Graylands Primary School

Statement of Significance

Mt Claremont Primary School has aesthetic value as a well designed Post-war Primary School set in a large, park like setting. The place has landmark qualities. Mt Claremont Primary School has historic value for its role in the development of the suburb; and for its role in the development of the state education system. Mt Claremont Primary School has social value for its role in educating local children since 1917, and as a venue for community events. Mt Claremont Primary School is representative of the role of the State Government in providing education services.

Physical Description

Mt Claremont Primary School (formerly Graylands Primary School) is located on a large block bounded by Alfred Road, Montgomery Avenue, Lobelia Street and Jacaranda Avenue, with the entry being from Alfred Road. The buildings are located in the southern portion of the lot, with playing grounds in the north. There are many large, mature trees on the site, particularly along Alfred Road. The place is a complex of school buildings, with the original buildings constructed in an L shape. The early buildings are brick with simple hipped, tiled roofs. The walls are brick to sill height, and rendered above, with tall, narrow timber-framed double hung windows set in banks of two and four. Narrow rendered chimneys are located in the roof above each classroom. There is a deep verandah running the length of this building on the inside. As with most schools, there are a number of later classroom blocks, one in brick and tile resembling the original block; the rest in styles typical of government schools, including metal clad blocks; and recent brick and iron BER buildings.

History

Graylands Primary School officially opened on 13 August 1917 as an Infants School set up in a pavilion room with 48 pupils. The catchment area for the school covered the area north of the Perth-Fremantle railway between Karrakatta and Claremont, the suburb of Mt Claremont, and the area south of Alfred Road including the Army establishments in Swanbourne. The school only covered the years up to Grade 3, after this the children had to travel to the Claremont Primary School. This situation continued until 1949 when Graylands Primary School was established. By the early 1950s there were over 400 students enrolled. During the late 1940s and 1950s additions were made to the school as the local population grew with new areas being opened up for housing, and the effects of post-war migration. The Graylands Migrant Hostel was established in nearby Lantana Street and over the years there would be involvement between the hostel and the school. Bristol prefabricated classrooms, and brick classrooms and other additions to the school’s facilities would be a feature of ongoing development over the following decades. The establishment of the Graylands Teachers’ College in 1954 resulted in the school being used for demonstration classes. When enrolments exceeded 700 Graylands was upgraded to 1A – a top primary school. The expansion of the nearby Swanbourne military establishments was a contributing factor to increased enrolments. In 1977 South-Asian refugees began to arrive at the Graylands Migrant Hostel. In March of that year a Child Migrant Resource Centre was opened at the school by the Minister for Education, Graham MacKinnon MLC. In the late 1980s the suburb of Graylands ceased to exist after it was absorbed into the suburbs of Mt Claremont and Swanbourne. In 2006 the school was renamed Mt Claremont Primary School. The school continues to have strong links with its local community through a variety of activities and programmes.

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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