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FORMER MARYBOROUGH TECHNICAL SCHOOL NO. 7225
12-22 NOLAN STREET MARYBOROUGH, CENTRAL GOLDFIELDS SHIRE

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Victorian Heritage Register
Maryborough Tech school eastern side KJ 26 July 07
Maryborough Tech school eastern side KJ 26 July 07
Maryborough Tech school eastern side KJ 26 July 07
Maryborough Tech school front KJ 26 July 07
Maryborough Tech school 1890 entrance KJ 26 July 07
Maryborough Tech school 1928 porch KJ 26 July 07
Maryborough Tech school upstairs hall KJ 26 July 07
Maryborough Tech school classroom KJ 26 July 07
Maryborough Tech school detail exterior KJ 26 July 07
H2142 Maryborough Technical School Plan Sept 2007
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Statement of Significance

What is significant?

The Maryborough School of Mines opened in 1889, with classes held first in the old Town Hall until a new building, financed by local subscription, was constructed in 1890 to a design by the Melbourne architect Phillip Kennedy. The building was constructed in two stages. The first section built was the eastern part of the present two storey building and the single storey laboratory wing at the rear. The Director was William Fremersdorff, a Fellow of London's Chemical Society, Geological Society and Society of Sciences arts and Letters, who taught a range of science and mining subjects. Classes were also held in architecture, photography, painting and drawing, mathematics, engine-driving, French, shorthand and telegraphy, and later singing and viticulture. In 1903 the School of Mines was renamed the Maryborough Technical School No 110. The school had continual financial problems, beginning with the bank crash of 1893 and made worse by the decline of the mining industry, until it was taken over by the Department of Education in 1913. The newly established High School held lessons at the Technical School from 1912 until it moved into its own building in 1916. In 1916 the Technical School became a Technical High School, incorporating a Junior Technical School. The school was a Vocational Training Centre for Repatriated Soldiers after World War I. The western half of the main building, designed by the Education Department architect E Evan Smith to match the 1890 building, was constructed in 1928, and the slate tiles on the 1890 building were then replaced with terracotta tiles. Various changes, including the removal of an earlier external staircase and the construction of a new one, and the addition of a new brick section connecting the building to a new rear wing, were made c1960s. A number of objects relating to the history of the school, including art works, photographs, trophies and scientific equipment, remain in the school, which closed in 2007.

The Maryborough Technical School is a symmetrical, two storey, red brick, Queen Anne style building with a single storey laboratory wing at the rear with 'SCHOOL OF MINES' painted on the eastern wall below the eaves. The 1928 section of the two storey building was built to match the 1890 part, with fine quality brickwork with cream brick string courses and cream rendered dressings, decorative gables, and bands of stucco with elaborate decorative floral patterns. The words 'ART', SCIENCE' and 'INDUSTRY' are written above the entrance and below the gables. The entrance to the 1890 building has an impressive Edwardian Baroque surround of red and cream render, while the entrance to the 1928 section, centrally placed on the north side, has a Tuscan Doric porch, also of red and cream render. The chimney of the single storey wing has now been removed, and changes have been made to the openings on the courtyard side. Internally a number of changes have been made to the ground floor of the building, including the removal of walls between some of the original rooms, and the construction of an internal staircase, but the former classrooms on the first floor are largely intact.

How is it significant?

The former Maryborough Technical School and School of Mines is significant for architectural and historical reasons to the State of Victoria

Why is it significant?

The Maryborough Technical School has historical significance as a reflection of the gold mining era that established Maryborough as one of the most important provincial towns in Victoria, and of an important period of education in mining and technology in country Victoria in the late nineteenth century.

The Maryborough Technical School has architectural significance as one of the most impressive of the Schools of Mines established in country Victoria in the late nineteenth century. It is also significant as a fine and intact example of the Queen Anne style, one of the styles which replaced Gothic for educational buildings in the late nineteenth century.

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    • History

      FORMER MARYBOROUGH TECHNICAL SCHOOL NO. 7225 - History

      Contextual History

      Maryborough was an important inland town in the nineteenth century, founded in the 1850s as a result of the gold discoveries, and growing to serve the thousands of miners, at first the fossickers of alluvial gold and later the workers in the deep-lead mines. The original Commissioner's Camp Reserves became the nucleus of the future town of Maryborough. Development of the town was stimulated by its being chosen in the 1850s as the site of the regional court house and gaol, and it grew rapidly in the 1860s and 1870s, when the railway reached the town (in 1874). The magnificence of the railway station building (1891) is an indication of the importance of Maryborough as a focal point in Victoria's railway system. Its importance continued into the twentieth century and was a major factor in the town's survival after the mining boom came to an end when the gold ran out in about 1916. ('City of Maryborough Heritage Study', 1992, v 2)

      The 1860s Land Acts resulted in increased development and improved transport facilities throughout regional Victoria, and the rate of establishment of schools also increased rapidly. In 1850 there was only one State aided school in the Central Highlands area of Victoria. Eight opened in 1853, forty four more by 1856, and more than twenty more a year for each of the next five years. By 1862, when the Board of Education was established, 195 schools had opened in the area; when the 1872 Act was passed there were 361; and by 1883 there were 533. (Vision and Realisation, v 2, p 606.)

