Building of the Year' award for the Far North Region was named in his honour.[53] In 2013, two of Oribin's other works, the first Oribin House and the Oribin Studio received the ‘Enduring Architecture Award' at the Australian Institute of Architects' Queensland Architecture Awards.[54]
","criteria":"St Paul's Anglican Church, Proserpine (1959) is important in demonstrating the evolution of church architecture in Queensland as a result of liturgical reform in the post-World War II period. Its design reflects the civic and spiritual ambitions of the Anglican community during a significant phase of constructing modern churches throughout the Diocese of North Queensland.
The church is an outstanding example of the work of Cairns architect Edwin Henry (Eddie) Oribin, who produced a range of innovative and unique buildings in north Queensland between 1953 and 1973. Oribin's contribution to Queensland architecture is recognised by the Australian Institute of Architects' establishment of the Eddie Oribin Building of the Year Award for the Far North Queensland region.
|St Paul's Anglican Church demonstrates a high degree of creative and technical achievement in Queensland for the period. A carefully crafted use of an unusual form, the parabolic arch, it was the first of Oribin's buildings to be constructed from arched glue laminated timber beams, an early use of the technology in Queensland.
|St Paul's Anglican Church is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of post-World War II church architecture, when architects experimented with a wide variety of church designs combining traditional elements, symbols and functions with new construction techniques, materials and forms. St Paul's possesses a traditional church plan expressed in a highly creative and non-traditional way.
The creativity, craftsmanship and attention to detail evident in the church's design are characteristic of the works of architect Eddie Oribin, whose buildings are remarkable for their complex geometries, unconventional roof forms, innovative use of materials and structural systems, manipulation of natural light and ventilation, and custom designed, hand-crafted furniture.
|St Paul's Anglican Church is of aesthetic significance as a distinctive building of exceptional architectural quality, with its striking composition of strong, dynamic forms, including parabolic nave, horizontal entrance canopy and tall bell tower.
The highly intact interior evokes the contemplative quality of traditional ecclesiastical volumes, elevating mind and spirit through symmetrically arranged contemporary forms, the manipulation of natural light and the skilful juxtaposition of contrasting shapes, materials, volumes and textures.
The quality of the craftsmanship of complementary purpose-designed and built furniture, fittings and objects throughout the church is exceptional.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion F | Criterion D | Criterion E","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":16514,"place_ref":601777,"name":"Suttor River Causeway, Old Bowen Downs Road","alternate_name":"St Anns Crossing","street_address":"St Anns Road","suburb":"MOUNT COOLON","lga":"WHITSUNDAY REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2008-09-18","description":"Much of the nineteenth century work on The Old Bowen Downs Road has fallen into disrepair. Remnants of the stone causeway over Percy Douglas Creek are barely discernible, but the 1876 causeway over the Suttor River at St Anns remains substantially intact.
The Suttor River Causeway, which is subject to flooding, is likely constructed of locally sourced stone. As the river is braided the causeway is in two sections, the southern section being longer and more intact than the northern. Flooding has dislodged some of the stonework, especially on the northern section. Two later concrete tyre tracks have been laid over the stone surface of the southern section, to accommodate motor vehicles. Timber posts remain on the downstream side of the crossing with an additional post on the upstream west side, possibly providing guidance during flooding. The causeway is flanked by indigenous Melaleuca sp. and Eucalyptus sp. and has an aesthetic value generated by the rustic materials and the bush setting.
","history":"Old Bowen Downs Road was established in the early 1860s as a teamster route between Port Denison (Bowen) and Bowen Downs Station near Aramac in central western Queensland. The road was in regular use until at least the late 1890s as a communication and supply line between the interior and the coast. While remnants of the road remain visible between Strathmore Station and Mount Douglas, the stone causeway built in 1876 over the Suttor River at St Anns remains largely intact as an example of early civil engineering stonework in northern Queensland.
The Kennedy district was first explored by Europeans in the mid-1840s when Ludwig Leichhardt ventured into the upper Burdekin Valley. The area was not opened for settlement until 1861 and by the end of that year pastoralists had taken up most of the runs in the region. These isolated western stations relied upon teamster routes for important communication and supply lines to the coastal centres of the Kennedy. One of these routes, which was established in the early 1860s and became known as the Bowen Downs Road, ran about 500km from Bowen through Eton Vale, Strathmore, Heidelberg, Hidden Valley (now known as Old Hidden Valley), Scartwater, St Anns and Mount Douglas, then on to Bowen Downs through Bully Creek (in 2007 known as Bulliwallah).
With a decentralized system of road administration, no local authority to facilitate road building and a constant lack of money, Queensland's early road networks were generally in poor condition. The Kennedy district was no exception. The region had been identified as a rich pastoral area and the government realised that the development and maintenance of roads in the district was essential to support the growing rural economy as settlement spread. In August 1863 Henry Taylor Plews, Engineer of Roads for the Northern Division, informed a Select Committee on the Main Roads of the Colony that with regards to most of the roads in the Northern District, "... a great many of them have not been surveyed, and are not yet marked out; and that there are continually new roads becoming necessary."
Anticipating a heavy traffic between Bowen (Port Denison) and the interior, he recommended that the existing track be surveyed and cleared, and the creek crossings made trafficable. The Select Committee concurred. Plews engaged extra staff to carry out works in the Kennedy district and in 1863 and 1864 the Queensland Legislative Assembly allocated funds for road development in the area.
By 1865 Frederick Byerley had replaced Plews as Engineer of Roads for the Northern Division; his report for the period covering 1864 to March 1865 showed that the construction of a trafficable road from Bowen to the Suttor River had been given priority and had cost about £925. Despite this injection of money into road development in the Bowen district, local residents remained dissatisfied. An 1865 memorandum to Arthur Macalister, Minister for Lands and Works, from the people of Bowen, argued that Bowen was excluded from trade with the pastoral runs of the interior, owing to the want of roads, and that government roads expenditure in the Bowen area was disproportionate to that spent in other parts of the Kennedy pastoral district. The petitioners suggest that the Bowen Downs Road should be maintained as far as Earls and from that point a new line through Conway running the course of the Rosetta Creek should be constructed. By 1868 the suggestion of a new line to Bowen Downs had been taken up and a map of the Kennedy district, published in 1868 by the government's Chief Engraver, Thomas Ham, showed the new route, named Port Denison Road, tracing along the course of Rosetta Creek.
Despite the construction of the Port Denison Road, traffic continued to use the old Bowen Downs Road and a fortnightly mail service covering some 353 miles [568 kilometres] between Bowen Downs Station and Bowen, as indicated in Pugh's Almanac of 1875, was maintained. In September 1876 the Engineer of Roads in Bowen reported that use of the Bowen Downs Road had increased, in part due to the wool trade and in part to the discovery of gold in the interior, and that this increase in traffic had warranted considerable repairs along the line. A priority was the construction of a stone bridge over the Suttor River at St Anns, which had begun earlier in 1876. The Engineer of Roads outlined how many of the stones "have turned on edge" and "present a bumpy surface to wheels", and concluded that although the work was costly, all the stones having to be blasted, "... the substantial completion of the Bridge is of urgent consequence for communication between the southern and northern goldfields."
The stone causeway at the Suttor River was an early civil engineering project undertaken by the Queensland government in North Queensland. The earliest appears to have been the stone bridge and culvert on Damper creek on the Dalrymple Gap Track [QHR 600393], which was built in the mid-1860s. From 1880, responsibility for surveying, constructing and maintaining roads passed from the Works Department to local Divisional Boards and the Department of Public Lands (as the latter still built roads on Crown Lands opened for selection) and the Queensland government did not resume a major role in building main roads until the 1920s.
In September 1896 the Survey Office issued instructions to Francis Blennerhassett to survey the Old Bowen Downs Road and mark out new camping reserves. Blennerhassett's plan, transmitted to the Surveyor General in August 1897, indicates that the road was still in use at the time and that portions were in good condition, including a 'good smooth rock crossing' over Strathmore Creek near Strathmore.
Remnants of the Old Bowen Downs road remain between Strathmore Station and Mount Douglas. A group of Bowen residents traced the road in 1964 and found several inns along the route as well as evidence of a stone crossing over Percy Douglas Creek near Mount Wyatt. Significantly, the stone bridge built over the Suttor River in 1876 was intact and was described in the 1960s as being "... flanked by a lagoon upstream, shaded by tall over-hanging ti-trees, and with shady groves on the downstream side ... On the far bank ghost gums completed a delightful scene ... The well-placed great black stones of the roadway and the neat stone-pitching of the walls were undisturbed after nearly a century of floods."
The Old Bowen Downs Road is no longer a state-controlled road and is no longer in general use. The stone causeway over the Suttor River is used mainly by local residents taking alternative routes between St Anns Station and Scartwater.
","criteria":"The Old Bowen Downs Road was established in the early 1860s as a teamster route between Port Denison (Bowen) on the coast and Bowen Downs Station inland, and continued in use until at least the late 1890s. As a vital communication and supply line between Bowen and remote western runs, development and maintenance of the Old Bowen Downs Road was crucial to the growth of the region's economy during the nineteenth century.
Remnants of the Old Bowen Downs Road are significant as evidence of the early establishment of vital road networks in rural Queensland during the second half of the nineteenth century. The 1876 stone causeway over the Suttor River remains particularly intact and is important in demonstrating engineering techniques and materials used in rural road construction in Queensland as settlement spread along the river valleys.
|The 1876 stone causeway across the Suttor River remains substantially intact and provides rare surviving evidence of road construction techniques and materials employed in Queensland at this period. It is a rare, early civil engineering project in North Queensland, built by the Queensland government prior to Divisional Boards taking responsibility for road building in 1880.
|Flanked by mature indigenous vegetation, the 1876 stone causeway across the Suttor River occupies a picturesque setting and is important for its aesthetic significance. It forms part of a landmark feature that is well known in the region and has been the subject of several publications including Pioneer Pub Crawl: Along the Old Bowen Downs Road and Bowen Downs and the Road to Bowen.
|The 1876 stone causeway across the Suttor River remains substantially intact and is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of its type. These characteristics include the use of stone for the construction and the submersible design.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion B | Criterion E | Criterion D","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":16587,"place_ref":601850,"name":"Bowen Consolidated Colliery","alternate_name":"Bowen Consolidated Coal Company Colliery | No. 1 Underground Mine","street_address":"Station Street and Second Avenue Collinsville","suburb":"COLLINSVILLE","lga":"WHITSUNDAY REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2009-12-03","description":"Bowen Consolidated Colliery is located on the edge of the township of Scottville, approximately 3.5km south-west of Collinsville, and 75km south-west of Bowen. The large, former colliery covers an area of approximately 5ha. The major structures include the headframe and gantry, Number One shaft winding house, boiler house, Number Two shaft fan house, powerhouse, bathhouse, mine office, workshop, Garrick Shaft Fan House, sawmill, detonator magazine, lamp shed, water tanks, and single men's quarters. Remains of railway and tramline formations still remain. The remains of other structures include the workshop and stores site, Number Two shaft winding engine, lime store, cement shed, ramps, early bathhouse and fitting shop. Part of the site is surrounded by a recent wire security fence including the headframe, Number One winding house, boiler house and power house. Much of the site is overgrown with grasses, trees and other vegetation.
Headframe and Gantry
The tapered steel-framed, four-legged headframe is the tallest structure on the site, sitting on foundations about 15m square in plan. The legs each comprise steel tubing formed from four, quarter cylinder sections rivetted together. The legs are connected with four levels of horizontal steel I-beams with diagonal cross bracing of rods at each level. The assembly of bracing and cross members is rivetted together. A timber platform at the top level is surrounded by a steel railing.
The remains of the lift structure are extant within the headframe. It has the appearance of an open, narrow timber-framed tower rising to the third tier of the headframe at the top of which is a timber platform surrounded by a steel railing. On at least three levels, small timber platforms with steel railings project from the side. All platforms are connected by timber ladders with an additional ladder connecting the top of the lift structure with the top of the headframe itself.
