Mandurah Community Museum

Statement of Significance

• The interior of the building has high social value as it has served many community functions including law enforcement, community information and a community museum.
• The first government school in Mandurah.

Physical Description

The school was constructed from local wire-cut red bricks with white banding. Red brick additions obscure the original building from the street.

History

The Dalrymple School, opened on 4 April 1900, was the first government school in Mandurah. It was named after Robert Dalrymple, a long-serving teacher and much admired community member who forewent promotion in order to stay in Mandurah. Mrs John Tuckey had conducted a school in her home (Eureka) from the late 1860s until the appointment in 1872 of Robert Mewburn as Mandurah’s first official schoolmaster. In 1876 Mewburn was obliged to erect his own school building (his home) in order to continue teaching, and this remained the official school until his death in 1891.
After Mewburn’s death the school was moved to the (now demolished) police barracks, which had been vacated in 1888 and were being privately rented. The police barracks also served as the quarters of the newly appointed schoolmaster, Robert Dalrymple. The school was conducted at these premises until the new school was built in 1900. The Dalrymple school was in use until 1949 when the new Mandurah Primary School was opened in Hackett Street.
In the 1920s and 1930s some of its classes were held in the adjacent Agricultural Hall to help cope with its growing number of pupils.
In 1950 the Dalrymple School was taken over by the Police Department for use as the town’s Police Station, and major extensions were added shortly afterwards. A courthouse was subsequently added in the 1960s for the use of the Resident Magistrate. When the police moved to a new building late in 1988, the Mandurah Historical Society successfully applied to use the building as a community museum, reflecting the renewed interest created by Australia’s bicentennial. The front section of the building was occupied by the Education Department for
administrative purposes until January 1997 when they vacated. From this time, the Mandurah Community Museum, the Genealogical Service, and the Citizens’ Advice Bureau have occupied the building. The Historical Society has recreated the schoolroom as it would have looked in the early part of the century, and the remainder of the museum is dedicated to historical artifacts/ephemera/information from Mandurah’s past. Robert Dalrymple
also planted a number of mature peppermint trees which now shade the adjacent Dalrymple Park.

Integrity/Authenticity

Authenticity : Medium (Modifications in 1960s & 1970s)

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

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.