Old Denmark Agricultural College

Statement of Significance

Denmark Agricultural College, a campus of secondary agricultural education comprising two complexes of single-storey buildings of various construction types, related farmland and minor structures as well as specific mature plantings, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:

the place represents the development of agricultural education in Western Australia and was the second purpose designed school of agriculture in the State;

a component of the place, the dormitory block, is the oldest surviving student residential accommodation associated with a Government school of agriculture in the State;

it provides a record of the development of the school from a simple temporary facility to a large, sophisticated and varied agricultural centre and demonstrates changing attitudes to agriculture and education in the State; and,

the place contributes to the community of Denmark's sense of place and is valued by individuals who have lived, learnt and taught within the place.

Aesthetic Value
The low-lying brick and tile dining and dormitory blocks together have some unity of design which is coherent and demonstrates economy.

The plantings at the west end of the southern boundary including a large gum tree, peppermint tree and lower plantings set within lawn have a landmark quality as an eastern gateway to Denmark 's town centre.

The avenue planting of gum trees along Jack Moore Drive and the parallel row planting of gum trees further to the east contributes to the aesthetic qualities of the landscape and forms two coherent vistas. The first is the vista along Jack Moore Drive itself. The second is from the South Coast Highway south to the farm complex and, more strongly, its reverse from the farm complex south over the highway to the Wilson Inlet.

Historic Va lue
The place represents the development of agricultural education in Western Australia and was the second purpose designed school of agriculture in the State.

The dormitory block has historic value as the oldest surviving student residential accommodation associated with a school of agriculture in the State.

The evolution of the site itself provides a record of the development of the school from a simple temporary facility to a large, sophisticated and varied agricultural centre.

Scientific Value
Fabric of the landscape and to a lesser extent the structures have potential to continue to demonstrate an understanding of the cultural history of agriculture and education in the State. Much of this fabric has varied greatly over time and continues to evolve; clear examples of this are the crop of low THC hemp being trialed in one of the fields and the Landcare plantings throughout the place. Past examples include those associated with the incorporation of viticulture into the curriculum.

Social Value
Denmark Agricultural College has social associations with its community of past and current students, teachers and supervisors across and outside the State many of whom have lived in the dormitories and residences.

The dining and dormitory blocks within their immediate setting contribute to the community 's sense of place. This social value is identifiable by the inclusion of the dining and dormitory blocks alone on the Shire of Denmark 's Draft Municipal heritage Inventory, a document prepared by community involvement. The 1994 'referendum ' is further evidence that a considerable proportion of the local community in Denmark have recently supported retention of the site for educational and recreational uses.
Rarity
Denmark Agricultural College was the second purpose built State agricultural college and was one of the four such colleges operating in Western Australia during the 1940s (Harvey, Narrogin and Cunderdin are the others). All of these still operate today. In absolute terms it is of some rarity. The Catholic church also established schools with similar curricular at Tardun and Bindoon, both of which are still in use.

A component within the place the residential block is rare being the earliest surviving example of student residential accommodation associated with a school of agriculture in the State.

Representativeness
The dining and dormitory blocks re representative of austere and economic designs and constructions of the period during and following World War IL

Much of the landscape is representative of rural farmland in the south-west of the State.

The place, including landscape, farm complex and school and residential complex, is representative of land used for agricultural education dating from the 1940s.

Condition
Generally the place, including landscape and structures, is in sound condition. Care of the landscape is a by­ product of the place's use and the land appears to be in good condition. Structures vary from poor to very good. Some structures are under construction and some have recently been demolished.

The dining and dormitory blocks are in sound condition. Here, environmental factors include moisture damage to the brick masonry and there is some evidence of fretting of mortar. This fretting within the walls above sound joints does not necessarily confirm that these are defects in the original construction itself but may be caused by practices such as reticulation of the gardens. Ground levels for these buildings remain generally below the apparently intact damp membrane. There is no evidence of internal moisture penetration. The timber floor of the dining room is uneven but intact.