At the lowest tier, and contained within the legs of the headframe, a structure with a corrugated iron gabled roof is located on the timber platform. This structure has open sides except for a small section of wall enclosed with corrugated iron.
Extending to the north from the side of the headframe at the level of the first tier is the partially collapsed gantry. This is an open sided timber structure with a timber deck on top and some extra decking at mid height. The structure contains the remains of a weighbridge and associated weighbridge office. It also contains the remains of at least one coal chute.
A Ruston Hornsby Grantham England two-cylinder steam winding engine is situated immediately adjacent to the west of the headframe. It is mounted on a concrete slab and has two exposed gear wheels and two cable drums with steel cable extant on the larger drum.
Number One Shaft Winding House
This is located approximately 12m south-west of the headframe. The building is about 8m by 11m in plan. It is a high-set, timber-framed structure with corrugated iron walls and a corrugated iron gabled roof. A curved ridge vent runs the length of the roof. The walls extend to the ground, enclosing the under floor area. There are openings where some sheets of iron are missing from the walls.
The entrance to the building is via the north-east elevation facing the headframe. A timber stair running along the side of the building leads to a landing and the door opening. To the right of the door is a large opening through which can be seen two large cable drums with extant steel cable. The plant located within the winding house includes a two-cylinder steam winding engine (Walkers Limited No. 847 1903).
Boiler House
Six boilers are extant at the site of the former boiler house approximately 28m west of the headframe. These consist of two sets of Babcock and Wilcox water tube boilers and chain grate stokers (a set of two and a set of four). Each set comprises a rectangular enclosure made of refractory bricks standing between 3m and 4m high. Riveted, steel steam drums are seated on the tops of the enclosures. They are held in place at intervals along the structure by steel girders that run up the sides and across the top. Large square, steel-framed openings at one end of the enclosure expose the ends of the sets of water tubes that run the length of the interior of the structure. A set of tubes is missing from the larger set of boilers, leaving a cavity. Underneath these openings are the arched brick openings of the furnaces.
Immediately to the north and south of the boilers are low brick structures, approximately 1m in height. These comprise the remains of a coal bin, (north) and the condensers and brick flue associated with the boilers (south).
Number Two Shaft and Fan House
The Number Two shaft and fan house are situated approximately 50m south-west of the headframe. The fan house, immediately south of the remains of the shaft, is a multi-compartment structure.
The eastern part of the structure is constructed of concrete blocks and has a gable roof with a timber frame and corrugated iron cladding. One end is open and the other has a large square opening. Two windows along the eastern side have timber frames and are covered with corrugated iron. There is a single, similar window on the western side. There is no ceiling in this part of the structure.
The rest of the fan house adjoins the western side of the gable-roofed building. This is a flat-roofed structure made of red and brown bricks. A single door opens into a small porch that projects from the front. A short brick tower about 3m high and 3m on each side projects from the roof close to the gable-roofed section.
Power House
The power house is located approximately 10m to the west of the boilers. The tall core of the timber-framed, gabled building with corrugated iron walls and roofing is about 22m long and 9m wide. Two skillion-roofed sections are attached to part of its northern and southern elevations. A steel flue projects from the roof. The plant inside the power house includes two British Thompson Houston Rugby generators, and three Bellis and Morcom diesel engines.
Bathhouses
The extant bathhouse is located approximately 90m to the south of the headframe. It is a lowset, rendered cavity brick structure with a corrugated iron gabled roof and small, high level, rectangular windows. It consists of two wings, one about 27m long running north-east to south-west and another extending about 11m from the middle of the south-eastern elevation. Entrance is gained via a double timber door opening in the middle of the northern elevation.
The interior has a concrete floor, white rendered walls and no ceiling. It contains a large common changing room and common shower area. The entrance opens into the changing area. This area has a row of timber pegs along each wall at a height of about 2.5m. An open drain runs along the centre of the floor in the shower area; there are no cubicles. Two lengths of square section steel channelling are suspended from the roof about 2m above the floor.
The foundations of the first bathhouse, consisting of a concrete surface, are located approximately 18m north-west of the extant bathhouse. A small corrugated iron bathhouse is situated adjacent to the north of the boiler house.
Lamp shed
The lamp shed is located about 5m east of the bathhouse. It is a small, timber-framed building, about 6m square in plan, with a gabled roof. The walls are clad with ripple iron sheeting and the roof and gables are clad with corrugated iron sheeting. There are timber-framed window openings and a single timber door.
Mine Manager's Residence and Office
The mine manager's residence and office is situated approximately 125m east of the headframe. It is a single storey timber house, about 16m square in plan, raised on short stumps with a hipped roof clad in corrugated iron sheeting. The space between the stumps is in-filled with timber battens.
The main entrance is via the north-western elevation. A stair, running parallel to the elevation, rises to a timber landing covered by a corrugated iron skillion roof. A single timber door opens to the interior from the landing. The elevation consists of a front verandah that has been enclosed with sheeting. Two windows to the left of the entrance are aluminium-framed sliding windows; on the right, there are eight sets of louvres. The window hoods consist of flat metal sheeting.
The south-western elevation is clad with corrugated iron except for sections at the front and rear that are clad with flat sheeting. There are sets of louvres towards the front of the elevation and a timber-framed sash window at about the midpoint. Two sets of louvres at the very front are covered with sheeting. A section towards the rear of the elevation is recessed by about 4m; a timber-framed sash window is located at the midpoint of this section.
Workshop and Stores
The workshop and stores area is located approximately 25m east of the headframe, between the headframe and the mine office.
To the east of this area is a corrugated iron shed about 32m long and 25m wide with a steel frame and trusses, a concrete floor, and a high gabled roof. The side elevations consist of rendered brick or concrete walls to a height of about 1m, with corrugated iron cladding above this. Three corrugated iron, sliding doors, the largest in the centre, provide access through the front of the shed. There is a large square window opening above the central door and windows to the left of it, shaded by a flat metal hood. A series of steel-framed windows along the sides are each divided into 12 panels.
Adjacent to the west of the workshop are the remains of a number of structures including blacksmith's shop, carpenter's shop, points shed, brattice shed, store, a timber rack and an iron rack.
Garrick Shaft Fan House
The fan house is located approximately 115m south of the headframe. It is a partly demolished brick structure with a flat concrete roof. A brick tower, about 3m square and about 3m high, projects from the roof in the middle of the structure. Two courses of projecting bricks surround the tower a short distance from the top.
Sawmill
The sawmill is situated approximately 95m south-south-east of the headframe. It is an open timber-framed structure with a corrugated iron roof. Evidence of a tramline running from the sawmill directly towards the headframe is still visible. A small section of tramline and tram trolley remains inside the sawmill.
Railway and Tramway
Railway siding formation still exists although the tracks have been removed. The siding runs in a generally east-west direction across the site, both under and adjacent to the gantry. The remains of a separate network of tramlines through the site also remain although the track, itself, has been removed. The tramline remains connect the Number One shaft under the headframe with the workshops and stores site, boiler house, and sawmill.
Additional structures and evidence
A partly demolished detonator magazine, about 2.5m square in plan, is situated approximately 58m south-west of the extant bathhouse. A corrugated iron water tank is situated approximately 10m to the west of the Number Two Shaft Fan House. A group of three buildings designated as single men's quarters are situated approximately 30m south-east of the mine office.
Other remains on site include the entrances to the Number One and Number Two Garrick tunnels and adjacent office, the Number Two shaft winding engine mount, water tanks, lime store, cement shed, machine and coal loading ramps, boiler ash dump, brickworks and drain. Other artefacts remain in surface and subsurface deposits across the entire site.
","history":"The Bowen Consolidated Colliery (established in 1919) is a former underground mine at Scottville near Collinsville in North Queensland. The No. 1 Underground Mine at the Bowen Consolidated Colliery continued production until the end of 1962 by which time it had been superseded by the nearby fully mechanised No. 2 Underground Mine. The colliery is one of the earliest and most intact former coal mines in the Bowen Basin.
The Bowen Basin covers an area about 600km long and 250km wide extending from Collinsville in the north to south of Moura in Central Queensland. It contains about 70% of Queensland's coal. These are deposits of the Permian age and are the most important commercial deposits in the State, producing almost 100% of the State's coking coal and 60% of its thermal coal. In 2006-7, the State's top ten collieries for production were located in the Bowen Basin.
Commercial exploitation of Bowen Basin coal began at Blair Athol in the 1890s. At the time, the main coal producing area was the West Moreton coalfields. Some coal was also produced at the Burrum coalfields and on the Darling Downs. These mines supplied mostly thermal (steaming) coal to a domestic market; the Railway Department was a major customer. The success of mines depended on whether the coal was suitable for firing boilers and on their proximity to a railway line. Most early mines in the Bowen Basin struggled to remain commercially viable.
Intensive exploration of the Bowen Basin coalfield began only after the crisis in the base metals industry due to falling prices from 1907. Tests on the Bowen River Coal Company's lease in 1912 and 1913 sparked a rush to the field. Five syndicates had registered 17 leases straddling the Bowen outcrops by the end of 1915. However, the election of Queensland's first stable Labor government led in August 1915 to Cabinet refusing the private applications and reserving the 6.4 square kilometre area involved for State operations.
Competition for leases subsided into a long wait for railway construction to be completed. Construction of the 789 kilometres of railway took five years and the delay had exhausted most of the speculators long before the line opened in 1922. At the same time, by the end of 1919, a further nineteen leases had been forfeited to the State for non-payment of rent, and the surviving syndicates had amalgamated to form the Bowen Consolidated Coal Mining Company.
When the shares in the Company were released onto the market they failed to attract as much interest as had been anticipated, likely due to the rail link being some years away. So the Company only committed to a drilling programme at the time of the share release. However by the end of 1919 John McNaughton was appointed manager and work began in earnest. A site for the mine was chosen and two parallel tunnels driven into the Garrick Seam. This activity generated cash which enabled a shaft to be sunk into the Bowen Seam in 1920.
In 1921, two vertical shafts were commenced, a winding shaft 4.3m by 1.8m to a depth of 11m and an upcast shaft 3.7m by 2.1m to a depth of 109m. They were secured with a masonry collar and mounted with heavy headframe timbers set on the surface. A dam extending 53m was constructed for the mine water supply. A gantry and a permanent staging for landing skips were completed. By the end of 1921 a boiler, steam winch and saw bench with steam engine, buildings and explosives magazine were constructed.
The rail line connecting the terminus of the Government line to Bowen Consolidated was completed on 3 March 1923 and covered a distance of 4 miles 10 chains and included 75 chains of siding. The debt for the project was £31551.11.1d. Coal output for the year to 31 May 1923 was 4136 tons and a market had been located for all.
By the time the railway connection was finished in 1923, 26 miners and a similar number of surface men were at work at the Bowen Consolidated Coal Mine and output was averaging 35 tons of coal per day. Twin tramways were laid down the tunnels and serviced by a stationary steam hauling engine, a compressed air water pump was installed at the foot of the tunnel and the ventilation was improved by sinking a vertical shaft to an extension of one of the cross-cuts and equipping it with a double-inlet sirocco-type fan. Screens were installed on the loading gantry and the Cornish boilers supplied steam to the whole mine. An office building and bath-house were erected and by 1925 the main tunnel in the Garrick seam was 480m long and under 60m of cover. Coal output was 120 tons per day.
The steel headframe, 24m in height and with twin pulleys 3m in diameter, was purchased second-hand in Charters Towers as was the horizontal twin-cylinder winding engine built by Walkers Limited of Maryborough. The headframe and winding engine were installed on site in c1925.
Extant examples of this type of headframe are now uncommon. This type of headframe, where the weight is evenly balanced on all four legs is an old pattern that was superseded by the American A-frame construction in the interwar period. Only two other examples of this type of headframe are known to exist. These are at the Vulcan tin mine in the Mareeba mining district [QHR 600681] and the Dobbyn copper mine in the Mount Isa mining district. Both are three tier headframes; the headframe at the Bowen Consolidated Mine has four tiers.
