Shaping Our Identity: Education

Queensland became a separate colony to New South Wales in 1859 and education became the responsibility of the newly formed state. Brisbane Boys and Brisbane Girls were established as National Schools the following year and in 1863, the first grammar school in Queensland opened at Ipswich.

In 1850 the Ipswich Council had passed a proposal for the establishment of a National School. A public meeting was held on 27 March 1861 where the necessity of a National School for the town was brought up once again. It had been nearly 10 years since the grant of land had been awarded to the town. Members of the Council were reminded that a means of education for the town and district was needed, especially for the parent who could not afford to pay to send their child to school. The Council had been neglectful in not seeing that the public works of a national school were carried out for which money had been set aside in 1851. Establishing a primary school was the means of educating many children whom it would be impossible to educate at the present rate of schooling. 

In 1861, the first National School in Ipswich was established. Until a school building was erected on the land in Gordon Street, classes were held in a small cottage on the laneway leading off Nicholas Street to the railway goods yards. There were six children in attendance and the teacher was John Scott. The number of students expanded to 150 within two months.

The new school building was opened in 1862 on the Gordon Street land granted by National Education Board. The building was a two storey brick building capable of accommodating three hundred children. The girls and infants were taught on the top floor, while the boys classes were held on the ground floor. The school split into separate boys and girls schools as numbers grew and moved to several different locations before evolving into Ipswich Central State School, Griffiths Road, Ipswich. Other National Schools in the Ipswich area soon followed at Little Ipswich (West Ipswich) and North Ipswich.

In 1869, Provisional schools were introduced in Queensland and free education was implemented in 1870. 

Mona Lodge in Nicholas Street was rented by Mary Darnley Morrison in 1873 to use as her private school premises. Mary used the house to conduct dancing, French and German classes as well as housing boarders. In 1875, Mrs. Morrison extended Mona Lodge to house 14 boarders to cater for her school's demand.

Schools opened in Ipswich between 1860 and 1879

1861: Little Ipswich School (Ipswich West State School) opened on 1 August 1861.

1861: Ipswich National School

1862: Amberley District State School opened on 22 May 1862 (formerly known as Amberley State School and Warrill Creek Sate School)

1863: Ipswich Grammar School

1863: St Mary's Primary School, May 1863

1864: Pine Mountain School opened 25 April 1864 (Pine Mountain Provisional School, Primary School, Public School)

1867: Ipswich North State School

1873: Bundanba State School

Rules for Teachers in 1879
- Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed.
- Teachers each day will fill lamps, clean chimneys before beginning work.
- Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if they go to church regularly. Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents pool or public halls, or gets shaved in a barber
   shop, will give good reason to suspect his worth, intention, integrity and honesty.