Integrity
The place has a high degree of integrity.

The original intention of the place as an education facility remains intact. The original intention of the planning of the school and residential complex remains largely intact, although the complete layout with a reflected dormitory block to the east was never carried out. All current individual uses appear to be compatible with the individual components in which they are placed.

Authenticity
Denmark Agricultural College has a moderate degree of authenticity.

The dining and dormitory blocks have a high degree of authenticity with much of the 1947 fabric intact. Alterations here have usually resulted in minor addition rather than removal of fabric and as such have retained much of the intactness.

The 1950s weatherboard structures within the school and residential complex have moderate to low authenticity. A number of elements have been modified including replacement of asbestos Fibrolite roofs with colorbond, replacement of original window frames with aluminium, modification of entry to Classroom No 1, carpeting of rooms and office addition to north of former woodwork room.

The farm complex includes structures of varying age each of which is moderately intact.

The land has been progressively cleared and cultivated as farmland for the purposes of agricultural research station and agricultural school. This state of cultivation may be considered the original use and as such its authenticity is high.

Physical Description

Denmark Agricultural College is situated at the eastern entry to the town of Denmark, 4 l 4km south-east of Perth. Structures within the place comprise two main building complexes as well as various other scattered smaller structures located on farmland. These two main complexes are the school and residential complex in the south-west comer of the property close to the highway and the farm complex. The farm complex is roughly in the centre of that half of the reserve between the river and the Mount Barker road.

All buildings are single storey. Their construction types vary including brick, metal, asbestos and weatherboard clad and concrete block. Internally, ceilings are flush plasterboard with coved cornices and painted a gloss finish in public and common areas and matt in others. Generally, skirtings are 5" bullnose with a quarter round at floor level. However, skirtings in the kitchen are moulded a simple, rectangular profile out of coloured cement. Also, the kitchen retains much of the earliest cabinet - and metalwork. Joinery throughout the building includes 5" bullnose timber architraves with a paint finish. Doors are generally flush panel and some are partially glazed. Floor finishes are timber boards in the dining room, ceramic tiles in the kitchen, 8" square green and white marbled linoleum tiles in the foyer and various carpets elsewhere.

Situated on a rise at the end of a tree-lined drive is the farm complex. It comprises various utilitarian farm structures as well as five modest residences.
Denmark Agricultural College is situated at the eastern entry to the town of Denmark, 414km south-east of Perth . The Mount Barker road runs through the site, which is bounded to the west by the Denmark River, to the south by South Coast Highway and farmland, a cemetery and saleyards on other sides.

Structures within the place comprise two main building complexes as well as various other scattered smaller structures located on farmland. These two main complexes are the school and residential complex in the south-west comer of the property close to the highway and the farm complex. The farm complex is roughly in the centre of that half of the reserve between the river and the Mount Barker road.

The street address is South Coast Highway and both complexes are accessed from this road. A short bituminised circular driveway surrounded by rosebeds and other plantings allows access from the highway to the school and residential complex. Almost a kilometre east along the highway from the school and residential complex, Jack Moore Drive, a gum tree lined avenue named after a former principal, runs north and allows access to the farm complex. A track from the Mount Barker road provides alternative access to the farm complex. Numerous tracks between paddocks and enclosures provide vehicular access throughout the property.

The 458 hectares of land within the property undulates but generally falls toward the Denmark River. The farm complex is set on a rise north of the highway from which the Wilson Inlet and much of the property can be seen.

All buildings are single storey. Their construction types vary including brick, metal, asbestos and weatherboard clad and concrete block. The two complexes and other structures are described in more detail below. The designed landscape is described beside relevant structures. Overall, however, the landscape is that of rural farmland set aside for grazing and cropping with areas divided by a variety of fences and tree planting schemes. There are minor areas of remnant bush most of which are close to the river at the west of the site.