By 1926, when production in the tunnels of the Garrick seam was halted by a fault, a ventilation shaft had been completed to the Bowen seam, and a brace had been constructed and connected to the loading gantry ready for switching to the better coal.
Bowen Consolidated Coal Mines Limited developed its own township 4km from Collinsville and the State Colliery and named it Scotsdale as a tribute to two of the directors of the old Bowen Coal and Coke Company Limited, Adam Hall Scott and John Dinsdale, but the name was changed to Scottville after objections from the postal department. Scottville grew at a slower pace than Collinsville because the mine which supported it was smaller and lacked government funding. Most of the dwellings were constructed from galvanised iron with the manager's house being the only substantial structure for many years. Only 17 miners' homestead perpetual leases had been taken up by the end of 1925 despite the fact that the population was approaching 300. The nearby town of Collinsville at this time had a population of around 800 and comprised a school, shops, police station, hotel, picture theatre, dance hall, bowling green and the early construction of a hospital.
In 1927 Bowen Consolidated Colliery employed 54 men and had seven horses working with the underground teams. By this time the underground section of the mine had electric lighting as did all surface buildings and a new Ingersoll Rand Compressor, to work the dip pump and the jack hammer machines, had been purchased to replace the old second-hand one.
A battery of new Babcock and Wilcox boilers was installed at Bowen Consolidated Colliery in 1929. The coal was railed to Bowen and after 1930 turned into coke for use in the Mount Isa Mine copper smelters. In 1930, a steam winch with coupled cylinders was in process of being installed underground for main and tail haulage. Two Babcock and Wilcox boilers and a new chimney of 24.7 metres in height with a diameter of 1.3 metres were also erected in that year. At this time both Scottville and Collinsville (servicing the State Coal Mine a few kilometres away) were 'thriving centres of population'.
Through the 1930s and 1940s the mine continued to be productive and by 1943 the entire output from the mine was being supplied to the railways. In 1946 two additional Babcock & Wilcox boilers were installed with a shed erected over them. The 1947 Bowen Harbour Board Annual Report noted that an 'electric generating set' was installed during that year; this may have been the extant power house.
By 1956 Bowen Consolidated Coal Mines Ltd was a subsidiary of Mount Isa Mines Ltd (MIM). Plans were made to sink a new shaft at the mine in order to meet expansion demands. Aerial photography was to be used to accurately map the area. Profit for the mine rose from £ 26,490 in 1955 to £103,667 in 1956.
In 1962, Bowen Consolidated Coal Mines made a new entry into the Bowen seam which would be known as Bowen Consolidated Coal No. 2 Mine. Production in the fully mechanised No. 2 mine commenced in September of that year (Bowen Independent 1962).The No. 1 Underground Mine at Bowen Consolidated Colliery continued production until late 1962.
By this time, commercial exploitation of coking coal in the Bowen Basin for the export market was commencing on a massive scale to supply the booming Japanese steel industry. International consortiums and mining companies introduced open cut mining methods using huge mining plant including some of the biggest draglines in the world. This revolutionised mining techniques in Queensland; small scale underground mines were largely superseded and the nature of coal mining in Queensland was completely transformed.
By 1980 MIM's subsidiary, Collinsville Coal Company had absorbed Bowen Consolidated Coal Mines Ltd. Part of the disused complex was fenced off by the 1980s.
The former colliery is probably the most intact of its era and type in Queensland. It is one of only two relatively intact former mines known to be extant from the first phase of coalmining in the Bowen Basin. The other is the Dawson Valley Colliery (former) [QHR 602723]. The Bowen colliery is recognised in the industry for its historical importance and by an industry expert, Professor Ray Whitmore, as containing 'the finest relics of coal mining in the 1920s anywhere in Queensland'.
","criteria":"The Bowen Consolidated Colliery is one of only two relatively intact former mines known to be extant from the first phase of coalmining in the Bowen Basin. The other is the Dawson Valley Colliery (former) [QHR 602723]. The Bowen colliery is uncommon for its relatively high level of intactness and as a collection of 1920s coal mining technology.
The headframe at the Bowen Consolidated Colliery is important as an uncommon example of its type. This type of headframe, where the weight is evenly balanced on all four legs is an old pattern that was superseded by the American A-frame construction in the interwar period.
|The Bowen Consolidated Colliery has the potential to reveal information through archaeological techniques on important aspects of Queensland's history, including early underground coal mining, the evolving technology in the coal mining industry in Queensland, the working conditions of the mine workers, and the organisation of labour.
The Colliery complex has the potential to answer a range of other archaeological research questions including but not limited to the creation, selection, use and rejection of coal mining technologies, the ethnic and industrial background of mine workers and its influence on operations and organisation, and the impact of technologies and industries on the environment.
|Bowen Consolidated Colliery is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of an early 20th century colliery. Most of the above ground structures associated with the mine remain extant and many are highly intact. Extant structures include: headframe and gantry, winding house and plant, boilers, fan houses, power house and plant, bathhouse, mine manager's residence and office, workshop, sawmill and other ancillary structures.
|As one of Queensland's most intact former coal mines of its type and era, Bowen Consolidated Colliery (1919) is important in demonstrating the evolution of Queensland's coal mining history. As one of the first successful mines in the Bowen Basin, it provides important evidence of the beginning of commercial coal mining in the State's largest and most productive coal field.
The mine is also important in demonstrating the development of coal mining techniques in Queensland. It is typical, in scale and type, of mines prior to the late 1950s. Underground mines like the Bowen Consolidated Colliery became less common during the 1960s following the introduction of large-scale open cut methods.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion B | Criterion C | Criterion D | Criterion A","criteria_definitions":"The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage | The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":29178,"place_ref":602730,"name":"Collinsville Cemetery","alternate_name":"Coinsvile Scotville Cemetery","street_address":"Collinsville-Scottville Road","suburb":"COLLINSVILLE","lga":"WHITSUNDAY REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2009-09-18","description":"The Collinsville Cemetery is accessed via a long lane from Collinsville-Scottville Road between the townships of Collinsville and Scottville. It contains a headstone section, a lawn section and a columbarium. There is a small shelter in the grounds.
The lawn section of the cemetery contains a series of inclined concrete strips. These bear plaques showing the details of the deceased. Flowers and other ornaments are placed on the concrete strips close to the plaques. A line of foxtail palms (Wodyetia bifurcate) are planted along the western side of this section.
The columbarium is located in the lawn section. This is a brick wall containing a series of cavities some of which contain urns. Three rows of cavities in the middle of the wall are larger than the two rows above and three rows beneath. White concrete coping on top of the wall projects some distance from the sides and ends.
The shelter shed is located immediately opposite the front gate in the headstone section of the cemetery. This structure has a gable roof supported on one side by a wall constructed of concrete blocks and on the other side by two wooden posts. There is a wooden bench against the inside of the wall. The shelter is shaded by a mid-sized native tree.
There is a range of monuments within the cemetery including headstones, sarcophagi, obelisks, altars and columns. They are constructed in a variety of styles and materials and feature a wide range of inscriptions. The headstones are made of materials including marble, granite, concrete and terrazzo, and vary from simple rounded or pointed tablets to elaborate memorials ornamented with angels, bibles, and crosses.
The miners killed in the 1954 accident are buried in two rows of graves, five in one row and two in the other. From left to right, the graves are of Alexander Parkinson, Peter S Miller, James Reid Logan, Herbert Bernard Ruff and Arthur Henry Shrubsole. In the second row the graves are of Frederick Ernest Walker and H. Peterson.
Parkinson's grave plot is covered with a low concrete plinth topped with pale blue ceramic tiles. It has a plain, concrete headstone bearing a dark coloured plaque with white lettering.
Miller's grave plot is covered with a low, stepped concrete plinth with a patterned top. It has a plain, concrete headstone. The inscription is in silver metal lettering on a marble tablet. There are small concrete urns on either side of the headstone holding artificial flowers.
Logan's plot is surrounded by a low concrete grave curb. The headstone comprises a central section with a curved top flanked by two pilasters. A dark coloured terrazzo tablet fixed to the front bears the inscription in white lettering.
Ruff's plot is covered by a low concrete plinth. It is topped with small, mid-blue, ceramic tiles; a white tiled cross is located to the right near the head. The inscription, in black lettering, is on an inclined, heart-shaped light coloured tablet. Small concrete urns are located at the two corners of the head of the grave.
Shrubsole's plot is surrounded by a low concrete grave curb. The headstone is light coloured terrazzo with the inscription in black lettering on a square inset section.
Walker is buried in a double plot; both plots are covered with a single unpainted concrete plinth. The headstone comprises a terrazzo bevel marker. It has an embossed bronze plaque with exposed bronze lettering against a black background.
Peterson's plot is surrounded by a low concrete grave curb. The headstone is concrete with a tablet shaped like an open book; the inscription is in black lettering on the left page.
Three pencil pines (Cupressus sempervirens) flank a short track that leads from the front gate to the shelter shed. The wide vehicular and narrower pedestrian gates are located next to each other and are flanked by wooden posts. The cemetery is surrounded by a chain-wire fence and is set in the midst of bushland.
","history":"
The Collinsville Cemetery was gazetted in 1927, to serve the mining townships of Collinsville and the smaller Scottville. It was the second cemetery in Collinsville. The first proved unsuitable because of the hardness of the soil. Buried within the Collinsville Cemetery are the seven miners killed in the major accident at Collinsville State Mine on 13 October 1954.
The town of Collinsville was originally named Moongunya; a name that is said to be an Aboriginal word meaning 'coal'. This name was given to the town by the Railway Department when Moongunya was comprised of bag humpies, bark huts, corrugated-iron shacks and canvas tents. In 1918 the site for the Collinsville State Mine site was chosen and in March 1919 the mine began operations. As the Queensland State Government decided that the town would service the State Coal Mine and that it would be a model of a good contemporary township it was renamed Collinsville in 1921 for the MLA of Bowen, Charles Collins who represented Bowen from 1915 until his death in 1936.
By building a model township it was the Government's intention to eliminate the huts, tents, humpies and shacks from the townscape. The government subsequently commissioned the Town Planning Association to advise on the layout of the town. The administration of the town became the responsibility of the Department of Mines.
By 1922 almost 100 lots had been sold and Collinsville comprised 20 miners' houses, a store, police station, butcher shop and a school. By 1925 the town boasted a population of approximately 800 and had a licensed hotel, picture show, dance hall, bowling-green, a number of shops and a hospital under construction. Two large tanks provided the town with water, with electricity being generated by the mine. The rents paid by the miners covered all their water, electricity and insurance needs.
A cemetery was established to the north of Collinsville but being situated on very hard ground explosives had to be used to excavate each of the gravesites. In 1925, because of the difficulties in excavating gravesites, The Bowen Independent advocated that the current cemetery be abandoned and a new cemetery be identified and gazetted 'that will not necessitate a person qualifying to becoming a corpse giving two days notice of demise'.
In late 1925, at the request of the shire council, a public meeting was called by the Collinsville Australian Labour Party for the purpose of appointing trustees for the Collinsville Cemetery. Trustees appointed included Messrs. D. Malcolm, G. Ogg and C. Hearn, all of Collinsville, and Messrs J. Nolan, J. Duncan and R. Natrass, who would represent Scottville.
The Collinsville Cemetery was gazetted on 3 March 1927. It comprised 20 acres (about 8 ha) between the sanitary reserve and Corduroy Creek. The earliest grave in the cemetery is that of Agnes Ramage who died on 11 September 1927, aged 33 years.
The Collinsville Cemetery is also the burial place of the seven miners killed in the Number One Tunnel of the Collinsville State Coal Mine at 5.50pm on Wednesday 13 October 1954. At the time, about 40 miners were working underground. The cause of disaster was attributed to a gas outburst in which the carbon dioxide gas said to be almost pure at 98 percent filled the mine shaft and the miners asphyxiated.
