Ipswich North State School 1970. Image courtesy of Picture Ipswich

Ipswich North State School celebrated its 150th anniversary on Saturday 8 July 2017.

Ipswich North State School was formally opened on 1 July 1867. An account of the opening was originally reported by the Queensland Times on 2 July 1867. This same article states: “Only twenty-six children were entered on the roll, but now that the school is known to be opened, this number will no doubt soon be considerably increased.”

Classes for boys and girls were in the one building with a partition dividing them until 1874 when tenders were called to build a Boys’ School. The original building was then used for the Girls’ and Infants’ school. In the early 1930s both buildings needed major repairs so the decision was made to rebuild in brick and combine both the boys and girls into one large building. This building was opened on 4 May 1935, then in 1937 four extra classrooms and an undercover play area were added. This brick building is what we see today.

J. J. C. Bradfield. Image courtesy of Picture Ipswich

 

One of the speakers at the opening on Saturday 4 May 1935 was J. J. C. Bradfield who attended the Infants’ School then continued at the Boys’ School until he won a scholarship to Ipswich Grammar School. His name appears in a list which was published in the Brisbane Courier on Wednesday 2 February 1881.

Grammar School Scholarships. Brisbane Courier Wed 2 Feb 1881. Image taken from Trove Digitised Newspapers

Bradfield’s achievements include the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Story Bridge in Brisbane.