School and residential com pl ex
This complex comprises the dining block, the dormitory block, a gardener's shed, Classroom No I , a toolshed, former saddlery and woodwork shop, a prevocational workshop, tennis and basketball courts and a sports hall. The first stage of the new Denmark High School is under construction immediately to the north of the complex.

Dining Block
The dining block is a brick building including a dining room/refectory and kitchen, a recreation area, reception and administrative offices and a computer lab. It has minor elements common to the Inter-War functionalist style but stylistically owes more to post-WWII austerity and its contemporary project housing than to the more formal qualities of the Inter-War Functionalist style.4

Face bricks of a mottled appearance are laid with a red coloured mortar. Mortar of the dampcourse is dark grey. Red brick spoon drains are located along the base of most walls beneath this damp course. The windows are double hung, single pane timber-framed sashes. The south wall of the dining room has a bank of twelve such windows joined to form a ribbon window; the masonry above which is supported by circular steel posts on the internal face of the windows. Elsewhere the standard sized windows used are evenly spaced as singles or paired units with light mullions. Both the single and paired windows are surround ed by simple stucco mouldings painted white. The roof of the building is tiled in Brisbane & Wunderlich unglazed terracotta tiles and it is pitched along the east-west length of the building with gables at both ends. Some of the tiles above the kitchen at the eastern end are a lighter colour and appear to be more recent than those on the rest of the building. There are three chimneys, and these rise less than 500mm higher than the ridgeline, maintaining the horizontal emphasis of the building. V-jointed tongue and groove timber board s have been used to line all eaves soffits, gable ends and the porch wall and ceiling, these are painted white. The double entrance doors are fully glazed and each has five horizontal panes with no dividing mull ions.

On the west side of the northern recreation area, doors open on to a red-painted concrete terrace. Five black-painted circular steel posts support the section of roof that shelters the terrace. Steps lead down to a playground/court shaded by a medium sized oak tree.

Internally, ceilings are flush plasterboard with coved cornices and painted a gloss finish in public and common areas and matt in others. Generally, skirtings are 5" bullnose with a quarter round at floor level. However, skirtings in the kitchen are moulded a simple, rectangular profile out of coloured cement. Also, the kitchen retains mu ch of the earliest cabinet - and metalwork. Joinery throughout the building includes 5" bullnose timber architraves with a paint finish. Doors are generally flush panel and some are partially glazed. Floor finishes are timber boards in the dining room, ceramic tiles in the kitchen, 8" square green and white marbled linoleum tiles in the foyer and various carpets elsewhere. Most interiors are lit by fluorescent tube lighting of varying age. Only one fireplace remains. This is in the principal's office and has a plastered tapered chimneybreast and a brick surround to the hearth into which a gas heater has been installed.

Contents of note within the dining block include the collection of honour boards dating from 1942 to the present and a well-crafted wooden desk and cabinet in the principal 's office. Both the boards and the office furniture were executed in timber in a modified Inter-war Stripped Classical style. Aside from these and a variety of plaques, a heavy Victorian sideboard dedicated to the memory of the first principal, Mr Buchingham, remains in the dining room.

Dormitory Block
West of the dining block a bitumen path leads to the dormitory block. The construction and detailing of this building is generally similar to the dining block. The planning consists principally of two large dormitory wings offset around a hub of an ablution and laundry block. Attached to the laundry block are two transportable metal clad buildings which have increased the available residential accommodation.

The western wing has six walls, each extending one third into the room from opposite sides and creating three cubicle groups within the larger room. The eastern wing has similar masonry part walls, however more recently stud walls each with a central door have been built between them. A similar stud wall has also been built across the central cubicle group. This allows the division of the dormitory to each gender to be varied. Facilities for females also include the rooms of the former matron's flat which are used as bedrooms and ablutions in the former ward. Other than in the rooms of the matron's flat, the dormitories of both genders are divided into individual cubicles by modular timber veneer furniture. Most of these cubicles are open about two metres to the passage but screened with a light fabric curtain. A small number are screened with stud wall to the height of the cubicle and accessed through a door. Each has a window of the same type as those used in the Dining Block. The two transportable dormitories are the cellular sort to be found at mining camps and can be completely shut off from the common spaces through floor to ceiling walls and doors. The size of these cells is similar to the cubicles of the dormitories.