Two other men were badly affected by the gas and subsequently hospitalised. These miners were Robert Munro and J.A. Baker. Mining personnel and the local Collinsville District Hospital Superintendent, Dr M.J. McEniery rallied together to rescue those still alive and to recover the bodies of those killed in the disaster. By 11pm on the night of the disaster the bodies of the miners killed had been recovered.
News of the disaster prompted widespread expressions of sympathy. Messages were received from miners across the country, many of whom held work stoppages, including miners at the two state-owned mines of Mount Mulligan and Styx Number Three, to allow them to honour their colleagues killed in the disaster. A total of 38 officials representing various unions signed a Queensland Trades and Labour Council telegram of sympathy and the Red Flag was flown at half mast at the Brisbane Trades Hall. Condolence messages were also received from waterside workers, seamen, meatworkers, building and railway workers, the Australian Workers Union, the State Parliamentary Labour Party, the Communist Party, the Eureka Youth League, the Union of Australian Women and the Royal Australian Air Force at Townsville.
The funeral for the seven miners was held on Thursday 14 October 1954 in Collinsville. The funeral service was held in ANZAC Hall and was conducted by Mr E. Finch, a local storekeeper who read the sermon every Sunday at the church. He was assisted by the Reverend A. Angel, a Methodist Minister from Bowen. The service was held at 4pm and the funeral procession set off for the cemetery at 4.30pm. The cortege was led by a procession of miners as was the traditional mining custom, with the wives and children of the deceased miners following in cars. About 2000 people attended and took part in the 2.4km procession to the Collinsville Cemetery.
At the funeral there was a large representation of union officials which included the Miners' Federation general president Idris William and Queensland officials Tom Miller, Pat Conway and Jack Pocock. The Waterside Workers Federation national industrial officer Norm Docker attended as did numerous representatives of other unions.
Following the disaster, mineworkers from far and wide contributed to a fund to help the bereaved families and the Brisbane Telegraph set up a fund to receive contributions from the general public.
The disaster had come after a protracted dispute between the miners and the state government. In 1951 the state government had appointed Athol Lightfoot as general manager of State Coal Mines and Coke Works. Lightfoot subsequently targeted the Collinsville State Mine for mechanisation with his plan to mechanise Tunnel Number One despite opposition from the miners because of its steep grades and constant leakage of carbon dioxide. However, mechanisation of Tunnel Number One went ahead despite the mining union having recommended that if mechanisation were to occur it should be implemented in Tunnel Number Two. The union had also requested that the government allow Miners' Federation NSW Northern District's check inspector Jack Barrett, with his considerable experience in underground mines both in New South Wales and internationally, to make an inspection of the Collinsville State Mine. The Government refused the request. However, in the month before the disaster Lightfoot, who had planned and implemented the mechanisation, resigned from his position as general manager of State Coal Mines and Coke Works.
Initially, following the disaster, the Gair Government agreed to hold a Mining Warden's Inquiry in which miners would be able to give evidence. An initial sitting of the Mining Warden's Inquiry was held on the 15 November 1954 with an adjournment to 22 November 1954. But the Gair Government then scrapped the inquiry after hastily putting through parliament a Bill which prevented any further proceedings.
The government then decided to hold a Royal Commission after initially refusing the Miners' Union request for such a commission. This turnaround caused the unions to suspect the government had an ulterior motive and a 24 hour stoppage was held at Collinsville and 30 other mines.
The mining union then requested that a union representative be included on the Royal Commission but this was refused. On 2 December 1954 the Royal Commission was set up. Its members were Judge Sheedy, Walter Scott and Septimus Flowers with Solicitor-General W.E. Ryan being appointed to assist. The first session of the Commission was held 7 December 1954 and continued into 1955 with 13 days of hearing in Bowen and 66 days in Brisbane.
The report of the Collinsville Royal Commission was delivered in early 1956. The findings were that:
'The actions of the Minister for Mines throughout were wise and correct. There are no grounds for criticism against the Government, any Minister for mines, the Department of Mines or any officers who played any part in the procedures and decisions to mechanise the mine'.
Reaction by the unions to the findings of the Commission were that the Commission was 'falling over backwards to whitewash the Government for its obvious responsibility for the conditions that developed at Collinsville'.
The Collinsville State Mine continued to operate until May 1961 at which time the Nicklin Country Liberal Party Government closed it.
Over the years that the Collinsville State Mine and the Bowen Consolidated Colliery were in operation, from the early 1920s to the early 1960s, a total of 24 miners (including the seven miners killed in the disaster of 1954) have been fatally injured working. Four miners were killed at the Bowen Consolidated Colliery while the remaining 20 were killed at the Bowen/Collinsville State Mine. Many of the miners killed in the mines are buried in the Collinsville Cemetery.
Mining disasters such as the 1954 accident at Collinsville usually led to improvements in mine safety. The Mount Mulligan accident (1921), resulting in the deaths of 75 men and boys, led to the introduction of the Coal Mining Act (1925) which included at least seven new safety provisions. Similarly, the Collinsville accident led to the addition of new safety provisions in the Act. These required Mine Deputies to undertake statutory examinations and to carry flame safety lamps and gas detectors during inspections. Subsequent disasters have led to additional legislative changes.
To commemorate the lives lost in the 1954 disaster the Collinsville and Scottville communities hold a memorial service each year on October 13. In 2004 the 50th anniversary commemorations were held in Collinsville with the families and friends of all seven miners killed in attendance. The commemorations were held at the Collinsville Coal Face Experience in the United Mineworkers' Club. The Coal Face Experience pays tribute to all who worked in the mines 'in particular memorialising the seven who died' in 1954.
The victims of the Collinsville tragedy continue to be remembered by the state's coal miners together with those of the Mount Mulligan disaster, the Box Flat explosion (1972) and the three major accidents at Moura (1975, 1986 and 1994). The Collinsville accident is often referred to at memorial events held by the industry including the inaugural Miners Memorial Day held in Brisbane on 19 September 2008.
","criteria":"As the burial place of the seven miners killed in one of the state's worst mining accidents, the cemetery has an association for mining industry workers throughout the state with all miners who have lost their lives at work. Together with other major mining accidents, the Collinsville accident is frequently mentioned in memorial ceremonies commemorating accidental deaths in the industry.
|As the burial place of at least 23 miners killed between 1928 and 1954 at Bowen Consolidated Colliery and at the Collinsville (Bowen) State Mine, the cemetery provides tangible evidence of the dangers of underground coal mining in the first part of the 20th century and so demonstrates an important aspect of Queensland's mining history.
The cemetery contains the graves of the seven men killed in the October 1954 accident at Collinsville State Mine, Queensland's worst mining disaster for over 30 years. As such it is closely associated with an event that brought the issue of mine safety to public attention throughout the state and prompted legislated changes to mine safety practises.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion G | Criterion A","criteria_definitions":"The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons | The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":29194,"place_ref":602683,"name":"Strathmore Homestead","alternate_name":"Strathmore Station","street_address":"Strathmore Road","suburb":"SPRINGLANDS","lga":"WHITSUNDAY REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2008-11-13","description":"Strathmore Homestead is located on a 41,000 hectare land lease on Strathmore Road at Springlands, about 27 kilometres by road north-west of Collinsville. The complex, situated to the north of Strathmore Road, comprises a homestead, laundry, slab hut (used to accommodate the kitchen and dining room for station personnel), office, stables, meat houses, swimming pool complex, various cottages, homestead gardens, sheds, former school, former zoo, weir and private cemetery.
Main residence
The main Strathmore residence is situated on a rocky rise adjacent to and south of Crush Creek. It is a large house of single-skin exposed timber-framed construction with wide verandahs on three sides and is elevated above its sloping site on a combination of timber stumps and steel posts. Attached on its western elevation is a hip-roofed, single-skin timber cottage, which houses the kitchen and utility rooms.
The large hipped corrugated galvanised iron roof is a feature of the homestead. It has ogee guttering and acroteria and is encircled by a veranda roof with quad guttering and acroteria. The ridge is defined by finials and diagonally battened, louvred gablets. At the southern end of the house, transverse roof vents with louvred projecting gables are decorated with finials and cresting. The gable on the southern elevation over the entrance contains a louvred vent.
The main entrance to the homestead is off the avenue lined with phoenix palms (Phoenix canariensis) and is accessed via a set of concrete stairs with decorative pillars to the timber stairway with handrail, and a trellis with trailing vines straddling the stairs. Additional entrances are located on the east and west sides.
A verandah encircles three sides of the building and is enclosed with matchstick timber blinds, some of which are fixed to the verandah framework externally with vertical battens. Ripple iron awnings provide weather protection to the eastern side of the building and rear northern verandah which is very wide and has parquetry flooring. French doors with fanlights lead from the veranda into the rooms of the homestead. The west section has been utilised for bathroom facilities and entry to the kitchen and utility section.
The main entrance comprises a four-panelled clear-finished timber door with fanlight and sidelights. All glazing panels including the arched panels in the sidelights and pairs of arched panels in the door are decorated with leadlight in an Art Nouveau inspired pattern. The entrance opens onto the central hallway which provides access to the living room, dining room and several bedrooms.
The walls and ceilings are lined with tongue and groove boards and the hallway ceiling has a small fretwork rose in its centre. Picture rails can be found in each of the rooms and a brick fireplace in the living room is encased in fibrous cement sheeting with cover battens.
Kitchen and utility section wing
The attached cottage housing the kitchen and several utility rooms is highset on a combination of timber stumps and steel posts. It is a single-skin timber-framed building with exposed studs and has a hipped roofline clad in corrugated galvanised iron with quad guttering. Windows are three-paned casements with metal window hoods along the southern and northern elevations and French doors leading off the verandah on its western elevation. Toilets and storage areas lined with ripple iron are located under the building.
Laundry and toilet block
The laundry and toilet block is a small timber framed building clad with fibrous cement sheeting with a corrugated-iron gabled roof with no guttering located to the north-west of the homestead. It is a timber-framed building clad with fibrous cement. A concrete path leads from the homestead to the laundry.
Office (former schoolhouse)
The building currently used as Strathmore's office and storage area was formerly the schoolhouse. The office is in the room at the east end of the verandah. The building is low-set with exposed studs along its frontage which is covered by a verandah, chamferboards lining its sides and ripple iron at the rear. It has a hipped roof of corrugated galvanised iron with guttering. There are two sets of casement windows and several rooms are entered from the veranda. Each of the rooms is fully lined with vertical jointed tongue and groove boarding.
The rear section houses several rooms and is timber-framed with a combination of timber and ripple-iron cladding. The windows comprise sashes of nine panes.
The office houses the records of the workings of Strathmore from about 1903 onwards and a wide range of memorabilia in the form of photographs, awards, maps and books relating to Strathmore, and in particular to the Cunningham family.
Additions to the building include a small skillion-roofed extension at ground level adjacent to the verandah on the west with a small built-in room, formerly the school office when the school was conducted on the property, on the east end of the verandah.
Slab hut and additions
Purported to be the oldest building on the property, the slab hut (with later additions) is situated west of the main homestead. The hut is lowset on timber stumps and has a steep, gabled, corrugated galvanised iron roof with no guttering. Its external walls comprise vertical timber slabs with battens covering the joints and horizontal boarding forming the gable ends. A small louvred ventilator is located in each gable. A timber-framed verandah with corrugated galvanised iron roof is attached along one side of the building and an addition attached along the opposite side. The addition is timber framed with chamferboard cladding on a suspended concrete slab on a concrete block base and a skillion roof of corrugated galvanised-iron. Windows comprise casements with eight pane sashes, casements with three pane sashes and louvres. The central section of the back wall is screened and has a screen door opening to the dining section.
