Baree School of Arts

Baree School of Arts
Baree School of Arts
	Baree School of Arts, 2009
Location	Creek Street, Baree, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia
Coordinates	23°37′14″S150°23′26″E / 23.6206°S 150.3906°E Coordinates: 23°37′14″S150°23′26″E / 23.6206°S 150.3906°E
Design period	1900 - 1914 (early 20th century)
Built	1910
Architectural style(s)	Classicism
Queensland Heritage Register
	Official name: Baree School of Arts
Type	state heritage (built)
Designated	25 January 2001
Reference no.	602071
Significant period	1910s (historical); 1910s-1920s (fabric); 1910-ongoing (social)
Significant components	school of arts
	Location of Baree School of Arts in Queensland Baree School of Arts (Australia)

Last updated March 13, 2019

Baree School of Arts is a heritage-listed school of arts at Creek Street, Baree, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1910. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 25 January 2001.^[1]

Baree is an outlying locality near Mount Morgan in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia.

The Rockhampton Region is a Local Government Area in Central Queensland, Australia, located on the Tropic of Capricorn about 600 kilometres (370 mi) north of Brisbane. Rockhampton is the region's major city; the region also includes the Fitzroy River, Mount Archer National Park and Berserker Range.

Queensland is the second-largest and third-most populous state in the Commonwealth of Australia. Situated in the north-east of the country, it is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean. To its north is the Torres Strait, with Papua New Guinea located less than 200 km across it from the mainland. The state is the world's sixth-largest sub-national entity, with an area of 1,852,642 square kilometres (715,309 sq mi).

History

Constructed in 1910 the Baree School of Arts is a modest timber building located at Creek Street, Baree.^[1]

The School of Arts movement began in the 1820s, when Mechanics Institutes were established in Glasgow and London, and a School of Arts was established in Edinburgh. Their intention was to promote mental and moral improvement of the working classes, although it appears they were often directed more towards the middle classes, with lectures on subjects such as philosophy, and classes in French and Latin, which may not have appealed to a largely illiterate working class. Some institutes also provided technical classes including measured drawing, painting and typewriting and all Schools of Arts provided a variety of entertainments as well as games, lending libraries and reading rooms.^[1]

Mechanics' Institutes are educational establishments, originally formed to provide adult education, particularly in technical subjects, to working men. Similar organisation are sometimes simply called Institutes. As such, they were often funded by local industrialists on the grounds that they would ultimately benefit from having more knowledgeable and skilled employees. The Mechanics' Institutes were used as 'libraries' for the adult working class, and provided them with an alternative pastime to gambling and drinking in pubs.

Glasgow is the most populous city in Scotland, and the third most populous city in the United Kingdom, as of the 2017 estimated city population of 621,020. Historically part of Lanarkshire, the city now forms the Glasgow City council area, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland; the local authority is Glasgow City Council. Glasgow is situated on the River Clyde in the country's West Central Lowlands. Inhabitants of the city are referred to as "Glaswegians" or "Weegies". It is the fourth most visited city in the UK. Glasgow is also known for the Glasgow patter, a distinct dialect of the Scots language that is noted for being difficult to understand by those from outside the city.

London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile (80 km) estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans. The City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles (2.9 km²) and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow closely its medieval limits. The City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

The first institute in Australia was formed in Hobart in 1827, followed by Sydney in 1833, from which date the movement rapidly spread throughout the rest of the colony. The first School of Arts in Queensland was established in Brisbane in 1846, although a building was not erected for the purpose until 1864. From this beginning, approximately 350 Schools of Arts were established throughout the state during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.^[1]

Hobart is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. With a population of approximately 225,000, it is the least populated Australian state capital city, and second smallest if territories are taken into account. Founded in 1804 as a British penal colony, Hobart, formerly known as Hobart Town or Hobarton, is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney, New South Wales. Prior to British settlement, the Hobart area had been occupied for possibly as long as 35,000 years, by the semi-nomadic Mouheneener tribe, a sub-group of the Nuennone, or South-East tribe. The descendants of these Aboriginal Tasmanians often refer to themselves as 'Palawa'.

Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Port Jackson and extends about 70 km (43.5 mi) on its periphery towards the Blue Mountains to the west, Hawkesbury to the north, the Royal National Park to the south and Macarthur to the south-west. Sydney is made up of 658 suburbs, 40 local government areas and 15 contiguous regions. Residents of the city are known as "Sydneysiders". As of June 2017, Sydney's estimated metropolitan population was 5,131,326, and is home to approximately 65% of the state's population.

Brisbane is the capital of and the most populated city in the Australian state of Queensland, and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of 2.5 million, and the South East Queensland region, centred on Brisbane, encompasses a population of more than 3.5 million. The Brisbane central business district stands on the historic European settlement and is situated inside a peninsula of the Brisbane River, about 15 kilometres from its mouth at Moreton Bay. The metropolitan area extends in all directions along the floodplain of the Brisbane River Valley between Moreton Bay and the Great Dividing Range, sprawling across several of Australia's most populous local government areas (LGAs)—most centrally the City of Brisbane, which is by far the most populous LGA in the nation. The demonym of Brisbane is "Brisbanite".

A typical School of Arts building was of timber construction including a hall and two or three rooms used for library and meeting purposes. Larger provincial centres buildings were of masonry construction. Although varied in scale, form and materials they were readily identifiable in the streetscape and often incorporated impressive facades which spoke of the cultural ambitions of those who built them. Essentially the school of arts building type became an integral part of townscape fabric along with the police station, the courthouse, churches and schools.^[1]

The Baree School of Arts developed in association with the mining settlement at Mount Morgan. Gold was discovered in the Mount Morgan region by Edwin Morgan, Thomas Morgan and Sandy Gordon in 1882 and from this early discovery the town grew. The government took action to establish a township to service the new mine and in 1884 the District Surveyor instructed Surveyor Byerley to undertake a survey of land adjoining the mine. The original town survey included two subdivisions and these areas were referred to as north and south Calliungal, but have always been known locally as Baree and Mount Morgan respectively.^[1]

Mount Morgan is a town and locality in Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was the administrative centre of the Mount Morgan Shire until March 2008, when it was amalgamated with neighbouring local government areas to form the Rockhampton Region. In the 2011 census, Mount Morgan had a population of 2,115 people.

Mt Morgan developed as the central township to the region however over the next 10–20 years the services provided in the main township were duplicated in outer localities such as Baree, Red Hill and Victoria. At its peak in 1916 Baree sustained a settlement of 500-600 people and the School of Arts was just one of a number of buildings which lined Creek Street and formed the centre of the township. Today the School of Arts is one of only a few buildings that remain as part of the original streetscape.^[1]

Prior to the establishment of the Baree School of Arts a school had been established in Mount Morgan in 1891. This building was destroyed by fire and a new building erected in 1923 only to be destroyed by fire again. The existing School of Arts building is the structure that was erected following these disasters. It is not clear what the impetus for the Baree School of Arts was however, most Schools of Arts established in Queensland were driven by community minded men, usually of middle or upper class.^[1]

The Baree School of Arts was officially opened on 20 October 1910 by Captain G A Richards the General Manager of Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company Limited. The land on which the school was constructed was reserved for that purpose in July 1909. It is not clear if an architect was commissioned to design the structure or who the builder may have been. However, considering the modest nature of the structure it may be that the facility was designed and constructed using community resources.^[1]

Over the past 90 years the Baree School of Arts has been used for various community leisure activities and receptions including dances, movies, weddings, parties and local resident meetings. The multitude of uses has resulted in some physical alteration to the building fabric, most notably the adaptation of the library/reading room to accommodate a toilet facility. However, despite these changes the original configuration of the building remains largely intact. The Baree School of Arts is a highly valued community resource and an important remnant of a town ship which once serviced one of the biggest gold mines in the world.^[1]