Fireplaces, of a more modest design than in the former study or principal 's office, remain in both the supervisor's and matron 's flats. The chimneys have, however, been removed.

Other structures and landscape elements within the School and Residential Complex.

North of the dining and dormitory blocks a bitumen roadway loops from the highway and runs east west. On the north side of this roadway there are a number of structures including small greenhouses at the west. East of the greenhouses are Classroom No l (used as a recreation area), a toolshed and the former woodwork room which is now used as a double classroom, teachers' offices and library.

Classroom No I is a weatherboard structure with pitched colorbond roof and has a porch with a similar pitched roof on its south side. The central entrance through the porch has been enclosed and a skillion added to the east side to form a new entry. The double doors to the rear and to the central porch are edged and braced with glazing in the top panel of the door. Internally, the two main rooms of the building have been lined with fibre cement boards. Architraves are bullnosed timber. Earlier framed windows have been replaced with aluminium frames. Rooms are carpeted in a fine-grained multi-coloured pattern popular in commercial applications since the early 1990s.

The toolshed is also constructed of weatherboard and colorbond but has no interior lning or trims except for some lining boards below sill level. The part lining boards are painted with the outlines of spades and shovels with hooks above. There is one four pane fixed sash window on the western wall. The door is
edged and braced.

East of the toolshed is the former woodwork room, a pitched roof weatherboard and colorbond structure similar to the two buildings to the west but with several rooms. Like Classroom No I its original windows have been replaced with aluminium framed windows and has recent carpet. The main room is capable of division due to a pair of vinyl concertina walls on the north and south walls. The easternmost room is used as a library and its fabric has been treated in a similar way to the rest of the building.

Various bitumen paths drained by red brick spoon drains join the buildings . The roadway at the rear of the dining block and dormitories is lined on the south side by five Queensland box trees. South of these is a playground/court which has a brick and timber barbecue and pergola at its western end. This court also contains the oak tree.
Between the dining and dormitory blocks and the highway are lawns planted on the highway side with a large peppermint, a large gum and various shrubs. South-east of the dormitory block is a large ficus. Shrubs have grown large along the south side of the dining and dormitory blocks. Beds contain ing roses, diosma, hibiscus and various other shrubs encircle the ring drive and the central garden, which is paved and has a central flag mast and a school bell cast by Metters of Subiaco. The bell is supported by a tubular steel frame painted green.

East of the structures mentioned above and within the site of the construction site of the new Denmark High School is a sawtooth roofed metal clad prevocational workshop and a partially completed sports hall that although erected some years ago has not yet had its walls clad. The sports hall is presently used as a machinery shed.

Farm Complex
Situated on a rise at the end of a tree-lined drive is the farm complex. It comprises various utilitarian farm structures as well as five modest residences.

The farm structures include several iron machinery sheds, a brick and iron calf shed, a brick dairy, an iron clad intensive piggery, a concrete block and colorbond slaughterhouse with adjacent poultry slaughterhouse clad in mental, a weatherboard and metal clad poultry and aquaculture shed, a corrugated iron shearing shed with an asbestos sheet clad addition known as the resource centre, machinery workshops under construction in concrete block and colorbond, a corrugated iron feed shed and metal silos. These structures are sited around courts and holding yards with vehicular access between running north south and east west at the edges of the complex.