The internal walls of the hut are formed with horizontal slabs and each of the small rooms opens onto the verandah and into the addition at the rear. A central hall leads from the verandah to the addition that is accessed by a small set of timber stairs. The building accommodates staff sleeping quarters and storage in the slab hut section. The addition houses the dining room and kitchen.
Staff quarters (former school teacher's residence)
The former school teacher's residence is situated east of the office and west of the garage. It is a small timber-framed building set on concrete flooring. It has a hipped bungalow roofline clad in corrugated galvanised iron. The core of the cottage is single skin with exposed studding lined with vertical jointed tongue and groove boarding, the ceiling dropped with battens. The cottage has casement windows with decorative window hoods and glazed and metal louvres.
The lean-to housing the current kitchen is clad with chamferboards and has concrete flooring and a skillion roof of corrugated galvanised iron. A small concreted verandah fronts the building with the eastern end enclosed with two rows of concrete blocks, above which there is ripple iron.
The residence is used (in 2007) as staff quarters. It has a wide range of memorabilia relating to the Cunningham family, especially trophies won by their Poll Devon cattle when shown at various events.
Staff quarters
Immediately to the south of the main entrance to the homestead complex is the former head stockman's residence, which is currently used to house contractors. This building was not available for an internal inspection.
The building is timber-framed, primarily clad with chamferboards, and is elevated on concrete stumps with timber batten infill panels. Timber stairs with no handrails are located at front and rear. The building has a corrugated, galvanised-iron, hipped roofline that extends across the front and rear verandahs. The verandah is partially enclosed with shutters and open areas are shaded by timber blinds and awnings of flat metal sheeting. The west end of the rear verandah is built-in with chamferboards along its side and fibrous-cement sheeting on the rear. The house has casement windows and a brick chimney.
Meathouses
Several meathouses remain within the Strathmore Homestead complex. Two are not in use. A third was adapted for use as a museum but is currently used for storage. Each of the meathouses has a pyramidal roof of corrugated galvanised iron and none have guttering. The meathouse used for storage has partial walls of corrugated galvanised iron with boarded infill above. Its ceiling is lined with fibrous cement sheeting and cover battens. Shelving remains in place from its days as a museum. This meathouse is situated close to the homestead.
The two other meathouses are south-west of the homestead and are located adjacent to one another on different levels. Both are of timber frame and slab construction. The low-set meathouse has vertical timber slabs with wire netting infill above, while the high-set meat house is of drop-slab construction. Numerous artefacts from the days when the meathouses were in constant use remain within the two buildings, including chopping blocks, hooks for hanging meat, and wooden draining tables. Some of the cracks between the slabs have had flat iron sheeting fixed over to prevent the meat becoming fly-blown.
Cottages
A cottage situated north-west of the slab hut is a simple timber-framed building clad in painted corrugated galvanised iron set on low timber stumps. Paving from local stone off Strathmore provides flooring adjacent to the stairs leading to the front of the cottage. The broken-back roof is clad in corrugated galvanised iron and is steeply pitched across the main section of the cottage. Internally the cottage is lined with fibrous-cement sheeting and cover battens. The cottage contains several rooms with louvred windows, both glass and metal. Stairs lead down to the rear area, which has concrete flooring. A small timber and wire netting fence surrounds the cottage.
Another cottage is east of the slab hut. It is a timber-framed building set on rough bush timber stumps. The core of the cottage is single-skin with exposed studs and has a hipped roofline with guttering. Some of the interior walls are lined with wide v-jointed tongue and groove boarding and the ceiling is lined with fibrous cement sheeting with cover battens. Additions to the core of the cottage are of timber framing clad with fibrous cement sheeting to the front, and fibrous cement sheeting and ripple iron to the rear and louvred windows. Elevated on steel posts the building has a partially enclosed patio on the east side with timber and steel framing set on concrete flooring. The west side has been sheeted with ripple iron.
A third cottage is next to the stables, south-east of the homestead. It is a low timber-framed building with a hipped roof and a projecting end hip clad in corrugated galvanised iron with guttering. The building is lined in chamferboards and has casement windows. No internal inspection was undertaken.
Station oven
A disused brick oven is near the two disused meathouses. Set on a concrete slab, the oven is constructed entirely of orange coloured bricks with a chimney on its south-east corner. Stabilisation work has included bars affixed to the oven's length and cement above the oven doorway.
Station sheds and outbuildings
The mechanic's shed is a timber-framed, corrugated-iron clad shed west of the main residence. It has a gable roof, no guttering and an earthen floor. Outside the shed is a hand-pump petrol bowser that is no longer in use.
Other sheds and utility buildings scattered throughout the site serve a variety of purposes. The majority are of timber-framed construction with gabled rooflines clad in corrugated iron, while others are of obviously recent construction built of concrete block with roller doors. Not all the sheds are fully enclosed, dependent on the purpose for which they are being used.
Garage
The garage between the former school teacher's residence and the zoo is a timber-framed, corrugated galvanised-iron clad structure with a pyramidal roof. It has concrete flooring and the north elevation opens outwards to provide vehicular access.
Cattle yards
Strathmore has an extensive network of cattle yards constructed of rough bush timber that are west of the buildings within the homestead complex. Recently part of the yards were dismantled and relocated to the central business district of Bowen for inclusion in the movie set for the film 'Australia'.
Stables
The stables and their accompanying yards are south-west of the main residence and adjacent to Strathmore Road. Corrugated galvanised iron sheeting and vertical boarding clad the rough bush-timber framing of the stables. The yards and gates are also of rough bush timber; all are painted in the traditional white of Strathmore. These stables and yards once housed the racehorses and Poll Devon cattle for which Strathmore was renowned.
Swimming pool
The swimming pool is located east of the main residence and overlooks the creek from the high bank along its southern side. It is of concrete construction with a set of stairs in the north-west corner at its deep end. A concrete platform reached by a set of stairs is enclosed on three sides at the northern end by a wall comprising concrete posts and balustrade and pipe railing. Another concrete platform is located at the southern end adjacent to a steel framed shade structure with metal roof in the south-east corner. The pool is currently disused.
Strathmore private zoo
The zoo has a variety of enclosures. The enclosures are primarily constructed of metal posts and chain-wire mesh. Some of the enclosures are topped with barbed wire, others completely enclosed with wire mesh, while others have roofs of corrugated iron, depending on the inhabitant. Each of the enclosures has concrete flooring, some with ponds set into the floor others with small pools on top of the flooring. A number of the enclosures retain signage. The crocodile enclosure is away from the rest of the zoo and is adjacent to the swimming pool. Animals known to have been housed in Strathmore private zoo include buffalo, deer, monkeys, a camel, numerous bird species and a crocodile.
Weir
A small concrete weir extends across Crush Creek to the north-east of the swimming pool.
Cunningham family cemetery
The Strathmore family cemetery is on the southern bank of Crush Creek several hundred metres east of Strathmore Homestead. It has three marked graves all of which are of members of the Cunningham family over three generations.
Grave 1
The grave of Margaret Cunningham has a cambered concrete headstone set between two fluted pillars with a tablet of black granite with white lettering set between the pillars. The grave has kerbing and is completely concreted over. The inscription reads:
'Sacred to the memory of Margaret Anne Cunningham Born 10th March 1945 Died 21st April 1945'.
Grave 2
This grave is that of Edward Cunningham and has a black granite headstone set on a concrete plinth. This headstone has two figures either side of the inscription, one is of a horse the other is of a bull, with both figures in black on a white background. The headstone is inscribed in gold lettering and reads: 'In Loving Memory of Edward Cunningham 2-12-1914 - 21-12-1993 Don't fence me in'.
Grave 3
The grave of Wyatt Cunningham has a Gothic style headstone of black granite on a concrete plinth with the inscription in white lettering. The grave is surrounded by a white decorative metal fence on a concrete base. The inscription reads: 'In Loving Memory Of Wyatt Cunningham 19-11-1995 ~ 20-2-1999 Golden slumbers kiss your eyes, Smiles await you when you rise. Sleep my brave boy, do not cry And I will sing a lullaby. Thomas Dekker'.
","history":"Strathmore Homestead is located on the north side of Strathmore Road at Springlands, about 27km by road north-west of Collinsville.
First established in the early 1860s Strathmore Homestead has evolved to comprise a large number of buildings, structures and yards constructed from possibly the earliest establishment of the site through the nineteenth century to the latter part of the twentieth century. Structures include a slab hut (currently used to accommodate the kitchen and dining room for station personnel), main homestead, laundry, office, stables, meathouses, swimming pool complex, various cottages, homestead gardens, former school, former zoo, sheds, weir and a private cemetery.
Strathmore was leased in 1862 by PF Selheim who was connected in partnership with CW Touissant until September 1865 when new lease claimants were William Tucker and William Duncan Stewart. Tucker was still at Strathmore in 1870. In 1872 Leopold De Salis leased Strathbogie which was to form part of what was consolidated into Strathmore in 1885. De Salis had leased Strathmore by 1875 in partnership with A Macdonald. This began a business partnership that was to continue until 1890 when the Union Bank acquired the lease. De Salis was a pastoralist and politician and began acquiring properties in New South Wales in the mid-1840s.
In 1885 De Salis petitioned to consolidate a number of runs into Strathmore. However the consolidation did not occur until 1890 when De Salis, with his brother Henry, re-applied for a consolidation. In July 1890 the Strathmore runs included Strathmore, East Downs, Binjee, Mullar, Dirrill, Tullick, Glenking, West Downs, Mount Wickham, Harvest Home, Boundary, Strathbogie and Wengeur. These were divided between the settled and unsettled districts within the North Kennedy Pastoral District.
By October of the same year the De Salis brothers and Henry Fane De Salis transferred the Strathmore brand to the Union Bank of Australia. With debts of over £100 000, Leopold De Salis returned to New South Wales and was declared insolvent in 1898. The Union Bank held the lease to Strathmore for a number of years with managers on the property.
The year 1902 saw the beginning of a partnership between William Oswald Gilchrist, William Holden Watt with Arthur Henry Wickham Cunningham. This partnership was the beginning of an association of the Cunningham family with Strathmore that exists to the present day. William Oswald Gilchrist was the eldest son of John Gilchrist, a Scottish merchant, and his wife Isabella née Wilson. William Holden Watt was the son of Ernest Alexander Watt and his wife, Mary Jane née Holden.
Gilchrist followed his father, John Gilchrist, in the family firm of Gilchrist Watt and Sanderson Ltd. The firm tended not to invest directly in land but rather in advancing money to graziers, who in turn, bought their stores and had wool shipped through the firm. William Watt's father, Ernest, was a director of Gilchrist Watt and Sanderson Ltd. Ernest Watt did have an interest in the acquisition of pastoral properties and, besides Strathmore, his other cattle stations in Queensland included Glenprairie, outside of Rockhampton.
The Cunningham family is one of the oldest pastoral families in North Queensland. In April 1861 Edward Cunningham, father of AHW Cunningham, left Port Denison with four other men to explore the country west of Bowen in search of good pastoral runs. Cunningham took up Burdekin Downs, an area of 140,000 acres [56 656 hectares]. He did not reside on the property, living at Woodhouse Station, outside Ayr, until his death in 1898. AHW Cunningham was born in June 1879 and spent most of his life in North Queensland. At the age of 19, following his father's death, he took over the management of Woodhouse for Gilchrist Watt and Cunningham.
In 1902, following a devastating season for Woodhouse when 85 percent of the herd was lost, AHW Cunningham set about acquiring new land for re-stocking purposes. On his recommendation Gilchrist Watt and Cunningham purchased the lease for Strathmore Station at a cost of £50,000. Cunningham took up residence on Strathmore where the family has remained since.
