Sherwood State School is a heritage-listed state school at 464 Oxley Road, Sherwood, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The buildings were built from 1874 to 1974. The designers included Boulton & Paul, Ltd and the Department of Public Works (Queensland). It was formerly known as West Oxley National School. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 15 July 2016.
History Sherwood State School opened in 1867, as West Oxley National School, to accommodate the growing population of a rural district on the south western outskirts of Brisbane. As enrolments grew, extensions were made and buildings added to the site. In 2016, Sherwood State School retains: a Ferguson-designed school building (1887, with 1900 extension and 1937 alterations) with a WWI memorial tablet (1919) attached; a suburban timber school building (1917); two sectional school buildings (1923 and 1937) with 1950s extensions, one a lowset pre-fabricated Boulton & Paul Building (1952); and a timber vocational building (1952). The school buildings are set amongst landscaped grounds with assembly and play areas, sporting facilities, stone-pitched terraces and mature shade trees. The school has been in continuous operation since establishment and has been a focus for the local community as a place for important social and cultural activity.
Historically part of an area known as West Oxley, which extended from Rocky Water Holes on Ipswich Road to the Brisbane River, and which was part of the traditional lands of the Turrbal and Jagera people, Sherwood was named after Sherwood Forest in England, for its heavy timber cover. Timber felling was a major early occupation in the area, which from the 1840s formed part of an extensive lease where Captain Thomas Boyland grazed cattle, sheep and horses.Part of West Oxley between Oxley Creek and the River was known as Boyland's Pocket. Following the separation of Queensland from the colony in 1859, the district was divided into 30–40 acre farms. Land use in the area shifted to cultivation, taking advantage of the fertile soils; scrub was cleared and crops planted, with produce later transported to market via nearby Oxley Creek. The mail route from Brisbane to Ipswich also passed through the area along Ipswich Road. The continued importance and development of the Darling Downs made the Ipswich Road the main route to the interior, and the initial rough track was surveyed in the 1860s.Beryl Roberts, Naming Brisbane: Origins of Brisbane's Suburb & Locality Names, Brisbane, 2013, p.90Laurel Schneider and Robyn Jones, The shaping of Sherwood : a history of Sherwood State School, 1867-1992, Sherwood State School Parents' and Citizens' Association, Sherwood, 1992, p.6. To address the education needs of the growing rural community, a national school was opened in West Oxley in March 1867.'Opening of the New School at Oxley Creek', Brisbane Courier, 18 March 1867, p.3'Opening of the New School at Oxley Creek', The Queenslander, 23 March 1867, p.6. The opening was reported in newspapers as being Saturday 16 Marchhowever, the Report of the Board of General Education for the Year 1867 reported the opening as Monday 25 March 1867 [Schneider and Jones, 1992, p.9], which was probably the first day of classes.
The provision of state-administered education was important to the colonial governments of Australia. National schools, established in 1848 in New South Wales, were continued in Queensland following the colony's creation in 1859. Following the introduction of the Education Act 1860, which established the Board of General Education and began standardising curriculum, training and facilities, Queensland's national and public schools grew from four in 1860 to 230 by 1875.Thom Blake, "Educating Queenslanders" in Queensland Historical Thematic Framework, 2007 (rev. 2013 by EHP), p. 2. The State Education Act 1875 provided for free, compulsory and secular primary education and established the Department of Public Instruction. This further standardised the provision of education, and despite difficulties, achieved the remarkable feat of bringing basic literacy to most Queensland children by 1900.Greg Logan and Eddie Clarke, State Education in Queensland: a brief history, a report for the Department of Education, Queensland, 1984, p. 2.
The establishment of schools was considered an essential step in the development of early communities and integral to their success. Locals often donated land and labour for a school's construction and the school community contributed to maintenance and development. Schools became a community focus, a symbol of progress, and a source of pride, with enduring connections formed with past pupils, parents, and teachers. The inclusion of war memorials and community halls reinforced these connections and provided a venue for a wide range of community events in schools across Queensland.Project Services, "Mount Morgan State High School" in Queensland Schools Heritage Study Part II Report, for Education Queensland, 2008, pp.4-5Paul Burmester, Margaret Pullar and Michael Kennedy, Queensland Schools: A Heritage Conservation Study, a report for the Department of Education, 1996a, pp.87-8.
To help ensure consistency and economy, the Queensland Government developed standard plans for its school buildings. From the 1860s until the 1960s, Queensland school buildings were predominantly timber-framed, an easy and cost-effective approach that also enabled the government to provide facilities in remote areas. Standard designs were continually refined in response to changing needs and educational philosophy and Queensland school buildings were particularly innovative in climate control, lighting, and ventilation. Standardisation produced distinctly similar schools across Queensland with complexes of typical components.Burmester et al, 1996a, pp.84, 120-1.