South of the complex are three brick homes - house No1, house No 2 and house No 3. All are examples of low cost small houses of their time. House No I is constructed of salmon brick with a corrugated asbestos roof. House No 3 is a copied plan but has a tiled roof. Both of these houses appear to date from the early to m id-1960s. House No 2 is a later design and was carried out in a dark red brick with wide horizontal-lapped board cladding in part and a tiled roof.

On lower land to the west of Jack Moore Drive are two recent demountable homes with gardens. They are clad in a material that resembles weatherboard with very low roofs clad in corrugated metal. A demountable house or office from the 1960s from elsewhere on the property is parked in the vicinity on a semitrailer.

Other structures and lands cape elements

There are several other structures on the site. Most of these are small shelters for stock. Most substantial structures are principally the remnants of the agriculture research station. Such evidence includes the concrete rubble of the bulldozed piggery north of the school and residential complex and near the Denmark River. Beyond this is a timber bridge (not considered to be within the study area of this assessment) in poor condition which once connected the two parts of the research station and has now become a popular hangout for students of the college.

North of the former piggery are haysheds and the former research station's dairy which is now unused due to the existing dairy in the farm complex. On a rise east of this dairy are two large iron clad haysheds. The structure of these differ - one is supported by large timber poles and the other by a steel frame. From these sheds the farm complex can be seen to the south-east. Between this and the farm complex are experimental plantings of low THC industrial hemp. Fields are divided by both old and new plantings of trees. Further up the rise from the sheds is a complex of buildings around a gravel court. This complex includes an asbestos sheet and tile residence facing north, a large steel shed built for a winery experiment now devoid of plant, and an asbestos clad office building now used as a community venue. The asbestos office is known as the Mavis Hoare centre and was named after a person who worked for TAFE in the area. Evidence of the former location of the demountable now on a truck near the farm complex can be seen between the Mavis Hoare Centre and the Winery at the west end of the gravel court.

History

Assessment 2004

The background and history of the Denmark Agricultural College illustrate the development of agricultural education in Western Australia. The initial establishment of the College in Denmark shows something of the influence of World War Two on Western Australian society, the evolution of the site itself provides a record of the development of the school from a simple temporary facility to a large, sophisticated and varied agricultural centre, and the changes in name, status and the nature of the instruction given demonstrate changing attitudes to agriculture and education in the State.

The Narrogin Experimental Farm was set up in 1902, under the control of the Department of Agricultural, in 1942 the school buildings were commandeered by the military for use as a convalescent hospital. The Education Department began to search for a suitable place to relocate the school, and eventually decided upon Denmark, where accommodation was available at a hostel on Strickland Street in the town itself, a hall could be used for classes, and the nearby Denmark Research Station, established in 1912, provided facilities for practical work, including a piggery and dairy.1

The new buildings at Denmark were intended to make the school "the most modem of its kind in Australia'', and certainly outclassed the out-of-date and run-down facilities still being used at Narrogin.2

In 1999, the site continues to be used by the Denmark Agricultural College. The most recent developments involve a master plan for the school site, which includes a recommendation to develop the south-west comer of the site into the new Denmark High School. In early 1999, work had already begun on the first stages of this project, which involved the removal of some of the old workshops and classrooms.
The background and history of the Denmark Agricultural College illustrate the development of agricultural education in Western Australia. The initial establishment of the College in Denmark shows something of the influence of World War Two on Western Australian society, the evolution of the site itself provides a record of the development of the school from a simple temporary facility to a large, sophisticated and varied agricultural centre, and the changes in name, status and the nature of the instruction given demonstrate changing attitudes to agriculture and education in the State.

The origins of the State's agricultural colleges can be traced to the foundation of the Narrogin Experimental Farm in 1902. Denmark Agricultural College, in particular, is a direct descendent of this farm and the agricultural school associated with it, and so a close look at the early history of the Narrogin farm and school is important in understanding the background of Denmark Agricultural College.