A list of improvements dated 1906 values the main house at £1,000. One secondary source states that the homestead was constructed in 1903. This date is possible as the architectural style, including its ornamentation along the roof ridge, timber louvred gablets decorated with diagonal battens and the gabled pediment detailing on the south elevation marking the front entrance, indicate a late-nineteenth to early-twentieth century construction date. The year 1903 is also the year after the start of the Gilchrist, Watt and Cunningham partnership and the construction of a suitable residence may have been a priority for AHW Cunningham. Cunningham married Nellie Maud Wharton in May 1910 and the marriage produced four children: a daughter and three sons, one of whom was Edward Snr, born in 1914 and father of the present lessee, Edward Thomas Cunningham.
The 1906 list of improvements indicates that two kitchens existed on the property and the slab hut, for which a definite construction date has not been determined, may have been one of the kitchens. It is now used as staff sleeping quarters and storage with a later addition containing a dining room and kitchen. It is of slab construction and has a steeply pitched gabled roof over an original one-room-wide core, suggesting it may date from the mid-nineteenth century. Oral histories date the building as c1860s.
Other structures listed by July 1906 were shed and saddle room, stable and yards, men's hut, cottage, store and office, beef house, kitchen, kitchen no.2, blacksmith's shop, stockyards, 56 miles [90km] of fencing, four wells and troughs. Stockyards and horse yards were also listed at Mount Wickham, one of the Strathmore paddocks at the time. The blacksmith shop may have been demolished as there is no building on the property which, through its form or fabric, suggests a blacksmithing use. Further construction on the site since 1906 includes two more meat houses, another cottage and a swimming pool. The 1906 list provides a good indication of how the head station on a large pastoral property functioned at this period.
On behalf of the partnership, AHW Cunningham controlled three properties: Strathmore (with its outstations of Strathbogie, Strathalbyn, Hidden Valley and Castleview), Woodhouse and Glenprairie. The combined area of these properties was 4 000km² with over 50,000 head of cattle.
AHW Cunningham was a member of the Queensland Turf Club, the Civic Club at Charters Towers, and the North Queensland and Tattersalls Club, Townsville. In the early years he established a thoroughbred stud and the Strathmore colours of green and orange were a regular sight at North Queensland race meetings. Cunningham was a foundation member of the North Queensland Amateur Turf Club in 1910. He succeeded the late JHS Barnes as president in 1912 and held the position until his death. He was also a committee member of the North Queensland Racing Association for many years.
Cunningham was keenly interested and involved in public and pastoral matters in the Bowen district. He was a member of the Wangaratta Shire Council for 39 years from August 1903, serving as councillor until he was elected chairman in February 1916, a position he held until his death on 8 January 1942. At the outbreak of World War I he had volunteered his services and, like a number of other pastoralists, was rejected on the grounds that he was working in an essential occupation.
Cunningham's son, Edward, started work on Strathmore following his schooling in Sydney. At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, he and his two brothers John and Henry enlisted in Townsville. Edward was recalled to assist with the management of Strathmore a short time later when his father fell ill and was discharged from the services as he worked in an essential occupation. Like his father, Edward Cunningham devoted a portion of his time to public affairs. He was chairman of the Bowen Shire Council from 1960-1966 and was on the board of directors for the Collinsville Coal Company. He was a member of the Queensland Cattleman's Association, founder of the Poll Devon Breed of cattle in Australia, founder of the Queensland Branch of the Devon Breeders Society in 1968 and its president until his retirement in 1985.
On 1 July 1959 a 53-year lease commenced on Strathmore that expires on 30 June 2012. This lease was transferred to Edward Cunningham, his brother Henry Keith Cunningham and his sister, Nellie Macmillan, wife of Murdoch Campbell Macmillan, on 15 July 1965. On 21 December 1993 Edward Cunningham was killed tragically. The lease was transferred to his son Edward Thomas Cunningham on 10 April 1996 and the Cunningham family connection with Strathmore continues.
Three members of the Cunningham family are buried near the main complex in a private cemetery: Edward Cunningham (2 December 1914 - 21 December 1993), Margaret Cunningham (10 March 1945 - 21 April 1945, daughter of Edward Cunningham) and Wyatt Cunningham (19 November 1995 - 20 February 1999, son of Edward Thomas Cunningham).
","criteria":"Strathmore Homestead is significant as it retains evidence of early building types such as the slab hut (c1860s), the core of which is now used as a living quarters for staff. As an example of a very early slab structure in this part of Queensland the building would be particularly important as an uncommon example.
|Strathmore Homestead is important for its historical significance illustrating the opening of the Kennedy District in northern Queensland for pastoralism. Established in 1862 Strathmore is of exceptional significance in Queensland's history as one of the earliest pastoral properties established in the region and for its continuous use as an operating pastoral station since its establishment.
|Strathmore Homestead is particularly important for its association with the Cunningham family, one of the oldest pastoral families in North Queensland. The Cunninghams have been connected with the Bowen area since the early 1860s and with Strathmore since 1902, an association that continues to the present.
|Strathmore Homestead is significant as it demonstrates typical characteristics of a large pastoral station complex that has evolved over time in a regional area of Queensland. The complex contributes to our understanding of how a regional Queensland pastoral station functioned and demonstrates the way of life of a homestead from the nineteenth to the twentieth century.
The principal built elements of Strathmore include the main homestead (c1900), a slab building now used as a staff kitchen and dining room, staff quarters/cottages, school room and school house, office, stables, meathouses, swimming pool complex, former zoo, a weir, sheds and yards. The buildings are set within landscaped grounds and there is a small cemetery nearby. The phoenix palm-lined main entrance to Strathmore is notable particularly as phoenix palms (Phoenix canariensis) are not common in North Queensland.
|Strathmore Homestead is important for its aesthetic significance. The complex including the main homestead building and the avenue of phoenix palms leading to the entrance, the composition of elements including the slab building, cottages, stables and yards, and the patina of age provided by the variety of materials and forms, contribute to the picturesque qualities of the site.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion B | Criterion A | Criterion H | Criterion D | Criterion E","criteria_definitions":"The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage | The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":29689,"place_ref":602817,"name":"Bowen State School","alternate_name":"Bowen National School","street_address":"29 Kennedy Street","suburb":"BOWEN","lga":"WHITSUNDAY REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2013-03-21","description":"Bowen State School is located on the northern perimeter of the central business district in the town of Bowen. The school site is a level, two-hectare block bound by Gregory, Kennedy, Poole and Herbert streets. Centrally located on the site, the school complex comprises a number of high-set, timber-framed buildings, some forming a U shape around a central parade ground. The open space at the ends of the block includes the sports oval to the west and tennis and basketball courts to the east. The school site also encompasses land and buildings across Poole Street with the road partially closed to provide pedestrian access between the two sites. School buildings are built to Departments of Public Instruction and Public Works designs.
\nBuildings (refer to site plan following)
\nBlock D, 1884 (former boys' school building) - identified as standard type B/T4[22]
\nBlock D retains important fabric that identifies it as an 1880s Robert Ferguson design. It is a rectangular high-set, timber-framed building with a northern verandah and a gable roof. The walls are clad with weatherboards with ventilated gable ends, and the roof is clad with corrugated metal sheeting. The verandah has stop-chamfered posts and, although the roof space was not inspected, it is likely that the coved ceiling and timber roof trusses survive behind the later suspended ceiling. Important surviving evidence of the 1922 conversion of the 1884 building to reflect the Sectional School ideal are the high-set form, verandah on the northern side, windows in the southern wall (the windows themselves, not being original fabric, are not of cultural heritage significance), and the timber-framed window hood with timber brackets. The verandah has a balustrade of bag racks typical of the designs introduced in the 1950s. Formerly a single large space, the school room is partitioned into small rooms for administration use. These partitions are not of cultural heritage significance. The glass louvres in the northern verandah wall are not of cultural heritage significance.
\nBlock C, 1917 (The Big Room) - identified as standard type C/T2
\nBlock C retains important fabric that identifies it as an early Department of Public Works design. It is a high-set, timber-framed building with a northern and southern verandah and a gable roof. Four sets of timber stairs provide access to the verandahs and the northern verandah is connected to Block D to the east. The walls are clad with weatherboards and the roof with corrugated metal sheeting. Both the gable end walls have a panel of ventilating weatherboards. The verandah walls are single-skin, lined internally, with chamfered stud framing exposed externally. The verandah walls have a ventilation flap at floor level and retain original double leaf doors with pivoting fanlights. The southern verandah retains a hat room enclosure at its southern end. The interior is partitioned into two rooms connected by a large opening; this partition is not of cultural heritage significance. The interior walls and ceiling are lined with v-jointed tongue and groove timber boards. The ceiling is coved and has a latticed ventilation panel. Timber tie beams at cornice level are exposed in the space. The fenestration pattern remains intact with windows only in the eastern and western walls sheltered by original timber hoods with timber brackets and battened cheeks. The northern verandah is enclosed at the western end. A small teacher's room projects from both verandahs. A small enclosure of the northern verandah accommodates a store room that is not of cultural heritage significance.
\nBlock E, 1914 moved to Bowen State School 1930-31 (former technical college/high top) - not a standard type
\nBlock E retains important fabric that identifies it as an individually-designed technical educational building from the 1910s. It is a rectangular high-set, timber-framed building with a gabled hip roof and a verandah on the eastern and southern sides. The external walls are clad with weatherboards and the roof with corrugated metal sheeting. The eastern verandah ceiling is lined with timber v-jointed boards. An area of more recent lining indicates the position of a now-removed entry gable. Timber verandah posts and scalloped timber valance are original. At the southern end of the verandah is an intact hat room from the 1930-31 conversion for High Top use. The verandah balustrade is a later bag rack form. The building does not retain original windows or doors. The interior retains its original technical college layout with internal partitions dividing the space into classrooms accessible from the verandah. The walls and coved ceilings are lined with v-jointed tongue and groove timber boards. Timber roof framing beams are exposed within the classrooms.
\nResidence, 1932 - identified as standard type D/R3
\nThe school residence retains important fabric of an interwar Department of Public Works teacher's residence. It is a high-set, timber-framed building with a hipped roof. It has a verandah wrapping around the eastern and northern sides, enclosed on the northern side with windows. An enclosed sleepout is on the southern side. The verandah walls are single skin with stop-chamfered framing exposed externally. The external walls are clad with weatherboards and the roof, which is continuous over the verandahs, is clad with corrugated metal sheeting. Some windows retain original fanlights and original timber hoods with battened cheeks. The interior layout is intact accommodating three bedrooms, a living room, kitchen with pantry and stove recess, toilet, and bathroom. The walls are single-skin, vertical, v-jointed timber boards with moulded timber belt rails. The ceilings are lined with v-jointed, tongue-and-groove boards. Original internal timber panelled doors with glazed fanlights and glazed French doors with glazed fanlights open onto the verandahs. The understorey retains some original timber perimeter battening and a small laundry enclosure under the kitchen. The house is located within a fenced yard separating it from the school grounds. The house yard is grassed and contains trees.
\nBlock F, 1937/1957 (former vocational building) - identified as standard type E/T3
\nBlock F retains important fabric that identifies it as a standard interwar vocational building. It is a high-set, timber-framed building in two parts linked by an enclosed raised walkway.
\nThe 1937 building is clad with weatherboards and has a hipped roof clad with corrugated metal sheeting. The understorey is enclosed with corrugated metal sheeting. The windows on both levels are timber-framed casements or double-hung sashes, both with fanlights and original hardware. Some windows are sheltered by large timber awnings with timber brackets and battened cheeks. Two projecting stove recesses are on the northern side. Timber stairs provide access to the upper level as well as to the connecting walkway linking the two building parts. The walls and ceilings of the upper level are lined with v-jointed, tongue-and-groove boards with moulded architraves and timber splay skirtings. It has high-waisted, panelled timber doors with fanlights and original hardware. The main room has a latticed ventilation panel in the ceiling and in 2012 the building houses various items of early school furniture and school equipment.