A new school room, designed to accommodate 120 children, and a teacher's residence were built for the opening of the West Oxley National School, which occupied a three-acre (1.2ha) site on the corner of what are now known as Oxley and Sherwood Roads.'Opening of the New School at Oxley Creek', Brisbane Courier, 18 March 1867, p.3. It has been suggested that the three acres were donated by a Mr Townsend, when the school was established, and the grant registered to the Board of Education in 1870 [Schneider and Jones, 1992:19]. However, the land formed part of Portion 95, twenty-five acres owned by a Mr Hugh Mortimer Rowland from 1863 [Certificate of Title No 2509, Volume 25, Folio 27]the three acres for the school (Re-subdivision 1 of Subdivision B, Portion 95) were surveyed in 1870 [RP29613]and the title for the three acres was transferred [Transfer No33561] from Rowland to The Board of General Education in May 1874 [Certificate of Title No 32530, Volume 221, Folio 132]. The picturesque buildings, designed by architect Richard Suter, were sited in the southwest corner of the grounds, with a steep slope to the east leading down to a watercourse just outside the boundary.Map of the Original Site, 14 June 1876, in Schneider and Jones, 1992, p.17. As was required for the establishment of a national school, approximately one third of the £328 building cost was raised by the local community.'Opening of the New School at Oxley Creek', The Queenslander, 23 March 1867, p.6. Attendance in the first year was reportedly 64 children.'Sherwood's Progress Reflected in Growth of School', The Telegraph, 17 July 1937, p.11.
With the arrival of the Southern and Western railways (Brisbane and Ipswich extension) as far as Oxley West in 1874,'Opening of the Railway to Oxley', The Queenslander, 10 October 1874, p.2. improved access led to a population increase in the area. The land surrounding the school grounds was subdivided into smaller lots, through which roads were surveyed that would later become McCulla Street and Hall Street.Plan of Re-subs 1A & 2 to 60 of Sub B of Portion 95, Parish of Oxley, RP29614, 26 May 1874. Enrolments at West Oxley fluctuated, from 135 in 1869, to 72 in 1873, and 160 in 1877.Schneider and Jones, 1992, p.15. In May 1878 the name of the Oxley West railway station changed to Sherwood railway station, and in the same year the school became known as Sherwood State School.'General Epitome', The Week, 11 May 1878, p21Schneider and Jones, 1992, p.7. By 1885, enrolments at Sherwood State School had increased to 180 students and the following year events were being held at the school to raise funds for school improvements.'Concert at Sherwood', Queensland Figaro and Punch, 16 October 1886, p4 In October 1887 a tender of £318 10s by A Byrne was accepted, and an additional classroom wing was built perpendicular to the original school building.DETE 2016:6DPW, "Sherwood SS", Drawing 105-6-3, P619, 1887Schneider and Jones, 1992, p.17'Executive Minutes', The Week, 22 October 1887, p26.
The new building at Sherwood State School was built 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.Burmester et al, 1996a, p.13. 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 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 new Ferguson-design school buildingFerguson-designed School Building Type B/T4, according to: Burmester et al, Queensland Schools: A Heritage Conservation Study - Conservation Management, Report for the Department of Education, 1996b, p.13. at Sherwood State School was a lowset, timber-framed structure with gable roof, eastern verandah, and modest "carpenter gothic" timber detailing.Burmester et al, 1996a, p.16iv.
An important component of Queensland state schools was their grounds. The early and continuing commitment to play-based education, particularly in primary school, resulted in the provision of outdoor play space and sporting facilities, such as ovals and tennis courts. Also, trees and gardens were planted to shade and beautify schools. Arbor Day celebrations began in Queensland in 1890. Aesthetically designed gardens were encouraged by regional inspectors, and educators believed gardening and Arbor Days instilled in young minds the value of hard work and activity, improved classroom discipline, developed aesthetic tastes, and inspired people to stay on the land.Burmester et al, 1996a, pp.4, 48-9. Arbor Day plantings and associated fund raising was reported at Sherwood State School as early as 1890, and the following year, when bunyas, jacarandas, poincianas and camphor laurels were planted, it was reported that, if successful, "the school grounds will, in a few years, present a very pleasing appearance".'Sherwood State School', Brisbane Courier, 22 November 1890, p5'Sherwood', The Telegraph, 4 May 1891, p3'Arbor Day, Sherwood', Brisbane Courier, 4 May 1891, p7'Sherwood', The Week, 8 May 1891, p12.