The Narrogin Experimental Farm was set up in 1902, under the control of the Department of Agricultural , partly in response to requests from the Narrogin - Cuballing branch of the Agricultural Alliance of Western Australia. The purpose of the Alliance was to promote discussion of improved farming methods and other farming-related issues such as agricultural education. As the State Government was at that time beginning to open up the Great Southern district for agriculture and trying to attract settlers from interstate and overseas, it was very much interested in setting up an experimental farm as a way of testing various agricultural procedures for the area and as a 'showcase' to encourage settlers.7

At first the Narrogin Experimental Farm 's labour consisted of about ten student farmhands and twenty or so unskilled immigrants from Britain. This resulted in a very inefficiently run farm, particularly as the students tended to find work with local farmers just as they began to gain enough skills to be genuinely useful on the Experimental Farm.8 In 1906, the farm's policy was changed to focus on providing agricultural education and was renamed the State Farm School. Immigrant labour was no longer used, and domestic staff were employed to provide facilities for up to forty students, young men aged sixteen and older. A substantial entrance fee of £l 0 was charged to ensure that students were serious about completing the course.9

In 19 14, the school was upgraded and renamed the Narrogin Farm School. This was soon changed to the Narrogin School of Agriculture.10 The two-year course offered by the school consisted of a solid practical component (including farming practice and farm related crafts such as carpentry and leather work) as well as English, mathematics and geography taught to Western Australian Junior Certificate level, linking agricultural education to the general state education system. Junior and Senior Certificates in Agriculture were introduced to give formal recognition to the training which young men received at the school, as well as being prerequisites for entering the Diploma of Agriculture course newly offered at the University of Western Australia. In this way, the Agricultural School became even more firmly integrated into the educational system, as it became a possible pathway to tertiary study. In the 1920s the school came under the supervision of the Education Department and the theoretical component of the course was expanded to include agricultural science, bookkeeping, physics and chemistry. This remained largely unchanged until the Second World War, although attempts were made to make the theoretical subjects agriculturally relevant.

In 1942, shortly after the boys had returned to school at the beginning of the year, the school buildings were suddenly commandeered by the military for use as a convalescent hospital. The local MLA, Vic Doney, wrote to the authorities pointing out the value of the school to the State, and warning of the problem s that this disruption of the school would cause. Military requirements were, however, judged to be of more importance than educational needs, and the students were sent home.

The Education Department began to search for a suitable place to relocate the school, and eventually decided upon Denmark, where accommodation was available at a hostel on Strickland Street in the town itself, a hall could be used for classes, and the nearby Denmark Research Station, established in 1912, provided facilities for practical work, including a piggery and dairy. Mr. G. Hard and Mr. W. Kingston, local farmers, also made some of their properties available for vegetable growing and orchard work respectively. The students were able to resume their studies at Denmark in July, 1942. Due to the distance of the new temporary facilities from Narrogin, there were many changes to the school staff. Charles Buckingham became the new Acting Principal, and the other staff included Alexander Rutherford, William Nichols, Eric Capom and Frederick Smith. The local newspaper, the Mt. Barker & Denmark Record, with its regular "Agricultural College Notes", recorded the considerable social impact that the school had on the town. Many of these notes dealt with sports matches between school and town teams, and the school's first Field Day received a good deal of publicity. Mention is made in these "Notes" of the first purpose-built Agricultural School facilities to be built at Denmark. These "craft rooms'', constructed from timber with stone foundations and an asbestos roof, were built by the students under the supervision of their carpentry and blacksmithing instructors. The building consisted of blacksmiths', saddlers' and carpenters' workshops as well as an erecting bay, all under one roof. This provided facilities for the various fanning crafts which were an important part of the school's programme. The Denmark region's agricultural focus being on dairying and beef cattle, the students were also able to receive instruction from local farmers and tradesmen in skills such as cream and m ilk testing, butter making and slaughtering. The Agricultural School had its own contribution to make to Denmark, apart from fielding sports teams: a number of local boys began to attend the school as day students, and the staff of the school were able to instruct the local State School boys in blacksmithing and carpentry.