      In 1869 the Technological Commission was established in Victoria, charged with the task of providing technical education in the colony. At that time no formal facilities existed for most children for education beyond a few years at an elementary school, and vocations were learned through on-the-job experience. The Mechanics Institutes were more likely to provide middle-class cultural activities than vocational courses. During the twenty-one years from 1869 to 1890 that the Commission operated, sixteen technical institutions were established. (Vision and Realisation, v 1, p 607.)

      The mining boom accelerated the demand for farm products and manufacture as well as for mining machinery. Immigrant miners would have been aware of the provisions then being made in Britain for the study of science and technology. It was felt that there was an urgent need in Victoria to establish schools not only to train men to manage mining operations, but also to teach those branches of science likely to benefit the economy of Victoria. Schools of Mines appeared at Ballarat (1870), Sandhurst (1872), Castlemaine (1887), Kyneton (1888), Creswick, Maryborough and Sale (1889), and in 1890 schools at Ararat, Bairnsdale, Clunes, Daylesford, Harrietville and Stawell. Most were founded while Charles H Pearson was Minister of Public Instruction.

      Enrolments at the first schools at Ballarat and Bendigo grew slowly but in the 1880s more generous financial provisions permitted improvements in staffing and accommodation, and enrolments increased substantially, with seven hundred State school pupils studying chemistry in the schools. In addition to the schools of mines three working men's colleges were established between 1887 and 1891. The schools however failed to attract students for their professional courses, and so tried to attract students by meeting local demands for other subjects. Enrolments in subjects other than mining and science were high: in 1892 72% of enrolments in the schools were in non-mining subjects (though in Maryborough 88 students (64%) were enrolled in mining sciences, with only 46 in other subjects, such as art).

      When the Technological Commission was terminated in 1890 it was recommended that there should in the future be three types of technical institution in the colony: manual schools (where senior primary pupils could be taught subjects such as woodwork, agriculture and domestic arts), technical schools (for industrial training and applied art) and trade schools (attached to the technical schools for the teaching of specific specialist trades).

      Schools and architectural style in Victoria

      Until the 1880s schools in Victoria were overwhelmingly built in Gothic styles, of stone or brick with slate roofs, but schools built after 1887 jettisoned Gothic altogether for English Queen Anne, Flemish or Aesthetic Movement styles. After 1890 red brick predominated as stylistic fashion changed, and from about 1901 the Department generally adopted full-blown the characteristics of the Melbourne domestic Queen Anne style. At first even the Queen Anne schools had slate roofs, with only terracotta cresting and finials; not until 1901 were slate roofs supplanted by red terracottas Marseille tiles. The designs rarely ventured into asymmetry. From about 1926 until 1934 classicism replaced the Queen Anne, generally with Tuscan frontispieces.

      The Queen Anne Revival style had developed in England in the 1870s, inspired by the domestic architecture of England in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It was characterised by fine quality brickwork with stone or rendered dressings, and with elaborate stepped or scalloped gables. The style was mainly used for commercial and institutional buildings, but also for other building types, though it is not particularly common in Australia.

      History of Place

      [This is adapted from the entries for the Maryborough Technical School in the 1992 City of Maryborough Heritage Study; Betty Osborn & Trenear DuBourg, Maryborough A Social History 1854-1904, Maryborough 1985; in Vision and Realisation, v2 pp 872-3.]

      In 1887 a public meeting was called to consider a School of Mines for Maryborough, and it was resolved to investigate this matter further. In 1888 it was suggested to the Amalgamated Miners' Association that a School of Mines be established. A provisional Council was formed, which to obtain the 2000 poundsGovernment grant had to raise 1000 pounds. The appeal lagged, but nevertheless in 1889 the School of Mines opened in the old Town Hall, a tin shed being built beside it to use as a laboratory. Subjects offered included drawing, telegraphy, book-keeping, chemistry, assaying, surveying, mathematics, drafting and natural philosophy. A building grant of 2300 pounds was obtained in 1889 and a site obtained near the railway station, and the Melbourne architect Philip Kennedy was commissioned to prepare plans for a new building.

