HERITAGE CITATION REPORT

Name NATIONAL SCHOOL NO.32 (FORMER) Address 2 BRIDGEWATER FIRE STATION ROAD, Place Type School - State (public) Citation Date 2006

National School 32 former.jpg

Recommended VHR - HI - PS - Heritage Protection

History and Historical Context

James Bonwick, during his 1857 tour investigating the state of education in Western , noted that at Bridgewater 'some nice farms are springing up' and that 'The population is steadily increasing. The inhabitants appeared quiet and respectable folk. The parents were naturally anxious for the establishment of a school among them; the Wes1eyans of Portland providing them with Sabbath Service.' (Bonwick, 1970, p. 111.) But Bonwick's editor, C. E. Sayers states that 'There were two schools there in 1857, with an estimated sixty children at each ofthem'. (Bonwick, 1970, p. 118, ft. 13.)

'The establishment of a school at Cape Bridgewater was first mooted in September 1854 when M. Miller wrote, mentioning 26 district children. A temporary school appears to have been established about April 1856 for some 25 children . ... A site of2 acres was acquired in September 1857 at the SE corner of Allotment 3, Section 4, Parish of Tarragul, County of Norman by.' (V&R, Vol. 2, p. 17.) A stone building was started but not completed and the school operated temporarily in the nearby Methodist Church. Numbers also declined. The first teacher, Joseph Bedford complained about his reduced salary and privations, having to live in a hovel, and resigned. A new head teacher 'H. G. Alder commenced with an enrolment of 34 and in January 1862 the new head teacher, Josiah Remfry had 24 enrolled. ' (ibid.) Remfry lived in a hut and this was the year he and his wife Eliza Ann had a daughter, Eliza born at Bridgewater. (VPI, Reg. No. 23001.) The school must have been completed and subsequently teacher's accommodation of three rooms was added.

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But the enrolment had declined to as little as 12 in 1882 and the school was closed. It re-opened half-time with the new school SS 2836 at Trewalla in 1898 but this school closed and Lower Cape Bridgewater, as it came to be known, worked with the schools at Kentbruck and Cape Bridgewater. It was full time again in 1912 with 23 enro1hoents and the old stone building must have been still in use in 1916 when the District Inspector recommended a new building. Finally a new portable building was opened in 1937.

After the Second World War, according to the Education Department's policy of small school consolidation, children from Cape Bridgewater and Lower Cape Bridgewater were bussed to Portland. The portable building was removed to SS 2747 Lake and the land and stone building were sold to the local community and the reservation of the site was revoked. (V&R, p. 17).

References

Education Dept. of Victoria. Vision and Realisation, Vol. 1, 2, & 3, 1973. Bonwick, James, Sayers, C. E., (eds)., Western Victoria, Its Geography, Geology and Social Condition, 1857, Heinemann, Australia. Index to Registers of Assisted British Immigrants 1839-1871, (n.d) PROV. Department of Crown Lands and Survey. Parish of Tarragal, County of Normanby. Saville, Vanda. For Thee and Thine, 1978, Self published, Heywood. Saville, Vanda. All this and More, 1979, Self published, Heywood.

Relevant Historical Australian Themes

5. WORKING 5.1: Working in harsh conditions 6. EDUCATING 6.2: Establishing schools 6.3: Training people for the workplace 6.5: Educating people in remote places

Description

Physical Description The school is a single-storey rendered stone building of two rooms in a T-shaped plan. The entrance is in the south- east return corner of the building where there may have been a porch. A central chimney rises between the two rooms. The windows appear to have been modified and now have 24 small panes set in three sashes, the top moving as a hopper sash. The roof has been re-clad in Colorbond, and two patent ventilators have been introduced about 1900. There is a traditional rain water tank in the south-east return corner of the building and a traditional corrugated iron WC some distance to the north. The building is suffering from rising damp and has had some inappropriate cement repairs to the render. The interiors are plain and functional, and has been very little altered since its construction. This plain functionality therefore becomes an important feature of this school building.

The ruins of the former National School at Cape Bridgewater are one of the few surviving remnants of the Cape Bridgewater settlement. The School was erected in 1875. From Portland Urban Conservation Study 1981.

Physical Condition

Very Good

Usage / Former Usage

Public Reasons

Recommended Management

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Maintain generally as existing

Comparative Analysis

949 SS 741, Bridgewater and Blowholes Roads, Cape Bridgewater. 840 SS 971, Winnap-Nelson Road, Drik Drik H1031 Former National School, 40-48 Bell Street and John Street Fitzroy (1858) H1647 Former National School, cnr Julia Street and Palmer Street, Portland (1858) H1714 401 Primary School No. 33, Dana Street, Ballarat (1856 & 1876) H0530 Tower Hill Common School, 79 High Street, Koroit (1857)

Taken from Heritage Register # H1714 401 Primary School No. 33, Dana Street, Ballarat Comparisons: Twenty-four National Schools are known to have survived in Victoria. It is known that 193 National Schools existed by the time they were replaced by Common Schools in 1863. Avoca (1857) and Portland (1856) with a unique 2 storey residence section are on the Heritage Register. Matthew Flinders (1857) the largest surviving National School and the only surviving model school is on the Heritage Register.

The following National Schools are already on the Historic Buildings Register: Koroit (1855-57) and Bell St Fitzroy (1855)

The Historic Schools Survey recommends that the Dana St Ballarat 1856 be listed on the Heritage Register.

It is suggested that the number of National Schools to be listed on the Heritage Register should be limited to representative examples. For example, the earliest intact example of a prefabricated school is Bacchus Marsh (1854) or California Hill (1857) ; the earliest intact example of a locally designed and built National School is Koroit; the only National School surviving in is the Bell St Fitzroy school of 1855 ; the Portland National School of 1856 is an intact and representative example of a school and residence, built of local materials by a local architect. Dana Street is an individual design with a significantly intact interior. It retains the original floor plan. The interior retains some original features such as the coved ceilings, fireplaces and stairway. Although the exterior has been altered, the interior is unusually intact.

Statement of Significance

What is significant? The former National School No. 32 of Bridgewater is located on the north-west corner of Bridgewater Lakes Road and Fire Station Road at Lower Bridgewater. The school is a single-storey rendered stone building of two rooms in a Tshaped plan, thought to date from as early as 1857. The windows appear to have been modified and now have 24 small panes set in three sashes, the top moving as a hopper sash. The roof has been re-clad in Colorbond, and two patent ventilators have been introduced about 1900. The building is suffering from rising damp and has had some inappropriate cement repairs to the render.

How is it significant? The former National School No. 32 is of historical, social and architectural significance to Glenelg Shire and the State of Victoria

Why is it significant? The former National School No. 32 is of historic significance as the expression of the Lower Bridgewater community's struggle for education, and for its association with 100 years of schooling in the area. It is of social significance as the focus for the community. The school is of architectural significance for it use of traditional forms, fine construction techniques and for its use of local materials.

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------From The Portland Urban Conservation Study: The ruins of the former National School at Cape Bridgewater are one of the few surviving remnants of the Cape Bridgewater settlement. The School was erected in 1875.

Recommendations 2006

External Paint Controls - Internal Alteration Controls - Tree Controls - Fences & Outbuildings - Prohibited Uses May Be Permitted - Incorporated Plan - Aboriginal Heritage Place -

This information is provided for guidance only and does not supersede official documents, particularly the planning scheme. Planning controls should be verified by checking the relevant municipal planning scheme.

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