West Swan Primary School (fmr)

Author

Heritage Council

Place Number

03556

Location

8991 West Swan Rd Henley Brook

Location Details

Municipal Inventory No: 505

Other Name(s)

West Swan Training Centre

Local Government

Swan

Region

Metropolitan

Construction Date

Constructed from 1898

Demolition Year

N/A

Statutory Heritage Listings

Type Status Date Documents
(no listings)

Heritage Council Decisions and Deliberations

Type Status Date Documents
RHP - To be assessed Current 28 Mar 2003

Other Heritage Listings and Surveys

Type Status Date Grading/Management
Category
Municipal Inventory Adopted 25 Jun 1997 Significant
Municipal Inventory Adopted 30 Aug 2017 Category 3

Child Places

  • 23597 West Swan Training Centre - Teacher'sHouse

Values

The place is a fine example of a small group of school buildings comprising a classroom building and associated teacher’s quarters in a rural area.

The place is associated with the provision of public education for school age children in the small rural area of West Swan from 1897 to 1982.

The place has associations with the increased settlement of the Swan Valley as a result of migration to the state during the goldrushes of the 1890s.

Physical Description

The site comprises two buildings; a teacher’s quarters and a schoolroom classroom building. The teacher’s quarters is a brick building with a corrugated iron hipped roof. The roof has a small gable to the front with two brick chimneys, which have rendered corbel capping. The front wall is garden wall bond brickwork and the sides stretcher bond. There is a wide verandah with a dropped roof to the front elevation and this is supported with simple timber posts. The classroom is a brick building (Flemish bond) with a corrugated iron gabled roof. Windows are double hung sashes. To the rear of the building is a simple brick skillion.

History

Prior to the construction of the West Swan Primary School (fmr), children were educated either at home or if buildings rented for that purpose. For some time the West Swan Bridge School met at Mr Munchin’s barn on his farm at Spring Park. After the closure of the East Swan School, the school at Spring Park became known simply as West Swan Government School. In 1897, a block of land was purchased by the Government from Thomas Price for the purposes of constructing a school. Wilkinson and Smith were commissioned to design the single roomed classroom building and the four roomed teacher’s quarters. (The bricks are said to have been on the grounds.) The school opened in January 1898. By 1954, there were 44 students and two teachers at the school. Due to overcrowding, a new classroom was constructed in 1955. The school was eventually closed in 1982 due to low student numbers. Since then, the place has been used as a Government Garden Training Centre and Nursery and a Montessori School. In 1996, it was purchased by the Manguri Land Enterprises Inc.

Integrity/Authenticity

Moderate

Condition

Good

State Heritage Office library entries

Library Id Title Medium Year Of Publication
12303 A brief history of the West Swan Primary School 1898 - 1982 Heritage Study {Other} 1992

Place Type

Individual Building or Group

Uses

Epoch General Specific
Present Use EDUCATIONAL Primary School
Original Use EDUCATIONAL Primary School

Architectural Styles

Style
Other Style

Construction Materials

Type General Specific
Wall BRICK Other Brick
Roof METAL Corrugated Iron

Historic Themes

General Specific
DEMOGRAPHIC SETTLEMENT & MOBILITY Settlements

Creation Date

16 Feb 1995

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Approved

Last Update

23 Mar 2022

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.