Glen Forrest School

Statement of Significance

The Glen Forrest Primary School 1897 classroom has very high social, historic and aesthetic significance for the Shire of Mundaring and the Glen Forrest community as the oldest surviving classroom still in use in the Shire. The school provides a very strong focus and sense of place for the community. This is strengthened by the fact that some families in the district have had as many as 3 & 4 generations of children attend the school.

Physical Description

The original 1897 schoolroom at Glen Forrest Primary School sits on red brick plinth walls rising from just above ground level on the south to approximately a metre of the ground on the north as the natural slope of the ground drops away. Above the brick plinth the brick walls have been painted pastel green to match the rest of the school which detracts from the authentic appearance of the heritage building. The lower section of the north wall has a mural painted by the students for the centenary of the school. The brick walls are punctuated with splayed brick lintels (unpainted) over openings and a projecting (unpainted) two course string course of bricks just below the sill level of the five major windows on the east. The windows are four paned double hung and are of tall, vertical proportions. There are high level windows for cross-ventilation on the north end of the classroom with recessed brickwork below in proportion to the larger windows on the north. A lean-to verandah attached on the west protects the entry and early washroom/cloakroom porches. It also provided space when manual arts were introduced into the boys curriculum. To the south, fibre cement timber framed store rooms have been added which detracts from the character of the old classroom. The corrugated iron roof is of simple form with a long ridge running the length of the classroom with vented gable ends to the north and south.

History

As was often the case at this time, schooling for pupils fo Smith's Mill (Glen Forrest) began in a private home. From July 1889, the 23 fee paying students then progressed to temporary accommodation in a slab hut provided by the mill manager, Thomas Smith. After a number of fires, this school closed in July 1890, and then re-opened in January 1891. Following many teachers' complaints about the unsatisfactory building, a new timber weatherboard and shingle roofed school room, with a teacher's room attached, was built by Mr H Rhodes, for approximately 330 pounds. It opened on 19th February 1895, the same year that throughout the State Education System, school attendance fees were abolished. By 897, with enrolments near 60, a new brick building, costing 729/4/9 pounds was built by the Public Works Department. It was ready for the q1898 school year. the former school room and quarters were then converted into the Headmaster's quarters for Mr John English. This building was removed in 1977, when an adventure playground and what is now the Glen Forrest Pre-Primary were built on the south side of the site. The 1897 brick building remians in use in the grounds of the Glen Forrest Primary School, making it the oldest purpose built school classroom in the Shire still in use today.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High- still in use as a classroom. Modifications: Porch enclosures and school increased in size over the years.

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update