      Spurway and Rose were the successful tenderers (4505 pounds) for the new school building, and the memorial stone was laid on 4 June 1890 by the Minister of Education, C H Pearson. Maryborough was the first of the smaller provincial centres to provide a technical school and the government was helpful in its establishment (Osborn & DeBourg, p 272).

      The first part of the new school, consisting of the eastern part of the present two storey red brick building and the single storey section at the rear, opened in January 1891, with 'sixteen lofty rooms' available. William Fremersdorff was the Director. He was a Fellow of London's Chemical Society, Geological Society and Society of Science, Arts and Letters, who had come to Australia in 1888. Subjects taught included chemistry, metallurgy, surveying, physiology, mechanics, botany, geology, physics, microscopy and pharmacy, all taught by Fremersdorff, as well as architecture, photography, painting and drawing, mathematics, engine-driving, French, shorthand and telegraphy. Subjects added later included singing, chemistry of viticulture, and electrical subjects.

      Following the bank crash of 1893, the school lost its 600 pounds maintenance grant from the government, and together with the lack of finances, the closing of mines and the resignations of staff because of inadequate salaries, by 1894 subscriptions were hard to get. To keep the institution alive the school council appealed to local organisations to support the school. A mortgage was taken out, which was eventually paid off by the Government.

      In 1903 the School of Mines was renamed the Maryborough Technical School No 110. Of the name Schools of Mines, the Royal Commission on Technical Education of 1899-1901 remarked that 'the institutions to which the term can be legitimately applied are the schools of mines at Ballarat, Bendigo and Stawell', though Docherty (in Vision and Realisation, v 1, p 611) considers that a case could be made for including Maryborough. The others were in effect technical schools giving instruction in applied science and art. Maryborough Technical School offered a wide range of subjects including mathematics, science, art (in its many forms), and subjects closely associated with the mining industry.

      By 1905 the Technical School realised that its income neither supplied adequate funds for maintenance nor provided fair remuneration for its staff. It approached the Borough Council, which agreed to send a deputation to the Government. Financial problems continued, made worse by the decline of the mining industry. Although the mining boom continued in Maryborough until about 1916, by 1910 the demand for mining workers had declined. The school remained both a Technical School with Education Department teachers (taken over officially by the Education Department in 1913) and a School of Mines controlled by an independent school council, though by 1913 the School of Mines element was minimal. This dual control continued until 1943, when the whole came under the Education Department (Osborn & Du Bourg, pp 42-3).

      The newly established High School held lessons at the Technical School from 1912 to the end of 1915, moving into its own buildings in 1916. In 1916 the Technical School became more directly linked to the school system when it became a Technical High School and Junior Technical School. Children leaving primary school could now go to either the new High School or to the Junior Technical School, and after two years pass into the Technical High School. At this stage mining was still one of the principal courses. (Osborn & DuBourg, p 160.)

      Maryborough Technical School was chosen as a Vocational Training Centre for Repatriated Soldiers after WWI, with1400 pounds given to establish classes in trades such as fitting and turning, which were held in the old gaol buildings from 1918. New workshops were completed on the school site in 1922, and the classes transferred there.

      In 1928 the western half of the main building, designed by E Evan Smith, was opened. An additional five bays were built to match the original four, a new Classical style entrance porch was built on the north side, and the slate tiles on the roof of the older section were replaced with terracotta tiles to match the new roof.

      Recognition of the school pupils' qualifications by the University of Melbourne, extensively publicised in the 1930 prospectus, led to a record enrolment of 64 full-time diploma students in 1931. The depression years caused a drop in figures, but by 1939 the success of Diplomates in finding and keeping lucrative positions resulted in an increase. By World War II the school was flourishing, and round-the-clock classes were established for training operatives for munitions factories. Full control was taken over by the department of Education in 1943, and the curriculum changed somewhat after the war, with metallurgy, assaying and chemistry giving way to electrical and mechanical engineering. A home economics block began in 1960 while a new trade block followed in 1964. The school closed in 2007.

      Plaque Citation

      FORMER MARYBOROUGH TECHNICAL SCHOOL NO. 7225 - Plaque Citation

      This 1890 Queen Anne style School of Mines, which became a Technical School in 1903, was designed by the architect Phillip Kennedy and demonstrates the importance of the Victorian mining industry in the nineteenth century.

      Permit Exemptions

      FORMER MARYBOROUGH TECHNICAL SCHOOL NO. 7225 - Permit Exemptions

      General Exemptions:

      General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.

      Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.

      Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.

      Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions.

      Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.

      Specific Exemptions:

      The purpose of the permit exemptions is to allow works that do not impact on the heritage significance of the place to occur without the need for a permit. Works other than those mentioned in the permit exemptions may be possible but will require either the written approval of the Executive Director or permit approval.

      General Conditions:

      1. All alterations are to be planned and carried out in a manner which prevents damage to the fabric of the registered place.

      2. Should it become apparent during further inspection or the carrying out of alterations that originally or previously hidden or inaccessible details of the place are revealed which relate to the significance of the place, then the exemption covering such alteration shall cease and the Executive Director shall be notified as soon as possible.

      3. If there is a conservation policy and plan approved by the Executive Director, all works will be in accordance with it.

      4. Nothing in this declaration prevents the Executive Director from amending or rescinding all or any of the permit exemptions.

      5. Nothing in this declaration exempts owners or their agents from the responsibility to seek relevant planning or building permits from the responsible authority where applicable.

      Exterior:

      . Minor repairs and maintenance.

      . Removal of extraneous items such as air conditioners, pipe work, ducting, wiring, antennae, aerials etc, and making good.

      . Installation or removal of external fixtures and fittings such as, hot water services and taps.

      . Installation and repairing of damp proofing by either injection method or grouted pocket method.

      Interior:

      . Painting of previously painted walls and ceilings provided that preparation or painting does not remove evidence of any original paint or other decorative scheme.

      . Removal of paint from originally unpainted or oiled joinery, doors, architraves, skirtings and decorative strapping.

      . Installation, removal or replacement of carpets and/or flexible floor coverings.

      . Installation, removal or replacement of curtain tracks, rods, blinds and other window dressings.

      . Installation, removal or replacement of hooks, nails and other devices for the hanging of mirrors, paintings and other wall mounted artworks.

      . Removal of tiling or concrete slabs in wet areas provided there is no damage to or alteration of original structure or fabric.

      . Installation, removal or replacement of kitchen benches and fixtures, including sinks, stoves, ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers, etc, and associated plumbing and wiring.

      . Installation, removal or replacement of ducted, hydronic or concealed radiant type heating provided that the installation does not damage existing skirtings and architraves and provided that the location of the heating unit is concealed from view.

      . Installation, removal or replacement of electrical wiring provided that all new wiring is fully concealed.

      . Installation, removal or replacement of bulk insulation in the roof space.

      . Installation, removal or replacement of electric clocks, public address systems, detectors, alarms, emergency lights, exit signs, luminaires and the like on plaster surfaces.

      . Installation, removal or replacement of smoke detectors.

      . Installation of stud walls which are removable.

      . Demolition or removal of non-original stud/partition walls, suspended ceilings or non-original wall linings (including plasterboard, laminate and Masonite), bathroom partitions and tiling, sanitary fixtures and fittings, kitchen wall tiling and equipment, lights, built-in cupboards, cubicle partitions, computer and office fitout and the like.

      . Removal or replacement of non-original door and window furniture including, hinges, locks, knobsets and sash lifts.

      . Installation of plant within the roof space.

      . Installation of new fire hydrant services including sprinklers, fire doors and elements affixed to plaster surfaces.

      Permit Exemption Policy

      FORMER MARYBOROUGH TECHNICAL SCHOOL NO. 7225 - Permit Exemption Policy

      The purpose of the Permit Policy is to assist when considering or making decisions regarding works to the place. It is recommended that any proposed works be discussed with an officer of Heritage Victoria prior to them being undertaken or a permit is applied for. Discussing any proposed works will assist in answering any questions the owner may have and aid any decisions regarding works to the place. It is recommended that a Conservation Management Plan is undertaken to assist with the future management of the cultural significance of the place.

      Internal works to non-registered buildings are exempt from permit requirements. Additions to non-registered buildings and addition of new buildings to the site may impact upon the cultural heritage significance of the place. Non-registered buildings on the site remain part of the heritage place and permit applications will be required for additions and demolitions.The purpose of this requirement is not to prevent any further development on this site, but to enable control of possible adverse impacts on heritage significance during that process.

      The significance of the place lies in its rarity and intactness as a late nineteenth and early twentieth century Queen Anne educational institution. Any alterations that impact on its significance are subject to permit application.

      Main Building: All original elements of the building should be retained, including the external form and internally the original rooms.

      Non-registered buildings: The later school buildings on the site are not considered significant and are not included in the extent of registration.

      Additional buildings: Further building on the site should be subject to permits. There may be scope to introduce new structures into the rear of the site, but these should be located in such a way that they do not impact on the significance of the main building.

Public contributions

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