By 1944, the buildings at Narrogin had been vacated by the army and the Narrogin School of Agriculture was able to return to its home. The Denmark School of Agriculture continued in its own right, however, as the first permanent secondary educational institution in the town. Many of the staff employed when the agricultural school first moved to Denmark stayed on at the new school, which began in 1944 with about forty students. Presumably the school continued to use the makeshift facilities in the town until 1947, when new residential and administrative buildings were opened on land acquired from the Research Station, fronting the Albany-Denmark road (now the South Coast Highway) east of the Denmark River.

The new buildings at Denmark were intended to make the school "the most modem of its kind in Australia", and certainly outclassed the out-of-date and run-down facilities still being used at Narrogin. The new central dining and administration block contained the principal's office and study, a library, a recreation room, a dining room for students, a smaller staff dining area, kitchen, servery and various food storage spaces. The dormitory block, to the west, consisted of two large dormitories fitted out into twenty individual cubicles each, as well as ablutions and changing rooms, storage space for bedding and linen, a master's flat and a matron 's flat with a first-aid room and a two-bed ward. It was intended to construct a second dormitory block, a mirror-image of the first, on the east side of the central dining block, giving the group of buildings a symmetrical, formal appearance appropriate for an educational institution, but this never eventuated. New workshops and classrooms were planned for the area behind the dining block, and a row of staff residences were planned for the area west of the dormitory block, but these were not to be constructed until the 1950s and 1960s. The facilities of the Research Station continued to be used for practical work.

In the early 1950s significant changes were made to the State's agricultural education policies, with the result that the Agricultural Schools at Narrogin, Denmark and Harvey were to merge with local junior high school to form Agricultural District High Schools. It was proposed that the Agricultural Schools would undergo a change in status, and become the Agricultural Wings of these new amalgamated institutions. These changes were made so that schools could more easily share the cost and use of expensive facilities, and so that the boys at the Agricultural Schools could mix more easily with students involved in a wider range of subjects, as well as gaining more social contact with girls, Course content would also change to include less academically oriented subjects and Jess heavy routine farm labour, and more demonstration and experimental work. Denmark and Harvey Agricultural Schools amalgamated with local high schools in 1953, and Narrogin followed in 1955. These amalgamations were administrative rather than physical in focus, with Denmark and Narrogin having separate campuses.

Following these changes, the Agricultural Wing of the Denmark Agricultural District Highs School began to accumulate more land. In the I 950s and 1960s, land was obtained from a bequest of Mr. J. Clark, and land was also received from the Denmark Roads Board. In 1960, the Denmark Shire Council granted the school 320 acres, and in 1966 another 148 acres was granted by the Lands Department as part of an Education Department programme for the school to develop its own property rather than relying on the Research Station. ln 1977, the school exchanged part of its land with the Research Station so that it could establish an orchard on land between the dormitory block and the river. As the land around Denmark is not suitable for cereal farming, arrangements were made in the late 1970s and early 1980s to carry out share cropping on the properties of R. Pickles, Bob Deane and P. and T. Pavlovich in Mt. Barker to provide the school's grain needs and to give students experience in this area of farming. In 1984, the Research Station was closed down, and in 1986 much of its land was granted to the school.