\nThe later extension to Block F is clad externally on both levels with weatherboards and the gable roof is clad with corrugated metal sheeting. At the apex of the gable end walls are ventilated weatherboards. The building has timber-framed, awning windows with fanlights and simple hoods without brackets. A steel-framed lean-to awning is attached to the southern side of the understorey and is not of cultural heritage significance. The upper level interior walls and ceiling are lined with fibrous sheeting material.
\nBlock A, 1940 (former infants' building) - identified as standard type D/T1, Sectional School
\nBlock A retains important fabric that identifies it as a standard Sectional School type. It is a long, narrow, timber-framed building, high-set, with a western verandah and a gable roof. The walls are clad with weatherboards and the roof with corrugated metal sheeting. The verandah has a balustrade of bag racks and the verandah ceiling is lined with fibrous sheeting with cover strips. Verandah doors are original double leaf timber doors with original fanlights. The verandah wall has glass louvres that are not of cultural heritage significance. The eastern wall windows are sheltered by a timber hood with timber brackets and battened cheeks. The eastern windows are timber awning windows with fanlights. The fanlights are not original. The interior layout is somewhat intact with some partitions between classrooms containing later concertina doors.
\nThe Hall, 1954 - not a standard type
\nThe Hall is a rectangular, high-set, timber-framed building with a gable roof. The walls are clad with weatherboards and the roof is clad with corrugated metal sheeting. The windows are a mixture of modern aluminium-framed sliders, timber-framed awning windows, and double-hung sashes. All have louvred fanlights. The interior contains one large room and is lined with v-jointed, tongue-and-groove boards on the coved ceiling and some walls. Other walls are lined with plasterboard sheeting. Timber tie beams are exposed within the space.
\nOther school buildings on the site have not been assessed for their heritage significance.[23] See site plan.
\nLandscape Elements
\nThe buildings are separated by landscaped areas containing gardens and trees or by hardscaped areas with shade structures. This space is integral to the cultural heritage significance of the buildings by allowing for the intended air movement and daylight into the buildings.
\nThe western end of the site is a grassed sports oval and a steel rocket-ship playground structure is nearby. At the eastern corner of the site near Herbert and Poole Street intersection are two tennis courts. Steel-framed shade structures are not of cultural heritage significance.
\nA simple arched entrance is located in the Poole Street fence aligned with Block C. Called the Centenary Gate, it is formed from galvanised pipe and bears the school name in large metal letters. [24]
","history":"Bowen State School was established in 1865 on a large, central site within the town of Bowen. It comprises a variety of education buildings and landscape elements constructed and altered over a long period. It has been an important place of education for the Bowen community since its establishment.
Port settlements were established along the Queensland coast to serve inland pastoral districts to their west. In 1859 a site for the (then) most northern settlement of Queensland was found on the excellent natural harbour, Port Denison, to service the growing Kennedy pastoral district. It was declared a Port of Entry and Clearance in March 1861 and settlers began arriving immediately. The town of Bowen was officially proclaimed in April 1861, but by the time the town was surveyed in 1862 settlers were already pushing further north and looking for new sites for settlements.[1]
Bowen grew quickly into a thriving commercial port. Initially, optimism for Bowen's future was high and it was thought the town would be the 'capital of the north'. Its population grew from an estimated 120 in May 1862 to 1192 in October 1865. Rudimentary or temporary buildings were built quickly and important institutions were established, often for the first time in North Queensland. A temporary courthouse was built in late-1860, a Church of England and a Roman Catholic Church in 1863 and 1864 respectively, a permanent jetty was begun in mid-1864, a Freemasons' Lodge was established in 1865, and stores and hotels were built to serve the populace. Bowen was the first North Queensland town to have a mayor and an alderman (1863).[2]
By August 1862, one hectare of land was granted by the Department of Lands for the construction of Bowen National School. Several small private schools were already operating in the town. While the people of Bowen raised the £750 construction cost and built the school, a temporary school operated within a local store from 3 April 1865. The school relocated to the new school building by the end of 1865.[3] This was a brick building facing Poole Street and containing one large classroom.
Bowen's regional prominence ended in the 1870s when Townsville emerged as the principal settlement of North Queensland. Bowen's population decreased by a third between 1868 and 1871 and did not reach its former size for nearly 50 years. The decision to build a railway in 1877 from Townsville inland to service Charters Towers and the pastoral districts ensured the further decline of Bowen. Townsville became the premier business centre of North Queensland and the Northern Supreme Court was removed from Bowen to Townsville in 1889. Nevertheless, Bowen continued as a service town to its hinterland and retained its various civic facilities including its school.
Colonial governments played an important role in the provision of formal education. In 1848 the New South Wales Government established National Schools. This was continued by the Queensland Government after the colony's creation in 1859. The Education Act 1860 established the Queensland Board of General Education and began to standardise curriculum, teacher training, and facilities. The Education Act 1875 provided a number of key initiatives for primary education; it was to be free, compulsory and secular. The Department of Public Instruction was established to administer the Act. This move standardised the provision of education and, despite difficulties, colonial educators achieved a remarkable feat in bringing basic literacy to most Queensland children by 1900.
The provision of schools was considered an essential step in the development of early Queensland communities. The formal education of Queensland children was seen as integral to the success of a town, the colony, and the nation. Land and construction labour was often donated by the local people and schools frequently became a major focus within the community as a place symbolising progress, for social interaction, and as a source of pride. Also, the development and maintenance of schools frequently involved donations and work by teachers, parents, and pupils. Because of their significant connections with the local community, schools have occasionally incorporated other socially important elements such as war memorials and halls used for community purposes. They also typically retain a significant enduring connection with former pupils, their parents, and teachers. Social events involving a wide portion of the local community have often been held at schools, utilising the buildings and grounds - such as fetes, markets, public holiday celebrations, school break-up days, fundraisers, sporting events, reunions, and dances.
As in other Australian colonies, the Queensland Government developed standard plans for its school buildings. This helped to ensure consistency and economy. The standard designs were continually refined by government architects in response to changing needs and educational philosophy. Queensland school buildings were particularly innovative in their approach to climate control, lighting, and ventilation. Until the 1960s school buildings were predominantly timber framed, taking advantage of the material's abundance in the state and the high number of builders skilled in its use. This also allowed for easy and economical construction and enabled the government to provide facilities in remote areas. Due to the standardisation of facilities, schools across the state were developed in distinctly similar ways and became complexes of typical components. These components included: the teaching building/s, the school yard, the horse paddock that was often later configured into a sports oval, the teacher's residence, and a variety of features such as sporting facilities or play equipment, shade structures, gardens and trees.
On 30 January 1884 a cyclone damaged the brick Bowen National School building so badly it had to be demolished. School resumed in temporary accommodation while new teaching buildings were built. Previously, boys, girls, and infants (children aged 4 and 5 years old) were taught within the same classroom, although they sat separately. For the new school it was decided to separate the students and create two new schools in two separate buildings - Bowen State Boys' School and Bowen State Girls' and Infants' School. The buildings were located either side of the remnant foundations of the former brick building. The girls and infants were to the east, the boys were to the west, and a fence ran through the grounds to separate them. The boys' school building survives on the site and in 2012 is named Block D.
The new buildings were to a standard design 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.[4] 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 4'6" (1.3m) 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 two new school buildings at Bowen were low-set, timber-framed structures with gable roofs, verandahs front and back, and modest 'carpenter gothic' timber detailing. An undated but early site plan indicates they contained one large classroom each. The Girls' School was extended at some time to accommodate a separate room for infants and an additional classroom.
Dramatic reform of the Queensland Education system began around 1909 and continued until the beginning of World War I. During this period a high school system was introduced, technical education was expanded, the University of Queensland was inaugurated, a teachers' training college was established, the requirement for a local contribution of construction costs for new schools was abolished, and the leaving age was increased from 12 to 14 years.[5] Although technically compulsory since 1875, school attendance was not enforced until 1900. Subsequently, student numbers rose across Queensland during the first 15 years of the twentieth century.
Control of building design was transferred to the Department of Public Works in 1893 and the department's architects trialled a number of technical innovations. Queensland's education architecture became markedly more advanced and the range of standard building types increased. The most noticeable change in Queensland school architecture was the introduction of high-set buildings. This provided better ventilation as well as further teaching space and a covered play space underneath. Also, windows were rearranged and enlarged and sills were lowered to approximately 1m above floor level. By 1909 windows were altered so that the maximum amount of light came from one direction and desks were rearranged so that this light fell onto the left hand side of students. Since students were forcedly right-handed, no shadow would be cast onto the page. The wall supporting the blackboard had no windows. This often meant a complete transformation of the fenestration of existing older buildings. Dormers were sometimes added to the roof to provide better light and ventilation and the larger classrooms favoured in earlier designs were partitioned to create smaller ones with better lighting. Interiors became lighter and airier and met with immediate approval from educationalists. A technical innovation developed at this time was a continuous ventilation flap on the wall at floor level. This hinged board could be opened to increase air flow into the space and, combined with a ceiling vent and large roof fleche, improved internal air quality and decreased internal temperatures effectively. This type was introduced around 1909 and was constructed until approximately 1920. Significantly, Dr Eleanor Bourne was appointed the first Medical Inspector of Schools in 1911 and under her instruction the relationship between classroom environment and child health was given prominence. Accordingly, school architecture evolved through iteration and experimentation to improve interior light and ventilation.
Such design innovations were included in a new building for the Boys' School at Bowen, constructed in 1917 to the west of the 1884 boys' building. Called the Big Room, it was a high-set timber building with a gable roof and a northerly and southerly verandah. It had a large number of windows in the gable end walls with sill heights approximately 1m from floor level. It incorporated a hinged board, ceiling vent, and large roof fleche for ventilation. The roof fleche was removed at some time prior to 2006. This building survives and in 2012 is named Block C.
In 1919 an Honour Board memorialising 70 past students who served in World War I was installed in the Big Room and unveiled by the mayor in the presence of a crowded audience. The board took the form of a Grecian temple facade decorated to represent marble. It was claimed to be the largest in a North Queensland school, measuring 5ft 6in wide by 6ft high (1.67m x 1.82m).[6] This board was moved to the Bowen Historical Museum some time after its installation although no evidence has been discovered as to when or why it was moved.
Attention to improving light and ventilation to achieve an optimum classroom culminated in 1920 with the Sectional School type. This fundamentally new design combined all the best features of previous types and implemented theories of an ideal education environment. It proved very successful and was used unaltered until 1950. This type was practical, economical, and satisfied educational requirements and climatic needs. Most importantly, it allowed for the orderly expansion of schools over time. By late 1914, after the principles and virtues of providing natural light from the south had been espoused by Dr Bourne, buildings were preferably oriented to receive maximum natural light from the south. The Sectional School type was a high-set timber structure on timber stumps. It had only one verandah typically on the northern side, allowing the southern wall, with a maximum number of windows, to be unobstructed. The building was designed so that the western wall was removable. As the school grew, the western end wall could be detached and the building extended in sections, hence the name. This lead to the construction of long narrow buildings of many classrooms - an overt, characteristic form of Queensland schools.
From at least 1915 the school committee and some of the Bowen community were calling for the amalgamation of the Boys' and Girls' and Infants' schools. It was believed this would give the students a larger facility and a better step into secondary education.[7] In 1923 the department approved the request and amalgamated the schools to form Bowen State School. The outdated 1884 buildings were remodelled in accordance with the most recent educational ideals to emulate the Sectional School type. The Girls' and Infants' School building was moved on the site to the western side of the Big Room. Both 1884 buildings were raised and had their southern verandahs removed. The large rooms were partitioned to create three classrooms in each building. The interiors were lined with boards, new large casement windows were inserted in the southerly wall, and all other windows were removed. Desks were rearranged to face west, ensuring the ideal direction of light onto the students' page. Being more recently built, the Big Room was less altered. A projecting teacher's room was added to both the southerly and northerly verandah but otherwise it remained unaltered. The fence dividing the school was removed. Although the remodelling thoroughly updated the school buildings it did not increase the accommodation significantly.
