Primary School No. 1467: 369 Malvern Road, Hawksburn,

Building Profile

Location

Construction Details

Built in the Victorian period in the Neo-Gothic style

Notable features

Primary School No. 1467 is of architectural significance as one of a group of schools designed by leading Melbourne architects as a result of a competition held by the newly formed Education Department in 1873, and erected in the period 1874-81. While the competition schools are important in the history of the development of State education in Victoria because the design of a large number of subsequent schools was based on them, this particular design did not apparently serve as a prototype. The competition drew a number of important Victorian architects, including Reed and Barnes, Terry and Oakden, Charles Webb, W.H. Ellerker and Crouch and Wilson, the architects of this particular design. The design of these early schools tells us something about the philosophy of education at the time, the large classroom spaces indicating the size of classes, and the rather limited fenestration revealing the priority given to the isolation of children during the education process over the provision of natural light. The Gothic style and religious flavour of the bell tower emphasise the seriousness accorded to educational provision after the introduction of compulsory education in 1873.

History

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