The school's collection of buildings also grew. In 1955, woodwork and leatherwork rooms were built by the students. The next year, a classroom and metalworking facilities were added. These buildings were located behind the dining block in accordance with the original plan. The local community also benefited from the provision of these buildings, as they were used for adult evening classes. In 1963, a dairy was built on school property, and as a result the school no longer needed to use the Research Station's facilities. A shearing shed followed in I 967, cattle yards and a pig site in 1968, and a motor workshop, together with another classroom, was built by the students in 1969, under the supervision of Manual Arts staff. In 1970, a machinery shed and calf feeding facilities were constructed, and work began on a farrowing shed, which was completed the following year. A poultry shed was built in 1972, as well as the principal's house. Works for the slaughterhouse were carried out from 1974 to 1977, when it was completed. By the end of the I 970s, the school's building and land acquisition projects allowed it to produce many of its own food supplies: milk and dairy products, fruit, vegetables (including potatoes), grain and meat slaughtered on the premises. Sw-plus produce was sent to other schools.36 In 1980 a new mechanical workshop was built. It was dedicated to Mr. Peter Miller, the retired Superintendent of Manual Arts, and officially opened on the 23rd October, 1980, as part of the Nineteenth Annual Field Day. New basketball and tennis courts, and a house for the farm supervisor were also constructed in the early 1980s. the dairy layout was altered from the original walk­ through design to a single-sided herringbone layout. The dormitories were refurbished, although not to the satisfaction of some parents, who wanted major renovations. In 1986 an intensive piggery was constructed, the last major building project undertaken until the 1990s. In 1993, work on a covered sports centre began, but funds ran short and the building had to be left as a roofed frame, which now serves as a machinery storage area.

In 1991, the school was renamed once more, becoming the Denmark Agricultural College, following recommendations from the Agricultural Education and Training Council of Western Australia that the Agricultural Wings shou ld sever administrative links with the high schools.41

Another major change occurred in 1991 with the first substantial intake of female students.42 Previously, there had been very little demand by girls to attend Agricultural Schools. During the 1980s, Cunderdin was the only school to take in female boarders, probably because it had the most flexible dormitory arrangements.43 Girls who specifically wished to attend other schools had to make special arrangements to board in town and attend as day students Denmark 's first female student entered the school in 1975, but it was not until 1991 that it became necessary to provide accommodation for girls at the school itself. The provision of girls' dormitories did not cause much structural alteration to the school. The matron 's flat was conve1ted into a dormitory, and the old two-bed ward was converted into a girl's shower room. (By this time, the College no longer employed a matron.) As the female student population of the school grew, part of the adjoining boys' dormitory was walled off and used to accommodate the girls. At present, girls make up some 25-30% of the student body, the highest proportion of girls in any Agricultural College in Western Australia. The growing number of female students may be attributed to changing attitudes towards women in traditionally male­ dominated areas, as well as the wide variety of opportunities offered by Denmark's agricultural programme, which is one of the more diverse in the State. An example of this is viticulture, which commenced in 1997 with a class of nine, seven of whom were female. Other areas include forestry, hydroponics and aquaculture . This diversification is also a result of the re-establishment of the College separate from the high school, as the College was able to focus on agriculture and land use specifically suited to the South-West. Previously, the programme offered was very similar to that of the other schools.

Other major events of the 1990s included the referendum of 1994, which demonstrated the value of Denmark Agricultural College to the Denmark community. A private developer offered to provide a new farm for the Agricultural College in exchange for being allowed to develop the existing College site. There was widespread community concern at this suggestion. The location of the Agricultural College within the Shire of Denmark was highly valued, and the Shire Council in particular wanted to ensure that the College was not moved out of the Shire. It was also widely felt that the College, located as it was at the edge of the town, had become Denmark' s "entry statement" and that part of the town's character would be lost if the site were to be developed for residential use. Eventually a referendum was held to help assess the general community 's opinion of the project. The referendum question asked whether residents wanted the Agricultural College site to be retained for educational and recreational purposes. 1500 people voted in favour of this, while only 99 voted against it. As it was clear that the majority of Denmark's resident wanted the College to stay where it was, the redevelopment scheme was abandoned.

In 1999, the site continues to be used by the Denmark Agricultural College. The most recent developments involve a master plan for the school site, which includes a recommendation to develop the south-west comer of the site into the new Denmark High School. ln early 1999, work had already begun on the first stages of th is project, which involved the removal of some of the old workshops and classrooms.

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