Description

The Baree School of Arts is located at Creek Street Baree, on a large parcel of land that falls gently from the street frontage to a creek which skirts the southern and eastern boundaries of the site. The building is set into the north west corner of the site and addresses Creek Street. A well maintained garden is located at the front of the building while the remainder of the site is an open grassed area with a few mature plantings lining the edge of the creek.^[1]

The school building is elevated above ground level on timber stumps and is constructed of timber with a corrugated iron gable roof to the main hall and simple skillion roofs over the front and side verandah structures. Externally the street frontage of the building is clad with timber tongue-and-groove boards below the verandah roof and weatherboards above it, while the remaining three elevations are clad with corrugated iron.^[1]

The main entry to the building is from Creek Street by a recently constructed ramp structure that abuts the verandah. A centrally located set of French doors form the main entry to the school however there are also two single leaf doors located either side of the main doors providing a secondary entry to the hall and separate entry to the enclosed verandah and area that was once the library. A secondary access to the hall is provided via a timber stair which adjoins the southern enclosed verandah.^[1]

A number of brass memorial plaques are located at the entry to the building. These plaques memorialise local residents associated with the School of Arts as well as the official opening of the building and the parties involved with the construction of the new entry ramp.^[1]

The building is rectilinear in plan and includes a large hall and associated stage area as well as toilet facilities, a kitchen and meeting area all located on the enclosed verandah. The ceiling follows the line of the rafters in the hall and on the verandah and is not lined. Similarly, walls are generally not lined however a combination of timber weatherboards, tongue and groove boarding and corrugated iron have been used on some sections of wall. At least one original six pane double hung window survives in the building, the remainder having been replaced with metal framed glass louvres.^[1]

The undercroft of the building is predominantly natural ground but does include a small section of concrete pavement located directly under the stage area. A number of concrete plinths and associated holding down bolts indicate an element of some size was once secured to the floor.^[1]

Heritage listing

Baree School of Arts was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 25 January 2001 having satisfied the following criteria.^[1]

The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.

The Baree School of Arts was constructed in 1910. It is one of many School of Arts constructed throughout Queensland in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as part of an attempt to promote mental and moral improvement of the working classes. By the 1900s, almost every town in Queensland had a School of Arts and they were often seen as indicators of the prosperity or status of the town. As such, they demonstrate the evolution of Queensland's history.^[1]

The Baree School of Arts was once part of a cluster of buildings which formed the core of the Baree township and serviced the Mt Morgan mine. As a remnant structure of this township the building helps to demonstrate the growth of the region surrounding Mt Morgan and the community infrastructure which developed within those settlements.^[1]

The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places.

Whilst not as grand as its Mt Morgan neighbour the Baree School of Arts is a modest structure perhaps more reflective of a public facility conceived using community resources. The building has been physically altered over time however, it remains largely intact and does demonstrate the principal characteristics of a building of its type, with provision for a hall, reading room and library.^[1]

The place is important because of its aesthetic significance.

Today the building stands as the only significant structure in the Creek Street streetscape.^[1]

The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.

Over the past ninety years the school of arts building has accommodated a multitude of community gatherings, including public meetings, dances, movies and private functions. As such the place has a strong association with the residents of Baree and stands as community focal point within the township.^[1]

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 "Baree School of Arts (entry 602071)". Queensland Heritage Register . Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.

Attribution

This Wikipedia article was originally based on "The Queensland heritage register" published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 7 July 2014, archived on 8 October 2014). The geo-coordinates were originally computed from the "Queensland heritage register boundaries" published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 5 September 2014, archived on 15 October 2014).

External links

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[qhr-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 "Baree School of Arts (entry 602071)". Queensland Heritage Register . Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.