Donnybrook District High School

Statement of Significance

Donnybrook District High School is a well executed example of an Inter-War Georgian Revival building that is a landmark in the centre of Donnybrook. Its corner location and landscaped gardens add to its appeal. The use of Donnybrook Stone is rare in a school building as is the fact that local stone was used.

Physical Description

The 1921 wing of Donnybrook District High school is a single storey building in the Inter-War Georgian Revival style. The construction materials are Donnybrook stone to sill height above which a series of tall timber windows are separated by panels of rendered brickwork. The wing has a corrugated iron roof at a moderate pitch. There are about 6 classrooms in this wing, and each has a tall rendered chimney with a corbelled cap. The building is set within landscaped gardens. The southern wing was completed in 1921 and subsequent additions have not matched or complemented the original wing.

History

The first Donnybrook School was a timber building (at present day Trigwell Place), which burnt down in April 1920. A new school, comprising three classrooms and an office of brick and stone construction, was built in Bentley Street, which was considered a more appropriate location. It was completed in early December 1921, and motor transport to bring children in from the surrounding district was introduced. In 1923, a manual training room was opened. In 1924, 153 children were enrolled at Donnybrook School. During the Depression enrolments fell to a low of 85, then increased from 1936. After Brookhampton School was closed in 1939, a bus service brought began children in from that area. During World War II, an influx of evacuees from Perth increased enrolments and a room at the Memorial Hall was used as a classroom prior to completion of a new infants’ classroom in 1945. From 1949, the Parents and Citizens’ Association (P & C) lobbied the Education Department to elevate the school to become a Junior High School. Additions comprising three new classrooms, a science room, a visual training room, a principal’s office, a store-room and new toilets enabled this to be effected in 1953. Five small district schools closed and the school bus service was extended to bring them in to school at Donnybrook. In c. 1954, a classroom relocated from Lowden was converted to a manual training centre at Donnybrook Junior High School. In the 1950s-1960s, further additions included another classroom and a new multi-purpose room. The P & C began a development program that included an extended play area and basketball courts named in honour of Mrs. Bay Trigwell, which opened in 1969. In 1973, the school’s name was changed to Donnybrook District High School. In the 1970s, additions included an octagonal-shaped, two-tiered library and resources centre, and a dental therapy unit. In the subsequent period there has been further development as Donnybrook District High School continues serving its intended purpose.

Integrity/Authenticity

High

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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