In 1928 a large timber Dux Board was installed in the school, recording the names of the boys, girls, and junior dux of the high school. This was used until 1958[8] and as of 2013 is held within the school.
During the 1930s student numbers at Bowen State School grew steadily. This reflected the moderate population growth in Bowen over the 1920s and 1930s as local agriculture and mining developed. Significant policy changes were instituted by the Department of Public Instruction, expanding the provision of education to include new modes and new building types. Consequently, at Bowen State School the 1930s was a period of expansion that saw several new buildings constructed.
The Bowen Technical College had been established in 1916 in Brisbane Street, approximately 750m east of Bowen State School, due to the Queensland Government's greater emphasis on vocational and technical education in the early 20th century. Construction money was donated by the people of Bowen and the college opened in a new high-set timber building. The school provided day and night classes. It came under the control of the Department of Public Instruction in 1924, and was then called the Bowen Technical College High School, thereby establishing state secondary education in Bowen. [9]
In Queensland, governments were 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. As a small agrarian town, Bowen had a relatively lesser demand for secondary education. In Queensland generally, high schools remained few in number until after World War II when secondary education was generally accepted as essential and was more widely provided for.
Students from Bowen State School had been using the technical college building from at least 1924, walking between the two sites. As a result of six years of agitation by the Bowen State School Head Teacher, the Bowen State School Committee, and through the representation of Mr C Collins MLA to the Department of Public Instruction and Public Works, the technical college building was moved during the 1930-31 school vacation onto the Bowen State School site.[10] The technical college continued to operate from the school site but the building was now primarily utilised for the Bowen High Top classes. The Bowen High Top provided education to a Junior Examination level. From this, students could apply for entrance into tertiary or other further education. Subjects included science, geography, and commercial and vocational subjects. The building was positioned to the north-east of the school at right angles to the other buildings. It was connected to the verandah of the 1884 boys' school building by a raised covered walkway. The building remains on the site and in 2012 is named Block E.
Another building added to the school grounds in the 1930s was the Head Teacher's residence. Most Queensland state schools incorporated a teacher's residence on the site, particularly in rural areas. In Australia, only Queensland offered free accommodation to teachers and it was Queensland Government policy to provide accommodation for Queensland teachers from as early as 1864. This was as partial recompense for a low wage, as an incentive to increase teacher recruitment in rural areas, and to provide an onsite caretaker. Refinement of the standard residence design occurred over time, with each modification responding to teacher complaints and Teachers' Union agitation. Following World War I there was a teacher shortage and the Teachers' Union suggested this was aggravated by the inadequacy and shortage of teachers' residences. In 1930 a teachers' conference requested that residences be built at all rural schools with a student population over 40. Consequently, in 1933 a residence was constructed at Bowen State School. As with all educational buildings of the time, it was a standard design by the Department of Public Works, introduced in 1929 and constructed extensively across Queensland until 1950. It was a high-set, timber-framed structure on timber stumps with a wrap-around verandah. It accommodated three bedrooms, kitchen, and bathroom. It was located on the northern edge of the school, away from the existing teaching buildings. A sleepout was added onto the eastern side in 1939.
The Queensland Government had a distinct focus on vocational education as a way of ensuring the state's economic prosperity in primary industries. This was strengthened after World War I and evolved to provide a variety of subjects. Vocational training within primary education began in 1895 with drawing classes and grew to include domestic sciences, agriculture, and sheet metal and wood working classes. The subjects required a variety of purpose-built facilities and were initially gender segregated.[11] Standard, purpose-designed vocational buildings were first introduced in 1928. In 1936 the Minister for Education permitted students to take vocational subjects in lieu of geography or history in the Junior Examination, increasing the subjects' popularity. In 1937 a vocational building was constructed at Bowen State School to a standard design, introduced in 1931 and constructed until 1940. It was a high-set timber building accommodating girls' domestic science classes in the upstairs portion and boys' manual training classes in the enclosed understorey. It was built free-standing within the playground to the north of the other classrooms. In 2012 this building is named Block F.
The growth of Bowen State School through the 1930s culminated in the construction of a new building in 1940. Through the efforts of the School Committee and representations made by the Member for Bowen, Mr EJ Riordan MLA, the Department of Public Instruction agreed to erect the new building to accommodate the high growth in student numbers. It was of a Sectional School design, constructed to the west of, and connected to, the earlier buildings. It was a high-set, timber structure with western verandah. In 2012 this building is named Block A.
With the construction of this wing the school complex formed a U shape connected by raised walkways and verandahs around a large parade ground. The placement of the buildings organised the grade structure from infants in the west, the middle years at the south, and secondary education (the high top) in the east.
The grounds of Bowen State School were also upgraded in the 1930s to provide better play facilities. In 1932 the Bowen Town Council sent relief workers to the school who levelled an area near the corner of Herbert and Poole Streets, creating two tennis courts. The provision of outdoor play space was a result of the early and continuing commitment to play-based education, particularly in primary school. Trees and gardens were planted as part of beautification of the school. In the 1870s, schools Inspector AJ Boyd was critical of tropical schools and amongst his recommendations was the importance of the addition of shade trees in the playground. Arbour Day plantings began in Queensland in 1890 and were occurring at Bowen State School by the 1940s. Landscape elements were often constructed to standard designs and were intrinsic to Queensland Government education philosophies. Educationalists believed gardening and Arbour Days instilled in young minds the value of hard work and self activity; improved classroom discipline; developed aesthetic tastes, and inspired people to stay on the land. Aesthetically designed gardens were encouraged by regional inspectors. Over time Bowen State School accumulated a variety of play and sports facilities including the sports oval at the western end of the site. After years of slowly grading the natural slope of the western horse paddock to achieve a large flat sports oval, work ceased in 1945 and an official opening ceremony was held.
During World War II, Bowen State School was short staffed (five teachers being on active service) and student numbers were down from 530 in 1939[12] to a little over 400. Many older students left school to seek employment and the population of Bowen declined as parents and their children evacuated to safer centres inland or further south. School hours were reduced and classes were staggered so that only a portion of the remaining students were on site at any time. In January 1942 the Queensland Government closed all coastal state schools[13] including Bowen State School with the intention to reopen them when it was safe again. Sections of the school were occupied by Royal Australian Air Force personnel and teachers were reassigned to other government departments.[14] While formal classes ceased, other school functions continued. Students and members of the staff grew flowers, fruit, and vegetables within the school grounds for donation to the local hospitals and donated money and useful items to Australian soldiers on active service. Also, student sport competitions were held and the sizeable task of levelling the sports oval continued. When school resumed its full operation after the end of World War II, enrolment rose again gradually, reaching 575 students in 1953.[15] By then a new era of education philosophy was beginning.
The Department of Public Instruction was largely unprepared for the enormous demand for state education that began in the late 1940s and continued well into the 1960s. This was a nation-wide occurrence resulting from the unprecedented population growth now termed the 'baby boom'. Queensland schools were overcrowded and, to cope, many new buildings were constructed and existing buildings were extended.
In the early 1950s Bowen Harbour was very busy and Bowen was becoming more prosperous due to development of Collinsville mine in the Bowen hinterland.[16] Due to population growth spurred by the increase in coal mining and industries,[17] school enrolment was reaching record numbers. In order to accommodate the increase, between 1953 and 1960 accommodation at Bowen State School was almost doubled. This included the extension of the high top for a science classroom, extension of the former girls' school building by two classrooms, extension of the infants' wing with three classrooms, extension of the vocational training building, enclosing verandahs for further accommodation, and building new toilets within the grounds. By 1954 a new building was on the school site, the Hall. The history of this building is unclear and it appears older than the 1950s.
Bag racks as verandah balustrades became a characteristic design element of Queensland schools after World War II and this occurred generally at Bowen State School. As a result of the changes in education philosophies and consistent with the alterations of other schools across the state, many of the buildings at Bowen State School had their fenestration altered to increase the amount of light into the classrooms, and many older windows were replaced with modern awning style windows.
Application for a 'proper' high school had begun in 1928[18] but it was not until 1961 that Bowen State High School was established on a different site and all secondary education was removed from Bowen State School. The High Top building was made available for the primary students.
In 1965 the school held a Centenary celebration and unveiled a Centenary Gate at the Poole Street entrance.[19]
A rocket-ship playground structure standing in the grounds of the Bowen State School was probably built in the 1960s but it is not known when it was erected on the school site. The earliest evidence of it is in a 1985 aerial photograph.[20] Rocket-ship climbing frames were once popular in playgrounds in Australia and elsewhere in the world. Most playgrounds have now been updated with newer equipment. It is not a typical inclusion in state school playgrounds and the Bowen rocket-ship is the only identified example in a school playground in Queensland.
Between the 1960s and the 1980s a modernisation of Queensland education occurred. The Education Act 1964 was a turning point and the first major update of Queensland education's governing legislation since 1875. Effectively, a new era of state education evolved with new architectural responses needed. The Department of Education (as it had been renamed in 1957) continued to give the responsibility of building design to the architects of the Department of Public Works. Due to new materials, technologies, educational philosophies, government policies, architectural styles, and functional requirements, the evolution of standard designs became more fragmented. Rather than 'improving' on the previous designs, architects began to design on a relatively clean slate, inspired by new precedents. Fundamentally, timber construction was no longer favoured and buildings were no longer predominantly high-set.
After the 1960s Bowen State School continued to expand and new buildings were added to the grounds over time. Block G containing general teaching classrooms was built in 1973 and was extended in 1980 and again by 1993. A library (Block H) was built in 1973, a pre-school in 1974, and a dental clinic in 1979; these new buildings served specific functions and resulted from expansions in Queensland education provision. These buildings were a typical addition to schools across Queensland in the 1970s. A demountable classroom building was added in 1979 and another in 1991 representing a type of prefabricated and transportable education building that was widely employed across the state. In 1997 the former Girls' and Infants' School building of 1884 was demolished and replaced with a larger, modern building (in 2012 named Block B). New toilets were built in 2006. The school grounds were extended in the 2000s to occupy a part of the neighbouring, southern block, across Poole Street. This land accommodates an oval and hall built in 2011. Poole Street was closed to traffic for a part of its length in front of the school to create a safe crossing for children. The hall across Poole Street as well as an extension of the library in 2011 was constructed as part of the nationwide Building the Education Revolution economy stimulus, a typical addition to schools across Queensland. Extensive shade structures have also been constructed over outdoor areas including one of the tennis courts.
In 2012, the school continues to operate from the site and is the principal state primary school in Bowen. The school retains a complex of significant buildings constructed between 1884 and 1958 that have been altered over time in accordance to evolving educational requirements. The school is important to the town and district having operated since 1865 and having taught generations of Bowen students. Since establishment it has been a key social focus for the Bowen community with the grounds and buildings having been the location of many social events over time.[21]
","criteria":"Bowen State School is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of Queensland state schools. The site planning (U shape of buildings around a parade ground) demonstrates the education grade structure and the buildings are good examples of standard government designs - architectural responses to the prevailing government educational philosophies. In particular, the standard designs represented at Bowen are Block C (C/T2), the residence (D/R3), and Block F (E/T3). Significant elements or features include; high-set timber framed and clad structures, verandahs, passive ventilation techniques (hinged wall flap, operable windows and fanlights, ceiling and wall vents), and passive day lighting consideration (large areas of windows, one room wide floor plans).
|Bowen State School has a strong, special, and ongoing association with the Bowen community. It was established through the efforts and funds of the people of the town in 1865 and has taught generations of Bowen children. The place is important for its contribution to the educational development of Bowen and is a prominent community focal point and gathering place for social events with widespread community support.
|Bowen State School (established in 1865 as Bowen National School) is important in demonstrating the evolution of state education in Queensland and the associated evolution of government education architecture. One of the oldest public schools established in Queensland, Bowen State School retains a significant complex of buildings and landscape elements that illustrate the development of government education philosophies from the 1880s to the 1950s.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion D | Criterion G | Criterion A","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons | The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history"} ]}